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You guys have been a wealth of information and thanks to all who have shared their knowledge and experience.
And by then the new 3 series will be out. If they're awesome, I'll opt for a new one. If they suck I can always buy my lease and even at 6% with ttl I'll end up paying less over 6 years for my 330i than I would have with a 2.9% 60 month loan. Gotta love the magic of numbers. plus, the purchased off-lease can be declaed a CPO.
BMW 325Ci Coupe
Color: Jet Black (NOT metallic)
Leatherette
Options: Sports Package ONLY
Miles/year: 15,000
Down payment: $0
The price of the car is about $31,500, and I'm debating over what lease price to shoot for in the dealership. I was thinking of about $400/month with $0 down (aside from security and all that). What do u guys think about this? Should I get it for less, more, etc? I saw an ad on TV yesterday for a 5 Series and they advertised it for $399 a month! (it was with $2500 down, but thats still not that much).
Thanks in advance!
ksso
to us, the mystic blue was a perfect fit for the convertible and definitely has people stopping by and drooling over it, wherever we go...
http://www.leasewizard.com/calculator/calcie.cfm?id=252&CFID=- 418920&CFTOKEN=42605224
On the car you are talking about, money factor is, I believe, .00225 right now, and residual on 15,000 miles per year is 61 percent. Keep in mind, the dealer can jack the money factor to make extra money... it's kind of like the interest rate you are paying.
Through June 3rd 2003 3 Series can be leased for 3 years, 59% residual, 15k per year. Money factor is 0.0012. Go to http://www.leaseguide.com/calc.htm and enter in those numbers, plus the car's MSRP and your purchase price. If the dealer comes back with out of whack numbers, press to see the EXACT money factor they're using. They may add a tiny 0.000025 bump or something. If they're adding 0.0003 or the like, they're milking you. It's best to have a printout of what you expect and compare the their lease quote to your own numbers. Because of odd fees, you'll probably be off a few bucks but if the difference is 30-40-50 dollars, definitely moan and groan. They'll make it happen.
You will have to spend some out of pocket cash to start the lease - the first month's payment and title and license. Maybe more depending on your state.
Now if you are looking at a car that will generate a $400 payment you might want to consider using Multiple Security Deposits. There is a ton of info about them at http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2- 9624 . Do a search on MSD.
I bought down my lease to a nearly non-existant money factor of 0.0003. Of course they have 5k of mine but I'll get that back at the end. My 5k investment saved me $2700. In other words my 5k is making about 14-15% a year. Can't go wrong there.
If you have any more questions, let me know. I just did this.
shipo: '79 scirocco? Do you wish you still had that one? One of my all time favorite cars.
kyfdx
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Best Regards,
Shipo
Congrats.
I couldn't decide between the ZHP or the V-15 7 series that cost 142,000.
-Paul
Oh what to do with my penny jar....
Other than the regular oil change, two broken window regulators, a recall campaign, and some minor problems which have been fixed, the car has been so reliable and fun to drive.
I have owned three Nissans in a row and they weren't quite the "Japanese" stellar ownership experience. Nissan 1 had a history of air conditioner unreliablity. Nissan 2 had a history of the check engine light coming on every few months. Nissan 3 had a history of the alarm going off and a rear axle clunk the dealer could never resolve. These are among some other minor annoyances.
So it all is in your frame of reference.
MSRP was 40,070. I paid 39,965.
Brave:
Thanks. I can't get over the number of random strangers who have crossed parking lots and such to tell me they like my car. One lady even asked if she could sit in it?! I'm in San Diego, so this is not an unusual car in any sense. My friend said it's because I look approachable. Who knows. Still weird how many unrequested remarks it's garnered in the two days I've had it.
Congrats. Your car is beautiful. I'm drooling! Did you say you got the car for $400 over invoice? That's an incredible deal!
Was the dealer willing to deal on a car that had been sitting and wanted to get rid of it for the end of the month type of deal?
What are your lease payments per month including tax?
Enjoy that car! Congratulations once again!
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Did you drive a 330 without the Performance Package? If so, how noticeable is the 10HP difference, the stiffer suspension, the short throw shifter?
Finally, in the picture from the front center, what is sticking up just to the right of the center rear headrest? It looks like a open pop/beer can.
The deal came courtesy of some sale they run to promote their 10th award for some such thing. Not sure, just know it was a righetous deal.
BMW323i, I'm guessing you're seeing the odd little middle passenger seatbelt. It sticks up kinda funky.
The wheels will be an issue. On bimmerfest ZHP owners are already mentioning how frequently you must tend to them. The dealer suggested buying Simple (Simply?) Green, spraying the wheels and then washing them off. A dedicated wheel mit is also a good idea.
As for the performance. First off, it's much more grumbly than a normal 330i. It's almost like a V8 rumble when you open it up. At a constant speed the muffle quiets down but the moment you punch it, it lets the world know you're taking off.
The suspension is quite a bit stiffer than the normal sports package. Those wide low profile 18s also stiffen it up. You can feel some tramlining at times. Then again, normal road bumps get soaked up and it's still a luxurious ride. And when pressed it's stable, predictable and level.
The shifter definitely isn't the buttery smooth manual one finds in a Acura TSX but the shifts are wrist snaps and after you grow accustomed to it and the clutch, the shifter feels near perfect. a few times I broke the break-in rules (my salesguy again today when I picked up my floormats insisted I need not worry about break-in driving) and dropped from say 5th to 3rd for an instant punch. Holy frijoles, it's like the other cars are standing still.
Including tax i'm blowing about 480 a month. The darn CAP cost and the fact that they only took the MF down to .0003 bumped it up. Oh well, I was off by about 1 grand on my estimate for the lease. I'll swallow my pride and $28 a month for that.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Your points are well taken. I'm sure that for every one like mine, there is a BMW like your that is solid. One of the good things about a BMW ownership is that at least when things do go wrong, the dealer has not hesitated in owning up to the problems and fixing them.
I must mention, though, that the dealer replaced both the waterpump and the front control arm bushings two months ago while it was in for Inspection 1. I don't know whether these were routine preventive maintenance or whether the dealer was just too eager to do the repairs and charge BMW.
I had kids, youngsters, middle aged, seniors, everone at the playground, stopping by, peeking inside (i'd left it top down) and when I got there to drive back home, I spent about 15-20 minutes answering questions... geez.... BMW should hire me in their PR...
ksso
BTW, if you paid $400 over invoice, then the MSRP was only about $500 over invoice based on your numbers. Doesn't seem right...
> MSRP was 40,070. I paid 39,965.
I think your MSRP was $43,070, right?
I am interested in seeing your complete deal as I am very interested in doing something similar and I've never seen the numbers work so well in the buyers favour before.
Can you tell me what your total cap cost reduction was (down payment) in addition to the $5000 security deposit? Also, what is your residual amount (for buy-out) after 36 months?
My CAP was about $800 - because my out the door was 40,775. Residual is .59% based on the MSRP, so it's $25,411. MF ended up at 0.0003. 15k per year, 36 months. Sales tax in CA is 7.75.
I love the 3series, especially the 330i. In fact I've been thinking about trading in my new ('03) car for a 330 sedan w/sport package. It's financially unwise, but I'm willing to take a few hits if the deal is right.
On a side note, can someone explain to me briefly what is the money factor (MF) in leasing???
To calculate the interest rate, multiply the MF by 2400 (for example, a MF of .0012 would be approx. 2.88%).
Is there a cap on how much you can put down in leasing?
Blueguy, Bluebeast.....you're right. I tried to build one on bmwusa.com today and was successful with other color combinations beside imola red.
The above discussion also talks about using multiple security deposits, which I was not aware of. Apparently, you can put up to 10 security deposits (which is returned to you at the end of the lease) and each deposit is supposed to lower the MF by .0001.
There is no cap on how much you can put down on leasing but generally you want to put down as little as possible b/c that is $ you won't see. The multiple security deposit idea sounds better b/c the deposit is returned at the end of the lease.
Trading in a vehicle is the same in leasing as in purchasing. One of the factors in determining the lease payment is the final cost of the car. So if your trade-in lowers the final cost of the car or if you can use the trade-in value towards the cap cost reduction or the multiple security deposit, ultimately you will lower the monthly payments, all other things being equal. edmunds.com has a good reading on leasing -- go to Tips and Advice. Like purchasing a car, you will want to try and get the best "final" price of the car and then talk leasing terms/payments, etc. If the dealer knows you are a "payment buyer" they can make those numbers jump every which way so nail down the price of the car first.
You might also want to check out http://www.leaseguide.com/calc.htm after you have all the numbers, just to keep the dealer honest.
BTW, the 330i's special lease rates (0.0012) end at the beginning of June and the awesome MSDs deal gets cut in half at the end of June. You should be able to snap up a lease on a 330i with step, xenons and such pretty easily. Remember to negotiate the price first and only after that's settled go for the lease and finally spring the MSDs on them. Their eyebrows go up on that one.
Oh and the dealer may claim they're charging 0.0015 for a MF but you don't have to pay that. Tell them no. most people just roll over for them.
I'm new to Edmunds.com and wanted to say hello and to thank you all for the wealth of knowledge I have learned from everyone.
I was fortunate enough to purchase my first BMW last August; 99 328i Orient Blue 5spd/PP. I just wanted to say hello! I'm looking forward to continued chats!
Bob
The idea has been lingering on my mind for the past few days, but I haven't had the time to materialize it yet.....been pulling the midnight shift all week at the hospital. I'm thinking of emailing/stopping by the local dealers to see what kinda deal I can get. I hate wheeling and dealing. I got my recent car at the price I wanted with just one email and less than 15min on the phone with the internet sale supervisor.
Riez, I'm pretty sure I can lease a CPO, but then again the deal might be less desirable than on a new one.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD