Leasing a Rex Model - is this a good deal?

[OnceGoWonder]

Hello! I couldn't take it anymore and have decided to lease a REX model! YOLO'ing it! :lol:

So I reached out to a few dealers in my area and below is the first offer I received today.
I was hoping to get some feedback on what you all think and what things I need to ask clarification on from the dealer. And most importantly, whether it's a good deal or not.

Any input/suggestion/etc would be greatly appreciated!

Oh yeah, I'm located in Northern California.
********************

Option A -
0 down
Basic Drive off 2609
476 plus your local sales tax

Option B -
2500 down payment plus drive off
367 plus tax


Model 14IB i3 Rex USD 45,200.00
Color B72 Ionic Silver Metallic w/BMW i Frozen Blue accent 550.00
Upholstery NHFC Giga Cassia Natural Leather & Carum Spice Grey Wool Cloth N/C
Options ZGW Giga World 1,700.00
2G6 Giga 19" BMW i Light Alloy Turbine wheels s... N/C
319 Universal garage-door opener N/C
322 Comfort Access keyless entry N/C
441 Smoker's package N/C
655 Satellite radio with 1 year subscription N/C
ZTD Technology + Driving Assistant Package 2,500.00
5AT ACC Stop & Go + Active Driving Assistant N/C
609 Navigation Professional System N/C
6AK BMW Online and BMW Apps N/C
6AM Advanced Real-Time Traffic Information N/C
7KY Giga (Leather and Cloth) N/C
494 Heated front seats 350.00
4U7 DC Fast Charging (SAE) 700.00
8S4 Variable Light Decoding N/C
927 All-season tires N/C
9AA Transport protection N/C
Net Total 51,000.00
Destination Charge 950.00
Total Suggested Price 51,950.00

 

[easports82]

What's the term? Anything under 30 and you can't claim the $2500 rebate from the state.

 

[OnceGoWonder]

Dealer didn't provide that information, so I'll ask them.

Thank you!

 

[lencap]

If you have been a member of the BMW Car Club of America for at least one year you can get a $500 rebate for an i3 ReX from the car club in addition to whatever price you work out with the dealer. The rebate for the battery only version is $1,000!

 

[OnceGoWonder]

Unfortunately, I'm not.
This will be my first BMW

 

[websterize]

Aim for 15%-20% off MSRP before incentives.

 

[OnceGoWonder]

Well, my situation is a bit unique.
I'm actually trading in 2 cars and leasing the i3.
One of the cars still has a loan on it.
So I presented all these facts to the dealer and that was the deal they offered me.

Here's some more information from the dealer as well after I asked him a few more questions -

Thoughts?

**************

1) Can you break down in detail the fees please?
Dealer: Basic drive off consists of first payment, registration, bank fee, and all taxes. Bank fee is 995

2) How much are the trade in values for my cars?
Dealer: These are acv numbers, actual cash value with no sugar coating. $23K for 1st car, $5K for the other, keep in mind I'm discounting over $6000 off msrp on my car

3) How is the $5,500 tax credit applied in your scenario that you provided?
Dealer: I've applied this to your drive off credit. That's how we get such a low monthly payment on $51K car.

 

[Schnort]

FWIW, try taking the cars to Carmax and see what they'll pay you outright for them.

They well exceeded my local BMW dealership's offer.

 

[easports82]

FWIW, try taking the cars to Carmax and see what they'll pay you outright for them.

They well exceeded my local BMW dealership's offer.

Depends on the car and who you're dealing with at BMW. In 2012, I traded in my 2005 Accord and got $1000-$1500 more out of BMW than CarMax. It doesn't hurt to go over and get their quote just so you have a baseline. Compare with KBB.com, Edmunds, etc. to get an idea of the "value" of the trades.

Keep in mind, also, that they are going to over-price the used cars. For the Accord, BMW bought it around $8500 and put the sticker over $15K. The X3 I just traded in was listed on my contract with value around 22K, but they've listed it for $35K. So, they will always have more room to play with on the trade in then what they're initially saying.

 

[Nicholai]

1. If he's taking $6k off MSRP, that's only 11.5%. I guarantee you can get him to drop to AT LEAST 17% off MSRP.

2. What is the KBB/Edmunds trade-in AND private party values on your cars?

3. What do you still owe and on which car?

 

[OnceGoWonder]

1. If he's taking $6k off MSRP, that's only 11.5%. I guarantee you can get him to drop to AT LEAST 17% off MSRP.

2. What is the KBB/Edmunds trade-in AND private party values on your cars?

3. What do you still owe and on which car?

Car #1:
KBB trade in - $26,992
KBB private seller - $30,000
Owe - $29,511

Car #2:
KBB trade in - $6,600
KBB private seller - $7,900
Owe- nothing


What do you think?

 

[Schnort]

Sounds like they're making up their discounts by shafting you on the trade in.

 

[OnceGoWonder]

It figures they weren't really giving me a good deal at all.
I could definitely get more money selling to private party, but not having much luck so far that's why I considered trading in just to get out of it...

I haven't heard back from any other BMW dealer though...that's what's troubling as well.

 

[Nicholai]

What do you think?

If you aren't in a big rush, you should absolutely wait it out and keep checking around at other dealerships. Call them on the phone if they't not responding. What you really want is at least one dealership to offer you better in one aspect of the deal, so that you can use it as leverage with another dealership (you could also just lie, but real information helps keep your discount-demands rooted in reality).

For this given deal and dealership, I would get back to them and say "I'm not in a rush and I know about the 17-18% discounts being given on i3s recently and am willing to keep reaching out to dealerships until I find one willing to match the market." I would also be very blunt (without being rude) and tell them that there is absolutely no way that you're going to take less than KBB/Edmunds trade-in and that you're OK with waiting and selling yourself, BUT you'll take a little less if they can give you a good enough deal. Of course, I don't have nearly enough information about you to say that this is what you should do, but if I were you, I wouldn't take less than $28,000 on the first car and $6,000 on the second.


Couple other things:

What's the lease length and miles per year? (Make sure you're leasing at least 30 months to get the CA rebate).

 

[OnceGoWonder]

Thanks Nicholai, great suggestions!
I originally was only thinking of a 2 year lease term with a 10K miles per year, I estimate I'll only need about 5K to 6K per year...my commute is only 2 miles one way :shock:
The reason for the 2 year is because I know that electric car technology is new and changes very rapidly. So wanted to be able to "upgrade" to the next generation without having to be tied down on a lease or a purchase.

 

[pancakes213]

Thanks Nicholai, great suggestions!
I originally was only thinking of a 2 year lease term with a 10K miles per year, I estimate I'll only need about 5K to 6K per year...my commute is only 2 miles one way :shock:
The reason for the 2 year is because I know that electric car technology is new and changes very rapidly. So wanted to be able to "upgrade" to the next generation without having to be tied down on a lease or a purchase.

I think a 30-month lease is a better bet than a 2-year because there won't be good replacements in 2 years (my speculation) so you could end up with no good options after the 2-years is up. There are a lot of companies making lofty EV promises. I know that I don't want a Bolt whether Chevy is able to deliver or not, the i5/i7 is going to be in another price range, and despite my hopeful wishes, I don't expect Tesla to be able to deliver the Model 3 until at least 2018. I don't believe a new EV will be announced and released within the next 2 years. If anything, an EV will be announced with a 2018 release.

My biggest hope is that BMW offers an upgrade similar to Tesla's Roadster upgrade so that current i3 owners can upgrade to newer battery technology and maybe also the self driving tech (i read somewhere that the CES cars didn't have any additional sensors, not sure if true). I read a rumor that VW was exploring that option for the e-Golf in the future. I'd be happy to purchase the i3 after the lease period if they upgrade the battery/range just one more notch.

 

[i3atl]

(i read somewhere that the CES cars didn't have any additional sensors, not sure if true)

They had big holes in the front fenders for the additional sensors/cameras.

 

[Nicholai]

Thanks Nicholai, great suggestions!
I originally was only thinking of a 2 year lease term with a 10K miles per year, I estimate I'll only need about 5K to 6K per year...my commute is only 2 miles one way :shock:
The reason for the 2 year is because I know that electric car technology is new and changes very rapidly. So wanted to be able to "upgrade" to the next generation without having to be tied down on a lease or a purchase.

I agree with Pancakes. 30 month is almost definitely the way to go both because of his reasons about the future of EVs, but also because you essentially get your car for the last 6 months for free because of the CA $2500 rebate.

 

[OnceGoWonder]

Thank you everyone. I'll reach out the dealers and see what the numbers look like for a 30 month lease instead of a 2 year lease.

Really appreciate everyone's input btw!

I'll report back as I get more offers from other dealers just to get everyone's opinions.

 

[pancakes213]

(i read somewhere that the CES cars didn't have any additional sensors, not sure if true)

They had big holes in the front fenders for the additional sensors/cameras.

Darn.