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As it turns out (for me anyway) all of this is academic. I am part owner of a small business, and said business leases my car for me. Due to the way the tax rules work, it is rather silly for a business to buy a car and then attempt to depreciate it. Much better to lease a car, pay for it with pre-tax income, and then write it off as an expense.
Best Regards,
Shipo
After a long period of consideration, first about a 323/325i and then a 325xi, I ordered a steel grey/black leatherette 2001 325xi last Saturday. Fairly basic car. Only ordered the metallic paint, auto transmission and cold weather package. The dealer threw in mats and splash guards (installed). In addition, I plan to purchase a center arm rest separately, and the dealer has agreed to install it at no charge during dealer prep. Cost is $30,890.
(a) By my calculation, it looks like the dealer is making just about $1500 profit on the car. Does this sound like I got a reasonably good deal ?
(b) Never had experience with any AWD vehicles before. Does BMW's AWD system require any special maintenance, or is it prone to any particular problems ?
(c) The car is spec'ed for 91 octane. Dealer says a steady diet of mid-grade fuel (89 octane) is fine. Any thoughts on this ?
Thank you very much.
Langley2
Here in Denver, they use gravel instead of sand on the roads during the winter months. I have had to replace both headlights on our Jetta because of this.
After shelling out more than $200 for new lights, I found a product that works great. The company who carries it here in Denver is called Integrity Dealer Systems.
It's like the 3M clear mask that they use on the fronts of cars, only a bit thicker. I first saw it at an auto show where they were letting you shoot a bb-gun at a light to which it had been applied - the bb's just bounced right off! It's adhesive backed, and you use a little water and iso alcohol to give you some time to squeegee any bubbles out before it gets VERY sticky.
The total cost for the material was around $20 to do both headlights with enough left over to do both foglamps on our new Pathfinder. I sure any clear mask store in your area would carry it or could order some in for you.
good luck!
p.s.-It's been 6 months and there is not a mark on either of the headlights or the foglamps.
What is going on? I thought everyone said that 325i are built only in SA, but the vin number that got locked on my car is somewhere in germany. Can anyone explain this?
The extra 1.3 mpg gives me around 17 extra miles per 13 gal fill-up which is equal to saving about 2/3 of a gallon of gas, per fill-up. The 2/3 gal savings @ $1.92 per gallon for 92, is almost equal to the $1.30 per tankful I would save by using 89. So for me it costs about the same to run 92 and the difference is noticable.
I would personally use the 92 regardless of the savings, but thought I'd just point out that there is very little difference in cost, if any.
thanks
Thanks
Senthil
325's are built both in Germany and S.A.
All this worry regarding 325's build origin/VIN's caused me to determine German build location by EXCLUSION. Basically (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), if your VIN's 11th character IS NOT an "N" your vehicle was built SOMEWHERE in Germany. Personally, I don't care if it's Munich, Regensburg or Dingolfing, so long as it isn't S.A.
Hope this helps.
delv in NJ from order of 2/3 was at dealer on 4/2
got to USA on 3/27, again, at dealer 4/2...
me, i can't get there till 4/7...i'll live.
leasing...as said, tax advantages in NJ for leasing, plus, in bus. application, better to drive as much as needed, then turn in for another
...like that new concept sedan...there will be a lot avail 36 mths from now...
i have an Outback w/ 80k after 27 mths ( bus and pleasure )...still owe till 60 mths on finance deal...good car, but, worthless now.
330xi will be 30k per year lease...after 36/90k...
return for another, unlike my "options" w/ outback at this point.
As for my dealer fees...
only 1st/last and $216 in doc. fees...that's it.
car...330xi, 5spd, paint, prem/cold/awd sport pkgs, cd, xenon...
total $39,365!!!
30k per yr lease $779/36 mths
$1795 at inception
NJ dealer..."autovantage" pricing. ( a $2500+ swing from another dealer equally 30-45 mi from me...CIRCLE BMW was even HIGHER $$$...)
couldn't have been easier, even if i did have to order....
Also...I travel all through MA and NH (reason for awd xi...)...hard to believe the xi's not out there...or, priced competively...get "on-line" quotes...make them bid for your business.
Anyway,thought everyone was buying Volvo XC's in NE...I know I tried to, but, BMW just was better, even at $120 mth more, but, only 1/2 as much up front, however.
good luck
check-in after Sat.(4/7) w/ report...may take to NE next week...VT/MA...or, NH following week.
drew
Listen, if you do like to drive a new car every 3 years and are willing to pay a substantial premium for that, fair enough. But claiming that you'd actually be structuring a deal identical to buying with the FREE (mind you) option to give the car back if it sucks is downright misleading. There is no such thing as free lunch, Mr. Academia.
+++
I am in the process of buying a new BMW 2001 352xi. Since my options requires a factory order, which will take roughly about 2 months, in this situation how does the old car trade-in process works? Do I negotiate the price upfront and then hand over my old car when the new BMW arrives or ...
I guess I need some kind of feedback or your experiences with trading old car when you do a factory order. This will help me in dealing with the dealer.
Thanks
Ajay
brave - come on over to 'Lease vs. Purchase' in Smart Shoppers. Scroll up several posts and you'll see the details of a lease I just terminated. It cost me a whopping $4 per month to lease it instead of buying it. For that $4, I got GAP insurance, a new car every 3 years, and a guaranteed residual value if the used vehicle market had tanked on me, or if I had been in an accident that resulted in a lower market value for the car. But it did cost a whole $4 per month. I guess it wasn't free...
dave
I will probably always lease, regardless of the market. I do it for the reasons I stated above, and the fact that I get a new car every few years, anyway. I'll agree that if that is your only rationale, you should probably buy (but, look at someone who leased, say in 1996 - they came out WAY ahead on their investments, assuming they diversified along the way, and weren't tech heavy).
I do think a lot of people lease to get more car than thay can really afford, which is unfortunate. Not saying that's everyone, of course.
dave
-jk
I was quoted $38,700 on a 330i with a money factor of .0021 and a residual of 65%. How do I figure out what the lease payment should be (with zero down) on a 36-month lease?
Thanks!
when ever I put the car in reverse (manual transmission) I hear bees like when a truck
backs up letting you know the distance of anything
behind you. Now I do not hear the bees when I
back up the car. Is there a feature to switch
this function off and on?
had there keys programmed when they picked
there up?
If you're nice, I'll even show you how to do it
Ask for Jon Shafer. He is offering a special on the 325 sedan for $$$$ off MSRP. Get the phone number off their website. Good luck.
Not sure what you added into your $30,890 cost. I just purchased a 2001 325i steel grey (it looks AWESOME), black leather, premium pkg, CD, mats included for $30,224 + d&h $645 + tax. Hope this helps you figure out whether you got a good deal.
the msrp on the car is $40,100
thanks for the help
MSRP - 40,100
Cap Cost - $38,700
Residual - 65% of MSRP, or $26,065
Money factor - .0021
To figure the payments, there are two parts. First, figure the monthly depreciation. Take the cap cost, subtract the residual and divide the result by the number of months on the lease. So the depreciation per month would be 38,700 - 26,065 = 12,365 / 36 = $350.97/month.
The interest is calculated as follows: Add the cap cost and residual and multiply by the money factor. This gives you the interest per month. So 38,700 + 26,065 = 64,765 * .0021 = $136/month.
So, using the numbers you gave me, the monthly payment would be $487 per month before taxes. Sounds like a great deal. The MF of .0021 is equal to only 5% interest.
The problem some see with leases is it fuels the "consumer treadmill". Buyers are happy - they get more car than they can afford (some not all). Dealers are happy - consumers getted "hosed" without really knowing (the average American consumer will not "crunch numbers" since they are not that highly educated) and they come back in 3 years for a new product, the manufacturers are happy, the banks are happy, etc. It keeps the economic machine going. So, personally I am glad we've got them. They are just not for me. I think they work out very well for some people though. Just my thoughts. Flame away people.
I ended up ordering a car from a dealer on the east coast through BMW's Euro Delivery Program. The savings were significant, and I decided that it was a great way to bundle a vaction at the same time. Picking up in Munich on April 25!!!
Best of luck with your search!
bmwbuyer - glad I could help. If the dealer's numbers are different from yours, make them show you how they got to their numbers. Either they're using a higher cap cost (negotiated price), or they are inflating the money factor.