Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

corvette · December 2016

tjc78 said:
Just got a text from my Mom "Just made last lease payment" on the Venza. Looks like I'm car shopping again.

Wants a RAV (ugh)

@Michaell heading to Lease Forum.

She has missed her 09 RAV since the day after getting the Venza, so I'm not arguing.

Edit. What the heck Toyota, LEs only come with black interior it seems.

CR-V! Or, an Encore, for that matter.

kyfdx · December 2016

28firefighter said:

nyccarguy said:

http://stamfordford.com/used-bmw-3-series-335i-xdrive-2013-stamford-ct-57834

The Good:

It's got AWD, the 300 hp turbo motor, (I think) an ///M Sport package, and has a (somewhat) reasonable asking price of under $28K. It's a stick.

The Bad:

It's got 52K miles which means it is completely out of BMW's original BtoB warranty, it's Black with Black guys. It's a stick.

I still think one of the best used car bargains right now is a 13-14 X1 xDrive 35i. I've seen them CPO with decent mileage in the mid-20s.

Yes.. my niece was looking into these, to replace her Prius lease (lol..no kidding).
I didn't realize how reasonably priced they were for CPO units. My wife won't look at them, because she says they don't look like an SUV. (okay, honey, you get a Chevy Trax).

qbrozen · December 2016

I saw CPO 2013 GLK350s also in the mid 20s. Same with the EX35. At least the GLK is a much more useful size than the other two.

After my 135 experience, I just can't talk myself into another turbo 6 bimmer.

tjc78 · December 2016

I agree, CRV but wants a RAV.

I just negotiated this. I think we are solid.

RAV4 XLE MSRP 30,421
Sell 28585
MF .00045 / 64%
3/36

$500 Out of pocket / 303 all in (Acq fee and taxes) Comes up within a few dollars of my calculations. Only thing Toyota Financial doesn't include GAP. I'm working the # on that.

Michaell · December 2016

tjc78 said:
I agree, CRV but wants a RAV.

I just negotiated this. I think we are solid.

RAV4 XLE MSRP 30,421
Sell 28585
MF .00045 / 64%
3/36

$500 Out of pocket / 303 all in (Acq fee and taxes) Comes up within a few dollars of my calculations. Only thing Toyota Financial doesn't include GAP. I'm working the # on that.

That's a good price, relative to MSRP.

And, it's frustrating that Toyota doesn't automatically include GAP in their leases. Lots of folks don't realize that, only to have an extra "fee" tacked on to the already negotiated prices and terms.

However, Toyota did change their method of residualization to be consistent with the rest of the industry. For a while, they only assigned residual value to the "base" MSRP, before options. Each stock number had it's own specific residual value, which made it impossible for us to help folks asking for information here on the boards.

tjc78 · December 2016

Yes I remember the madness of the Residuals. Drove me nuts when I was leasing Toyotas. Just talked to Mom, she is thrilled and deal will be done. All that is left is to negotiate the GAP which is listed at $800 I told her we will pay under $400. They won't loose the deal over that.

Guess I need to get back to work!

tommister2 · December 2016

Check your car insurance provider for GAP insurance. Not sure if it would be different for a lease, but I had loan payoff coverage on a vehicle a few years ago. It was only $14 per year.

Michaell · December 2016

tjc78 said:
Yes I remember the madness of the Residuals. Drove me nuts when I was leasing Toyotas. Just talked to Mom, she is thrilled and deal will be done. All that is left is to negotiate the GAP which is listed at $800 I told her we will pay under $400. They won't loose the deal over that.

Guess I need to get back to work!

What color did you end up with?

stever · December 2016

6% off MSRP for the RAV4. Seems typical for that model. Would someone do any better on a purchase than a lease for the selling price?

tjc78 · December 2016

She got the Magnetic Grey with grey (Ash) interior. Picking it up on Saturday morning.

I got the Gap through Toyota down to $400. Its up to her if she wants or will see if her ins company offers it. I've never leased without it, so if it were me I would just get it.

Most leasing companies just include it. Toyota may be the only one who doesn't

tjc78 · December 2016

stever said:
6% off MSRP for the RAV4. Seems typical for that model. Would someone do any better on a purchase than a lease for the selling price?

Not sure. There was $500 lease cash, but I see $1000 rebate for purchase. I'm sure if I shopped more and pushed hard there is another few hundred somewhere in the deal but Mom is thrilled. Car was $1500 more than her Venza, she is putting a little less down than last time and $5 month less.

stever · December 2016

Thanks. Tell Mom congrats for us.

tjc78 · December 2016

Will do, also need to clarify the selling price I mentioned was before the $500 rebate.

Michaell · December 2016

tjc78 said:
She got the Magnetic Grey with grey (Ash) interior. Picking it up on Saturday morning.

I got the Gap through Toyota down to $400. Its up to her if she wants or will see if her ins company offers it. I've never leased without it, so if it were me I would just get it.

Most leasing companies just include it. Toyota may be the only one who doesn't

So far as we know, Toyota is the only major manufacturer that doesn't automatically include GAP in their lease programs.

Nice color combo.

rayainsw · December 2016

I wonder if this means there will be
'screaming deals' around Christmas ?

BMW Group U.S. Reports November 2016 Sales
01.12.2016 18:30

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – December 1, 2016… Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 18.2 percent in November for a total of 26,189 compared to 32,003 vehicles sold in November, 2015. Year-to-date, the BMW brand is down 10.0 percent in the U.S. on sales of 280,339 vehicles compared to 311,398 sold in the first eleven months of 2015.

- Ray
Might be tempted...

stickguy · December 2016

Cars must be piling up on the lots.

corvette · December 2016

I like the Highlander, but the extra cost GAP on a lease is a turn-off.

stever · December 2016

Fiat is going to be hurting because Jeep sales are down 12% and that brand has been carrying them in the US since day one. (Detroit News)

Michaell · December 2016

rayainsw said:
I wonder if this means there will be
'screaming deals' around Christmas ?

BMW Group U.S. Reports November 2016 Sales
01.12.2016 18:30

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – December 1, 2016… Sales of BMW brand vehicles decreased 18.2 percent in November for a total of 26,189 compared to 32,003 vehicles sold in November, 2015. Year-to-date, the BMW brand is down 10.0 percent in the U.S. on sales of 280,339 vehicles compared to 311,398 sold in the first eleven months of 2015.

- Ray
Might be tempted...

Well, the lease numbers are the same this month as last, so somebody at BMW doesn't seem to be too worried about the sales figures.

Michaell · December 2016

stever said:
Fiat is going to be hurting because Jeep sales are down 12% and that brand has been carrying them in the US since day one. (Detroit News)

As if they needed any more bad news...

Sandman6472 · December 2016

Had a 2015 GLK 250 as a chase vehicle yesterday and for three of us in the rear, it was too crowded, highly uncomfortable. That back seat is made for only two occupants except if they are children. Couldn't get comfortable on the half hour ride back to the office and on trying to egress, my foot got stuck and had a sharp pain in my hip. Yelled out because it was a sharp pain and needed help getting out.
Nice vehicle but really only made for four adults or two adults and three small children. Unlike some in here, don't like the boxiness of it and definitely prefer the newer rounded model...different strokes I guess. Saw a few new CLA's yesterday and they look to be about 180"'s or longer, not sure I'd want to go that long next time. Still liking the Tiguan to be honest but staying away from the VW store. Three years today that I bought the Tucson and come the 12th, will have had the Golf for two years. At around 24,550 now so still about dead on for doing 13K/year in my driving...guessing a lease just might be possible the next time depending on the vehicle.
But honestly, not ready to get out of the Golf quite yet since the mileage difference between that and the Tiguan is major and since I still do a longish commute three days a week, pretty dumb to get used with worse mileage. Probably best to wait till I retire again and see what's what then. Thinking if we start to take some longish road trips, an economical but comfortable vehicle would be the best choice and with 21/26 for the Tiguan, think we could do a whole lot better truthfully.

The Sandman

Sandman6472 · December 2016

Didn't take any vacation this year, long story, and looking like my oldest might be getting engaged like her brother...waiting for the final word on that still. But we know that our son will marry probably around September/October of 2017 and since the wife refuses to fly, we'll have to do a road trip. Looking like the affair will take place in Chicago at this point so figuring on doing a two week road trip just us two. Our other kids will be flying up as their schedules don't give them much more than that time off and know they won't like sitting in a cramped vehicle for the five or six days it'll take to go and come.
My Plan A is to retire next December 31st as by then I'll be 63. But Plan B is to stay until sometime in 2018 or possibly the end of that year. My dad only made it to just 64 so want to stop working by then. The wife's lucky as by being a CPA, she can cut back a whole lot and just keep her tax customers and Turbo tax gig and we can really live anywhere for her to do that.
So really need to think about my next vehicle and the timing of it's purchase.

The Sandman

Sandman6472 · December 2016

Need some advice here about smartphones. Have AT&T right now and am satisfied. Three of us have android devices while the oldest is Apple through and through. Since I've got a MacPro and a new iPad, thinking of completing the picture and getting an iPhone. Stopped at AT&T store today and using their Next Program to pay off my current LG phone. Mid February will be the two year mark of ownership but as of now, still have nine payments left. My oldest bought her iPhone the same way but paid half and gave me a check for the rest since I pay her phone in our family plan. The other two have To Go phones and paid them outright to keep things simple.
As much as I want an iPhone, just not sure I want to spend that much and just get a To Go phone and stay with the android platform. I do want more download space as my current 8 gig just ain't enough and even with my s d card, the majority of apps can not be moved over on to it so a 16 gig or 32 gig phone is a must have. And I usually swap out of my phones at the two year mark as by then I am bored and want something newer. Wasteful, for sure but I want what I want.
What platform do all y'all have, android or Apple and why? Just curious as to what is more popular and the reasons for such. Feel free to give me your honest opinions here because I do want a change. My current LG model is a 5.5" screen which I do like but willing to go down to a 5" but no smaller. I did look at the iPhone 6s today and liked it, the plus just felt too big even though it's the same size as my current LG. And also, not sure how comfortable I feel paying close to $700 and change for a phone no matter what it does.
HELP!!!

The Sandman

tjc78 · December 2016

I had several Androids and jumped ship last year to a 6S Plus. I really like it, does everything and easier to use in most ways. Get a 7 Plus on the next plan with ATT and trade up every year. It's worth the $25 or so a month. The smallest size 7 is now 32GB. As soon as I make my Dec payment I'm up for a new one and ordering it.

stickguy · December 2016

I like iphone. Not a fan of the android system. Plus, it is nice having everything on the same platform (with my ipad).

I just traded in my aging 5s for a 7 (standard model, not the plus, which is way too big for me). Works great. we have Verizon, so I got this one on the payment plan (so I own it, after 24 no interest payments). Just pay the monthly data fee ($20 I think) to have it on the share plan, and once the payments are done, that is all I pay.

I got the 128 gig, because, why not? Only $4/month! Using driver100 math. I think it was about $750, but I got a $300 trade in allowance from Verizon, so net was not all that much.

Mr_Shiftright · December 2016

iPhones have some nice features and of course if you really want to integrate with your other Apple devices, it's the way to go. But I've found the Android to be a far better value for the money and IMO in many ways "smarter" than an iPhone, but yes, not prettier.

suydam · December 2016

I belong to the Church of Apple. Like syncing everything across one platform. Advice: it's better to buy the phone itself at the Apple Store. They can set it for any carrier and it is a snap to do. Better pricing too.

28firefighter · December 2016

I'm a user of both. I carry an iPhone 7 as my personal device and for my work email, but carry a Google Nexus 5X to handle client email (many of my clients require I have an internal email address and security provisioning).

I prefer the iPhone 100% over the Android.

stickguy · December 2016

I have a 6 for work. Which I only got about 6 months ago, to replace a 5 YO basic blakberry. Now that was crappy to use!

28firefighter · December 2016

stickguy said:

I have a 6 for work. Which I only got about 6 months ago, to replace a 5 YO basic blakberry. Now that was crappy to use!

I'll bet. But I still miss the keyboards from Blackberry.

suydam · December 2016

Soooo -- test drive today of a 2016 Mazda3 I Touring hatch. Like you, Stever, not feeling good vibes from this one. I made an appointment at 1 pm with one of the long-time salesmen. There is only 1 vehicle on the entire lot which fits the bill -- mainly because 99.9% of them have black interiors. He promises to pull it out and have it ready to go when we get ther.
We arrive at 1 pm, and are promptly handed off to a junior sales rep because our guy "is busy with a customer". Hmm, I thought we had an appointment. The car is still out on the back of the lot and needs gas. So we sit for half an hour while they get the car ready and we show them that we are unlikely to steal or crash it.
Thing is, they finally bring it around -- and it is GORGEOUS. A deep blue metallic paint with upgraded light grey cloth seats. Beautiful combo. Great looking car. I'm assured it has moonroof and upgraded stereo. The first I can see but no evidence on the window sticker of the latter. Nav is a$200 SIM card addition. They are prepared to throw that in it seems.
We ask to drive it ourselves and off we go. Long story short, it's a great vehicle and I'm sure we would very much enjoy having it. Plenty of power for us (it's the 2.0 liter engine). Smooth merging onto the freeway, crisp handling, good visibility. It has BLIS and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Rain sensing wipers. It doesn't have a power driver seat, a negative, but is push button start. The Encore is the reverse. I guess we'd get 1 out of 2 with each vehicle. Fits into our small half of the condo garage easily. I take it to the mall to check turning and backing up in crowded situations. Beautiful. We drive it around one of the few streets with potholes. Seems to handle them well.
Okay. We like. We drive back to the dealership and meet up with the junior sales rep which now is clear that's our guy. I ask him to email me some figures to include both the possibility of buying and leasing. I am careful to specify that I would like to see MF and residuals on any lease deal. We get home.
In a decent amount of time arrive the emails. The MSRP is listed at 23,985 and they're offering 21, 985 as selling price. There is a $1000 rebate, and on the website they list the car for 22,985. Leasing they are offering another $1200 off, so 21!765. With taxes and such it comes to 22, 256. Monthly payments are listed but no figures. I ask for them. They send them, listing MF of .00064 and residual of 51%, based on 36 mo. and 10,000 mi. Limit. Monthly payment with 2k down is $297. Thing is, on their website for this same car lease payment is listed as $232 for 12,000 miles! We are leaning towards leasing.
In short they are kinda PITAs, but I don't think the lease deal is too bad -- the $232 for 36 mo listed on the website, that is. Don't like the thought of $2k down though.
We are going to take a day off, then on Saturday hit up the Chevy dealer to check out the Volt and the new Cruze hatchback. Thoughts?

stickguy · December 2016

A 3i touring is a really nice package. lots of car for the money, and I liked how they drove. I came close to buying one, but wife wanted something bigger.

sadly, your run around getting lease details, probably par for the course. However, that lease payment sounds crazy high with 2K down. I pay less for a loaded Sonata!

My experience (small sample size of course) is that Mazdas are not good "leasing cars". At that price, just buy it. They should hold resale better than that residual.

stickguy · December 2016

for some reason, I actually like this one. Probably the price, and a manual. that combo, always sucks me in!

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2013-ford-focus-certified_focus_titanium_hatchback_5_speed_navi-used-15724835.html

Michaell · December 2016

suydam said:
Soooo -- test drive today of a 2016 Mazda3 I Touring hatch. Like you, Stever, not feeling good vibes from this one. I made an appointment at 1 pm with one of the long-time salesmen. There is only 1 vehicle on the entire lot which fits the bill -- mainly because 99.9% of them have black interiors. He promises to pull it out and have it ready to go when we get ther.
We arrive at 1 pm, and are promptly handed off to a junior sales rep because our guy "is busy with a customer". Hmm, I thought we had an appointment. The car is still out on the back of the lot and needs gas. So we sit for half an hour while they get the car ready and we show them that we are unlikely to steal or crash it.
Thing is, they finally bring it around -- and it is GORGEOUS. A deep blue metallic paint with upgraded light grey cloth seats. Beautiful combo. Great looking car. I'm assured it has moonroof and upgraded stereo. The first I can see but no evidence on the window sticker of the latter. Nav is a$200 SIM card addition. They are prepared to throw that in it seems.
We ask to drive it ourselves and off we go. Long story short, it's a great vehicle and I'm sure we would very much enjoy having it. Plenty of power for us (it's the 2.0 liter engine). Smooth merging onto the freeway, crisp handling, good visibility. It has BLIS and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Rain sensing wipers. It doesn't have a power driver seat, a negative, but is push button start. The Encore is the reverse. I guess we'd get 1 out of 2 with each vehicle. Fits into our small half of the condo garage easily. I take it to the mall to check turning and backing up in crowded situations. Beautiful. We drive it around one of the few streets with potholes. Seems to handle them well.
Okay. We like. We drive back to the dealership and meet up with the junior sales rep which now is clear that's our guy. I ask him to email me some figures to include both the possibility of buying and leasing. I am careful to specify that I would like to see MF and residuals on any lease deal. We get home.
In a decent amount of time arrive the emails. The MSRP is listed at 23,985 and they're offering 21, 985 as selling price. There is a $1000 rebate, and on the website they list the car for 22,985. Leasing they are offering another $1200 off, so 21!765. With taxes and such it comes to 22, 256. Monthly payments are listed but no figures. I ask for them. They send them, listing MF of .00064 and residual of 51%, based on 36 mo. and 10,000 mi. Limit. Monthly payment with 2k down is $297. Thing is, on their website for this same car lease payment is listed as $232 for 12,000 miles! We are leaning towards leasing.
In short they are kinda PITAs, but I don't think the lease deal is too bad -- the $232 for 36 mo listed on the website, that is. Don't like the thought of $2k down though.
We are going to take a day off, then on Saturday hit up the Chevy dealer to check out the Volt and the new Cruze hatchback. Thoughts?

A couple of points:

1) the MF the dealer quoted is marked up the max - base MF is .00014 for 36 months
2) you may want to look at a 39 month lease - MF drops to .00001 and the residual is only 1% lower
3) there is $1220 lease cash on the '16 3 hatches - take that into consideration when negotiating your price

stickguy · December 2016

they also still have the new style C class I loved. And the price got lowered! probably a pretty good deal at this point.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2016-mercedes~benz-c~class-certified_c300_4matic_awd_sedan_camera_slash_navigation-used-15579548.html

fintail · December 2016

Nice somewhat unusual color combo, price is good, and nice option load, I wold just want the full LED lighting.

stickguy said:
they also still have the new style C class I loved. And the price got lowered! probably a pretty good deal at this point.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2016-mercedes~benz-c~class-certified_c300_4matic_awd_sedan_camera_slash_navigation-used-15579548.html

stickguy · December 2016

that seems to be the only thing it is missing, but I can live with that. Agreed about the colors, and that is a serious discount off MSRP for 9K miles in about 9 months, so lots of warranty left.

corvette · December 2016

I had an original iPhone and an iPhone 4. Wanted a larger screen and got an LG Nexus 4. The Nexus battery capacity degraded severely within two years, and Apple came out with a phone with a larger screen. Went back to an iPhone 6s. It's nice.

I had an iPad mini. Dropped it a couple of times and the touch screen got wonky. Traded it in to Apple's trade-in partner and got a refurbished iPad mini 2 about six months ago. I don't use a tablet for much, but wanted a second one for work.

I bought a 7" Amazon Fire to use at work and hacked it to run the Google Play app store (it's more Android-like than older Kindle Fires), and I'm quite smitten with it. The display is much worse than the HD iPad mini 2 display, and scrolling websites is a little jittery, but for a $33 tablet, you can't beat it.

I like my Mac computers but may replace them with PCs (or install Windows on them) once Apple obsoletes them and stops issuing security updates. The hardware is still good. The megahertz wars gave way to the core wars and now we are in the wattage wars. Processing power hasn't increased significantly since I bought the iMac and MacBook Air in 2011. The newer models are marginally more powerful but use less power.

corvette · December 2016

28firefighter said:

I'll bet. But I still miss the keyboards from Blackberry.

My former neighbor kept his old Blackberry for years after it was obsolete. The scroll ball had fallen out and it had been "baptized" and dried out in rice at least twice. I think the third or fourth "water event" finally killed it and he got an iPhone.

fintail · December 2016

Probably about $1.50/mile, from MSRP anyway (none of these cars sell for MSRP). Too many people shy away from the cool lighting - I've seen E-class well over 60K that had the standard lighting. For me, definitely a top 5 option.

Speaking of phones, I had 2 Note 7s (the "fire phone"). Best phone I've ever had, was sad to give it up. I've had Android since the first Android sold in NA, the HTC Dream. I also had the first Samsung Galaxy (I work in Telecom and upgrade at least yearly). I like the customization possibilities.

stickguy said:
that seems to be the only thing it is missing, but I can live with that. Agreed about the colors, and that is a serious discount off MSRP for 9K miles in about 9 months, so lots of warranty left.

stickguy · December 2016

i could type on it, but keys still too small. Biggest problem was, I was constantly poking the screen, and nothing ever did happen! hated that track ball.

suydam · December 2016

Michaell said:

suydam said:
Soooo -- test drive today of a 2016 Mazda3 I Touring hatch. Like you, Stever, not feeling good vibes from this one. I made an appointment at 1 pm with one of the long-time salesmen. There is only 1 vehicle on the entire lot which fits the bill -- mainly because 99.9% of them have black interiors. He promises to pull it out and have it ready to go when we get ther.
We arrive at 1 pm, and are promptly handed off to a junior sales rep because our guy "is busy with a customer". Hmm, I thought we had an appointment. The car is still out on the back of the lot and needs gas. So we sit for half an hour while they get the car ready and we show them that we are unlikely to steal or crash it.
Thing is, they finally bring it around -- and it is GORGEOUS. A deep blue metallic paint with upgraded light grey cloth seats. Beautiful combo. Great looking car. I'm assured it has moonroof and upgraded stereo. The first I can see but no evidence on the window sticker of the latter. Nav is a$200 SIM card addition. They are prepared to throw that in it seems.
We ask to drive it ourselves and off we go. Long story short, it's a great vehicle and I'm sure we would very much enjoy having it. Plenty of power for us (it's the 2.0 liter engine). Smooth merging onto the freeway, crisp handling, good visibility. It has BLIS and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Rain sensing wipers. It doesn't have a power driver seat, a negative, but is push button start. The Encore is the reverse. I guess we'd get 1 out of 2 with each vehicle. Fits into our small half of the condo garage easily. I take it to the mall to check turning and backing up in crowded situations. Beautiful. We drive it around one of the few streets with potholes. Seems to handle them well.
Okay. We like. We drive back to the dealership and meet up with the junior sales rep which now is clear that's our guy. I ask him to email me some figures to include both the possibility of buying and leasing. I am careful to specify that I would like to see MF and residuals on any lease deal. We get home.
In a decent amount of time arrive the emails. The MSRP is listed at 23,985 and they're offering 21, 985 as selling price. There is a $1000 rebate, and on the website they list the car for 22,985. Leasing they are offering another $1200 off, so 21!765. With taxes and such it comes to 22, 256. Monthly payments are listed but no figures. I ask for them. They send them, listing MF of .00064 and residual of 51%, based on 36 mo. and 10,000 mi. Limit. Monthly payment with 2k down is $297. Thing is, on their website for this same car lease payment is listed as $232 for 12,000 miles! We are leaning towards leasing.
In short they are kinda PITAs, but I don't think the lease deal is too bad -- the $232 for 36 mo listed on the website, that is. Don't like the thought of $2k down though.
We are going to take a day off, then on Saturday hit up the Chevy dealer to check out the Volt and the new Cruze hatchback. Thoughts?
A couple of points:

1) the MF the dealer quoted is marked up the max - base MF is .00014 for 36 months
2) you may want to look at a 39 month lease - MF drops to .00001 and the residual is only 1% lower
3) there is $1220 lease cash on the '16 3 hatches - take that into consideration when negotiating your price

Yes, that is the $1220 they are taking off the lease. So basically $1000 of MSRP plus another $1220 lease cash is what they are offering.

Michaell · December 2016

suydam said:

Michaell said:

suydam said:
Soooo -- test drive today of a 2016 Mazda3 I Touring hatch. Like you, Stever, not feeling good vibes from this one. I made an appointment at 1 pm with one of the long-time salesmen. There is only 1 vehicle on the entire lot which fits the bill -- mainly because 99.9% of them have black interiors. He promises to pull it out and have it ready to go when we get ther.
We arrive at 1 pm, and are promptly handed off to a junior sales rep because our guy "is busy with a customer". Hmm, I thought we had an appointment. The car is still out on the back of the lot and needs gas. So we sit for half an hour while they get the car ready and we show them that we are unlikely to steal or crash it.
Thing is, they finally bring it around -- and it is GORGEOUS. A deep blue metallic paint with upgraded light grey cloth seats. Beautiful combo. Great looking car. I'm assured it has moonroof and upgraded stereo. The first I can see but no evidence on the window sticker of the latter. Nav is a$200 SIM card addition. They are prepared to throw that in it seems.
We ask to drive it ourselves and off we go. Long story short, it's a great vehicle and I'm sure we would very much enjoy having it. Plenty of power for us (it's the 2.0 liter engine). Smooth merging onto the freeway, crisp handling, good visibility. It has BLIS and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Rain sensing wipers. It doesn't have a power driver seat, a negative, but is push button start. The Encore is the reverse. I guess we'd get 1 out of 2 with each vehicle. Fits into our small half of the condo garage easily. I take it to the mall to check turning and backing up in crowded situations. Beautiful. We drive it around one of the few streets with potholes. Seems to handle them well.
Okay. We like. We drive back to the dealership and meet up with the junior sales rep which now is clear that's our guy. I ask him to email me some figures to include both the possibility of buying and leasing. I am careful to specify that I would like to see MF and residuals on any lease deal. We get home.
In a decent amount of time arrive the emails. The MSRP is listed at 23,985 and they're offering 21, 985 as selling price. There is a $1000 rebate, and on the website they list the car for 22,985. Leasing they are offering another $1200 off, so 21!765. With taxes and such it comes to 22, 256. Monthly payments are listed but no figures. I ask for them. They send them, listing MF of .00064 and residual of 51%, based on 36 mo. and 10,000 mi. Limit. Monthly payment with 2k down is $297. Thing is, on their website for this same car lease payment is listed as $232 for 12,000 miles! We are leaning towards leasing.
In short they are kinda PITAs, but I don't think the lease deal is too bad -- the $232 for 36 mo listed on the website, that is. Don't like the thought of $2k down though.
We are going to take a day off, then on Saturday hit up the Chevy dealer to check out the Volt and the new Cruze hatchback. Thoughts?
A couple of points:

1) the MF the dealer quoted is marked up the max - base MF is .00014 for 36 months
2) you may want to look at a 39 month lease - MF drops to .00001 and the residual is only 1% lower
3) there is $1220 lease cash on the '16 3 hatches - take that into consideration when negotiating your price
Yes, that is the $1220 they are taking off the lease. So basically $1000 of MSRP plus another $1220 lease cash is what they are offering.

Keep us posted.

Not exactly sure why I never took a test drive of the 3 sedan. I guess the allure of the Jetta was too much, and I didn't take any other test drives.

roadburner · December 2016

We just got a 330i xDrive M Sport wagon; Melbourne Red with saddle interior. It has every option including the Track Handling Package. If it was a 340i(which you can't get) I'd already be signing the papers...

corvette · December 2016

fintail said:
(I work in Telecom and upgrade at least yearly).

I'm guessing you've been here, then?
http://museumofcommunications.org/

It was pretty cool when I was there over the summer.

28firefighter · December 2016

roadburner said:

We just got a 330i xDrive M Sport wagon; Melbourne Red with saddle interior. It has every option including the Track Handling Package. If it was a 340i(which you can't get) I'd already be signing the papers...

That has to have a list north of 50k. Want.

stickguy · December 2016

way north. I sat in this one last week. Was very nice. pretty loaded, without any of the performance goodies, and a few fancy things. And it still lists for close to 53K.

http://www.bmwofturnersville.com/detail-2016-bmw-3_series-328i_xdrive_sports_wagon-new-14559116.html

poking around local, most expensive 330 wagon was a tick over 57K, without M sport or track package.

roadburner · December 2016

28firefighter said:

roadburner said:

We just got a 330i xDrive M Sport wagon; Melbourne Red with saddle interior. It has every option including the Track Handling Package. If it was a 340i(which you can't get) I'd already be signing the papers...

That has to have a list north of 50k. Want.

When it comes out of PDI I'll take a few pictures. If I could get a stick in the 330i wagon I could go for that too.

fintail · December 2016

Never have, but I probably should. I work in wireless, but I like all of that old tech, something I would hoard with a lottery winner's budget and space. I've been to some technical museums in Germany that had fascinating stuff. The early computers look interesting too.

corvette said:

I'm guessing you've been here, then?
http://museumofcommunications.org/

It was pretty cool when I was there over the summer.

28firefighter · December 2016

fintail said:

Never have, but I probably should. I work in wireless, but I like all of that old tech, something I would hoard with a lottery winner's budget and space. I've been to some technical museums in Germany that had fascinating stuff. The early computers look interesting too.
I'm guessing you've been here, then? http://museumofcommunications.org/ It was pretty cool when I was there over the summer.

Hmmm. East sider. Telecom. I wonder...

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