Lease buyout

[Sterling 4.4]

I have a 2006 X5 4.4 that's lease term is up in January. I am considering buying it and keeping it as my snowboard winter vehicle for gear and dogs. I have a buddy who owns a Mercedes 350 that just came off lease and they offered him a cheaper buyout than what the contract states. I imagine this was way for them to easily get rid of the car due to high gas prices, the dime a dozen aspect of the car, and current economic climate. With this in mind, has anybody ever heard of BMW doing this?

[mrkbbd]

You can always negotiate buyout terms at the end of the lease especially because the buyout is high enough that you could get a CPO same year for less money and they don't want that car back, they're having a hard enough time selling cars as it is.

[msammy]

Originally Posted by Sterling 4.4

I have a 2006 X5 4.4 that's lease term is up in January. I am considering buying it and keeping it as my snowboard winter vehicle for gear and dogs. I have a buddy who owns a Mercedes 350 that just came off lease and they offered him a cheaper buyout than what the contract states. I imagine this was way for them to easily get rid of the car due to high gas prices, the dime a dozen aspect of the car, and current economic climate. With this in mind, has anybody ever heard of BMW doing this?

I did this exactly at lease-end of ours and yes, $1,500 off of original lease buy-out contract and that's when money was plentiful. In these times, I'm sure you can do better than that. Just don't tell them you were coached on this, since they will give you the standard "If we reduce the buyout price on your vehicle, it will in turn reduce the value of others". I think that's already happened in this economy.

[Sterling 4.4]

Who did you negotiate with? Your original salesman? Or does BMW call you close to lease end and start discussions?

[msammy]

Within 60-90 days of lease-end, you'll get a package of information with your options (extend, purchase, return) along with an 800 number for questions. Call the 800 number and do your thing!