[HeadlessChicken]

I am not sure I put this in the correct forum, but this seemed the most appropriate. I am a resident of Northern Virginia. I have read the reviews and seen that many buyers had good experiences with Maryland dealers in the area. Can anyone share whether there were any title/tax issues? Is buying in Maryland identical to buying in Virginia (if you are a Virginia resident) or do you have to go to DMV and register yourself? Do you pay Maryland or Virginia sales tax? Does the Maryland dealer take care of EVERYTHING like they would in Virginia or does some of that get shifted to you, the buyer? Thanks for any assistance.

[bavarian19]

Why not just buy in VA??? I bought at Sterling and got a great price on an ordered car... No questions asked, I would probably go to them next time (they are also really close to me)

[shimshimhada]

Yeah, I got my car from Sterling too. Good place provided you make the deal BEFORE you order the car (don't ask).

[HeadlessChicken]

I definitely want to buy in Virginia. Last September I requested quotes from several dealers on an E90 330i. Only Passport responded with an itemized quote which was VERY good. I was too busy to close the deal. A couple of weeks ago when I had the time again, I learned of the possible changes. Now with the 325/330 vs. 328/335 issues, I am on hold. I am not buying until I know what is going to happen. I am not committed one way or the other. I simply want to have all of the information before I spend my money. Because I might go for the 335 (assuming there is one) I could be facing a huge premium to get one of the earlier delivery slots. Yes, I could wait until the rush dies down (if there is one for the E90 335), but I have been looking to buy a 330 for several months now and am growing tired of waiting. For that reason, I wanted to keep my options open. If I can get a much better deal from a Maryland dealer on the price, I was wondering what other hurdles I might face as a Virginia resident.

But I have also read a lot of positive comments about Sterling and will give them a try when the time comes. Thanks for the recomendations.

[hknite]

i bought from passport. they take care of registration and titling. also, you will pay va tax. the only thing you have to do yourself is state inspection and county sticker. very pleasant experience overall.

[KL2DC]

Agreed with hknite, I am also a happy Passport customer with their straight-up pricing (internet department) and good service/attention. If you do a search around here or bimmerfest, their name gets mentioned a lot which is quite testament.

So to recap, you pay VA sales tax, Passport does all the DMV stuff, you just worry about the state inspection ($15 and a coupla minutes, go on a weekday) and county sticker ($25)...

[bavarian19]

One thing to consider is where you will bring your car for service. Many times, dealers will be a little reluctant to give you a loaner if you did not buy your car from them.

[BMWBMW]

I bought both from Sterling and Passport. They are both very good. The 330 I am picking up on Saturday is from Passport because the people I dealt at Sterling when I was negotiaiting were simply jerks. I dealt with William Tiliaferro at Passport - super nice guy...... I can give you his number if you are interested.

[egtlover74]

Don't worry about a sales guy being a jerk as long as you can get a good deal out of him !!! More important thing is the service after that. I bought mine at Passport with a good sales guy and a descent price. However, their service sucks big time. Maintenance is closed on saturdays and no loaner unless it is scheduled major maintenence. Sales person will tell you about pickup service but it is only offered on major maintence as well. I will buy my next bmw from the dealer who offers saturday services.

[geeslice]

Well, for both myself and my co-worker (who bought hers on Monday) Passport did not have the best deal. Passport offered 37,910 on a car MSRP 39,795. When Sterling and Fairfax offered the same MSRP car for 37,077. (One percent above invoice.) I told them what Sterling and Fairfax had quoted me and they told me to take it because it was a great deal.

[hknite]

Originally Posted by geeslice

Well, for both myself and my co-worker (who bought hers on Monday) Passport did not have the best deal. Passport offered 37,910 on a car MSRP 39,795. When Sterling and Fairfax offered the same MSRP car for 37,077. (One percent above invoice.) I told them what Sterling and Fairfax had quoted me and they told me to take it because it was a great deal.

that's strange. i got $500 over invoice at passport and they also threw in some extras like floormats and a bottle of touch up paint. as for the service, i have heard bad things about fairfax and sterling concerning the actual service they perform on the car. some reviewer on another board said he got his car back with an extra 100 miles!

[HeadlessChicken]

Thanks everyone! You answered my questions and more. By the way, I work in Tysons Corner. I can't believe there isn't a dealer here. Or at least Fairfax should open a satelite service center. Does Fairfax at least offer a free shuttle to Tysons?

[geeslice]

Yeah, I was talking with Omid from Internet Sales at passport and that was the best they could do for me!

[yu]

Originally Posted by HeadlessChicken

I am not sure I put this in the correct forum, but this seemed the most appropriate. I am a resident of Northern Virginia. I have read the reviews and seen that many buyers had good experiences with Maryland dealers in the area. Can anyone share whether there were any title/tax issues? Is buying in Maryland identical to buying in Virginia (if you are a Virginia resident) or do you have to go to DMV and register yourself? Do you pay Maryland or Virginia sales tax? Does the Maryland dealer take care of EVERYTHING like they would in Virginia or does some of that get shifted to you, the buyer? Thanks for any assistance.

To answer your questions, buying from Maryland is identical to buying in Virginia. You would be paying Virginia taxes, but you would just be buying it from a place outside the state. The dealer you buy it from should take care of everything. The only bad thing about buying your car from a dealership outside your local area is servicing. I got mine a couple hours from where I live even though there is a dealership in my city. Whenever I take it to my local dealership, they won't offer me a loaner so that's the only inconvenience. I was going to get my car in Maryland, but I found a better price. If you call around, there will be a dealership that will match the price you're given.

[SteveMD]

Another happy 'Passporter' here. Did it all by email.

Will definitely give them first bash at the next purchase.

150 mile round trip for me - well worth it - I have another dealership 3 miles from home. They did not get my business.

[BMWDavid]

Kinda new to the forum here, but not BMW. I've been driving them since 94. I've been in sales (BMW) since 99. I started at Cunningham BMW in CA. Their service dept was rated #14 not in the country, but out of every BMW Center in the world. I came to sell in the DC, MD, VA area because it's home and I am excited to bring a level of service to my customers that is unmatched. I left a local dealership in 2004 because the service department was below my standards, and with my new company, I can now sell practically any car made. My customer satisfaction is always 100%.

My Center is Tischer BMW of Silver Spring. I keep in contact with all my customers after the sale (duh!), pick up their cars for service and leave them loaners when they request it (company policy). We don't have a problem going out to Easton MD for some of my current customers, so future beltway customers are no problem.

I try to answer questions on as many different thread topics as I can, and my info comes straight from the source. Feel free to email me about anything BMW or car related. I'm always happy to help fellow enthusiasts. If you want to meet me in person come down to Tischer except Wednesdays and Sundays. I will also be at the huge car meet The Jefferson 500, Sunday May 21st at Summit Point helping the BMW CCA set up. Plenty of BMWs (classics to new), other makes too(Porsche, Ferrari, MG, vintage car racing events, good times). I look foward to being a member of this great forum.

[velore]

I ordered my 330i at passport bmw on 4/30/06, and am now waiting for my car as it is on its way to port. at first i was happy with passport, because i thought i was getting the best deal possible. although, after eading the forums for the last few days, i found out the money factor i got for my lease was hte worst rate for april, even worse then the rates in may (which went up from april). so now when i go back to sign for the car im gonna have to negotiate with the leasing office to get the money factor i think i should gotten in the first place, along with floormats, a t-shirt, and a key chain (all of which i think should come with the purchase of the car). hopefully that goes as planned.

[KL2DC]

velore: your choice of floormats, 2 keychains, tire valve stem caps and full tank of gas is standard practice at Passport...you can push for other items. Btw the OEM alarm is $425 installed.

Sorry to hear about the troubles with the lease rates, hope everything works out for you...

[velore]

oh thanks for that info. i wasnt aware of that. a friend of mine also got a 330i the same day i did, so we were both gonna go and discuss the lease rates when they call us in. we figure with 2 of us getting the cars we have a good shot of getting the lower money factor. thanks for your help, and do you have any other suggestions from past experience of what we should try to get? thanks again for all your help.

[SteveMD]

Originally Posted by velore

oh thanks for that info. i wasnt aware of that. a friend of mine also got a 330i the same day i did, so we were both gonna go and discuss the lease rates when they call us in. we figure with 2 of us getting the cars we have a good shot of getting the lower money factor. thanks for your help, and do you have any other suggestions from past experience of what we should try to get? thanks again for all your help.

What are you going to say? Ummm...sorry we're going to walk out?" That will scare them!

I have said it 100 times on the lease discussions. Do your homework before you order. Not when the car is on the boat. And if you don't understand the ins and outs of leasing 200%, I absolutely guarantee you will not get a good deal. Even from Passport.

And floor mats, key rings and tshirts are not standard equipment on an E90. Why would you think that you are entitled to them?

Good luck with your renegotiations.

[mikepinkerton]

+1 for Sterling (negotiated price online before putting $ down), but watch out for the finance lady, she tried to raise the acq fee on me when I showed up to take delivery (for my lease) but the sales mgr honored the numbers I had in writing, which I thought was very nice.

--Mike

[cscowden]

Ordered my 330 from Passport's internet department about 6 weeks ago. Expecting delivery next week. Jim Redden was great while he was there. Now Yves has stepped in and done an admirable job closing the sale. Received base lease rate, base acq fee, and $1000 over invoice at time of order. I have just learned from this site that I may have been able to get cost to $500 over invoice, but still happy with the deal overall. I asked 2 VA dealers to match the price and they all said no. Hence we ordered from Passport. WIll definitely go back there.