December deals?

[ChicagoPete]

What are people here seeing for December deals? I am in the Chicago area, and I am not impressed so far in what I am seeing for lease deals.

The BMW site shows some strong numbers, $5500 Lease Incentive plus $1000 for a Holiday Incentive for a total of $6500. But for a loaded Tera REX (everything but the HK Sound and the 20" Wheels, MSRP of $53,950), I got a quote for just under $600 per month for 36 and 24 months, with over $8K down, including state sales tax. (I plan to do 24.) That was with less than $2K off the MSRP.

I have also asked for Owner's Choice numbers as well, and have reached out to a second dealer in the area, who has a car in stock that matches my desired configuration, hopefully he gets more aggressive. (The first dealer would have to locate one.)

Anyone here seeing good December deals, can you share any numbers?

Thanks!

 

[lencap]

Not sure if BMW lease deals are regional or not, but I'm in NC and took advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend lease specials. I selected a 24 month one payment lease - essentially prepaying for the entire lease up front. The money factor was very attractive - 1.02% APR with several other discounts included. In my state there is a 3% tax on automobiles - which was added to the lease payments, along with something that seems to be unique to the southeast - a dealer "documentation fee" which for my dealership is $598. This fee is added to all vehicle sales regardless of the sale price - it's a fixed charge to cover dealer "costs" for processing paperwork. It's a complete ripoff but legal in my state as long as it's applied to all cars.

Anyway, when I first inquired about leasing my i3 Giga non Rex i3, with technology package, heated seats, rapid charger, and Andesite paint the MSRP was $48,100. My initial lease quote (from late May) was over $700/month with $2,500 down for a three year lease - a price level that didn't interest me at all. The price I negotiated for an all in one time payment two weeks ago is $9,200 - that includes NC tax, implied dealer documentation fee and all other costs. That's the equivalent of just under $385/month - quite a difference.

The lease is a "walk-away" lease - at the end of the lease I'm finished - the lease includes the termination charge and everything else. Given my experience I think you can do better than the quote you've been given, but I do know that BMW provided and extra $2,000 discount incentive for the Thanksgiving promotion. You may/may not get that discount. If not, it would raise your two year lease by $85/month or so. On the other hand you likely won't be hit with a $600 documentation charge - offsetting costs somewhat.

If I decided to pay monthly two year lease payments, and a $2,500 down payment (which includes the first month payment and the termination costs) my monthly payments would have been about $60 higher. The lease money factor was higher on the two year monthly lease option (I don't remember exactly, but it was 2.5-3%), which resulted in the higher cost.

I had leased a Nissan Leaf for $209/month with $1,500 down for two years on a regional promotion. My negotiated i3 lease "all in costs" are about $110/month higher than the Leaf. The MSRP difference between the two cars was over $11,000 - making the BMW i3 lease a far better financial proposition versus the Leaf. And in terms of the car the i3 is a far better car in every way than the Leaf - with the exception of total passenger carrying (5 versus 4) and cargo room (somewhat greater in the Leaf - but not as well shaped as the i3).

Finally - I looked at the residual values for the two year lease and they are high - making leasing an even better deal. I figured that with a $48,100 cost for my car, as optioned, subtracting the full $7,500 federal tax credit, my adjusted base price is $40,600. Subtracting out the dealer's $598 documentation fee, and the 3% NC "road use" tax, the actual BMW calculated costs including depreciation and implied interest on the i3 is under $8,400. That suggests that the residual value of the car after two years will be $32,200 (adjusting for interest carry).

I highly doubt that a range limited i3 BEV will seem like a good value at that price at the end of 2016, especially with the new EVs coming out from Tesla and others. For that reason alone I decided that leasing was my best option - I think you'll find that the math suggests the same for most people.

If you can get a good lease deal on the 2014 i3 I strongly recommend it. The rates are nearly half of what they were before and the car is without competition at this price point. In fact, the lease on the i3 is less than on many 3 series cars with lower MSRPs. Ask the dealer to provide the "money factor" used to determine lease payments. Multiply that figure by 2400 to convert it to an APR rate equivalent. You should be able to get the equivalent of 3% or less. This has a pretty big impact on your monthly lease rate, with residual value the most critical. The residual on my car was $30,320 (not adjusted for interest carry). That figure seems very aggressive, and makes for a good lease deal.

The last issue to consider is the federal tax credit. While most expect it to continue for several more years, there is always the possibility that it won't be extended. If that's the case the lease costs, and purchase costs, will rise significantly, another reason why I decided to lease now. This shouldn't be a problem for 2015, but may be beyond that.

Good luck on whatever you decide - you'll enjoy the car.

 

[i3atl]

Not sure if BMW lease deals are regional or not, but I'm in NC and took advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend lease specials. I selected a 24 month one payment lease - essentially prepaying for the entire lease up front. The money factor was very attractive - 1.02% APR with several other discounts included. In my state there is a 3% tax on automobiles - which was added to the lease payments, along with something that seems to be unique to the southeast - a dealer "documentation fee" which for my dealership is $598. This fee is added to all vehicle sales regardless of the sale price - it's a fixed charge to cover dealer "costs" for processing paperwork. It's a complete ripoff but legal in my state as long as it's applied to all cars.

Anyway, when I first inquired about leasing my i3 Giga non Rex i3, with technology package, heated seats, rapid charger, and Andesite paint the MSRP was $48,100. My initial lease quote (from late May) was over $700/month with $2,500 down for a three year lease - a price level that didn't interest me at all. The price I negotiated for an all in one time payment two weeks ago is $9,200 - that includes NC tax, implied dealer documentation fee and all other costs. That's the equivalent of just under $385/month - quite a difference.

The lease is a "walk-away" lease - at the end of the lease I'm finished - the lease includes the termination charge and everything else. Given my experience I think you can do better than the quote you've been given, but I do know that BMW provided and extra $2,000 discount incentive for the Thanksgiving promotion. You may/may not get that discount. If not, it would raise your two year lease by $85/month or so. On the other hand you likely won't be hit with a $600 documentation charge - offsetting costs somewhat.

If I decided to pay monthly two year lease payments, and a $2,500 down payment (which includes the first month payment and the termination costs) my monthly payments would have been about $60 higher. The lease money factor was higher on the two year monthly lease option (I don't remember exactly, but it was 2.5-3%), which resulted in the higher cost.

I had leased a Nissan Leaf for $209/month with $1,500 down for two years on a regional promotion. My negotiated i3 lease "all in costs" are about $110/month higher than the Leaf. The MSRP difference between the two cars was over $11,000 - making the BMW i3 lease a far better financial proposition versus the Leaf. And in terms of the car the i3 is a far better car in every way than the Leaf - with the exception of total passenger carrying (5 versus 4) and cargo room (somewhat greater in the Leaf - but not as well shaped as the i3).

Finally - I looked at the residual values for the two year lease and they are high - making leasing an even better deal. I figured that with a $48,100 cost for my car, as optioned, subtracting the full $7,500 federal tax credit, my adjusted base price is $40,600. Subtracting out the dealer's $598 documentation fee, and the 3% NC "road use" tax, the actual BMW calculated costs including depreciation and implied interest on the i3 is under $8,400. That suggests that the residual value of the car after two years will be $32,200 (adjusting for interest carry).

I highly doubt that a range limited i3 BEV will seem like a good value at that price at the end of 2016, especially with the new EVs coming out from Tesla and others. For that reason alone I decided that leasing was my best option - I think you'll find that the math suggests the same for most people.

If you can get a good lease deal on the 2014 i3 I strongly recommend it. The rates are nearly half of what they were before and the car is without competition at this price point. In fact, the lease on the i3 is less than on many 3 series cars with lower MSRPs. Ask the dealer to provide the "money factor" used to determine lease payments. Multiply that figure by 2400 to convert it to an APR rate equivalent. You should be able to get the equivalent of 3% or less. This has a pretty big impact on your monthly lease rate, with residual value the most critical. The residual on my car was $30,320 (not adjusted for interest carry). That figure seems very aggressive, and makes for a good lease deal.

The last issue to consider is the federal tax credit. While most expect it to continue for several more years, there is always the possibility that it won't be extended. If that's the case the lease costs, and purchase costs, will rise significantly, another reason why I decided to lease now. This shouldn't be a problem for 2015, but may be beyond that.

Good luck on whatever you decide - you'll enjoy the car.

In NC, do you pay tax based on the total vehicle price, or the total amount of the lease payments? If the former, OCwF would've probably provided you with an even lower payment and the same "walk away" provision that a lease does. It sounds like you got a good deal, with the major negative being that if you total the car you'll lose the prepayment amount. There are other benefits of owning the car with OC as well, depending on your state's tax laws - for example, in GA, when you trade in a leased car you don't get any credit for the tax paid when you leased (which, in GA, is based on the total purchase price of the car and not the total of the lease payments). With Owner's Choice, since you own the car, you avoid paying tax on the trade-in amount when you purchase your next vehicle. I'm not sure how NC handles this situation.

Did your dealer discuss the [potential] advantages of the Owner's Choice options with you?

 

[NLP]

I spent much of November contacting dealers around the country to find my car color of choice, REx, giga, plus all options except the bigger wheels, and was offered various deals, all of which were eventually between $5,000 and $7,500 below MSRP before any federal tax credits were calculated. When my local dealer almost matched my best out of state offer and I was ready to jump and buy local, the out of state dealer tossed in another $2K off MSRP. I finally signed the very end of November to a deal at $9,500.00 below MSRP. My local dealer couldnt touch that offer. I decided to lease, for all of the technology reasons listed by others. $4875 reduction in cap cost for tax credit. Money factor .00125, 24 months, 12K mileage per year. Residual value 62%. $850.00 down, includes first month's payment, $407 per month, $350 due to turn in car at end of lease. Dealer is shipping car to me included.

I really think dealers want to move the 2014s on their lots, off. Deals are being made. Contact the internet departments of various dealers in your region and see what they have on their lots.

 

[lencap]

i3atl -

NC tax is based on the lease payments, not the entire value of the car. It's better to lease, at least from an upfront tax perspective. The OC options were discussed, but not in great detail. The issue of owning the car would have required a full tax payment - in my case the difference between the full purchase price and the lease payments, or roughly $950 extra for purchase.

My biggest concern was resale risk - I don't know what the residual value will be in 2 years with 20K miles on the car, especially with the rapid changes in EV technology. I likely could have saved a few dollars in overall cost through ownership, but that wasn't my primary goal.

Incidentally, my prepaid up front lease payment isn't a great concern - I have gap insurance and my insurance company will likely provide a settlement in the case of a total loss that reflects market value accurately. At least that has been my experience in the past. Yes, there is a bit of risk, but my overall total risk is still limited by the lease payment - $9,200. That's a risk I can live with, and that's why I leased.

 

[rwsarvis]

NLP - whose your local dealer and from whom did you lease from. Thx.

 

[ChicagoPete]

Not sure if BMW lease deals are regional or not, but I'm in NC and took advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend lease specials. I selected a 24 month one payment lease - essentially prepaying for the entire lease up front. The money factor was very attractive - 1.02% APR with several other discounts included. In my state there is a 3% tax on automobiles - which was added to the lease payments, along with something that seems to be unique to the southeast - a dealer "documentation fee" which for my dealership is $598. This fee is added to all vehicle sales regardless of the sale price - it's a fixed charge to cover dealer "costs" for processing paperwork. It's a complete ripoff but legal in my state as long as it's applied to all cars.

Anyway, when I first inquired about leasing my i3 Giga non Rex i3, with technology package, heated seats, rapid charger, and Andesite paint the MSRP was $48,100. My initial lease quote (from late May) was over $700/month with $2,500 down for a three year lease - a price level that didn't interest me at all. The price I negotiated for an all in one time payment two weeks ago is $9,200 - that includes NC tax, implied dealer documentation fee and all other costs. That's the equivalent of just under $385/month - quite a difference.

The lease is a "walk-away" lease - at the end of the lease I'm finished - the lease includes the termination charge and everything else. Given my experience I think you can do better than the quote you've been given, but I do know that BMW provided and extra $2,000 discount incentive for the Thanksgiving promotion. You may/may not get that discount. If not, it would raise your two year lease by $85/month or so. On the other hand you likely won't be hit with a $600 documentation charge - offsetting costs somewhat.

If I decided to pay monthly two year lease payments, and a $2,500 down payment (which includes the first month payment and the termination costs) my monthly payments would have been about $60 higher. The lease money factor was higher on the two year monthly lease option (I don't remember exactly, but it was 2.5-3%), which resulted in the higher cost.

I had leased a Nissan Leaf for $209/month with $1,500 down for two years on a regional promotion. My negotiated i3 lease "all in costs" are about $110/month higher than the Leaf. The MSRP difference between the two cars was over $11,000 - making the BMW i3 lease a far better financial proposition versus the Leaf. And in terms of the car the i3 is a far better car in every way than the Leaf - with the exception of total passenger carrying (5 versus 4) and cargo room (somewhat greater in the Leaf - but not as well shaped as the i3).

Finally - I looked at the residual values for the two year lease and they are high - making leasing an even better deal. I figured that with a $48,100 cost for my car, as optioned, subtracting the full $7,500 federal tax credit, my adjusted base price is $40,600. Subtracting out the dealer's $598 documentation fee, and the 3% NC "road use" tax, the actual BMW calculated costs including depreciation and implied interest on the i3 is under $8,400. That suggests that the residual value of the car after two years will be $32,200 (adjusting for interest carry).

I highly doubt that a range limited i3 BEV will seem like a good value at that price at the end of 2016, especially with the new EVs coming out from Tesla and others. For that reason alone I decided that leasing was my best option - I think you'll find that the math suggests the same for most people.

If you can get a good lease deal on the 2014 i3 I strongly recommend it. The rates are nearly half of what they were before and the car is without competition at this price point. In fact, the lease on the i3 is less than on many 3 series cars with lower MSRPs. Ask the dealer to provide the "money factor" used to determine lease payments. Multiply that figure by 2400 to convert it to an APR rate equivalent. You should be able to get the equivalent of 3% or less. This has a pretty big impact on your monthly lease rate, with residual value the most critical. The residual on my car was $30,320 (not adjusted for interest carry). That figure seems very aggressive, and makes for a good lease deal.

The last issue to consider is the federal tax credit. While most expect it to continue for several more years, there is always the possibility that it won't be extended. If that's the case the lease costs, and purchase costs, will rise significantly, another reason why I decided to lease now. This shouldn't be a problem for 2015, but may be beyond that.

Good luck on whatever you decide - you'll enjoy the car.

Wow, that is a killer deal!!

I am shopping around now nationwide searching for the best deal. I like doing a prepay on leases as well. Please let me know (a private message is fine) what dealer.

Thanks!

 

[lencap]

ChicagoPete -

I sent you a PM with the details. Let me know if you need anything else. Good luck in your search!

 

[i3atl]

i3atl -

NC tax is based on the lease payments, not the entire value of the car. It's better to lease, at least from an upfront tax perspective. The OC options were discussed, but not in great detail. The issue of owning the car would have required a full tax payment - in my case the difference between the full purchase price and the lease payments, or roughly $950 extra for purchase.

My biggest concern was resale risk - I don't know what the residual value will be in 2 years with 20K miles on the car, especially with the rapid changes in EV technology. I likely could have saved a few dollars in overall cost through ownership, but that wasn't my primary goal.

Incidentally, my prepaid up front lease payment isn't a great concern - I have gap insurance and my insurance company will likely provide a settlement in the case of a total loss that reflects market value accurately. At least that has been my experience in the past. Yes, there is a bit of risk, but my overall total risk is still limited by the lease payment - $9,200. That's a risk I can live with, and that's why I leased.

Some dealers are really doing a bad job of explaining the options. Owner's Choice has the same protection as a lease regarding resale value (residuals are identical), and you would've qualified for $7500 in federal credit vs the $4875 that BMW passed on via the lease - easily making up for the additional sales tax. You would've also been able to avoid the risk regarding prepayment/insurance and the gap insurance expense.

I think you got a good deal, as leases go, but it sounds like OC would've been a better option for you, as it is for many people. I wish that BMW would educate the dealers on this.

 

[i3atl]

I spent much of November contacting dealers around the country to find my car color of choice, REx, giga, plus all options except the bigger wheels, and was offered various deals, all of which were eventually between $5,000 and $7,500 below MSRP before any federal tax credits were calculated. When my local dealer almost matched my best out of state offer and I was ready to jump and buy local, the out of state dealer tossed in another $2K off MSRP. I finally signed the very end of November to a deal at $9,500.00 below MSRP. My local dealer couldnt touch that offer. I decided to lease, for all of the technology reasons listed by others. $4875 reduction in cap cost for tax credit. Money factor .00125, 24 months, 12K mileage per year. Residual value 62%. $850.00 down, includes first month's payment, $407 per month, $350 due to turn in car at end of lease. Dealer is shipping car to me included.

I really think dealers want to move the 2014s on their lots, off. Deals are being made. Contact the internet departments of various dealers in your region and see what they have on their lots.

So you got $9,500 off PLUS the $4875 cap reduction?

Do you mind providing contact info for your dealer/sales person? Feel free to send me a message directly.

 

[i3atl]

By the way, BMW is now doing $5500 cap reduction on the leases, so they're getting closer to the $7500 that you get if you buy or do OC/OCwF.

 

[howbern]

I just got a $43,175 MSRP Mega BEV for $36,750. Here in Washington State they have a tax exemption for EVs, so after the federal tax rebate and the state tax exemption, I paid what I would have for a $26,600 conventionally fueled car. I don't think I could have found any new conventionally-powered BMW for that price.

I see many folks here are keen on the lease deal. Perhaps I should have explored that, but I figured that at our low expected annual mileage owning would work at least as well since I did not need to finance the car and at current interest rates the opportunity cost is modest.

This purchase came about because I participated in the extended test drive program. I had no intention of buying one, but leapt at the opportunity to try one out. After our 36 hours with the REX, we were hooked and started working at finding a deal on a BEV.

 

[Rower]

What should I ask for on a discount off MSRP for a BEV?

I have been offered $6,000 off, but have heard of substantially higher discounts.

Can anyone give guidance?

I may do a lease to get the depreciation locked in, but the flex that allows me the benefit of the full tax credit. Would the discount off MSRP be the same?

Are there special bmw incentives to remind the dealer of?

In CA but would ship a car in. fully loaded BEV with giga desired.

 

[i3atl]

I may do a lease to get the depreciation locked in, but the flex that allows me the benefit of the full tax credit. Would the discount off MSRP be the same?

The discount should be the same regardless of which financing option you go with.

You have 3 financing options that all provide a residual amount/protection against depreciation:
1 - Lease (BMW only passes on $5500 of the $7500 Federal Tax Credit, but in CA you're only taxed on the total amount of the lease payments). BMW owns the car and rents it to you.
2 - Owner's Choice (You are eligible for the full $7500 Federal Credit, but you pay tax on the price of the car). You own the car. Just like a lease, at the end of the term you have the choice to turn the car in, pay a disposition fee, and walk away. Your other option is to refinance the residual (balloon) amount.
3 - Owner's Choice with Flex (You are eligible for the full $7500 Federal Credit, but you pay tax on the price of the car). You own the car. Just like a lease, at the end of the term you have the choice to turn the car in, pay a disposition fee, and walk away. Your other option is to refinance the residual amount. The difference between this option and #2 is that you get $7500 added to your residual on the car, and if you choose to turn the car in, you pay the residual plus $7500. In effect, this greatly lowers your payments compared with option #2 assuming that you are unable or don't want to put $7500 down up front. The only additional cost for the "flex" plan over option #2 is the interest that you pay on the $7500 that BMW is allowing you to pay back at the end of the term.

Residuals are the same across all the financing options, as is the disposition fee if you elect to turn the car in.

Due to the additional $2K in Federal credit, Owner's Choice is typically a better option vs leasing, unless you have a tax situation that makes leasing advantageous enough to offset the additional tax credit.

 

[Rower]

Thank you.

Also, I get a $2,500 CA tax credit if I purchase or lease for at least 36 months.

I really don't want to borrow or finance anything. Though I want a guaranteed buyback price.

The other key question is how big of a discount off msrp?

 

[i3atl]

I really don't want to borrow or finance anything. Though I want a guaranteed buyback price.

You can't get the buyback guarantee if you pay cash, it's a feature of the 3 financing programs above. So you can pay cash and save the interest charges, but potentially be stuck with a heavily depreciated car after 3 years, or do one of the 3 plans listed above and have a set residual at the end of the term.

From what I've seen, typical BEV discounts are around $6-7K, REx discounts around $5K.

There have been posts here lately of a little over $8K off on a BEV as well as the previous post in this thread of over $9K off a REx, so maybe the end of year deals are picking up.

 

[spoovy]

Any thoughts on the following deal. Bay Area dealer, BEV. New car, just arriving into stock in the next few days (i.e. hasn't been sitting on the lot).

MSRP: 50,350
Invoice: 46,495
Dealer sell 47,350 ($855 markup on invoice, dlr discount of 3,000)
BMW Holiday cash: 2,000
USAA incentive: 1,000 <-- I thought this was $500 on BMW FS leases, but apparently they checked and it's 1,000 now!?
BMW lease credit: 5,500
FINAL PRICE 38,850 ($11,500 off MSRP)

I may be able to get the markup down to a more reasonable $500, but wanted to get a check with the experts given this is December!

Would like to pull the trigger today!

 

[i3atl]

Any thoughts on the following deal. Bay Area dealer, BEV. New car, just arriving into stock in the next few days (i.e. hasn't been sitting on the lot).

MSRP: 50,350
Invoice: 46,495
Dealer sell 47,350 ($855 markup on invoice, dlr discount of 3,000)
BMW Holiday cash: 2,000
USAA incentive: 1,000 <-- I thought this was $500 on BMW FS leases, but apparently they checked and it's 1,000 now!?
BMW lease credit: 5,500
FINAL PRICE 38,850 ($11,500 off MSRP)

I may be able to get the markup down to a more reasonable $500, but wanted to get a check with the experts given this is December!

Would like to pull the trigger today!

You should be able to get at least another $2K off if you shop around. The BMW lease credit and USAA incentive should be in addition to the discounts I posted above.

 

[spoovy]

That would make it -(ve) off invoice, or are there other incentives i'm missing? I've shopped a couple of bay area dealers and nobody has dropped below invoice...

I mentioned it was a new car coming into stock, as I had been looking at a different model, and BMW had provided the dealer an additional $1500 in incentives to move that particular car (based on what I was told). Not sure how accurate that it, but would explain a big chunk of what i'm missing.

 

[i3atl]

That would make it -(ve) off invoice, or are there other incentives i'm missing? I've shopped a couple of bay area dealers and nobody has dropped below invoice...

I mentioned it was a new car coming into stock, as I had been looking at a different model, and BMW had provided the dealer an additional $1500 in incentives to move that particular car (based on what I was told). Not sure how accurate that it, but would explain a big chunk of what i'm missing.

They do provide incentives on certain stock at times - it's difficult to know how much of a role those play in the examples we see posted, since most buyers aren't aware of how the additional cash affected their specific deal.

On the other hand, it seems that the best deals are not found at the Bay Area dealers, but by buying out of town and shipping if needed.