[Mrbbmw]

Hey guys, I have a dilemma.

I am currently leasing a 2018 Alpine white M240i M Performance edition coupe.
Four months into the lease I unexpectedly had to have open-heart surgery and was then restricted from driving for six months. I’m back on the road again now and am thoroughly enjoying my car. Due to my break from driving the car has only 10,200 miles on it with six months remaining on the lease. To purchase the car would require the total of the lease payments plus the residual value. I question whether this would be wise a move and wonder if any of you have had any experience with this transaction. Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[MarcoZandrini]

Contact Thescout13. He's the leasing guru.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Mrbbmw

Hey guys, I have a dilemma.

I am currently leasing a 2018 Alpine white M240i M Performance edition coupe.
Four months into the lease I unexpectedly had to have open-heart surgery and was then restricted from driving for six months. I’m back on the road again now and am thoroughly enjoying my car. Due to my break from driving the car has only 10,200 miles on it with six months remaining on the lease. To purchase the car would require the total of the lease payments plus the residual value. I question whether this would be wise a move and wonder if any of you have had any experience with this transaction. Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I did not have the interruption you experienced and send best wishes for your continued recovery. However, I did just go through buying my low-mileage (~16k miles) Alpine White 2018 3 Series at the end of the 3 year lease. It is wise to monitor the BMW web site that shows your lease details starting about 3-4 months from termination. I found one day a $5,500 incentive credit against the residual to buy the car. That offer had an expiration date. A week later, the incentive had dropped to about $3,000 with a new expiration date. However, as the first expiration date for the higher amount had not yet passed, BMWFS honored it. When I totaled all lease payments plus buy out with this incentive, the total equaled an approximate 20% reduction versus the original MSRP. I bought the car.

It is worth starting to check the site frequently, but don't initiate any transaction before you see what they are offering. Of course, once you do, you have no way of knowing if waiting a bit longer would result in a better offer...one might think the deal would improve as time runs out. However, it is likely just governed by auction values that week and can fluctuate either way, so it's a matter of whether you like what you see enough to take it or want to gamble. I felt lucky to be able to grab the first offer before it was later reduced.

[Mrbbmw]

Thanks for the well wishes and advice on the lease. I’m curious where you found the incentives that were mentioned, when I checked the MyBMW site it stated that residual amounts were not negotiable. Thanks

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Mrbbmw

Thanks for the well wishes and advice on the lease. I’m curious where you found the incentives that were mentioned, when I checked the MyBMW site it stated that residual amounts were not negotiable. Thanks

That is correct, it is not a negotiation. They show an incentive amount and it is "take it or leave it". I think you are in the right place, but too soon. I would start checking weekly when about 3-4 months out. I don't remember the exact language but there is a tab with information about buying the lease vehicle.

[Lucky13]

Just for reference I bought my 2014 M235 at the end of a 3 year lease for residual and I only had 10,000 miles on it. I just hit 20,000 and its almost 7 year old. I couldn’t negotiate or find any discounts at the time because they were pretty popular back then.

[Gregoryb01]

Go to BMW’s site and try and build a new M240i. You can’t. They took the link down today. The F22 and F23 will be made no more, so if you love the car keep it, because you will not get a chance to buy a new one.

[FCBuff]

Originally Posted by Gregoryb01

Go to BMW’s site and try and build a new M240i. You can’t. They took the link down today. The F22 and F23 will be made no more, so if you love the car keep it, because you will not get a chance to buy a new one.

Great advice there! Buy it...

[AleksanderSuave]

depending on what you owe on the term of the lease, and the residual negotiated at the time, be prepared to take out a loan + shell out cash to buy it out.

do a trade in estimate with carvana if you want to know where you stand.

as others have mentioned, f body 2 series is essentially end of life. Sometimes thats a good thing, but generally speaking, with the BMW dealers I work with, they said they're not buying f body 3 series anymore from auction or lease trade in, they're now only buying g series.

You have a limited amount of time before the fact that its end of life hits a point where it makes the value of the car decline due to age.

Keep in mind majority bmw buyers (including those who lease) prefer the newest thing, not the "prettiest" which is what the f series is, compared to the g series.

The g series comes with an entirely redesigned interior, which is what sells to the majority, rather than the enthusiasts..

So if you love the car, buy it now as I'm willing to bet the pre-covid residual negotiated for your original lease essentially works out in your favor at this point in time (key word being now, not 6 months from now, due to more g series being released into the market by then) for buying it out, or having another company buy the car.

[Hapbob]

Took the F23 in for service yesterday. While waiting I roamed the show room and lot to see what is out there. I was thinking if I was here to turn in my car what would I buy to replace it. I really was impressed with M cars but who really needs a M car. Those things are beasts in performance and price. For the money and driving enjoyment my car is what I would keep. Since the rumor is there are no more coming I better make a plan to buy this car at the end. I will look at my bmw site often looking for any discount offers. Don’t tell bmw but I will buy it without any discount.
Hap

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Hapbob

...who really needs a M car.

Just generally, when you consider what the 6-cylinder 2 Series has offered us, that's an excellent question.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

That is correct, it is not a negotiation. They show an incentive amount and it is "take it or leave it". I think you are in the right place, but too soon. I would start checking weekly when about 3-4 months out. I don't remember the exact language but there is a tab with information about buying the lease vehicle.

It's 90 days... so inside that window is when the incentive is offered. No sense in checking further out than that.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

It's 90 days... so inside that window is when the incentive is offered. No sense in checking further out than that.

Thanks! I couldn't recall the exact timing, as once it posted, things happened quickly!

[Mrbbmw]

Thanks for the update on the 90 day timeframe for the lease buyout incentives.
I’m curious what type of offers have been made with these incentives? I think I’ll probably buy the car regardless, but would love to catch a better deal if possible!