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worldflav... worldflav...
 
M$4 September 23, 2009 09:45 PM

Auto Lease question: I'm about to return my BMW lease. If I want to buy my car lease, what value do they go by?

Do they go by the blue book value or do they want the remaining balance on the car?

Anybody have experience with purchasing a BMW lease?
Any tips on how to get a good deal with this purchase would help.
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fogelbaby fogelbaby
 
 September 24, 2009 02:17 PM
By far, the best way to deal with this is to do absolutely nothing. If you tell BMW in any way that you are interested in buying out the car you are screwed. You want them to think that you are going to turn the car back in, because believe it or not that's the last thing they want you to do. They lose big bucks on lease turn-ins because they have to turn around and sell it back to the dealer for way less than the buyout on your lease.

As you get close to the end of your lease, you will start getting phone calls from BMW about it. Let them know that you absolutely love the car, but the buyout price seems to high given current market conditions. They will tell you that the buyout price is fixed, and you'll hang up politely. Eventually, they will call you back with a better deal. Iterate this a few times until they call you back with a really good deal.

I leased a Z4 3.0si in 2006 that had an MSRP of around $47,500. I worked the lease real hard and got a crazy good deal, partially by negotiating the buyout up to around $31,000. Come lease time I said that the buyout was way too high. I ended up buying from BMW for $22,500, and they offered me 3.9% interest to boot.


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worldflavo... worldflavo...
 
September 24, 2009 04:18 PM
2 dealerships have contacted me about my lease ending soon on my 2006 BMW 330i, the original dealer and another. My lease ends on Oct 26. I talked to my original dealer, and have already shown interest in buying (i called before posting to Mahalo, my bad) and I did tell them that I looked up the value of the car in the kelley blue book was for $22,885. The original buyout for this car is about $28,000. So what i told the finance rep, was that I would be willing to pay around $20k and that she is going to see what she can do with BMW financing. After that conversation, someone else called, probably her Manager and left me a message. I havent called the Manager yet, but I think he is going to have some sort of offer for me.

What should I do, if they offer a higher price on the vehicle then what I was asking for? Should I politely hang up and expect a better deal? or Can I work with another dealer for a better deal?

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worldflavo... worldflavo...
 
September 24, 2009 04:21 PM
You got a super deal for your Z4, good going!

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fogelbaby fogelbaby
 
September 25, 2009 02:13 PM
If they offer you a higher price and there is still some time, I would wait them out. They do not want to take the car back. You are in the power seat. I would also deal with BMW directly. The dealer is going to try to profit off this deal. Don't let them.

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fogelbaby fogelbaby
 
September 25, 2009 02:15 PM
Yeah 28,000 for the car is crazy. BMW wrote some really bad leases (for them) when you leased your car. They are going to have to eat a ton of that. I wouldn't be surprised if you can get the 20,000 deal. You can get a certified pre-owned 330 for $24-$25 easy, maybe less.

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worldflavo... worldflavo...
 
September 25, 2009 09:59 PM
I spoke to the dealership today and they said that had contacted BMW financing. That BMW finance, were not willing to go lower than the amount buyout amount of 28,000. Should I believe this??

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stanar stanar
 
September 26, 2009 02:55 PM
"I looked up the value of the car in the kelley blue book was for $22,885. The original buyout for this car is about $28,000."

As you mentioned, the buyout price seems to be high. I would wait to get it under the Blue book price, unless you are emotionally attached to this car.

If they dont lower the price and you are not attached to this car, why shouldnt you look out for a similar car from a private party on craiglist or any other certified preowned dealer?

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fogelbaby fogelbaby
 
September 26, 2009 03:04 PM
no don't believe it. wait until 2 weeks before the turn in date and BMW will start calling you. If not, call them 7 days before turn in. They will come down a lot. The people on the other end of the phone have leeway on what they can offer you. If you aren't getting what you think is the best deal, try to talk to another person. Be assertive and persistent. I would shoot for $22,000 max, and try to get lower.

Your car is worth $22000 to a dealer, max. Probably less. They would need to put a few thousand into it to resell it, and they can't get better than $25,500 or $26000 for it, maybe much less.

In the end, this is BMWs problem. If they won't give you a deal you are happy with, just turn the car in. Its a lease. Walking away was the assumption at the beginning. If you knew you were going to buy it you should have financed. Don't let them hook you into buying the car for an inflated price.

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worldflavo... worldflavo...
 
September 27, 2009 01:32 AM
@fogelbaby the other thing is that my mileage is over by 40k. So my mileage penalty will probably be around $8k. Im thinking if they know this, they will want me to pay the penalty.

But I think I should talk to another dealer or another person like you recommend and call their bluff.

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genp genp
 
September 23, 2009 10:31 PM
I believe they would start with the kelly blue book value then adjust for mileage accrued, general condition of the car, and maintenance. You should check with your dealership for an estimate.

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easyeboy easyeboy
 
September 24, 2009 04:33 AM
This is a good question, as they can go by any value of the car, and they do not take in consideration the remaining balance on the lease of the car. It would be nice if they did, but that's not how it works in the automotive industry, as technically you do not own the car when you lease it. Think of it as if you were renting the car in the long term. Some dealerships have have a lease to own contracts, and you would have to set something like this before.

Since the dealership could put any value on the car, you don't know what they will put on it. There are two good sources to look at as benchmarks for car value, either Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds. You should not just go by one, as if you do this, then you will not be able to negotiate as easily. You will find two different prices, so your best bet is to try to go by the one that has the lower price of the two for the car, as you're looking for the better deal.

BMW dealers are usually good with purchasing leases. It's been a while, but I know for a fact they are more inclined to sell you this leased car, as they know or hope that they will have you as a customer for future service on the vehicle.

So, here are my tips:

1. Look at more than one blue book
2. Negotiate the deal
3. Work with someone at the dealership you've dealt with before
4. Don't just go by what the dealership says
5. Get an appraisal on the car

You may even want to put a classified ad up for the car to get an idea of what people would pay for it. This is not always recommended, but it will give you a good idea. Look at other classified ads and then you'll see what people are selling similar cars for. You might be able to negotiate a deal with the dealer this way.

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fogelbaby fogelbaby
 
September 28, 2009 12:50 AM
Good lord I hope you didn't tell them your mileage. It means nothing if you buy the car but really makes you not want to turn it in. If they know they they will try to screw you on the price of the car.

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