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      02-10-2020, 02:14 PM   #1
silstream
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Online Retailers & Nationwide Delivery worth the risk?

With used M2's still in high demand, I've been monitoring the US marketplace and cars are either selling quickly when priced right or I presume the ones available for over 100 days are either overpriced or there's something wrong with them.

Limiting myself to in-state, options are even less and even scanning the west coast doesn't surface much more (I'd be happy to fly-drive in some cases but Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle is a stretch!) so I'm looking nationwide but keen to understand anyone's experience buying through:
1. Main Dealers who offer national delivery
2. Online used retailers (e.g. Vroom, Carvana, OffLeaseOnly)
3. CarMax who at least ship to your local center but you've got to pay the delivery to your local center first

Keen to hear any good/bad experiences (no need to name actual vendor) and whether you paid for an independent vehicle inspection to be your remote eyes before committing?
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      02-12-2020, 11:26 AM   #2
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I was impressed with my interaction with Carmax recently. I test drove the below car when it was listed for $43,998 a few weeks ago. Its down to $41,998, only 9K miles. GREAT deal imo.

Car looked clean, no pressure, 7 day return policy so you could do a PPI and run the key for service history and still return the car if you were uncomfortable. The warranty was cheap too...5 years, 75K miles with $150 deductible for $2299, or $2099 w/ $300 deductible. Based on my research, cost to have Carmax ship is cheaper than any third party I could find. For a tough market, its a low financial risk to be out the shipping cost imo.

Its DCT though and I wanted a 2018 manual so I passed.

As always, do your due diligence! These are used cars after all.

https://www.carmax.com/car/18466237
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      02-12-2020, 06:00 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Bundy's Dodge View Post
I was impressed with my interaction with Carmax recently. I test drove the below car when it was listed for $43,998 a few weeks ago. Its down to $41,998, only 9K miles. GREAT deal imo.

Car looked clean, no pressure, 7 day return policy so you could do a PPI and run the key for service history and still return the car if you were uncomfortable. The warranty was cheap too...5 years, 75K miles with $150 deductible for $2299, or $2099 w/ $300 deductible. Based on my research, cost to have Carmax ship is cheaper than any third party I could find. For a tough market, its a low financial risk to be out the shipping cost imo.

Its DCT though and I wanted a 2018 manual so I passed.

As always, do your due diligence! These are used cars after all.

https://www.carmax.com/car/18466237
Small world. I was just looking at that M2 on the Carmax lot last Sunday. Looked really clean on the lot and I've been contemplating test driving it.

There's a 2018 at Carmax in Colorado Springs that's also caught my eye. Though at the moment it's $5,000 more. Not sure if that's worth it for the refreshed interior and MPE exhaust (which I would likely have to remove for being too loud anyway).

All my prior interactions with Carmax have been very positive.
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      02-12-2020, 07:43 PM   #4
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That one in the Springs looked amazing...whatever wrap/paint was put on looks great. Looked like it had some carbon fiber exhaust tips to go with the spoiler too.

Let me know if you go after it, I'll keep an eye out for ya around town!
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      02-12-2020, 08:21 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Bundy's Dodge View Post
That one in the Springs looked amazing...whatever wrap/paint was put on looks great. Looked like it had some carbon fiber exhaust tips to go with the spoiler too.

Let me know if you go after it, I'll keep an eye out for ya around town!
I haven't seen it in person yet, but I'm pretty sure that's just a bad camera not doing a good job of picking up the Mineral Grey color. Which is an awesome color in person. I've only seen it on a M230 and the new Supra and it's a very dynamic color for a grey.

The exhaust looks to be BMW's MPE with optional titanium tips. There's also a carbon fiber rear diffuser installed, rear deflector delete, and black kidney grills up front.
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      02-12-2020, 08:29 PM   #6
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Vroom

I have bought two cars from VROOM And they were delivered to my door. I also sold them a car and they came and picked it up.
I have to say I am very happy with their service and the products I bought.
I will not hesitate to buy again if the right car shows up. I check their site couple times a day.

Any questions pm me I will tell you what I know.

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      02-12-2020, 09:45 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alan7467 View Post
I haven't seen it in person yet, but I'm pretty sure that's just a bad camera not doing a good job of picking up the Mineral Grey color. Which is an awesome color in person. I've only seen it on a M230 and the new Supra and it's a very dynamic color for a grey.

The exhaust looks to be BMW's MPE with optional titanium tips. There's also a carbon fiber rear diffuser installed, rear deflector delete, and black kidney grills up front.
Makes sense, I should have looked closer at the rear shot. Didnt even notice the diffuser.

I was more mesmerized by the color. I stared at it 10 minutes trying to figure out if it was MG or a wrap. Didnt seem dark enough to be MG, and with the other mods I assumed the owner modded the color too. Either way, looked awesome.

But I dont see it on thier site now...someone's got a hold on it.
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      02-13-2020, 12:32 PM   #8
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Currently i'm in talks with AutoNation to purchase a M2C. I found a car with the specs that i wanted but its in Illinois (i'm in California). Right now they are trying to secure the car for me and the ship it over to me.

I think the biggest complaint i have about the whole process is the wait to see if the car can be secured or not. Neither side seems to have much urgency when trying to get the car and i'm left here sitting and hoping that i can get it. And then theres the wait for the car to be delivered to me so i can go sign the paperwork and bring it home.

I think Nationwide dealers have the advantage of being able to get pricing and stock from all over, however a lot of times these same places are a lot less keen on negotiating and will generally only do so if it either benefits them or if they are forced into that position. Kind of a weird double edged sword to be honest.
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      02-13-2020, 05:30 PM   #9
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Thanks all for the feedback and great to hear Al Bundy's Dodge has found a motor...

In my case, I'm looking to trade my 2018 Merc AMG GLA45 which is a great car but I just miss having a manual box so that's the biggest motivation to change. That, and I used to have a 135i which I loved so the force drawing me back to BMW is strong! The challenge for me with nationwide delivery etc. is my GLA is worth similar money to the M2 so to save the tax I have to trade into the same dealer...

Any more feedback welcome. Cheers.
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      02-14-2020, 01:57 PM   #10
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Yikes. Well, Carmax just royally screwed me over.

I scheduled a test drive for a Mineral Grey 2018 M2 at their CO Springs location for this Saturday. I called to confirm the hold immediately after going through the process online on Wednesday. It still shows as on hold for me, but they freaking transferred it to California for someone else. They're trying to tell me I didn't call to confirm the hold. Meanwhile the car shows as on hold for me on their site. Ridiculous.
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      02-14-2020, 03:24 PM   #11
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that really sucks Alan - sorry - genuinely hope it's a mistake and they'll honor your hold on the vehicle.

I'm losing trust in what I'm seeing as I've been scanning Carmax daily for several weeks and never even saw this grey model (not that I would ever poach it!). A search today for me shows they only have 4 M2's across the USA... If anyone sees more please let me know!
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      02-14-2020, 04:13 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silstream View Post
that really sucks Alan - sorry - genuinely hope it's a mistake and they'll honor your hold on the vehicle.

I'm losing trust in what I'm seeing as I've been scanning Carmax daily for several weeks and never even saw this grey model (not that I would ever poach it!). A search today for me shows they only have 4 M2's across the USA... If anyone sees more please let me know!

The sales person said it's been transferred to California. Pretty damn quick transfer if that's truly the case. Here's a link to the car:

https://www.carmax.com/car/18466742


What really sucks is that there was also a blue one in town I was interested in. The only reason I didn't put a hold on it is because of this grey one, and now it's gone as well
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      02-14-2020, 05:09 PM   #13
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Just terrible news.

Possible good news is that according to the link in my earlier post, the bule one is still at the South Broadway store. So it looks like just a hold at the moment...these things always pop back up after holds, so hopefully thats the case here and the person that held it does not end up buying it.

Keep checking every couple of hours. The one I ended up transferring was on/offline a number of times before I put in for the transfer.

Good luck!


P.S. I looked at that grey one again. I must be going color blind, I swear that does not look like MG to me. lol
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      02-21-2020, 03:13 PM   #14
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I feel like dealerships right now are in a weird place. It seems like the customer service aspect is not as much of a priority as it used to be. I remember even just 5 years ago, a salesperson would really work with you to find the car for the price that you wanted. but now even if you found a car that you want, if they can make a quick sale with someone else, they will at the expense of you.
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