Car Buying Advice - MINI Cooper S Owner's Choice/Lease

rlplucien

Hi all,

I wasn't sure where to go for more information on this as it doesn't seem to be widely available. I went to the MINI of Chicago dealership, and it seems that they do not offer a traditional lease. Instead, they seem to offer something called "Owner's Choice" which is only available in Illinois and Texas as far as I can tell. From my understanding, this is really similar to a lease but is structured slightly differently. Basically, you buy the car, and MINI agrees to buy it back from you in 36 months, 48 months, etc at a predetermined price (residual value). They explained that it's mainly a workaround for the Chicago tax on leases which is something crazy high like 9% or so.

Now, when I asked about money factor, they said that a money factor doesn't apply to owner's choice and that monthly payments are simply the difference between the price of the car and the residual. However, based on the numbers I was given, it seems like there is something going on as the total monthly payments they showed me plus the residual did not agree to the total amount of the car (price of the car, taxes, fees, etc).

On a manual MINI Cooper S with a lot of addons including the JCW interior, 17 inch wheels, LED headlights, seat heaters, dual sunroof, etc, the listed price was $28,500 and negotiated price was $24,500 and about $27,500 after taxes and fees.

At $1,500 down, payments were going the be $320/month for 36 months with 10,000 miles/year. This seemed a bit high to me as the residual plus the monthly payments was coming to about $30,000.

I left without taking the deal, but I'm wondering if this is a good deal or if the owner's choice is a bad deal compared to a traditional lease. I'm just having trouble finding out more information on this program versus a traditional lease.

kyfdx

rlplucien said:

Hi all,

I wasn't sure where to go for more information on this as it doesn't seem to be widely available. I went to the MINI of Chicago dealership, and it seems that they do not offer a traditional lease. Instead, they seem to offer something called "Owner's Choice" which is only available in Illinois and Texas as far as I can tell. From my understanding, this is really similar to a lease but is structured slightly differently. Basically, you buy the car, and MINI agrees to buy it back from you in 36 months, 48 months, etc at a predetermined price (residual value). They explained that it's mainly a workaround for the Chicago tax on leases which is something crazy high like 9% or so.

Now, when I asked about money factor, they said that a money factor doesn't apply to owner's choice and that monthly payments are simply the difference between the price of the car and the residual. However, based on the numbers I was given, it seems like there is something going on as the total monthly payments they showed me plus the residual did not agree to the total amount of the car (price of the car, taxes, fees, etc).

On a manual MINI Cooper S with a lot of addons including the JCW interior, 17 inch wheels, LED headlights, seat heaters, dual sunroof, etc, the listed price was $28,500 and negotiated price was $24,500 and about $27,500 after taxes and fees.

At $1,500 down, payments were going the be $320/month for 36 months with 10,000 miles/year. This seemed a bit high to me as the residual plus the monthly payments was coming to about $30,000.

I left without taking the deal, but I'm wondering if this is a good deal or if the owner's choice is a bad deal compared to a traditional lease. I'm just having trouble finding out more information on this program versus a traditional lease.

Illinois has improved lease taxes, but not Chicago. Given the extra 9% tax on the lease payment in Chicago, the OC program is probably the way to go.

Owner's Choice definitely has an APR. In fact, I bet once you saw the final paperwork, it would have to be disclosed, as it's a balloon note program. It's basically a long-term loan, to keep the payment close to what a lease would be, with the option to turn it back in after 36 months.

Three years of interest on top of the $27,500 would probably be about $30K total, so those numbers seem right.

Unfortunately, we don't have any MINI numbers, this month, so I can't check it for you. $1500 upfront and $320/mo. for a $28,500 MINI doesn't sound all that far off.

rattix

I haven't decided whether to lease or buy, but I am looking at a regular Mini 2dr HT and have to order a 2018 since there are no cars with Nav in inventory. What can I expect pricing wise? Also, any idea on financing rates for 60 mos with 800 credit score?

Michaell

rattix said:

I haven't decided whether to lease or buy, but I am looking at a regular Mini 2dr HT and have to order a 2018 since there are no cars with Nav in inventory. What can I expect pricing wise? Also, any idea on financing rates for 60 mos with 800 credit score?

We don't have any information on the 2018 MINIs.