Change in expected yearly mileage - what to do with M3 lease?

[JTM09]

Hey guys,

I currently have 23 more months on my lease - 10k/yr. In the first 12 months of ownership I put on about 9500 miles.


I will be changing jobs soon and that will necessitate me driving aprox 16-17k/year.

I absolutely love my M. No issues at all. Just wondering the best way to manage the asset.

would you:

1) drive it like you stole it for 23 more months, and just pay the fee on the extra 12k miles (pay ahead to save a few bucks obviously) - turn in and move on. 12k mi x .27 = $3200 :

or

2) sell it / trade it now for something else? I'm open to ideas.

or

3) drive it like normal, but keep it after the lease ends in 23 more months. This idea is less appealing now as BMWFS recently did away with the potential of lower than residual dealer negotiated prices on lease turn in cars.

or

4) drive it for 23 months and sell in the spring of '20 to carmax or private party to avoid the fees. The car is unique (YMB / Golden Brown / 6 speed / CF roof) so the resale market may be a good option at this time.


Just curious to what others think about my situation. thanks

[Thescout13]

Don't sell it or trade it in now. Will likely take a $10-15k bath. At that point better to keep it and pay the $3200.

Another option is to turn the lease in early right when you are at 29,999 miles and just pay your remaining payments.

Trade it in at the end of the lease towards a new car, unless your under amount at that point will be more than the $3200.

[Poiseuille]

Have you considered solving your problem with a beater? Aside from solving the mileage accumulation issue, beaters are useful in other ways: you have to take your dog to the vet; you have to drive in snow; you have to drive when a nor'easter is in the area; you have to drive to Philly and can't avoid it....you see what I mean. I had an E39 that I kept for 17 years for that purpose even though I never lease. If you're careful, you can get a pretty good beater for $3200, E36, even a lesser E46, minimal insurance coverage, adequate maintenance to keep it going, and at the end you still have the beater.

[Darth One]

Originally Posted by Poiseuille

Have you considered solving your problem with a beater? Aside from solving the mileage accumulation issue, beaters are useful in other ways: you have to take your dog to the vet; you have to drive in snow; you have to drive when a nor'easter is in the area; you have to drive to Philly and can't avoid it....you see what I mean. I had an E39 that I kept for 17 years for that purpose even though I never lease. If you're careful, you can get a pretty good beater for $3200, E36, even a lesser E46, minimal insurance coverage, adequate maintenance to keep it going, and at the end you still have the beater.

This is the right answer. Get something fun and cheap that can take huge mileage. There are plenty of those kinds of cars. Justify it by calculating how much you'll lose/have to pay out with the other options

[JamesMA]

Agreed on the beater. I am getting an old E46 325i that I know was well maintained to be a winter / "not in the M3" car. Should allow me to have the best of both worlds.

[RickFLM4]

I'd go with 1) but remain open to 3). Selling or trading in now or after putting a bunch of miles on it will likely cost more than $3,200. A beater isn't a bad idea if you can find one that will be reliable, really cheap and is something you plan to keep long term. But if it is a break even proposition over the next couple of years or you risk break downs / repairs, I'd just enjoy the M.

[SMGCFP]

If you don't have the space for the beater, pay the $3200. Hopefully the new job location resulted in more income.

[Darth One]

The cost of the job change will be more than $3200 for option 1 or whatever depreciation hit you take with the other options, btw. Assuming you're at the new job long term, you'll have some kind of additional running cost every year in the form of a higher lease payment for more miles or additional depreciation.

Personally, I'd set a budget - reasonable but much higher than $3200 - for a daily driver. Then when the M lease is done, I'd just adjust my payment for the new car to fit the DD's payment. 16-17k a year should be nothing for even a used car - I remember when that used to be considered totally normal mileage

[alex2364]

Just prepare to $3200 before lease end. That is your cheapest and most fun option. The sell or keep option at lease end will depend on residual vs car value and you can decide that later.

[DML]

Pre purchase additional miles saving a bit of coin.

[zorrro]

Originally Posted by Darth One

This is the right answer. Get something fun and cheap that can take huge mileage. There are plenty of those kinds of cars. Justify it by calculating how much you'll lose/have to pay out with the other options

+1 especially since OP is in PA - perfect winter solution?

[JibSTir13]

Pre-purchase additional miles gets my vote.

If that's not an option, I'd go with #1.

I definitely would not get a beater and park the M as that means you're making monthly lease payments to keep the car parked.

[DBACE]

Ah, it is not often you see the down side of leasing a car on this forum. You leased to keep your cash flow and your savings in a plump state, and now you might have to pay for the sins of your high mileage. Leo Getz says "they always get you in the drive-thru".... I say they can get you in other places too.

Why don't you move closer to the new job? Motorcycles are a great way to commute too.

Good luck in your new job.

[tropicalypso]

Won't some BMW dealers forgive the mileage if you purchase/lease a subsequent BMW from them?

[Aaaaaaaaa]

Originally Posted by tropicalypso

Won't some BMW dealers forgive the mileage if you purchase/lease a subsequent BMW from them?

Not 12-14k miles over. If one does please tell me now.

[gatorfast]

I say just keep it and pay the mileage overage. Based on your math its less than a $100 increase in monthly payment for 50%+ more miles.

[NCThreePedals]

Beater makes no sense since it will be at least $3200 so that negates the extra mileage of the car right off the bat, plus insurance, maintenance, etc

I say drive it and either a) pay the $3200 extra at turn in or b) 2-3 months prior to turn it in list it for sale and get trade-in price estimates from carfax or strike a deal with it for your next car.

[Mazen189]

I would recommend what others are saying and get yourself a beater

Your mileage estimate is only an estimate and can drastically change with you going out on the weekends. Small trips n such.

I've seen some accords and camerys that are fairly clean selling for cheap. May not be your taste in car ownership. But it's something to keep the miles off your M.

[EricSMG]

Originally Posted by NCThreePedals

Beater makes no sense since it will be at least $3200 so that negates the extra mileage of the car right off the bat, plus insurance, maintenance, etc

I say drive it and either a) pay the $3200 extra at turn in or b) 2-3 months prior to turn it in list it for sale and get trade-in price estimates from carfax or strike a deal with it for your next car.

But you still have the beater at the end, probably still worth what you paid. So it's not money down the drain.

[3PedalMINI]

I have a 2003 CRV 4WD with 160,xxx miles on it right now for sale! It was my Philly beater for the last year! Ill sell it to you for $2800 bucks.....with the M tax that will be $5400

What do you mean dealers cant negotiate based off residual at lease end? I thought it was never a negotiation but more or less how much the dealer could buy the car from BMWFS and what they were willing to sell it to you for? Are they no longer allowed todo this? Where did you hear this from?

If this is the case then shit, my plan for my M3 lease end is shot out the window

Personally if you dont want to buy my beater then I would go ahead and keep the car, enjoy it and when you become ~6 months out then reevaluate and pre-purchase miles at a discount!

[Poiseuille]

[QUOTE=3PedalMINI;23592842]I have a 2003 CRV 4WD with 160,xxx miles on it right now for sale! It was my Philly beater for the last year! Ill sell it to you for $2800 bucks.....with the M tax that will be $5400


bwahahahahaha........I love that

[jmg]

$3200/23months = $140 a month.

You COULD get some beater and be forced to drive a beater OR spend $140 a month and drive a sweet M car. To me this is a no brainer: just toss an extra $140 in an account somewhere.