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BMW 3-Series Lease Questions
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I think that in California, the lease payment is multiplied by the tax rate.. and, I think the tax is paid monthly on the payment, so no need to add tax into the cap cost..
The acquisition fee can be paid upfront, or rolled into the cap cost.. In this example, if rolled in, it will raise the payment by about $19/mo..
I doubt you'll be able to get a $300 over invoice deal.. And, if they agreed to $300 over invoice, most likely the dealer will have regional BMW ad fees on his invoice (MACO), that will likely add from $200-$500...
Also, be prepared to put up a hefty deposit to order this car.. While it might be just what you've dreamed of.. not many dealers will want a stick-shift 330i, without leather, and with navigation.. if you happen to back out..
Due at signing, you'll typically pay the first payment, a security deposit, and title/license fees... The government fees I've seen quoted from our California members seem to be about $400, altogether..
But, you've got the leasing calculations down pat.. now..on to the negotiating...
Good luck,
kyfdx
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regards,
kyfdx
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As usual, a thoughtful, thorough, competent response, covering everything. Thanks so much.
I didn't ask for $300 over. I sent an email asking for $750 over, and giving the total price I wanted to pay (a hard number, not $xxx over "invoice"). He emailed back with a lower price, and restated it in our subsequent telephone conversations. I'm skeptical but hopeful, although he's 20 miles away, and I'd rather pay an extra few hundred dollars to buy it from my local guy . . . .
Anyway, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks,
Jim
Does anyone know about the pull ahead program?
Is that true? Everything I'd heard suggested that I could lock now, and if it got better, I could improve my rate, but that it couldn't get any worse.
Any advice appreciated.
Jim
If the car is coming later than that, you'll have to use the March rates..
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Yes, I'm ordering the car. We haven't discussed exactly when it is coming, but I was told 7-8 weeks, approximately. I want it as soon as possible, not surprisingly. If it comes within 8 weeks, that's by February (just barely). Is it a 60 day lock limit?
They were telling me that, as a matter of course, you cannot lock lease rates. You just just have to roll the dice and hope the MF and residual are good when your car is delivered. From everything I have learned here -- which, frankly, is about every thing I know about leases -- that's just not true. Everybody talks about locking in their rate when ordering. And it makes no sense to suggest that it can go up. Otherwise, no one would want to order and be bound, since you'd never know what might be coming by way of MF and residual when your car was delivered.
Any explanation for what they're telling me?
There is another dealer with whom I've spoken who says that you can, of course, lock your rate and whose quote is lower. It sounds like I'm not getting the straight story from the first one, but I wanted to check.
Thanks again,
Jim
2006 330i 3yr / 36,000
Metallic Paint
Premium Package
Cold Weather Package
Automatic
Sat Prep
MSRP - 42,320
Selling Price - $39,600
Sec. Deposit - $550
MF= .00195
Res = .64
Acquisition = 825
Registration = $400
I worked hard to get the best selling price possible and was willing to roll over on the acquisition cost (because I believe BMW caps this at $825). During negotiations I made it clear I wouldn't move on the selling price, but could on the acquisition cost. In doing this I gave the dealer control of something he wanted, but it couldn't harm me much because BMW caps it. That was just part of my negotiating strategy.
The hardest part of the negotiation was getting the dealer to detail the fees due at signing. Dealer kept wanting to just talk about the numbers, but wouldn't provide any hard numbers in writing until the last moment. You absolutely need these numbers before you start negotiating, otherwise you leave yourself vulnerable.
I should have the car in a month. Good luck to everyone here!
The lock is for 60 days from the expiration of the current program... So, if you lock any time in December, you are good until the end of February.. likewise, if you lock at any time in January, your rate is good until the end of March..
regards,
kyfdx
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Would you mind sharing what dealership gave you this quote? I also want a metallic, manual, sports pkg, NAV, 330i, and i went to a dealer in SoCal, and they required $2500 non-refundable deposit for a 2 month order.
In addition, they quoted me an invoice way too high, and refused to show me the invoice breakdown, as if I wouldn't find it later online.... and they insisted on $1500 over and MACO. Needless to say, I ran out of there.
Your $300 over deal sounds great. Mind telling me the dealership name? Thanks.
-Kevin
Was hoping to get your feedback on the following deal. Do you think it is great, decent or "run for the hills." Thanks.
325i (base car + auto transmission + paint + heated seats)
MSRP: $33,920
Invoice: $30,980
Purchase Price: $31,640 ($200 over invoice + $280 MACO + $180 training fees).
Other:
$45 Doc fees
$825 Acq. Fee
$2500 down payment
Net Cap. Cost = $30,010
Residaul = 77% ($26,118.40)
Money factor = .002641134
Base payment = $310.39
Tax Rate = 8.25%
Total Monthly = $336
Security deposit = $350
Car "produced" in mid november (ie., has not been on their lot that long).
Thanks for your feedback. Cheers, AJ
The acquisition fee is bumped $200, and the money factor is bumped up by .0015... Those two things together add about $13-$15/mo. to the payment, but considering the very low purchase price, I wouldn't quibble..
I'm assuming that in addition to the $2500 down payment, that you also have the 1st payment and security deposit to pay upfront?
The only thing I would change, is I wouldn't put that $2500 down.. I'd roll it in... Of course, this will raise your monthly payment by about $120/mo., but your total cost will remain about the same..
regards,
kyfdx
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Not at all. The dealer was Weatherford BMW, in Berkeley, California. Although, as I suspected, and kyfdx essentially predicted, in the end it wasn't truly a $300 over invoice quote. Here’s the complete story, for whatever insights it may offer to you or all the others who have been so helpful.
To begin with, after posting the $300 over invoice quote here, I changed the configuration slightly, resulting in a new quote, which was $688 over invoice. When I inquired as to why the quote had gone up, the SA at Weatherford (my understanding is that I am not supposed to disclose his name on this forum) said that the "invoice" price for my vehicle, which I calculated as $39,310, was actually $39,640, because it had to include the $330 “MACO” advertising fee. Based on that invoice price, the quote was $358 over invoice. To me, it was really $688 over invoice and, while I still thought this was an excellent price (they have to make some profit, after all), I ultimately decided to go with a different dealer for a couple of reasons.
First, he refused to confirm this quote in writing. I told him over the phone the configuration I wanted, and he sent me an e-mail saying what the quote was, but not summarizing the configuration, leaving it ambiguous as to whether we were talking about the same configuration. And, he simply refused to respond to my follow-up e-mail confirming that we were talking about the same exact car.
Second, the purchase price is only half of the equation since I wanted to lease. The other aspect of the cost of the vehicle is, of course, the lease particulars (money factor, residual and acquisition fee). And he insisted on marking the money factor up the maximum, from .00195 to .00235, and marking up the acquisition fee to $825. That made a huge difference in the cost.
Finally, the Weatherford SA was extremely unhelpful and aloof. When I first spoke with him, and told him I wanted to just look at a couple of cars to decide on options, he suggested that I go to a different dealer to do so (so as not to waste his time), and then contact him to buy the car. When I suggested to him that I didn't think it was fair to another dealer to do that, he just said that that happens all the time. Because I was pretty sure I would buy from Weatherford based on his low price, I went to Weatherford to look at the cars. He offered no help in doing so but simply opened up a couple of cars, gave me the key and walked away, acting like he was doing me a big favor. I was outside looking at these cars for about an hour, and when I came back inside to order the car after deciding on the exact configuration I wanted, I found that he'd simply left for the day without ever saying anything to me. The next day, when we spoke again, he offered no explanation or apology for leaving; and he refused to put the quote on the final configuration in writing. So, I decided that, even if his quote had been $300-$400 less than Sonnen, I would prefer to buy from Sonnen since they are just a few miles from my house (and Weatherford is about 20 miles away). In the end, that’s what I did.
While Sonnen’s price was more than $500 higher, they agreed to my offer to pay only the base money factor of .00195 (although they did mark up the acquisition fee to $825). The true deal I got at Sonnen was $1,260 over invoice, if you think, as I do, that the MACO and training fees are not a legitimate component of the invoice price. They claimed that it was really only $750 over, since they added $330 in MACO fees and $180 in training fees to the invoice cost.
Unfortunately, Sonnen also played some other games, too. The Sonnen SA said that, even though I was ordering the car on December 30, 2005, I could not lock the very nice December lease rates on the 330i. His written offer even said, "Rates and Residuals Subject to Change." He said that you could only lock in the rates for 30 days before the car arrived. Even when I insisted that all of the information I received, from every source, indicated that you could lock the lease rates for 60 days, he claimed that neither he nor his sales manager had any knowledge of that, even after double checking with the sales manager.
I didn't buy that day, but came home and, after confirming on this forum that I should be able to lock for 60 days (thanks again kyfdx!), I called them the next day. He finally said, after further inquiry with someone else at Sonnen, it was possible to lock for 60 days, but they couldn't guarantee I would get a car within 60 days since I was ordering. Thus, I might not get the December rates after all. I knew all along that that was a risk, but that is not at all what he had said the day before. He had said there was no such thing as a 60 day lock. Unless they are just incompetent, I think they were intentionally deceiving me.
Despite all this B.S., and even though if I had shopped around a bit more I probably could have saved a few hundred dollars more, I decided to just buy from them, especially since it was the end of the month and I wanted to get in on these favorable rates and it was too late to try to start negotiating with anyone else. In addition, I was just tired of dealing with it.
So, in the end, I will be paying $1,260 over true invoice with MACO and training fees. It’s not a great deal, but not a horrible one, and I decided that it wasn’t worth the risk and hassle of waiting and trying to grind them down more, since the rates might go back up to .0025 in January. Presumably (and hopefully), I will get the car at the December rate, assuming they put the order in right away and it gets here within 60 days. And I will get the exact car I wanted, which is:
330i 4dr Sedan
Manual Transmission
Comfort Access
Sport Package
iDrive/Navigation
Fold-down Rear Seats/Ski Bag
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sparkling Graphite
Black Leatherette Interior
Aluminum Trim
MSRP: $42,940
Sale Price: $40,570
3 yr/12k lease
MF: .00195
Residual: .64
Acquisition fee: $825
Payment will be $520.79 + tax
Dealing with these dealerships, frankly, left a bad taste in my mouth and reminded me why car salesmen get such a bad rap. And I’ve bought 6 or 7 new cars in the past, without ever having to deal with anything like this. In stark contrast to the hassle and deception I encountered at these dealerships was this forum, where people gave so generously of their time and knowledge. Thanks to everyone, especially kyfdx, for the big help in getting through this.
Jim
P.S. Sorry to write a book about this; it just poured out of me . . . .
You know.. knowledge is power, but it also adds a lot of work to the job.. If you didn't have all of this information, it would have been much easier to strike a deal... of course, it would be at a cost.. probably at least $1000 more...
I'm glad everything worked out for you..
regards,
kyfdx
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I want to thank you for such a detailed message. I am currently going thru the exact same thing with these dealers in Socal. I email dealers and have a tuff time getting any info back. Anyhow I had one dealer offer me +990 over invoice for an 06 330i met paint,zpp,zsp,step,and sat prep. Then as far as lease 3yr/15k $1495 due at signing with payments of $575 per month with tax. He said mf was .00195/ 62% resid. Any advice would be appreciated. And kyfdx what do you think of the lease #'s?
Thanks again.
I created a little spreadsheet to plug the various numbers into. Otherwise, with all the variables, I found it nearly impossible to keep it all straight. My spreadsheet doesn't allow me to figure it backwards though. Need to know those two figures.
Jim
Now, it may be that they stay the same in January (they didn't change from November to December), but they may go up. Or, indeed, they may go down, although it would be hard to believe.
Either way, I think you got a good deal, and plugging your lease numbers into my spreadsheet yields within a dollar of the amount your dealer says it should be. But I'm just an apprentice. kyfdx will have to make a final call on that part.
Good luck,
Jim
Thanks Again.
Can someone help me to calculate what would my monthly payment be based on the following numbers (for some reason when I punch these numbers into two on-line lease calculators I get two different resaults):
European Delivery Program
US MSRP: 43570
Selling price: 37625 (30720 (base invoice) + 5705 (options) + 1200 (dealer mark up) Destination fees: 695 __________________________
Total: 38320
Lease for 36/12K
Acquisition fees: 625
Residual: 64% (calculated based on Dec FS data)
MF: .00225 (calculated based by FS data)
Monthly: ???
Drive-off: ??? (1st payment+sec. deposite+licence fees).
Thanks a lot and Happy New Year to all forum viewers.
12K/yr, 36 mo. lease
Residual is 55%
Money factor is .00209
Down is $699
Monthly payments end up being $691 (including tax)
The money factor seems good, but the residual seems way too low and end result monthly payments seems way too high. How do I negotiate a residual? Thoughts?? Thanks.
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I'm specifically interested in the 325i or 330i. Thanks!
Taken from BMW.com:
*Lease financing available on 2006 BMW 325i vehicles, registered outside of NY, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through January 31, 2006. Monthly lease payments of $369.00 for 24 months based on MSRP of $32,870.00 (includes automatic transmission). (Total lease payments including acquisition fee is $8,856.00). For vehicles registered outside of NY, $3,269.00 due at signing includes first month’s payment, down payment and security deposit. For vehicles registered in NY, $3,238.00 due at signing includes $369.00 first month’s payment, $2,500.00 down payment, and $369.00 security deposit.) Excludes tax, title, license, and registration fees. Lease financing subject to credit approval. Dealer contribution may affect terms. Lessee must cover insurance and all items not covered under the full maintenance program. At lease end, lessee will be liable for disposition fee ($350.00), any excess wear and use as set forth in the lease agreement and excess mileage charges of $.20 per mile for miles driven in excess of 10,000 miles per year . Purchase option at lease end for $25,310.00 excludes taxes. As shown: 2006 325i with optional Metallic Paint and Sport Package, has a MSRP of $33,670.00. If registered outside of NY, $383.00/month with $3,283.00 due at signing includes $383.00 monthly payment, $2,500.00 down payment and $400.00 Security Deposit. Total lease payments including acquisition fee is $9,192.00. If registered in NY, $383.00/month with $3,266.00 cash due at signing ($383.00 first month’s payment, $2,500.00 down payment, and $383.00 security deposit). Total lease payments is $9,192.00. Lessee acquires no ownership interest unless purchase option is exercised. See participating BMW centers for details and vehicle availability. For more information call 1-800-334-4BMW
Special lease rates and pricing may not be reflected throughout www.bmwusa.com. All figures presented are estimates only. Actual selling price may vary. Please see your BMW center for details. *Full Maintenance covers all factory recommended maintenance on all MY 2005 vehicles and newer vehicles, as determined by the Service Level Indicator, for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. Exclusions from coverage: gasoline, gasoline additives, windshield washer additives, tires, wheels, wheel alignment, tire balancing and rotation. All work must be performed by an authorized BMW center. See the Service and Warranty information booklet for more details and specific terms, conditions and limitations. ©2005 BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name and logo are registered trademarks :confuse: :confuse:
Has anyone been able to confirm that?
Thanks,
Jim
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I sent you an email the other day and wanted to see if you had a chance to read it yet?
Thanks
I'm not car_man, but I can tell you that hosts don't generally answer questions by e-mail that can be answered in the Forums. Posting questions/responses within the discussions allows all of our members to benefit.
Thanks!
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My question to all of you ... is this true? Does BMWFS charge $825 do a lease? Or are they just using this as a ploy to pad their profit?
MSRP $32,895 (base model with sapphire paint, bmw assist, sat. prep, manual trans)
Selling price: $31,000
MF: .0025
Acq. fee: $825
Drive off: $1262.99 (no money down, includes sec.deposit, TTL)
Monthly w/tax: $463.24
Plus, a dealer emailed me today and said that there was a price increase of $120 in Jan. Can someone verify that?
Thanks.
330i, graphite color, automatic, premium, sports, satellite prep
MSRP $44,225
12k/yr for 3 yr lease
Dealer offered
$566/month or $612/mo after tax
$0 cap reduction $1015 drive off total (1st month, tax, license, reg)
You don't say what the selling price is, so I can't tell if your monthly is higher because the price is higher or because they are marking up the money factor, etc. You might be able to lower it a bit by making a security deposit, or asking that they lower the selling price.
Good luck.
Jim
I will probably take this offer and head into the dealer for the details on the lease, so I don't want to get ripped off on that end after getting a pretty good sale price. So, if somebody could tell me what I should expect the payment to be, and what are the other miscellaneous costs of acquisition, deposit (if any), license fees, etc I should watch out for.
Thanks.
-Kevin
Do you negotiate the price as you do with a purchase?
Example:
$41370 MSRP
$38685 Selling price
$39310 Cap cost (selling price + $625 acquisition fee)
Money factor .00195
Residual 64%
3yr/36K lease
Payment = $485/mo. + tax = $525/mo. including 8.25% tax
Due at signing: 1st pymt, security deposit ($550), title/license/doc fees (approx.400).. About $1500 total.
regards,
kyfdx
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10 Steps to Leasing a New Car
If 15K miles/year is too few, then leasing may not be for you... You should definitely negotitiate the purchase price and terms, just as you do when buying.
regards,
kyfdx
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Following specs
330i, monaco blue, automatic, nav, sports, premium, parking distance, fold down rear seat, sat prep
MSRP $45745
12k/yr 3 year lease
I went through several SF Bay Area dealers. Initial offer
on similar car but lower MSRP $44840 was $612/mon for 3 yrs for also 12k/yr.
$0 cap reduction, but total drive off $1015.
After going through various message boards including this one I called around asking for money factors and selling price. Many of them wouldn't negotiate much over the phone.
To get to the point, final deal was
MSRP $45745
Selling price $42745
Couldn't get base rate, had to settle for .00215 and acquisition $825
But the bottomline was this deal allows me to get
$600/mo for 12k/yr for 3 yrs which is $12 less than previous deal on a more expensive car.
Also my drive off was $985 only with this dealer.
They also credited me $420 for my last month left in my current 325 lease. So I have two BMWs now and have a full month left on my previous 325 to drive around.
Just wanted to get everyone's opinion.
I know the invoice is about $41k on this car and I wish I could have gotten money factor .00195 and acquisition $825.
But I feel it was a fair deal.
Thanks so much for your analysis. It's a huge help. A few questions to you and the board about the lease fees. The security deposit... That's returned at the end of the lease?
Regarding the money factor. I am actually negotiating this for my brother-in-law, who's about to start a job, but currently has no income history. Will it affect his MF rate? If we cosign for him, then can we get the .00195 rate?
The car will have to be ordered. If I go into the dealership this weekend, can we nail down the terms or do we have to wait until the car arrives? In which case, I'd have to first pay a non-refundable deposit, and hope that the lease terms work out. Very dangerous?
Thanks for your advice. And in general, for those that live in CA, deals of under Invoice + $1000 without MACO is easily do-able by emailing around a few dealers.
-Kevin
Which dealers did you contact to get a deal under invoice without MACO? I've been emailing several dealers here in northern california (for a 2006 325i) and all dealers here tacked it on ($400) and all wanted something over invoice. Now some would add $500 over invoice plus the $400 maco and arrive at $900 over invoice.
I believe securit deposit is returned assuming the car is returned to their satisfaction.
I'm sure kyfdx can verify but I had heard that BMWFS lease was a pass or no pass system so having good credit will not necessarily mean a lower MF rate. All dealers can mark up the rate by .0004 and it is a matter of negotiation (assuming your brother-in-law qualifies to begin with).
Some dealers say that the deposit to order is refundable and some say it is not. I would think you would want to nail down the lease terms before you order. And if in the interim, BMWFS offers a better lease program, you would negotiate for that when the car arrives.
- A.
If you order, you can lock in the lease rate for this month... The lock is good until 60 days from the expiration of the current program (until the end of March).. You should try to negotiate the ability to switch to the current program at time of delivery, if it is a better deal.. Most dealers will do this, as it costs them nothing...
However, if the car isn't here by the end of March, then you'll have to go with the program in place at the time of delivery..
Making a deposit isn't risk-free, but shouldn't be an issue, assuming you plan on going through with the deal.. If there is a problem (wrong car ordered, damaged in transit, price changes, etc.), most dealers will cheerfully refund your money, or order you another car.. Problems that don't qualify? Changing your mind, buyer's remorse, "my buddy told me I'm paying too much", etc...
regards,
kyfdx
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Asleepy, i meant to say under (invoice + 1000)... not under invoice. And you can pretty much get that in a competitive market. For example, in zip code 91745, there are 26 dealers within 100 miles, 19 within 50. You tell me you're not gonna get a one bite with 19 emails at the end of the month?
The dealer I'm working with now is one of the featured ones when you request a quote from edmunds' service when you put in 91745. They're pretty responsive and so far they have my recommendation. I just need to make sure they don't pull any tricks at the deal table when it comes to fees.
I received this quote from United BMW Roswell (Atlanta, GA)
MSRP - $35,190
Invoice (Quoted) - $ 32,520
SP - $34,300 Is this a good price, or should I push for more?
Is it possible to lease this vehicle for under $500 (w/Tax)per month with $1000 or less out of pocket at signing.
any help is greatly appreciated.
At that selling price, using the base rates, and rolling the acquisition fee into the cap cost, your payment would be around $506/mo.+ tax... So.. figure around $535/mo. with tax.. and due at signing would be around $1300-$1400..
You would have to get another $1000 off of the price, to get it down around $505/mo. including tax.. That is probably as low as you could go.. I'd want at least $600 more off..
So, you can come close to $500/mo.. If you only need 12K miles per year, instead of 15K, subtract about $19/mo. from the above payments..
regards,
kyfdx
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