looking at a 325i lease

[Lightngsvt]

Hello, Im a newb here and am thinking of leasing an 06 325i for my daily driver. I was looking for a cheap car under $300/mo and the dealer almost met that goal. They have 3- 06 325i's on "lease special" right now, Im sure they want these "old" cars gone. The payment is $329/mo for 24 mo (plus 6% tax), 10500 miles per year (should be OK as I have 2 other vehicles), $2500 down plus fees (1st, sec dep, etc). Seems to be a great deal, right?

Sure this isnt a loaded 335i, but its still a BMW in every sense of the word. I enjoyed my test drive in the car. The biggest downside is they are all autos! 2 are silver / black and the 3rd is black/tan. Like I said they have auto, moon roof and a few other options, but are not loaded by any means (they are in comparison to a Ford, GM or Honda though).

The wierd thing is all of the 3 dealres near me have similar deals, they each only have 2 - 4 cars and they are all similarly equipped. Could these have been sent out by BMW earlier in the year to use as "loss leaders" to draw customers in and then upsell them? They are definitely brand new cars, the one I drove had under 8 miles on it.

[Lightngsvt]

I realize it isnt a 335, but it is still an E90 guys! LOL! In case anyone cares I got some more info:

MSRP ~$34000
sale price $~$32000 ($2k off MSRP)
residual 74%
term 24 months
rate 6% (I think?)
total due at signing ~$3550 (I told them I only wanted to spend $2500 and they hinted that if I was ready to sign they would probably take the $2500 and give me the same payment. But I could order an 07 328i w/6 speed for basically the same lease payment (slightly higher) with $3500 COD.

[davekNY]

I'm picking up a 2007 328XI at the end of this week. It's a lease deal. The MRSP for the car is $39,700. It's costing me $2750 total at delivery (including tax). It's a 24 month lease with 12K miles per year. My monthly payment is $348. I shopped around to 5-6 dealers and these guys came in with the best deal. You should get your dealer to bump up your milage to 12K per year. This way if you are really enjoying the drive you have 1500 extra miles per year to play with.

[Lightngsvt]

Does your $348 monthly payment include tax? Also, what options did you get on your car, Im guessing sport / premium by the MSRP.

[docross]

I realize it isnt a 335, but it is still an E90 guys! LOL! In case anyone cares I got some more info:

MSRP ~$34000
sale price $~$32000 ($2k off MSRP)
residual 74%
term 24 months
rate 6% (I think?)
total due at signing ~$3550 (I told them I only wanted to spend $2500 and they hinted that if I was ready to sign they would probably take the $2500 and give me the same payment. But I could order an 07 328i w/6 speed for basically the same lease payment (slightly higher) with $3500 COD.

I thought the 335i coupe was designated E92?
If you think it is fair and manageable, it is a good deal.
Seems fair don't you think?

[davekNY]

Does your $348 monthly payment include tax? Also, what options did you get on your car, Im guessing sport / premium by the MSRP.
The $348 doesn't include tax. The tax is included in the $2750 upfront costs. $348 was the lowest monthly payment I found out of 5-6 dealers.

The car has few options. Automatic, heated seats, power seats

[NickA325is]

e92-coupe
e90-sedan

[Lightngsvt]

Maybe its different in MI because they add tax to our monthly payments when we lease a vehicle. $348/mo total payment is a screaming deal on your new 328! Ill have to shop around some more, I wonder if I can go out of state and lease a car?

[Jhunter]

Maybe its different in MI because they add tax to our monthly payments when we lease a vehicle. $348/mo total payment is a screaming deal on your new 328! Ill have to shop around some more, I wonder if I can go out of state and lease a car?

You are better off paying the tax monthly. In Ohio you used to pay it monthly but a few years ago they changed the law so that you pay the same amount of tax in total but its all up front. So now you either pay more at delivery or you finance it by adding it to the cap cost which in essence gets you back to the same place as paying monthly except now you are paying interest on the sales tax!

If you lease out of state they have to charge the sales tax for the state (and in Ohio's case the county, as rates differ between counties) where the car will be registered.

[davekNY]

Maybe its different in MI because they add tax to our monthly payments when we lease a vehicle. $348/mo total payment is a screaming deal on your new 328! Ill have to shop around some more, I wonder if I can go out of state and lease a car?

I got some good news today. The dealer is going to be a day or two late with my delivery so they reduced my monthly payment from $348 to $339 to accomodate the inconvenience. Sweet. I thanked them.

[Lightngsvt]

Congrats! Thats a great deal.

I got thinking after seeing that BMW is still offering the $329/mo lease on the 07 328i's that i should just go for an 07 for the same money. That way I can get a 6sp instead of the slushbox. I found a dealer about 1.5 hours away that is willing to deal off of MSRP for the 07 328i and said he could ge t me high $3's/mo with just "fees" due at signing. I want Sparkling graphite, but they have a silver / black 6 sp, heated seats due in within the next 2 weeks. Basic car but shoudl fit my payment range easily. or he said they can configure one of their orders and still deal on the price. Plus they will come and pick up the car and leave a lonaer anytime the car is in for service or maintenance!

[Lightngsvt]

Well came across what seems to be a deal, its an 06 325i auto :(. It was a BMW reps car and has 5k miles. Its loaded (leather, Premium, Sport and Cold weather packages, Satellite, Harmon-Kardon, Xenon's, etc), sticker was over $42k. 24 month lease w/10k miles for $399/mo inc taxes with my trade and $1500 cash due at signing.

Problem is I just found out my old mortgage co is reporting 4 late pmts AFTER we had closed the loan and the wife has been getting happy with the Credit Cards lately. So now might not be the optimal time. What would you do?

[TheRealMadDog]

Well came across what seems to be a deal, its an 06 325i auto . It was a BMW reps car and has 5k miles. Its loaded (leather, Premium, Sport and Cold weather packages, Satellite, Harmon-Kardon, Xenon's, etc), sticker was over $42k. 24 month lease w/10k miles for $399/mo inc taxes with my trade and $1500 cash due at signing.

Problem is I just found out my old mortgage co is reporting 4 late pmts AFTER we had closed the loan and the wife has been getting happy with the Credit Cards lately. So now might not be the optimal time. What would you do?

"With my trade" lost the deal for me. No dealer will give you what your old car is worth. Better to sell it to a private party.

TRMD

[Lightngsvt]

Normally I would agree 100%, but the problem is the car is a 1998 Ford Contour SVT w/90k miles. The car looks great and runs great, but currently needs A/C work, springs, struts, alignment and a control arm. So the way I look at it its a wash either way right now. I trade it and the dealer "inflates" the value, I sell it now for what the dealer will give me or I fix everything and basically break even on my "investment".