Lease question from a noob leaser.
 

Visited a dealer in socal (southbay)

Being a former owner of couple m3s in the past, im getting back into BMW now.

I just test drove x5 50i and x5m. I gotta say, M is impressive with its quick burst of power and the sweet sound of engine/exaust rumble. But 50i is good enough for my wife and I. Still very impressive performance on that 50i. My mom has 30i and you can really tell the difference. Day and night difference at least to me.

Im looking to lease for 3 years and math works out better for 50i than the M. Yes M is tempting but I rather wait for the new M5 since M3 is a bit too small for us.

Current MF for july and aug is same for 50i i think. M is much higher.

Now, I can put security deposits of $7700 so save about $100 a month.

To me.. that's a lot of money up front... help me guys..


Thanks

Uh, there are a lot of pieces to a lease...do you understand the basic math? Go to leasecompare.com and mess around with their calculator. Read the FAQs and definitions for all the terms...understand what BMW calls these terms.

After you have that homework done, you will be better able to understand the info you get here and be able to evaluate the terms and offers yourself. The ONLY way you will successfully negotiate with a dealer is to know and understand the terms immediately and be able to push back in real time- if all you do is record their offer and wait a few days for feedback, they know you are red meat.

GL

A

thanks for the info

You are talking about putting down multiple security deposits. If you have the $$, it can be a very safe, guaranteed "return" on your money.

see:

Leasing Advice

and

BMW dealer in PA discourages multiple security deposits... - bimmerfest - BMW Forums

for more discussion.
X

Thanks for the links. Those are some excellent info on MSDs. Now it really makes sense.

Agree that you should get familiar with all parts of a lease before you pull the trigger on any deal.

That said, strictly from an MSD point of view, you can't go wrong with going the MSD way. A $100 monthly saving amounts to a 15.6% yearly return on your deposit money. You cannot get that kind of return from any other financial tool I'm aware of.

Ya, that's what I would probably end up doing... ive been calculating the returns.. and for $7700 in three years, i cant find anything "safe" that will give me a return like that.
I think that and MF reduction is the key for leases, and the price/residual%


What is the general rule of residual % for a 3 year lease for a car like this? I know X5M is a bit higher...


How much are you guys getting off MSRP.. a well built X5 50i is around 70k. Looks like it's around $1000-1100 after tax/ mo for 36 month & 15k/yr. Those are just estimates depending one some options i may take our or add.

X5M is around $1650/ month.. kinda too steep for me...

Again, you do need to be familiar with all the parts of the lease calculation, but I would not necessarily get bogged down negotiating parts of the lease. At the end of the day, what really matters is the amount of your monthly payment and down payment. Some people negotiate a very good cap cost of just $500 over invoice, only to be screwed with a horrible MF or residual etc. The best thing you could do is get as many quotes from as many dealers. Do it all by email so that you have documentation of all quotes you get, and play them against each other. Get the lowest quote and go to your preferred dealer with that number as your goal. If they refuse to at least match it, just walk. Nothing scares a dealer more back into negotiation than the customer walking out of the dealership.

Thanks for the info! You know, this seems a lot more complicated that buying the car.. which i should not do since my business "needs" a car.

I think i have some time since most folks are waiting until Sept production update of iDrive and LED rings etc....