2013 and earlier BMW 3-Series Prices Paid and Buying Experience

kyfdx

alex..

I'd start with invoice - $3800 + $800 profit..

You'll probably get a counter offer, but should be able to get it for $1000-$1500 profit..

regards,
kyfdx

pjt

kyfdx:
I've searched recent posts for the information, but can't find one last piece. I've know that the residual percentages on a 36-month lease for the 330Cic are as follows: 64% for 10,000 miles/year and 61% for 15,000 miles/year. However, what's the residual for 12,000 miles/year? Thanks again for your help.
Regards,
pjt

kyfdx

63%

alex_1

Thanks kyfdx, that's a good suggestion. It looks like my biggest problem right now is finding the car with few options on it cause most ZHP's on dealer lots appear to be loaded $46K+ MSRP machines.

I haven't considered leasing and I don't understand a thing about them but reading through the posts here it looks like BMWFS is giving good deals. I know residuals are figured using the MSRP but does the amount financed use the negotiated price? I understand it is a 6-parameter formula (assuming zero down)

1) MSRP = $42K
2) Sales Price = $36K (negotiated)
3) Lease Time = 39 months
4) Miles = 15K/yr
5) Residual Value = ? Percentage of MSRP
6) Interest/MF = ?

kyfdx you are clearly the leasing expert here and know the right formula and right parameters to use, can you compute the monthly payment for this car? If you can I'd like to thank you in advance.

kyfdx

Actually.. on the 330i sedan, all the incentives are in that $3800 dealer cash..

There is nothing about the lease program that makes it imperative that you do that, rather than finance.. if you are comfortable with finance, I wouldn't push you toward a lease on this particular car..

regards,
kyfdx

pjt

Thanks again. I appreciate the prompt reply. pjt

expertbi

Kyfdx: Thanks for the info....you did not mention what the money factor means? Could I impose on you to explain that?....thanks in advance

kyfdx

The money factor is a substitute for the interest rate.. To get the approximate corresponding rate, multiply the money factor by 2400..

.0015 X 2400 = 3.6% approx.

dcandis1

I am having no luck achieving $6000+ off MSRP for a 2005 330i ZHP. MSRP is $41,995. Best price ranges between 37,000-36,000 . This is due to dealership having to get car, plus pickup/delivery service and BMW loaner cars overhead.

Any comments are appreciated. Planning to get car tomorrow if incentives are still in effect. Thanks!

alex_1

I am in the same situation. I think you should first find a dealer that already has the car you want in his lot (your chosen options only -not theirs) then go there and pick it up assuming you get agreement on the price. If the dealership has to find and get the car for you then you should be willing to pay for their cost of getting and transporting the car to their location.

Just curious, which dealer are you working with?

ursamajor

The MF lock is absolute at 60 days. The salesperson providing with me with the offer you reviewed is very knowledgeable and came up with a vehicle in transit with MSRP of $ 45390 and cap cost of $ 42875 with CD changer and bank fee residualized. I told him to associate my application with this vehicle, even though I don't want 18" wheels, otherwise, this is very nice at $ 537/mo incl. CA tax (Orient blue with natural brown). But he did waver in that the original deal to order one from March production clearly cannot extend the .0008 MF beyond 60 days, so that there would be no guarantee, except that a newly-placed order would have zero chance of arriving within 60 days and you would be at the mercy of the dealer and/or BMWFS.

blueguydotcom

"
So should I bid $1000 DealerProfit for the car and are my chances good for getting it? BTW, I live in Southern California and plan to contact 8 dealers.
"

Uh in so cal you should aim for $200-400 dealer profit. The market sucks right now and there's no reason they should make more than $400. Basically, they're just holding the car until you drive it.

dcandis1

Been working with dealers in central PA. I think that the car that I want has been located in Phila. However, I don't know the dealer. Additionally, I am willing to pay extra for a positive service experience. I won't purchase a high-line car without pickup and delivery service. Most dealers include that service here, which probably explains the difference in price.

ursamajor

I believe those residuals are for a 30-month lease. The numbers I have been provided by three sources for 10k and 12K 36-mo. leases are identical at .61 and .60 respectively.

ursamajor

My understanding is that BMWFS changes their program each month. If you ordered early in February, you are protected on the MF for Feb. + 60 days. I didn't move quickly enough in Feb. to order, so now tomorrow, I'll find out what the March MF is for the 330 Ci coupe. If it's unchanged, I can dispense with all of this nonesense of finding a car which will be delivered no later than April 30 (when my current 60-day lock expires at the low MF) and order the exact vehicle I want and know that I have three months for it to arrive, which is enough. The fact is that you have to expect a build and delivery within no less than two months and as many as three. The salesman I've come to regard as truthful just took delivery today of a car ordered 12/27, so it made the cutoff for whatever MF was in place at the time. But I should know tomorrow what direction to take.

A question: if a car intended to be leased is equipped with 18" wheels (someone's cancelled order) but you have them replaced with the standard 17" (there are many on this site who prefer the smaller) can you expect a cap. reduction. I'm told that the difficulty is in placing those removed wheels on another vehicle so that car can have its cap. cost increased and recoup the wheel cost for the mfr. and leasing company. Any expectations or is that a pass? I don't want the 18".

kyfdx

330Cic is a convertible.. it has different residuals than the coupe.. Those residuals were correct for 36 months..

regards,
kyfdx

ursamajor

Thank you. I was not informed.

coby03

ursamajor,

My deal was predicated on being able to get the vehicle before the end of April, which is when I need to turn in my current lease. With a build date of the 12th week of the year, and a 3-4 week delivery time, it looks like I'll be OK. The GM of the dealership didn't indicate anything about BMWFS 60 day lock-in of the MF, only that once they did the credit app it would be locked in until the vehicle arrived. If that's wrong, we'll talk!

ursamajor

I wish you well and am interested in knowing how your deal comes out. I will keep you posted on my deal, with new MF rates today (don't have them yet--perhaps unchanged?). Good luck.

grantchstr

So the $300 lease specials thru Februaury have disappeared?

alex_1

"Uh in so cal you should aim for $200-400 dealer profit"

Unfortunately Blueguy,I went with kyfdx's advice offered $800, dealer countered $1600 and we split the difference at $1200. So you are saying I was taken for an extra $1000 more?

Well I got the car now but this makes me feel pretty bad cause I thought I got a good deal on that ZHP. I guess I got taken again story of my life ...

kyfdx

Not everyone can get a car for bottom dollar.. Where I live, you couldn't touch a $1200 over invoice deal...

So, with the $3800 incentive, you are $2600 under the invoice that people were bargaining from in December...

I think that is a pretty good deal...

Congratulations..

kyfdx

blueguydotcom

The most important thing: enjoy your car. What's done is done. Jsut have fun.

ursamajor

but the residual on a 10k/yr, 36-mo. lease has decreased from .61 to .60. That's all I have at this point.

coby03

ursamajor,

I heard the same thing, fortunately, that the lease rates would be the same in March as they were in Feb. The GM of the dealership also confirmed that the 60 day lock is valid from the end of one program period, meaning that my 60 day lock would expire at the end of April. Seeing that the March program is the same, I am not worried. Plus (even better news) he gave me the VIN and production order # for my vehicle and confirmed that production has started. As it looks now, it should arrive first week in April.

chipcollector

Anyone know what BMW is doing during March for incentives on the 325i?

Did they leave the $2500 dealer cash "in place" or come up with a different promotion?

Thanks to all!

chip

grantchstr

The pricing incentive - does this lower the Cap Cost for a lease calculation - or do the February Lease incentive leases of $369/month price of the MSRP. In other words can you get your cake and eat it as well?

ursamajor

I am now ready to order a 330Ci with the precise combinations, wait 2-3 mos., as the MF was unch. at .0008, I can lock for the requisite period, and the residual for a 36/mo./30k lease is now .60.

Here's what I was offered:

Steptronic, Silver grey metallic, Premium Pkg, xenons, PDC, 6CD changer, Transceiver;

MSRP $ 43869;
Cap Cost $ 41599;

$ 535/mo. incl. 8.25% CA sales tax

Bank fee and all accessories residualized; driveoff $ 1458.

Do you think I can do any better? The sales person told me this was $ 500 over invoice.

Thanks again for your assistance. I think I'm getting close.

alex_1

Oh yes, once I get into that 330i ZHP I forget what I paid for it. I have been in it for about 3 hours today driving around for no reason at all. The car simply drives and sounds awesome. I love taking turns fast on this car. It has go-cart handling. (BTW, this is my first BMW after 30 years of driving crappy cars). I do understand that those who bought this car in Dec. 2004 or earlier paid quite a bit more so I shouldn't be complaining.

I also want to make the point that for a while I was seriously considering the new Infinity G35 as my #1 choice but after test-driving both cars I have to say that for $5K more you get a better and more refined sport-sedan in the 330i. (Had it been $10K more though I wouldn't have done it). The G with premium is about $32K and is a nice car also but both its interior (i.e., cheap plastic in dash) and significant cabin noise at high rpm just turned me off. I am so happy I made the right choice on this one.

Another thing I did is I got the steptronic as opposed to the 6-speed short-throw manual because I couldn't find a 6-speed ZHP in the color I wanted. In retrospect I have to say that I like the step very much (I keep it in "sport" mode. Even though the step is an option and had to pay for it, it is worth every penny for me. Now that I have it I can't imagine myself shifting gears non-stop in the congested LA streets and freeways or while I am driving fast in twisty roads because I feel a lot better/safer keeping both hands on the wheel. Also it's nice to have a free hand all the time for either my coffee cup or the cell phone.

On the negative side I don't understand why auto-dimming mirrors at night would not be standard on this car. That pissed me off. Is there some way this can be fixed? I am mostly bothered by the driver's door mirror especially when somebody with super-bright lights pulls behind me at night I find myself searching for the mirror controls to turn it down so I don't get blinded by the light. For this kind of money not having this auto-dimming feature is a slap in the face.

That's all I have from my first day of driving this car, thank you all for your help, it is truly a special car.

dl7265

Talk our cohorts into passing on the Xenons...

and congrads.

DL

bimbalas

Hi,
I'm thinking of purchasing a 1998 BMW 328iS coupe,6cyl,4speed automatic overdrive and with 150000 miles ..for 6000-6500$(Kelly Blue Book value 8200$)...is it a normal deal considering high milage of the car..what things I should look at before buying it?What major problems this car can have because of it's high milage?

mjday1972

I haven't seen anything on extending incentives. I drove a 325i last Saturday and the sales guy said they'd "probably" extend the incentives. I put a deposit down on Monday (the 28th) and the price I was quoted included the incentive money.

kyfdx

No info yet on March incentives..

kyfdx

The incentive is for the dealer... You should use your knowledge of it to negotiate a lower selling price..

Any advertised lease takes the incentive into account... Of course that doesn't mean that you can't negotiate a lower price..

kyfdx

I'm having a little trouble getting the numbers to match up.. but, that could just be the way California figures the sales tax..

Does your "cap cost" include the acquisition fee? Or is that just the selling price? If I add the acq.fee onto your figure, I come really close to the same payment..

Also, the spread between MSRP and invoice at that level is about $3600.. So, figure an invoice price of about $40,300..

If your "cap cost" includes the acquisition fee, then you are about $700 over invoice, $1300 over, if it doesn't..

A pretty good deal, either way... but, as I wrote above.. if $41,599 includes the acquisition fee, then your payment is too high by about $17/mo.

regards,
kyfdx

wineguy330zhp

Hi Alex -

Congratulations. I picked up an 05 330i ZHP as well (Imola Red w/ 6-speed) a week ago. The car is a dream to drive. I was coming off a lease of an 02 330Ci Sport Package (5-speed). I have been seeking my replacement car for quite a while. I was seriously considering an S4 (the gas guzzler tax REALLY made me mad), a CTS-V (same story) and the new G35. Honestly, I never even considered another BMW. I waited months to find a 6-speed G35 - then the local Infiniti dealer got one in last week. Just before leaving for the Infiniti dealer, I read a forum (might have been this one) about people getting ZHP's for 34-36K (given the Feb incentive). Before this I had never even CONSIDERED getting another 3 -- well this changed the formula quite a bit. On the way to the Infiti dealer I stopped at the BMW dealer and drove the ZHP ... ummm...WOW! It was a TOTALLY different experience than my Ci. After getting some initial numbers on the ZHP, I continued to the Infiniti dealer to check out the G. Suddenly - the G and the ZHP we (roughly) in the same ballpark (I didn't want to spend 40K on a car again, go figure). The G was nice, but it didn't compare with the ZHP - the interior is still crappy, the 6-speed is stiff, the engine is rough (and loud), and its a little too big. Needless to say, I dropped by BMW the next morning and drove home in my new baby. I couldn't be happier with the decision, especially considering the deal I got. The only downside to the ZHP -- the wheels are a PAIN to clean. Oh well...

Enjoy your car...

mjday1972

I just looked at carsdirect and it indicated that "special pricing" was in effect until 3/31. This "special pricing" was previously listed as expiring on 2/28. I wonder if this means that the incentive will continue until end of March?

alibajalajaula

Hi Alex:
Hey guy! Welcome to the ZHP club. I'm sure you'll enjoy your new acquisition. Just a few tips: beware of those parking spots that feature a concrete stop in the paving: it may be high enough to damage your front aerodynamic spoiler. Same for parking right in front of high curbs. Try to practice to make sure you don't hit them. (I haven't but it takes attention). Finally be careful in drive-in situations, banks, etc.or any other place where high curbs may scratch your wheels. Its only advice. I clean my wheels once a week at the carwash and don't worry beyond that. I check my tire pressure, cold, with a digital gauge, front 32, rear 38, every saturday morning. The only thing I haven't done yet is getting that radar detector...enjoy

lmakara79

I just put a deposit down on an '05 325i and according to my saleswoman, the $2,500 dealer incentive was extended through March. I'm getting a manual 5sp with the only options being metallic paint and heated seats for $27,600, about $1,500 below the dealer invoice. I probably could have gone lower, but I was so shocked that she took the $2,500 right off the price she initially gave me that I took what I could get. I had been willing to pay over invoice.

peakpro

Good choice and good luck.

I just picked up a 325i 5 speed last friday with the only options being the sports package and heated seats. I have been utterly thrilled with the car. I paid 28300. But they gave me what I thought was a very good deal on my trade in.

Very happy camper.

mjday1972

That sounds close to my deal. I got a 325i with auto, heated seats, power seats, and floor mats for about $29,500. Hopefully I'll get to pick it up on Saturday.

ursamajor

Does anyone here have or have they had a Steel Blue Metallic 330Ci coupe (code 372)? I have seen all of the colors except this one and am interested in it, but haven't had the benefit of seeing in bright sunlight. The color samples in the brochure are usually not conclusive. I have had a light gray/light blue tint car for three years and would like a change, and won't go for a dark color due to So. Cal. climate (I have to park outside during the day for the next five years). This is an individual choice, but I'm leaning to Silver Gray, but the blue seems less common and pretty sharp. Any thoughts?

kyfdx

I have a steel blue 325i sedan... It is my next favorite color after steel gray, which is no longer available...

It looks a little gray from certain angles, but is definitely not a "blue" blue.. Very metallic looking.. Silvery, but not light in color.. It is hard to describe, can you tell??

The silver-gray is a great color and would be my first choice..

There should be plenty of steel blue cars around.. I'm surprised your dealer doesn't have one in stock.. at least a used one.. It is a popular color...

regards,
kyfdx

Kirstie_H

Most members here are discussing new vehicles, so you might hop over to our Real-World Trade-In Values discussion to get feedback on the pricing. To see what other high-mileage 3-series owners are experiencing, have a look at our BMW 3-Series Owners: Problems & Solutions discussion.

kirstie_h
Roving Host
Host, Future Vehicles & Smart Shopper discussions

ursamajor

2005 330 Ci coupe;
Premium pkg. w/steptronic;
Silver gray, sand leather w/wood trim;
6CD changer;xenon adaptive headlights;PDC;
MSRP: $ 43690; cap cost: $ 41420 + bank fee of $ 625 = $ 42045 @ .0008 MF, 36mos./30k mi. (20c excess miles), .60 residual;
Mo. pmt. $ 535.14 (494.36 before CA tax); driveoff
$ 1457.89 includes refundable sec. deposit of $ 550, 1st month, etc. The Transceiver is a dealer-installed $ 180 item, not in cap. cost.

Thanks again; I went for your favorite color; I think it's just right.

alex_1

Thanks "wineguy" and congats to you as well. (great name BTW.) The first word out of mouth when I finished test-driving the ZHP was also "WOW!" This was the only car that made me say this considering that I also tested Acura TL, Audi A4/3.0, Volvo T5, and G35. I didn't test the Audi S4 though but I looked at it when I went to the Audi dealer and didn't like it's appearance for some reason, but people say it drives great (also costs more than I wanted to spend).

I don't have the previous BMW experience you have so I don't have a reference point to compare with (had been driving cheap japanese and american cars). But I noticed that for some unknown reason in the last 2 days I keep waking up an hour earlier than I normally do, get ready at warp speed and head for the garage :-)

BTW I am already shopping for brushes for my new wheels, (somebody alerted me to the fact that I need two, one of which just about fits into these wheels).

Enjoy your car as well, this is by far the best car below $40K.

kyfdx

I get the same numbers exactly.. Off the top of my head, that is about $1300 over invoice... which is a decent deal..

Plus, they are using the base rates... which is the key to any good lease deal..

If that is the car you want, you should grab it.. A friend of mine just leased a 325xi in that same color combination... It looks good.

regards,
kyfdx

alex_1

Many thanks for the advice. That front spoiler on the ZHP is very very low to the ground and I must re-wire my brain when parking this car. All of a sudden I have become extremely sensitive to where I park or who I park next to (didn't have that problem before). I do slow down on uneven pavement or speed bumps and at night I always have the fog lights on. The fogs along with the xenons give me a very clear picture of the pavement when I go up or down the ramps.

Pleasure to be a member of your club.

blueguydotcom

I was the same way with my ZHP. I've had it almost 2 years now and I regret leaving it behind when I go to work (I drive a commuter car to park downtown every day). When I get home...I want to hug my BMW. I really love the car - problems and all.

There's a part of me considering buying it in May of 06 when the lease is up. I've never owned a car before that is just about perfect to drive. A little lighter, little more power would be nice, but on the whole, it's just exceptionally fun.

I test drove an 05 G35 manual and Legacy GT manual the other day. Neither can compare.

And to keep on topic, I'm seriously considering trading in my 03 ZHP to get the last of the 05 ZHPs. I figure with the incentives and the extra two years of warranty, I could be happy with my car for another 4-5 years. No need to trade up or consider it until 2009!

coby03

alex_1,

I did test drive the S4 in my quest to find the next ride. It was fast, but the 6 speed and clutch was a real pain. Maybe you could get accustomed to it, but when I test drove the 330Ci (non-ZHP) it was night and day difference. Definitely the wow factor was apparent. I had a Mustang Cobra in the past and it was easier shifting than the S4 as well. The S4 was about in the same range as the M3 price-wise, and also came with the dreaded gas-guzzler tax which was a no-go.

Also test drove the G35 and TL 6 speeds. G35 was OK, but didn't like the materials or the styling that much. The TL had huge torque steer but was well laid out with gadgets and good looks. In the end, liked the 330Ci best and couldn't argue with the best lease rates going.