Financing Question (1st post)
 

Hey guys n gals -

I've been lurking for awhile and I think I'm about two weeks away from buying my X5! I was wondering if anybody knows anything about the BMW Select financing and how exactly it works?

--hoop

I can't help with the financing, but :welcome: to X5world :D

I bought my car with BMW`s finance, it`s just like any other finance deal (im in the UK). You put a deposit down (I did £18,000) and then take the rest over however many years that make your payments affordable. Tell them how much you can afford a month (stretch yourself a little here if you can because over time, the payments will feel easier) and they`ll tell you how long it will take. This is NOT the same as a PCP plan which I dont like at all, you owe a balloon at the end of it which you`ll have to either find in full, give back the car or get a new PCP plan on a new car.

I have used BMW Select before, when I had my M3. It is a GREAT program..all the best parts of lease and finance rolled into one.

Think of the Select program as a Balloon loan. You are given the vehicle at a better rate, like a lease would have, with no mileage limit, like traditional financing would have. The only item is that at the end of term you owe a payment/balance of the cost. So if you plan on buying the car at the end of term there is no problem. However if you are more inclined to move on and trade the car in on something else then make sure you put a lot of money down. This will cover the difference in depreciation later.

All in all I love the BMW Select program.

Financing:
First decide whether you are keeping the X5 past payoff or
if you want to dump and run. Most bmws have a very long
life if properly maintained. I have an '89 325 rag with 168,K
and it runs great.
I recently bought my X5 3.0'01 through a traditional credit
union with about 5 K down. Granted, the payments run about
5 bills a month, but it's a 4.5 year plan. If cash flow will be
an issue - go for 7 years, remember no matter how many miles
are on your vehicle you can get at least 10 years out of the
investment. The average vehicle in this class is lasting 10 years.
Also, you may want to do some history checks on the model and
look for big cash fixes. Other than usual tire, brake etc maintaincethe vehicle should go a long time for just payments.
Good luck..
J