Find me a BMW dealer (and salesperson contact) within approximately
700 miles of Palo Alto, CA, who is willing to sell me a 2003 M3 coupe:

1) With the exact options I specify
2) With a September 2002 production date (I'll ask for the production
number)
3) At (or below) MSRP

In general, the closer the better, but extra points for a dealer in
Oregon.

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 26 Aug 2002 12:37 PDT

There are a number of BMW dealers that might suit your geographical
preferences.  I will ask for clarification of those preferences below,
but first I should ask for clarification about the deal that you are
looking for.

You could presumably work out a deal on the terms that you want with
any BMW dealer, especially if you are a good negotiator.  However, I'm
not sure that any Google Researcher can assure you definitively that a
particular dealer or salesperson will sell you a 2003 M3 Coupe
produced in September 2002 with the features you want at or below
MSRP.  Even if a Researcher were to contact a salesperson and get a
tentative approval for the deal, you would still have to contact the
salesperson and then sign the necessary papers.  Moreover, by that
time, some problem that neither the Researcher nor the salesperson can
foresee might arise.

So my questions with respect to the deal are: 1) Would you be
satisfied if a salesperson indicated that it is very likely that deal
you want can be worked out?  2) Could you specify all of the features
that you want, so that an actual MSRP and sales price can be
determined?

Alternatively, would you be satisfied with a list of contact persons
for BMW dealers that meet your geographical preferences?

Speaking of geographical preferences ...

Are you looking only for dealers in the Palo Alto area (say, within 50
miles any direction from Palo Alto) and north of that area, or would
you also be interested in dealers that are south of the Palo Alto
area?

When you say "the closer the better", do you mean that a dealer
nearest to Palo Alto would be best?  Or would a dealer in Oregon be
even better than a dealer near Palo Alto -- and if so, would a dealer
that is both in Oregon and closest to Palo Alto (say, 500 miles versus
700 miles) be best of all?

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Clarification of Question by alexander-ga on 26 Aug 2002 13:08 PDT

Scott,

1) Yes, I would like the researcher to contact the dealer and (if
necessary) negotiate the deal. At that point, I will take over, and
sign the necessary documents, etc. I understand that problems may
arise in the future, and exempt the researcher from these potential
problems, but I do expect two things to take place promply: A BMW
printout showing a car with the options I select, a production number,
and an estimated production week in September, and my and the dealer's
signing of papers that state that the dealer will deliver said car to
me at no more than MSRP + standard delivery charge + actual taxes,
title, registration. For the options below, MSRP is $54,470, plus $695
delivery charge and $1,000 gas guzzler tax. This is what I expect to
pay, plus any actual state government charges for taxes, title,
registration, etc.

2) Knowing salespeople, I don't think I would be satisfied with that
"very likely" phrase. I expect to call within a couple hours of an
appropriate answer here and put down a deposit and request the above
paperwork. If that goes smoothly, I will consider the question
answered satisfactorily.

3) I am 95% sure that the features I want are: 400 steel grey
metallic, N5SW black leather, 459 power seats, 490 adj. seat
width/lumbar, 522 xenon headlights, 609 nav system, 793 SMG
transmission. There is a small chance that I may want to delete the
power seats (and adj. seat width that requires them), but I don't
forsee this being a major concern on either side. If the order becomes
non-changeable before I decide for sure, that's OK.

4) I would not be satisfied with an un-screened list of dealers.

5) I want both close and in Oregon, a sort of weighted average. For
example, from most desirable to least desirable: Palo Alto dealer,
Sacramento dealer, Oregon dealer, Los Angeles dealer, Utah dealer. Any
direction is fine, but all other things being equal, I'd rather go to
Oregon than Arizona (for example). This is just a preference and a
suggestion for an attack plan, not absolutely critical.

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 26 Aug 2002 18:35 PDT

Alexander,

I have found MSRP + $2,000, California dealer, September build date.

Will this work for you?

-=clouseau-ga=-

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Clarification of Question by alexander-ga on 26 Aug 2002 19:34 PDT

Probably not, I have a lead at that price already. I might accept
early October at MSRP, if there's a production number. (not sure when
allocations come out...)

You're allowed to do this kind of thing here?  This seems less like a
question, and more like a request.

godhead-ga,

It seems okay to me.  It's phrased as a request, but you could read it
as a question: "Could you find me a BMW dealer ... ?"

- justaskscott-ga