[Zap]

Originally Posted by D_SheerDrivingPleasure

You hit the nail on the head. Specifically, BMW NA is fining dealers who are found selling off-lease vehicles back to its former lessee at prices that are below residual value. Because of this policy, dealers are depriving former lessees the right to fair marketplace negotiation.

Any consumer rights lawyers here that can opine?

So... I figure that I owe an update here. I spoke to our normal guy at the local dealer that we've worked with in the past. Don't know if it was the month changing, or if somehow my mention of these anti-trust behaviors, saying I might contact our consumer protection agency, or asking them for comp values on what they'd sell a similar car for given what I'd seen online.

He said he'd investigate the incentives and later called me back and said there was a $3k incentive on the price, which put the car in a lot better place. On top of that, there were BMW NA incentives that totaled $1k, for a grand total of $4k off. We paid for shop time to CPO plus the cost he quoted for the CPO wrap was 1/3 cheaper than the price we had been given in the past.

I was half waiting to see a line item "We do not partake in anti-trust discount" because we still never saw a thing in BMW FS after checking again. I can't say for certain that my actions caused this magical discount to appear, but after months of my girlfriend contacting dealerships and FS without luck....plus that nothing in this experience was like any of the others posted here, make of it what you will....

From my reading about the Sherman Anti-Trust Act

"Price fixing is an agreement among competitors to raise, fix, or otherwise maintain the price at which their goods or services are sold. It is not necessary that the competitors agree to charge exactly the same price, or that every competitor in a given industry join the conspiracy. Price fixing can take many forms, and any agreement that restricts price competition violates the law."

Given that the dealerships are "independently owned and operated" (BMW FS loves that verbiage) this would be an agreement effectively between competing entities for the buyout. The last line is telling, they can't make an agreement (and the dealers being under duress from corporate is irrelevant). Also, if a violation of the law is found, treble damages (triple) can be awarded as punishment - so there is a steep cost!

So, effectively we bought our lease vehicle and we got a fair market value - after it was all said and done, we beat the pricing I had seen online for a similar car that had less options, instead of being thousands more. I am definitely satisfied with the outcome, though it shouldn't have been so difficult.