BMW Leasing 101 / FAQ (BMW emphasis)

[OneRib]

Originally Posted by 818M3

How do you guys negotiate 5k+ off the MSRP on leases? And would you be able to do that for individual orders as well? Thanks

You negotiate the sales price on a lease the same way as if you were buying. Many factors lead to that amount of savings including but not limited to the CA and dealer, the model you want, manufacturer incentives, time of the month and year, and a buyers knowledge of the current sales market. Everyone has a different approach, and you have to decide what's best for you. Individual makes no difference except that you really can't negotiate the price of individual options. Those are dictated by BMW.

[CachacoF80]

I need a little input on upfront taxes. I thought it was based on cap cost reduction only. My dealer says "upfront tax is the (total cap reduction + documentation fee + acquisition fee)". I don't understand why would your tax the acquisition and doc fees...

Any input would be much appreciated.

[818M3]

Originally Posted by OneRib

You negotiate the sales price on a lease the same way as if you were buying. Many factors lead to that amount of savings including but not limited to the CA and dealer, the model you want, manufacturer incentives, time of the month and year, and a buyers knowledge of the current sales market. Everyone has a different approach, and you have to decide what's best for you. Individual makes no difference except that you really can't negotiate the price of individual options. Those are dictated by BMW.

Thank you for the feedback. Another question of mine would be if I ordered a individual car say in January. I wouldn't receive it for a few months at least. Would the incentives/rebates/offers that BMW has at the time in January carry over to the month you actually pick up the car?

[OneRib]

Originally Posted by 818M3

Thank you for the feedback. Another question of mine would be if I ordered a individual car say in January. I wouldn't receive it for a few months at least. Would the incentives/rebates/offers that BMW has at the time in January carry over to the month you actually pick up the car?

I know it can be locked in for 90 days. After that, you may need to contact your CA to get the original terms extended. Also if the incentives and MF improve you can switch to the new terms up until the point you pick the car up.

[818M3]

Originally Posted by OneRib

I know it can be locked in for 90 days. After that, you may need to contact your CA to get the original terms extended. Also if the incentives and MF improve you can switch to the new terms up until the point you pick the car up.

In terms of extensions that you are referring to, who ultimately makes the decision if the original terms can be extended and is it a guarantee that they will be extended, if the vehicle is received post 90 days of ordering.

Thanks!

[DDR MFS]

A few questions as I am going back to BMW.

I am getting a few quotes from various dealerships and notice there is a significant fee ranging between 1000-1100. When I asked, I got the response that it was a lease acquisition fee... Not sure if I buy that. And then there was another fee of 699 for processing.

Feeling like these are padding charges. Can anyone elaborate on these? Been two years since I leased and getting back into it is proving to require a lot of relearning. Thanks to M forums and leasehackr for helping

[firedown31]

Originally Posted by DDR MFS

A few questions as I am going back to BMW.

I am getting a few quotes from various dealerships and notice there is a significant fee ranging between 1000-1100. When I asked, I got the response that it was a lease acquisition fee... Not sure if I buy that. And then there was another fee of 699 for processing.

Feeling like these are padding charges. Can anyone elaborate on these? Been two years since I leased and getting back into it is proving to require a lot of relearning. Thanks to M forums and leasehackr for helping

BMW charges a $925 lease acquisition fee on every lease, that is not able to be changed by the dealer. If you don't see that exact amount, or it's listed as a higher price, your dealer is ripping you off. The $699 fee sounds like a dealer "doc" fee. In most states dealers are allowed to charge whatever they want for their fees, and they are 100% pure profit to the dealer. You can negotiate on these.

[DDR MFS]

Originally Posted by firedown31

BMW charges a $925 lease acquisition fee on every lease, that is not able to be changed by the dealer. If you don't see that exact amount, or it's listed as a higher price, your dealer is ripping you off. The $699 fee sounds like a dealer "doc" fee. In most states dealers are allowed to charge whatever they want for their fees, and they are 100% pure profit to the dealer. You can negotiate on these.

Thanks so much! Think I am about to lock down my dream car. Got the offer and it all looks good, but just verifying money down is money down out the door. This is from a different dealer that did not have that added padding.

[OneRib]

Originally Posted by 818M3

In terms of extensions that you are referring to, who ultimately makes the decision if the original terms can be extended and is it a guarantee that they will be extended, if the vehicle is received post 90 days of ordering.

Thanks!

If I remember correctly as soon as you have a build slot assigned to you then you can lock in the current rate and any subsequent rate that may be better. I'm pretty sure that's what happened with my ED in 2015. Never did an individual order so you may need to ask someone on the forum who has. It's at your discretion.

[818M3]

Something that I haven't been able to find the answer to so I will ask here. I know you can outright purchase the vehicle at any given time during the lease. What are other options once your lease term is concluded, would it be possible to finance the car at that point?

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by 818M3

Something that I haven't been able to find the answer to so I will ask here. I know you can outright purchase the vehicle at any given time during the lease. What are other options once your lease term is concluded, would it be possible to finance the car at that point?

Yes, sort of

Meaning, the car is owned by the leasing company (normally BMW FS) - so you "purchase" it from them, at the agreed upon amount (your residual).

Now there are lots of factors at play there... because
1. Sometimes you can get BMW to negotiate the deal - especially if they guessed wrong and the car is worth a lot less now than what your buy out is.
2. You are re-purchasing the car (well technically, you never owned it) - so some (possibly most?) states will charge tax on this purchase.

HTH

[818M3]

Originally Posted by doug_999

Yes, sort of

Meaning, the car is owned by the leasing company (normally BMW FS) - so you "purchase" it from them, at the agreed upon amount (your residual).

Now there are lots of factors at play there... because
1. Sometimes you can get BMW to negotiate the deal - especially if they guessed wrong and the car is worth a lot less now than what your buy out is.
2. You are re-purchasing the car (well technically, you never owned it) - so some (possibly most?) states will charge tax on this purchase.

HTH

Do you mean I can finance the car for 60 months at this point?

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by 818M3

Do you mean I can finance the car for 60 months at this point?

If they will offer you this then yes. Normally used car loans have a higher APR and 60 months is a long long time to be paying off a car that is already 3 years old (so the car is 8 years old when you make the final payment... )

Look, reading between the lines....financing 5 years on a used car is not the smartest thing you can do - and normally you are doing that to get the payment as low as possible and you are going to have a BMW that is way out of warranty (and not as reliable as a toyota/honda) and well... you just shouldn't do it because at the end of the day, if you are doing it to get the monthly down, you probably should not be buying that car....

[818M3]

Originally Posted by doug_999

If they will offer you this then yes. Normally used car loans have a higher APR and 60 months is a long long time to be paying off a car that is already 3 years old (so the car is 8 years old when you make the final payment... )

Look, reading between the lines....financing 5 years on a used car is not the smartest thing you can do - and normally you are doing that to get the payment as low as possible and you are going to have a BMW that is way out of warranty (and not as reliable as a toyota/honda) and well... you just shouldn't do it because at the end of the day, if you are doing it to get the monthly down, you probably should not be buying that car....

Thanks

[1M4]

I was told that they don’t offer lease pull ahead for the last three payments on the M4’s and I think it was all M models.Is that still something new or has that always been the case?I wasn’t sure if the Bmw drive event $1,000 incentive can be used to lease a new M as I believe M cars might be excluded from that as well.

[OneRib]

Originally Posted by 1M4

I was told that they don’t offer lease pull ahead for the last three payments on the M4’s and I think it was all M models.Is that still something new or has that always been the case?I wasn’t sure if the Bmw drive event $1,000 incentive can be used to lease a new M as I believe M cars might be excluded from that as well.

Pull ahead is always at the discretion of BMWFS. They can cherry pick from any models they want. Drive events also can have different stipulations from year to year.

[Nikolas]

Originally Posted by OneRib

If I remember correctly as soon as you have a build slot assigned to you then you can lock in the current rate and any subsequent rate that may be better. I'm pretty sure that's what happened with my ED in 2015. Never did an individual order so you may need to ask someone on the forum who has. It's at your discretion.

I'm being told lock in for ED is 30 days?

[OneRib]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

I'm being told lock in for ED is 30 days?

This could be true as the ED program has changed a bit since I did in in 2015. Best bet, if you aren't sure the dealer is correct, is to call BMWFS and talk to a rep. They should easily be able to answer. You don't even have to give your info, you could just say you were interested in the ED program and wanted to know how the lease financing worked.

[Greekca]

Has anyone tried to add a non-family member to their lease before?

When I called about adding my girlfriend to the lease so she could also drive the car, I was told that I would have to go through a lease assumption process. However, then I wouldn't be able to drive the car because it would be in her name.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by Greekca

Has anyone tried to add a non-family member to their lease before?

When I called about adding my girlfriend to the lease so she could also drive the car, I was told that I would have to go through a lease assumption process. However, then I wouldn't be able to drive the car because it would be in her name.

Any help would be much appreciated.

So BMW FS says that only family members can drive the car? I would think would be an insurance thing?

[Greekca]

Originally Posted by doug_999

So BMW FS says that only family members can drive the car? I would think would be an insurance thing?

Yeah that is what they said. I thought the same thing at first, but then again maybe they misunderstood the question.

[doug_999]

Originally Posted by Greekca

Yeah that is what they said. I thought the same thing at first, but then again maybe they misunderstood the question.

weird - I would check the lease contract. I was going to dig out mine, but it is old and I bet it has changed.