Lease Assumption Help/Pointers in SoCal

[mantas]

Hey everyone, having sold my E92 M3 last year, I've been eager to get back into one, and now I would like to get into the F80 M3 by leasing one. It will be a lease transfer and I'm out of state, the lessee is in Anaheim, CA. My main question and concern is should I get the car inspected at their local BMW dealership? The car is a '16 with 15k miles on it. Is a PPI necessary, or does BMW provide with one, since its their car and its under warranty and all. Also how would I check if the car has been modified or flagged with any mods? Would just calling them and giving the VIN number give me that answer?

Thank to all in advance.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by mantas

Hey everyone, having sold my E92 M3 last year, I've been eager to get back into one, and now I would like to get into the F80 M3 by leasing one. It will be a lease transfer and I'm out of state, the lessee is in Anaheim, CA. My main question and concern is should I get the car inspected at their local BMW dealership? The car is a '16 with 15k miles on it. Is a PPI necessary, or does BMW provide with one, since its their car and its under warranty and all. Also how would I check if the car has been modified or flagged with any mods? Would just calling them and giving the VIN number give me that answer?

Thank to all in advance.

Yes you should get it inspected. No BMW doesn't do one. You are taking the risk that the original lessee did not breach the lease agreement.

[mantas]

Originally Posted by Thescout13

Yes you should get it inspected. No BMW doesn't do one. You are taking the risk that the original lessee did not breach the lease agreement.

What do you mean by that? Why would he breach the lease agreement? He needs to get rid of it.

[3PedalMINI]

Originally Posted by mantas

What do you mean by that? Why would he breach the lease agreement? He needs to get rid of it.

by breach he means "not returned as delivered" (different rims,aftermarket exhaust, car beat to shit etc)

in a lease BMW expects the return to be exactly as delivered with an acceptable about of wear.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by 3PedalMINI

by breach he means "not returned as delivered" (different rims,aftermarket exhaust, car beat to shit etc)

in a lease BMW expects the return to be exactly as delivered with an acceptable about of wear.

Exactly my point. Thanks!

[mantas]

Oh I see now, well everything looks good in pictures, looks flawless. Was told its never been modified. Should I still order the PPI from BMW or just have them check the VIN that its not flagged?

[3PedalMINI]

Originally Posted by mantas

Oh I see now, well everything looks good in pictures, looks flawless. Was told its never been modified. Should I still order the PPI from BMW or just have them check the VIN that its not flagged?

Flagging would require someone to update the database which seldom gets done.

Considering your taking over someone else's financial responsibility I would absolutely pay the money for the PPI. I would also make sure the PPI includes readings of all painted panels to make sure they have never been resprayed. If they have have BMWna cross check with their database. The reason being is cars regularly get damaged during transport and get fixed at the port. If BMWna has no record of the fix then check with the originating dealer. If they have no record then my guess would be a minor wreck of some sort. If either the dealer or BMWna has a record then it's fine!

Remember, carfax has really good marketing. The fact of the matter is it relies on people (shops) updating the database and there is no guarantee that gets done.

Once you take over the lease it's entirely on you. You have zero recourse if something comes up during the lease end inspection.

[dantm3]

I took over a lease from a guy and assumed payment. On one hand, the car had 8 months left and was clean, but on the other hand I really got screwed at time of return because the car had bald tires and was scuffed under side of the bumper. The tires were runflats (335 has to have runflats when returned) So I had to make the decision of replacing tires for 300 a piece, having bmw charge me 350 a tire, or trying to find used ones that had enough tread to pass inspection. The guy was not honest about tires, and said bumper scuff was too small to be charged.... In the end it was a stupid pickup. I ended up paying for 3 new tires at lease return and I believe 120.00 for the minor bumper charge. with the lease assumption fee of 250 (we split it) and the lease return fee was 350.00 I ended up paying 600 for payment for 8 months and then another 200 a month or so in fees (1600 total in damage/tires, assumption fee, and return fee divided by the 8 months I drove the car) Stupid financial decision if you ask me and I plan to do all my homework prior to ever doing another assumption... Another thing to consider if car is driven hard or tracked, bmw will not transfer maintenance and if brakes are due those are on you to complete, or pay the charge at lease end as well. In essence I am saying get the inspection and make sure everything is good on the car. Don't let the guy punt you his issues/possible problems.

[mantas]

Originally Posted by 3PedalMINI

Flagging would require someone to update the database which seldom gets done.

Considering your taking over someone else's financial responsibility I would absolutely pay the money for the PPI. I would also make sure the PPI includes readings of all painted panels to make sure they have never been resprayed. If they have have BMWna cross check with their database. The reason being is cars regularly get damaged during transport and get fixed at the port. If BMWna has no record of the fix then check with the originating dealer. If they have no record then my guess would be a minor wreck of some sort. If either the dealer or BMWna has a record then it's fine!

Remember, carfax has really good marketing. The fact of the matter is it relies on people (shops) updating the database and there is no guarantee that gets done.

Once you take over the lease it's entirely on you. You have zero recourse if something comes up during the lease end inspection.

Would they find any evidence of modding or previously installed tune during the PPI? Should I also check the carfax? I will ask them to check the paint for any overspray. Thanks.

[mantas]

Originally Posted by dantm3

I took over a lease from a guy and assumed payment. On one hand, the car had 8 months left and was clean, but on the other hand I really got screwed at time of return because the car had bald tires and was scuffed under side of the bumper. The tires were runflats (335 has to have runflats when returned) So I had to make the decision of replacing tires for 300 a piece, having bmw charge me 350 a tire, or trying to find used ones that had enough tread to pass inspection. The guy was not honest about tires, and said bumper scuff was too small to be charged.... In the end it was a stupid pickup. I ended up paying for 3 new tires at lease return and I believe 120.00 for the minor bumper charge. with the lease assumption fee of 250 (we split it) and the lease return fee was 350.00 I ended up paying 600 for payment for 8 months and then another 200 a month or so in fees (1600 total in damage/tires, assumption fee, and return fee divided by the 8 months I drove the car) Stupid financial decision if you ask me and I plan to do all my homework prior to ever doing another assumption... Another thing to consider if car is driven hard or tracked, bmw will not transfer maintenance and if brakes are due those are on you to complete, or pay the charge at lease end as well. In essence I am saying get the inspection and make sure everything is good on the car. Don't let the guy punt you his issues/possible problems.

Yeah that sucks.. In my case I will have the lease protection plan, and already plan on changing the tires because they are still original. Thanks for your input.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by mantas

Would they find any evidence of modding or previously installed tune during the PPI? Should I also check the carfax? I will ask them to check the paint for any overspray. Thanks.

A good PPI could find evidence of modding. They could potentially find evidence of tune (tamper codes) if they pull the codes. But if the previous owner used another system or one that flashed and erased the code likely not. You can ask the dealer to pull the data and make sure nothing was done to the engine to void the warranty. It's up to them if they want to do that for you. Had a friend pick up a CPO car in the past that had been flashed and the flashed back to stock before he bought it. Had a turbo failure (N54) shortly after buying the car. They tried to deny his warranty because they said he tuned it. He had them pull the last flash counter date and show it to him, it was from before he purchased the car. Needless to say BMW ate the cost of that warranty work, and good that they did because he would have had a strong case against them for fraud.

[Bluesummer]

Originally Posted by dantm3

I took over a lease from a guy and assumed payment. On one hand, the car had 8 months left and was clean, but on the other hand I really got screwed at time of return because the car had bald tires and was scuffed under side of the bumper. The tires were runflats (335 has to have runflats when returned) So I had to make the decision of replacing tires for 300 a piece, having bmw charge me 350 a tire, or trying to find used ones that had enough tread to pass inspection. The guy was not honest about tires, and said bumper scuff was too small to be charged.... In the end it was a stupid pickup. I ended up paying for 3 new tires at lease return and I believe 120.00 for the minor bumper charge. with the lease assumption fee of 250 (we split it) and the lease return fee was 350.00 I ended up paying 600 for payment for 8 months and then another 200 a month or so in fees (1600 total in damage/tires, assumption fee, and return fee divided by the 8 months I drove the car) Stupid financial decision if you ask me and I plan to do all my homework prior to ever doing another assumption... Another thing to consider if car is driven hard or tracked, bmw will not transfer maintenance and if brakes are due those are on you to complete, or pay the charge at lease end as well. In essence I am saying get the inspection and make sure everything is good on the car. Don't let the guy punt you his issues/possible problems.

How did you dodge the lump sum TX tax on lease when you assume the lease?

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by Bluesummer

How did you dodge the lump sum TX tax on lease when you assume the lease?

Depends on the tax assessor's office but most don't bat an eye and just let you register without paying the tax again. I spent months researching this and talk to a few guys at C&C and they gave me the scoop.

[dantm3]

Originally Posted by Bluesummer

How did you dodge the lump sum TX tax on lease when you assume the lease?

I was living In CA at the time on this one. I did do a lease swap here in TX and paid no tax though either.. the tax assessor just charged me 170 for plates and reg fees from what I remember. I was prepared to pay 80% of assessed value off the website estimate but when I got there they told me I was good with just the fees. Williamson county in Austin area didn't care