Is anyone seeing any new BMW i4 inventory for sale right now?

Question

my current lease on my 3 series ends in literally ten days and I'm freaking out a little bit because I really wanted to make the jump to the i4. I've been checking the BMW USA inventory tool every single morning but it feels totally useless lately. Like, it shows about five cars near me in Northern NJ but every time I call the dealership they tell me the car is actually a custom order that just arrived for someone else or it sold two hours ago. It's so frustrating. I saw one thread on Reddit saying that inventory was finally stabilizing and people were even getting discounts but then I go to my local dealer and they're trying to add a $5k markup on an eDrive35 they have sitting in the back. I need this for my daily commute to the city so I cant really wait months for a factory build. My budget is pretty firm at $60k-ish or under $850 for a lease and I dont want to settle for a color I hate just because its there. Is anyone actually seeing real, physical i4 inventory on lots right now or is everything still ghost stock that is already spoken for? I'm willing to drive a few hours out of state if I have to...

xokttshurg · Accepted Answer

I went through this exact nightmare last month. Be careful with those online trackers, they're rarely updated in real-time and it's risky. I finally found a BMW i4 eDrive35 2024 Gran Coupe by calling dealerships out in PA. My tip is to ask specifically for the 'unclaimed' list. Make sure to double check the VIN status before you drive two hours out like I did, cuz inventory data is super unreliable.

ouvuvxmnzr · Answer

Building on the earlier suggestion, you gotta be really careful about what dealers call available stock. I've spent way too much time chasing cars that turned out to be demo units or service loaners. It's super annoying when they list a car as new, but it actually has 3,000 miles on it because the sales manager was using it for his daily commute. A few red flags to watch out for while you're hunting:

Those dealer-added protection packages. Basically, paying $2k for window tint and ceramic coating is a total scam and will blow your $60k budget fast.

Make sure that $7,500 lease credit is actually being passed to you. Some shady places try to bake it into the MSRP discount to make it look like they're giving you a better deal than they actually are.

Check the production date. If it's been sitting for a while, you can usually negotiate those markups away. Honestly, if you're in Northern NJ, try looking way out into Central PA or even down toward Delaware. The local dealers near the city are notorious for those markups because they know someone will eventually pay it. If you find a car that's been on the lot for more than a few weeks, you have all the leverage. Just don't tell them your lease ends in ten days or they'll smell the desperation and won't budge on the price. It's a grind but you'll find one that isn't ghost stock if you expand the search radius a bit... definitely doable.