MINI Cooper Lease Questions

kyfdx · August 2006

From memory... I'm too lazy to go back...

Tax on the Cap Cost reduction... Somewhere around $50..

qbrozen · August 2006

ok.. yeah, its like $48. I just couldn't figure out what exactly that charge was (probably has to do with the fact that they list tax 3 separate times ... only aiding confusion).

Of course ... after all this ... it doesn't seem like our poster has come back to respond. I hate when that happens.

mynewmini · August 2006

Sorry to not respond sooner. I really appreciate your analysis! I've been taking it all in and trying to figure out how to negotiate this. I'm going to call the salesman this morning and point out that the price is $450 over MSRP, that $200 was tacked onto the acquisition fee and that the money factor could be better and ask him to come up with a better offer -- given that I could pay only about $80 a month more on a 60 month loan and actually own something, the lease payment should be less. If he doesn't come up with a substantially better lease offer, I'll buy it instead. Thanks again and I'll keep you posted.

qbrozen · August 2006

good. excellent. Thanks for the update.

mynewmini · August 2006

Well, the dealer was upfront about marking up the MSRP by $395 and the acquisition fee by $200 and would not reduce either. They did take off the security deposit ($400); not a real victory since I'd get it back anyway! In any event, the best they'd give me on a lease was $350/mo, 15,000 miles/year for 36 mos. Since it was only $100 more a month on a 60 month loan at 6.5%, I bought it (I could have gotten 6.35% interest rate through Capital One, but the difference was only a couple of dollars a month, so I went through BMW for convienience).

I SO excited to have the car finally (had to wait 5 months for it)!! She's beautiful and zippy!

qbrozen · August 2006

Congrats on the purchase.

So did they still mark up the MSRP by $400 on the purchase? At least you didn't have to pay the acquisition fee this way.

Enjoy.

kyfdx · August 2006

I think you made a good choice... MINI is one vehicle that might actually have better re-sale than the residual would suggest...

If that turns out to be the case, you might end up even farther ahead..

Congrats on the new car!!

mynewmini · August 2006

Yes, they did still mark up the price by $400. Kind of a drag, but I was glad not to also pay the (marked up) acq fee. Certainly, if the demand remains at all the same, the resale value will be better than the residual.

Thanks again for all your guidance.

tonkadu · August 2006

anyone know what a proper bmw financial services money factor should be in this area? i have been quoted .004 by mini san francisco, which seems very high. any help would be greatly appreciated.

earcom · October 2006

Hello Car_Man,

Like many people on these boards I depend on your assistance when purchasing/leasing cars and in this case I would like to know the October 2006 money factors and residuals for both the Mini Cooper and the Mini Cooper S for 36 months and 12K miles.

Thank you for all of the information and assistance that you provide.

CarMan@Edmunds · October 2006

You're very welcome, earcom. As usual, Mini is not currently providing any sort of lease support on its cars. As a result, if you were to lease one through its captive finance company right now, you will have to use its standard lease money factor. Its standard factors vary by region, but should currently be around .00289 for consumers who qualify for its top credit tier, give or take. Its current residual value for a 36 month lease of a 2006 Mini Cooper with 12,000 miles per year is 67%. Its residual for an otherwise identical lease of a Mini Cooper S is 63%.

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bgates222 · October 2006

Hey I was Quoted a money factor of .00320 at manhattan mini is there a sure fire way to know if they havea ajusted it or not?

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2006

Hi bgates222. There's no definite way to prove that the dealer that you are working with is marking up your vehicle's money factor, but the factor that you were quoted does sound a little high to me. I suspect that Mini's current buy rate lease money factor is below .00300. You may want to try shopping around at another Mini dealer or two, there should be a number of them in the New York City area, to see what sort of money factor they quote you.

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bgates222 · November 2006

i went to the other mini dealers and they were all about the same on everything which surprised me lol thanks for your help though.

CarMan@Edmunds · January 2007

You're welcome, bgates222. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Car_man
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tball2 · February 2007

I recently saw an ad for 2006 Mini's at zero down, $219 month (48 months)+ tax, fees, 1st month. (Based on an msrp of $19600) What should I be very wary of? I have never leased....

I'm new here, please be nice

Thanks!

qbrozen · February 2007

how much down?

tball2 · February 2007

Supposedly zero down. Just tax, title, FEES???, and first month payment

qbrozen · February 2007

heck, sounds darned good to me. I assume this isn't a national deal? where did you hear the ad?

the fees could of course be the stumbling block, but, really, doc fees shouldn't be too high, and they are negotiable. bank fees should be set by the bank.

itchy4 · February 2007

Can you provide me with the current residuals for both base and S modles, '06 and '07. I want to run the numbers as on both as I think they are close to invoice on the '06, but not budging from MSRP on the '07. Any incentives coming soon on any modles?

Thanks!

Mr_Shiftright · March 2007

I was just quoted 70% residual on the base and S MINI here in the SF Bay Area...well that's great, but the MF is .0034 (8.16% interest!) and the MSRP is rock solid. Unreal at the MINI dealership, the cars were flying out the door. I had to stand in LINE to get a salesman.

You should be able to get a real good deal on an '06 because the '07 seems a much improved product (to me) and everyone's hot for it. I'd bargain hard on an '06 right now, since the '07s are in the showrooms right next to them.

Mr_Shiftright · March 2007

lowest money rate so far I've found for a MINI lease in the Bay Area has been 0032. Still searching. If you're working with a good dealer, you can lock in the present rate by ordering the car but if it drops next month you can change the lease to take advantage of that. Looks like about 2 months wait if you "build" your own MINI. I did find a dealer who doesn't mark up OVER MSRP though.

tica · April 2007

Hi
I've never owned a car (having lived in London and now NYC) where you don't need one. But finally am revving up to buy a Mini I think. I had sort of concluded that a 3year lease made no sense since you don't own it after paying all that money. But I just saw a dealer that is offering a 1 year lease and it seems like the amount to buy it after teh 12 months-is pretty much the extra amount that would be due if you'd just bought it upfront and not leased.

This seems too good to be true. Is the dealer losing out here, if so, why? Seems like a great deal not to pass up, esp. to have a trial 1-yr with the mini, if I"m not entirely sure if I need it or whatever (and in which case the $4000 spent for the year would be like renting but not too much wasated, really)

Here are the numbers--does this make sense? Also, what's a money factor and residual percentage? I have no clue what folks are talkinga bout here..
_______
Is This The Best Lease Ever? Call us let us know your opinion!
The One Year Lease Special is back!
The all new 2007 MINI Cooper
is available to well qualified lesees with;
NO Bank Fee !
No Security Deposit!
Starting at as little as $99 per month with only $1,799 down
$1898 due at inception, plus taxes, registration and title fees
for a 2007 MINI Cooper, MSRP $18,700. Order yours today!
10,000 mile per year lease. lesee responsible for excess wear and tear, taxes, insurance, registration and title fees. available to well qualified lesee's through MINI Financial Services. Some restrictions may apply,call for details. Must be approved by 4/30/2007 and delivered by 5/31/07
___________

I called and spoke to the sales guy and he said--

A mini I would want would be roughly--TO BUY--$21,000 ish
(18,700 plus automatic 1300 plus a few options)

TO LEASE
The 1-year lease is $2300 down payment (includes the down payment plus taxes, title, regis and first month)
then 11 months at $130ish--so $1400 for year

So the total year's leasing would cost around $3700 or 300/month.
Not bad to rent a brand new car (and not having to do it for 3 years like those usual leases)

THEN TO BUY LATER
then if I wanted to buy it after a year it would be the 'residual value' (whatever that is): $17, 800--

HUH?
...and this is where it doesn't make sense to me--
so if I leased for a year, then bought it, it would be around the same price 17,800+3700= 21,000ish as if I had just bought it straight out WITHOUT leasing it for a year...?

Does that make sense for the dealer?....it doesn't seem like they make EXTRA money from leasing it that way? But the sales guy said that was the case.

Anyway, so it sounds like a win-win no-comittment deal. And I could give it back after a year if I move out of NYC and want a bigger car or I could just buy it and not have lost anything...(other than the free freind's car, but then it probably would've started to break down by then anyway!)

anyway this seems to be such a good deal I'm wondering if I'm being dumb about something...?
_______

anyway, what do experienced car buyers/owners/leasers think?
any feedback much appreciated!

slipstreamv2 · April 2007

Hi Car_Man,

I'm interested in the MF/residuals for a 2006 Mini Cooper for 15K/3yrs. My sister was looking at the 07's, but they seem to be going for full MSRP, so I advised her to consider 06's. Can you give me a ballpark to be shooting for on 06's, for example, $1K over invoice?

Anyone know if car leases can be completed over phone/fax/email? My sister will be purchasing from a dealer in Los Angeles, but I'd like to complete the lease transaction with her from NJ before she goes out to LA.

Thanks.

british_rover · April 2007

HAHA you are going to end up in a MINI I Bet.

Those money factors sound about right. I don't have the contact I used to have at the local MINI dealership but .0032 is pretty standard now for low production/high demand cars.

The 70% residual is outstanding you won't find any other cars with that kind of residual.

Just buy the car out right like I did and then sell it privately after two years if you want to getting all but a few thousand of your dollars back.

tica · April 2007

what is a money factor and what is a residual percentage?

I'm about to do a one year lease...do I need to know these things? I've never owned, bought or leased a car before, this is my first. any help appreciated

blueguydotcom · April 2007

Shifty, I took the advice of Kyfdx and purchased a Mini instead of leasing it. The $700-900 lease acquisition cost, plus security deposit ($400+), plus lease return fees ($350) adds over 1k to the cost of the lease. Add in the obscene lease MF (over 7%) and you're paying far more to lease a Mini than it would cost to buy one.

Strange but true. On cars like the 3 series - which BMW props up with lease deals - leasing is a bargain. On a car that loses less than 15% per year and you can get 5% loans, there's a good case for buy over lease. You will pay more or about the same for the lease in the scheme of things.

tica · April 2007

we're you looking at a 3year lease? I'm thinking about doing a 1-year, and it seems to me like its not much extra money really, so worth it to 'test' out ownership.

is it unlikely then, that you'd get the security deposit back?
also--is the lease acquisiton cost the 'acquisition fee' on the lease (I have a copy of a lease to look at)--and what does this mean exactly?

also, from what I can see on my lease--teh 'disposition fee' of 350 is only paid if you DO NOT purchase the vehicle after the lease end...so it would not be extra cost compared to buying..

?

thanks

blueguydotcom · April 2007

All BMW vehicles have a destination fee. That's normal. Look up the same car at miniusa.com and destination fee will be listed. BMW cars have a $795 destination fee.

blueguydotcom · April 2007

What's the MF? Residual? Promised sale price?

you should get the security deposit back, just once it's outa my pocket, I'm annoyed at its disappearance.

Acquisition fee = acquisition cost. Some mini dealers will add to your MF rather than charge all the acq cost. Cool dealers will. Most will boost the acq fee to $895 and either charge it up front or roll it into the lease cost. That fee is tough to avoid.

chittus · May 2007

Hello All

I am new to this forum and trying to get some help in leasing a 2007 mini cooper S hatchback in the bay area. Can you guys help me with what the money factor is for 3 year lease and residual for 12K/15K Miles for 24 months and 36 months. I am just trying to get some ball park numbers before I see the dealer on saturday. My credit score is over 700. Any help is appreciated. One more help who is the best dealer out in northern california?

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2007

Hi slipstreamv2. I don't believe that BMW is offering leases on 2006 Mini models any longer. There may be an independent bank out there that you can lease one through, but given the fact that the 2007 model's residual values will probably be much higher you may find that there isn't much of a difference between the payment for an '07 and an '06 model. Make sure to stop by the following discussion for feedback from other community members on how much your sister should pay for the Mini that she wants: "MINI Cooper: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

Car_man
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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2007

Greetings tica. Since you are new to the world of leasing, you definitely should check out the following informative articles that are available here at Edmunds.com prior to visiting any dealers: 10 Steps to Leasing a New Car and Calculate Your Own Lease Payment. Check them out and let me know if you have any specific questions.

Car_man
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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2007

Hey tica. All new vehicles have a destination charge. The $650 destination charge that you were quoted on the Mini that you are interested in is right in line with what BMW charges on it. This charge is essentially part of the car's price and it cannot be waived.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2007

Welcome chittus. Mini has never provided lease support on its cars. As a result, consumers who want to lease one through its captive finance company have to use its standard lease money factor. This standard factor varies by region, but it should currently be around .00265 to .00300. The 24 month, 15,000 mile per year residual value for a 2007 Mini Cooper S Hatchback is 72%. The residual for an otherwise identical 36 month lease is 67%. The residuals for leases with 12,000 miles per year would be 2% higher.

Car_man
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sml6 · May 2007

Hello,
Is the residual value different from 2007 Cooper to Cooper S? I'm new to the forum and new to the world of leasing, and am trying to plug in these numbers to get a better idea. I'm from NJ and one of the dealerships here quoted $410 for Cooper 24 months, 15,000 mi/yr with zero $down! And $489 for Cooper S. :confuse:

meredith07 · July 2007

How close in Mini's payment estimator? I get $350 on the Mini Site and $300 on your lease estimator.

My credit is in the mid 600's...will that effect the payment?

gpower · July 2007

I am being quoted a MF of 0.00335 by MINI dealer in my neighbourhood whereas the LeaseCompare website gives 0.00225.

Can someone recommend a dealer who gives better lease factor in SOCAL area? I believe that with a credit score of above 700 should give more.

blueguydotcom · July 2007

Why not do lease compare instead of BMWFS?

esgam · July 2007

Hi Folks,

It's been a long time coming and I'm almost at a place where I can afford my MINI, but I'm not quite there. I've been working with a dealer on a lease and here's what their current offer is on a new build:

36m/10k $2000 down

The $2000 down = $1219 CCR, $100.58tax, $277.75 DMV Fee, $402.56 1st Payment

MSRP: $27,295
Costs Added to Lease: $870 ($45 doc fee, Bank Acquisition Fee $825)
Cap Cost Reduction: $1219
Adjusted Cap Cost: $26,076
Residual: 69% ($19113)
Money Factor: .00335
Term: 36 months
Sales Tax: 8.25

Monthly Payment: $402.56

Here are my questions:

1) Is this a good deal?

2) Can I negotiate on the Doc Fee and Bank Acquisition fee? Is the BAF high? These make my monthly payments about $30 higher.

3) The MF seems to be accurate for SoCal. If I put a $450 "Security Deposit" down they'll drop it to .00320. I guess they figure the interest off of the $450 will more than cover the loss. Is the Residual Value at 69% negotiable? I've seen 70% being mentioned.

4) Can someone show me the math as to why purchasing the car and selling it in 3 years would be better than leasing?

Thanks very much!!!

qbrozen · August 2007

You sure that MF is accurate? Have you checked with your own bank or even leasecompare.com? That acquisition fee is very high. Its typically less than $600 on many other cars in this pricerange.

As far as the math goes, just figure the interest on this lease PLUS fees and then figure the interest on a 5-year or 6-year loan over just 3 years since you will then sell it. The cheaper number is the way to go. I don't know what interest rates you can get since it is dependent on your credit, so I can't help you with the math.

blueguydotcom · August 2007

BMW/MINI FS charges an extremely high acquisition cost and dealers always bump it more. The base is $695.

paul_devil · August 2007

Hi I would like to know how much the sales tax is in VA, MD?

pjo1966 · September 2007

I was just wondering what the current money factor would be for either a Mini S or a Mini S Convertible. I am coming out of a lease with a 325i. From what I've read here, I should be eligible for a reduced money factor. Is that correct?

pjo1966 · September 2007

Some more info... I'm looking at a 36 month lease at 12,000 miles per year.

I just came from a dealer where they refused to tell me what money factor they were using. They just came out with a monthly payment which was more than a little higher than I was expecting. Any info that could help me negotiate at the next dealer would be most welcome.

esgam · September 2007

As far as I have been able to figure out the current buy factor is still 280 which is a money factor of .00280. You need top tier credit to get this. I'm doing 12k 36 month lease with only drive off fees and my monthly is going to be like $376 with the total having been about $26,500.

What kind of numbers were they giving you? Oh, I'm in California as well. I think the state you are in also comes into play with the MF.

With the 1/2 pt. decrease in interest rates today, I am going to fight for a lower MF. Logically speaking it should go down.

Here's what I did to try and find the current Buy Rate. I called dealers and asked to speak to the financing guys. Spin your own story and if you're lucky you'll get the rate out of them. Call when they are busy.

Post what you find out!

british_rover · September 2007

With the 1/2 pt. decrease in interest rates today, I am going to fight for a lower MF. Logically speaking it should go down.

Those rates won't change till BMW changes their leasing programs which won't happen till next month at the earliest.

pjo1966 · September 2007

On a Mini S with:

A67 British Racing Green Metallic
ZPP Premium
205 Automatic
A47 Color Line Dark Grey (whatever that is)
4BD Interior Surface Piano Black

MSRP $25450
Price $25750
$448.83 up front
$448.83/mo including taxes

I was not happy with the fact that they couldn't give me an itemized breakdown of the numbers. Given the numbers you posted, the monthly should be closer to $399, which is what I was looking to pay.

I still have two months left on my current lease, so I can wait. I contacted Mini Financial directly to see if I can order a Mini to my specifications, without going through a dealer. We'll see what they have to say.

pjo1966 · September 2007

which dealer are you working with in CA? If you're happy with your salesperson could you drop their info in my mailbox here?

pjo1966 · September 2007

No dice ordering from Mini financial directly. They told me to go through my local dealer.

Right now the Z4 lease deals are looking more attractive than the Mini.

MINI Cooper Lease Questions

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