[theroadlessdriven]

Okay everyone, I've been following all these threads for months, carefully weighing out my options, reading, learning, waiting.

Earlier today I found a brass hat lease opportunity on a 2015 M235i 6spd w/Nav, Coral Red leather, and 8,252mi on it.

Rang up the dealership to get current money factor and residual percentage numbers which they quoted as .00170 and 67.96% respectively. Yes, I know how much that residual percentage stings for those of you who've ordered, or were thinking about ordering, a 2016 M235i.

So, I like those numbers, run them on edmunds.com lease calculator with the advertised price of $41,994 for 10k/36mo, $4000 down (amount I have saved for car purchase or downpayment), and get some favorable results.

$28,539 residual value.
$13,455 lease amount.
$398/mo including tax

I ask my sales guy what their current lease offer on the car is, he says $414/mo + tax which comes out to $450/mo. Total drive off including all fees, $3995.

I tell him I'm getting different numbers, he says that's not surprising, customer calculations are always wrong. I laugh for a minute, then make it very clear that this ain't my first rodeo. He says he'll see where everything factors in when I get to the dealership. I know it's an age old sales tactic, but even their inflated quote is a pretty good deal in my eyes, so I'm ok with going in to finish the negotiation.

Still, I'd like to know what you all think of the deal and where you think they might be getting that extra $52 a month from. If I can whack that out, I'm going to be one happy camper with my first BMW coming in at under $400/mo.

Buying the car in CA, taking it back to VT for registration and garaging. Sales tax of 6% vs 9% but that only bumps the payment up to $407.

Lastly, all these calculations were done using my calculated residual price of $28,539 ($41,994 x .6796), but the last bit of information I got from the sales guy was their claimed residual value, $29,473. If I plug that into the edmunds.com lease calculator, I get a payment of $373! How can their numbers be so far off? I'm obviously going to get back on the phone with them tomorrow and get some answers.

The one thing I don't have is the original invoice price of the car which I should have asked for today, but in my excitement I spaced it.

Here's another question, assuming they're straight with me and I get the numbers to where I have them, should I cut the downpayment in half to $2k and pay a little more a month?

Thanks in advance for replies, wish I could apply my UDE/Red Bull employee credits amounting to $1,500 to this!

[jayg80]

I think you might be missing the fact that your $4,000 down payment really isn't going against the principle on the car also known as (capitalized cost reduction) - the majority is going against 1st payment and fees. When I put $5,500 down a fee months ago in California only $3,100 was really a down payment towards the car. The other $2,400 include first month's payment, registration, license, acquisition fee ($995), document processing, etc.

Redo your number with taking that into effect and see what you get.

Also, you should only be paying sales tax based upon the state you are going to register the vehicle in.

If the dealership has to charge you fees it should be based upon VT and they can send all the documentation to the closest DMV in VT.

At least this is what an Oregon dealer did for me earlier this year when I purchased a Lexus.

Good luck.

[bimmercar]

Originally Posted by theroadlessdriven

Okay everyone, I've been following all these threads for months, carefully weighing out my options, reading, learning, waiting.

Earlier today I found a brass hat lease opportunity on a 2015 M235i 6spd w/Nav, Coral Red leather, and 8,252mi on it.

Rang up the dealership to get current money factor and residual percentage numbers which they quoted as .00170 and 67.96% respectively. Yes, I know how much that residual percentage stings for those of you who've ordered, or were thinking about ordering, a 2016 M235i.

So, I like those numbers, run them on edmunds.com lease calculator with the advertised price of $41,994 for 10k/36mo, $4000 down (amount I have saved for car purchase or downpayment), and get some favorable results.

$28,539 residual value.
$13,455 lease amount.
$398/mo including tax

I ask my sales guy what their current lease offer on the car is, he says $414/mo + tax which comes out to $450/mo. Total drive off including all fees, $3995.

I tell him I'm getting different numbers, he says that's not surprising, customer calculations are always wrong. I laugh for a minute, then make it very clear that this ain't my first rodeo. He says he'll see where everything factors in when I get to the dealership. I know it's an age old sales tactic, but even their inflated quote is a pretty good deal in my eyes, so I'm ok with going in to finish the negotiation.

Still, I'd like to know what you all think of the deal and where you think they might be getting that extra $52 a month from. If I can whack that out, I'm going to be one happy camper with my first BMW coming in at under $400/mo.

Buying the car in CA, taking it back to VT for registration and garaging. Sales tax of 6% vs 9% but that only bumps the payment up to $407.

Lastly, all these calculations were done using my calculated residual price of $28,539 ($41,994 x .6796), but the last bit of information I got from the sales guy was their claimed residual value, $29,473. If I plug that into the edmunds.com lease calculator, I get a payment of $373! How can their numbers be so far off? I'm obviously going to get back on the phone with them tomorrow and get some answers.

The one thing I don't have is the original invoice price of the car which I should have asked for today, but in my excitement I spaced it.

Here's another question, assuming they're straight with me and I get the numbers to where I have them, should I cut the downpayment in half to $2k and pay a little more a month?

Thanks in advance for replies, wish I could apply my UDE/Red Bull employee credits amounting to $1,500 to this!

I would negotiate and get signed contract in writing before traveling all the way from VT to CA. The prices could change once you actually go to dealership. But then again, a used vehicle, i would inspect it in person before doing any signed contracts. I would also ask to get a invoice sheet, or vehicle inquiry report with the build and msrp info. look up carfax, auto trader for accidents and buybacks.

[AlpsRider]

I once went half way across the country to buy an S4 optioned exactly the way I wanted it with only 2,000 miles on the odometer. The salesman told me it was some ultra rich guy that traded it in because he just wanted something else. Carfax was clean, edmunds was clean, the dealer said no accidents or body work. When I got there the car looked beautiful, I thought SCORE! Then I looked a little closer and the whole drivers side rear quarter panel and back door had been resprayed. There were deep chips in the rear wheel wells that were resprayed. That car had been raced, abused, and wrecked. Always look at a car before you buy it or have it inspected by someone that isn't the salesmans brother in law.

[theroadlessdriven]

Update: Flew up to San Jose yesterday and got the car! Big thanks to Stevens Creek BMW for making things easy, Ricky in particular for picking me up from the airport.

So psyched to have found what I wanted, gotten the deal I wanted, and finally be part of the BMW family instead of a fanboy!

[jayg80]

What the outcome on the price difference?

[theroadlessdriven]

Sales guy thought I was looking for 24/mo lease, hence the quoted residual value. I was however looking for 36/mo which carries the usual residual of 58%.

They wouldn't budge on the money factor which was a bummer, but the car was so steeply discounted already so I really didn't have much negotiating room.

He did however give me a third key and two super fancy keychains...