I'm in - put deposit down! Couple of questions.... (archive)

Hi all. I've been visiting this Board for a few weeks, and have been debating with myself about the new M3 for a few months. I usually would rather not to buy one of the very first of any model (risk of problems), and prefer to see some road tests, owner's reviews, etc. But, I thought, what could I possibly be unhappy about with the new M3? The 330Ci seems pretty good, so the M3 can only be far better, right? So, this weekend I put a deposit down, and hope to be a regular here as we all await our cars (I'm #10 on the list, delivery hopefully next Summer).

I had a couple of questions for all of you experts here. In calling around to various dealers, trying to get a spot which would get me the car the fastest (like everyone else), I noted that the number of people already on the list was only one factor. The other variable was the probable allocation. Some dealers with relatively longer waiting lists anticipated earlier delivery dates because they expected a greater allocation. How do you balance those two factors, and pick where to leave your money?

Also, have any of you put down deposits at more than one dealer? How uncool is this to do (or have all of you done it)? ALl the dealers claim the deposit is fully refundable, so on one hand, why not? On the other hand, if there's some central registry at BMW, I don't want to get completely bumped off the list.

By way of introduction, I'm in the Philadelphia area, and am a bit of a hard core car nut - I've owned 93 cars in my life, never more than 3 or 4 at one time. I recently bought my "interim" car until the M3 arrives, a 2001 Acura CL Type S (it's actually a great car - 260 hp, loaded with amenities and comfort/performance features, solidly built, and a bargain at about $30k - if it was available with a manual transmission, I'd probably keep it and might not even get the M3!)(my other toys are a 1993 Porsche 911, and a 1999 Miata).

Look forward to interacting with all of you!

Thanks!

Nick L

Follow Ups:

Welcome - fellow P-Car owner here...(more) DC from Cape Cod 20:52 8/13/2000 (0)

[ Follow Ups ] [ E46 M3 Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.