[3SeriesDriver]

I have so far enjoyed reading the forum posts and gained lot of knowledge regarding my car which I would not have gained elsewhere.

I am currently at the end of 24 month lease on my 2013 (year model) 335i. I have made up my mind to purchase the car. I previously leased a 2010 328i and cannot spend any more money on new car lease payments. I have few questions for you guys:

1) Should I expect any discounts when I approach the dealership with the buying option? (I have ~33K residual on my 47K selling price). Basically, what kind of sentiment is there after lease end - do they want you to lease another one or keep your existing car instead of returning? Do people have any leeway in negotiating the residual price?

2) Can I go to any dealership or do I need to go to the same dealership from where I purchased my car do I directly deal with BMWNA?

3) I want to add m-sport package to my sport-line car. (I so regret not getting the m-sport package ) Would dealer install the m-sport body kit in the residual price if I negotiate? If not the entire body kit then just the m-sport bumper?

4) Will the dealer certify the car as certified pre-owned at the residual price? If the dealer is not ready to give the certification for free, then should I buy the extra warranty? Worth it? Does asking for both #3 and #4 sounds crazy?

Sorry for so many questions but I couldn't find this info in other threads and it is best to ask experienced people rather than relying on info available on net.

Thanks in advance for your answers/replies.

[willpower]

Originally Posted by 3SeriesDriver

I have so far enjoyed reading the forum posts and gained lot of knowledge regarding my car which I would not have gained elsewhere.

I am currently at the end of 24 month lease on my 2013 (year model) 335i. I have made up my mind to purchase the car. I previously leased a 2010 328i and cannot spend any more money on new car lease payments. I have few questions for you guys:

1) Should I expect any discounts when I approach the dealership with the buying option? (I have ~33K residual on my 47K selling price). Basically, what kind of sentiment is there after lease end - do they want you to lease another one or keep your existing car instead of returning? Do people have any leeway in negotiating the residual price?

2) Can I go to any dealership or do I need to go to the same dealership from where I purchased my car do I directly deal with BMWNA?

3) I want to add m-sport package to my sport-line car. (I so regret not getting the m-sport package ) Would dealer install the m-sport body kit in the residual price if I negotiate? If not the entire body kit then just the m-sport bumper?

4) Will the dealer certify the car as certified pre-owned at the residual price? If the dealer is not ready to give the certification for free, then should I buy the extra warranty? Worth it? Does asking for both #3 and #4 sounds crazy?

Sorry for so many questions but I couldn't find this info in other threads and it is best to ask experienced people rather than relying on info available on net.

Thanks in advance for your answers/replies.

1. Yes, you can negotiate the purchase price, but it depends on the dealer. I would expect a couple thousand off. It depends on the current value of the vehicle.

2. You should be able to go to any dealership

3. That is a bad idea. You will be much better off buying a aftermaket kit and painting it or from a site like BMWPartsPros. The dealer will almost always mark up the price of parts, install and painting to be about 50-100% more than what you can do it for. Just as an example, the M Perf front carbon diffuser is 1500$ + dealer 140$/hr install rate. Imagine if you are going to purchase a whole bumper, have them paint and then install. You would be looking at maybe 2000 at the very least.

4. It costs the dealer approximately 2-3k usually to certify a vehicle. If they were to certify it for free, that would mean they are selling you the vehicle for that much less. I would start negotiations on the lease end purchase sooner than later and see what kinda deal you can swing with the dealer. They will most likely not certify it for free.


In my opinion if you currently dont have any parts on your car, I would leave the car and get into a new one with the packages you want.

There are really good deals to be had on new leases on 435 335 . I leased mine in may well under invoice , and with the security deposit had a very low payment for a 58k sticker car.

[Pauleebe]

To add to above, I would say based on your situation, buying out your lease probably isn't wise. Between wanting it certified and M-package being added, you're already looking at several thousand dollars being added to the purchase price. There are barely any F30's coming out of leases and onto the market yet, so I also don't know how much wiggle room you'll have negotiating the selling price below the residual value at lease-end.

I don't think your argument for buying it out makes much sense either. You're going to have a car payment either way. You might as well lease a 3 or 4 series with M package, and you'll already have it "Certified" as you're covered under BMW's warranty plan throughout your lease. A new lease payment will probably be as much or cheaper as your current car's finance payment, and you'll have to put less down.

Just some thoughts.

[Cyberdemon]

Buying out a lease is probably one of the worst ways of purchasing a car.

You benefited from high residuals during the lease, but that means the purchase price of the car, even if you negotiate it further is going to likely be more than the car would fetch on the open market.

You are regretting not getting the M-sport, and want an additional warranty.

If you don't want a payment I assume you are planning on purchasing outright.

I would add up the amount of money you have for your residual value + a few thousand that you'll have to spend on a warranty if you want one and see what that would fetch you in the used market.

You may very well be able to find a better equipped M-sport for less money than you would give BMW.

[3SeriesDriver]

Thanks willpower, dwalls90 and Cyberdemon for your replies.

I guess I added some confusion by saying that I do not want any monthly payments. I know that I would be most likely financing my car so would end up with similar payments and I am okay with that. I am planning to keep my current car for next 5-6 years and possibly modding it. I would be building some equity (though less) instead of leasing again for next 3-4 years. I am also okay without certified pre-owned; I just wanted to know if i could get a deal from dealer but I guess not.

For m-sport, I would be happy with just the front bumper and I plan on retrofitting it if I do not get it from the dealer.

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

Buying out a lease is probably one of the worst ways of purchasing a car.

You benefited from high residuals during the lease, but that means the purchase price of the car, even if you negotiate it further is going to likely be more than the car would fetch on the open market.

I agree but if I do that math then with my current payments + couple of thousand discounts from dealer would end up at the same price as I would have bought it new.

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

I would add up the amount of money you have for your residual value + a few thousand that you'll have to spend on a warranty if you want one and see what that would fetch you in the used market.

You may very well be able to find a better equipped M-sport for less money than you would give BMW.

All the car prices that I checked on bmwusa and autotrader were several thousands more than my current residual.

[tturedraider]

Comment just regarding residual - if current market selling prices are higher than the residual then it is not realistic to expect to buy the car for less than the contracted residual. You'll probably be doing this deal with a dealer. BMWFS used to allow lease end buyouts directly from them. I'm not sure if they are still doing that, but if you're buying at the contracted residual I'm thinking that can be done directly with BMWFS.

[Cyberdemon]

You can always buy the car out at the residual price, same way you can buy the car at any point during the lease by getting a payoff quote online. If you pay them that amount, the car is yours.

Keep in mind the list price of a car online and what the buyer will accept as payment are 2 different numbers. Look on the forums here as well, there are a number of cars that I would consider good deals. If your residual is very low it may have depended on when you purchased your car.

[munch520]

Originally Posted by willpower

4. It costs the dealer approximately 2-3k usually to certify a vehicle. If they were to certify it for free, that would mean they are selling you the vehicle for that much less. I would start negotiations on the lease end purchase sooner than later and see what kinda deal you can swing with the dealer. They will most likely not certify it for free.

There are a few threads on e90 forums about 330s and stuff getting a few K off residual and dealer throwing in CPO 'for free'.

[willpower]

Originally Posted by munch520

There are a few threads on e90 forums about 330s and stuff getting a few K off residual and dealer throwing in CPO 'for free'.

Didn't say it won't happen, but it just depends on the residual vs how much the dealer can get the car for.

If the residual is high, and for some reason the dealer is able to purchase the car for cheap, then theres room for negotiation. If the price of the residual is at or less than the current going rate for his 335, I doubt there is 4k+ of room in it for the dealer to deal with.

[drob23]

One thing to also consider is this is *your* car. If planning to own it for a while, it would be nice to know that the car wasn't driven extremely hard (ie don't hammer until oil temp is up), no accidents, proper maintenance, paint well kept, optioned the way you want it (sans m-sport).

If you take great car of your car, this should factor in IMO...but if you're more of the "my car is a disposable appliance" kind of guy then it probably doesn't matter.

[RoundelM3]

My wife and I leased her 2011 128i Convertible 6MT with M-Sport; we thoroughly enjoyed the car, and it is one of the last soft-top BMW convertibles (aside from the stupendously expensive 6-series). At lease end, we decided to keep the car and we did get a lease-payment "abatement" which allowed us to buy the car for residual value 2 months early.

We bought it through the same dealership that we ordered it through, although we could have used any dealership. What happens these days is that the dealership actually has to buy the car back from BMW Financial and then sell it to the buyer, resulting in having to get a new title and new license plates, as the car was actually titled to BMW Financial. This adds some additional costs for taxes and the licensing fees.

We chose not to have the car CPO'd, as our CA advised against this due to the additional cost. As we know the car's exact history and how it was driven, we opted to stick with the original warranty/maintenance, which isn't up until next March. Before that point, we may decide to get an extended warranty for it, like the BMW Gold warranty we got for our '13 335i which we plan on keeping for several years (it's paid for).

All in all, we are very happy with purchasing our car off lease - it's exactly what we wanted and still is. In the OP's case, he'd rather have some different features on his car, so he may want to consider turning it in or selling it and paying off the residual. Be aware that if the tires are worn, they'll want them replaced or they'll add that to the lease-end fees. They will also look for any dings or other items they'd have to fix to be able to offer it to customers. BMW Dealers will often give up to a 3-month early-release from the lease if you agree to buy or lease another BMW, so that might be a smarter option for the OP. I wouldn't want to be making payments on a car I wasn't completely satisfied with.

[t335xi]

If market prices are higher why not buy out your lease and then sell the car for a profit and go get the one you want elsewhere?

[willpower]

Originally Posted by t335xi

If market prices are higher why not buy out your lease and then sell the car for a profit and go get the one you want elsewhere?

Almost impossible that market prices are higher.

BMW leases on 3 series are super aggressive.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

I would add up the amount of money you have for your residual value + a few thousand that you'll have to spend on a warranty if you want one and see what that would fetch you in the used market..

Agreed on this.

OP, your residual % looks to be around 70%. Definitely check on the cost of a 2 years old used 335 m sport is not cheaper to do that...

[mike@x-ph.com]

Good luck !!

[reddemon73]

I went through the same situation on my 2011 e92 335i back in April 2014. I was comparing the residual vs. market price. The market price on the car at that time was lower than my residual. I was not able to negotiate down the residual with the delaership. I even try to sell the car on my own to see if I can get it at a higher price than residual (residual included sales tax). No luck. I ended up leasing the new 2014 435i. I was able to negotiate the monthly payment to be lower than my 2011 payments. The ED and reducing the miliage from 15k to 12k per year really help. I am now saving over $100 per month on the lease (paying $576 instead of $665) and get to drive a new car.

I will go thru the same analyst in three years when my current lease end.

Hope this help you in your decision.

[casualDIYer]

One sales guy mentioned that if I wanted to buy a car at lease end technically I would need to pay residual but I could ask BMW finance for a discount. Remember, the lease company not the dealer is the car's current owner. Deal with them directly for a purchase. But here's the rub. The finance company is setup to move new cars. Likely to finance a used car the interest rate may be unfavourable.

[3SeriesDriver]

Thanks guys for all your replies and taking time to go through the thread!

I have finally purchased my car. I got a good deal (discount + lease payments waiver) from a dealer in LA. I financed the full amount from my credit union and got a good rate (1.49%). Everything happened over email/phone and was a smooth transaction. I did not CPO my car as the dealer told me that I still have 2 years left during which I can get it certified if I want to (I was on a 2 year lease).

After doing the math and considering the discounts, purchasing after lease ended up cheaper than what I would have paid if I had financed from the beginning. For people planning to buy their car after lease end, do yourself a favor and contact the dealer at least 6 months before your lease is ending.

Now I am looking to retrofit the m-sport bumper and add new wheels

[3SeriesDriver]

Originally Posted by drob23

One thing to also consider is this is *your* car. If planning to own it for a while, it would be nice to know that the car wasn't driven extremely hard (ie don't hammer until oil temp is up), no accidents, proper maintenance, paint well kept, optioned the way you want it (sans m-sport).

This was one of the reason for considering buying my own car rather than looking for other pre-owned cars.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by 3SeriesDriver

Thanks guys for all your replies and taking time to go through the thread!

I have finally purchased my car. I got a good deal (discount + lease payments waiver) from a dealer in LA. I financed the full amount from my credit union and got a good rate (1.49%). Everything happened over email/phone and was a smooth transaction. I did not CPO my car as the dealer told me that I still have 2 years left during which I can get it certified if I want to (I was on a 2 year lease).

After doing the math and considering the discounts, purchasing after lease ended up cheaper than what I would have paid if I had financed from the beginning. For people planning to buy their car after lease end, do yourself a favor and contact the dealer at least 6 months before your lease is ending.

Now I am looking to retrofit the m-sport bumper and add new wheels

Congrats on getting your deal done.

You cannot get your car CPO'd after the fact. You can buy a BMW backed extended warranty that mirrors the CPO coverage or even exceeds it. The cost to you of the extended warranty is substantially more than the cost to the dealer to enroll your car in the CPO program. The difference is the dealer has to pay for maintenance and repairs to the car to bring it to CPO standards. However, it's very likely with your two year old car it would have cost almost nothing to get it to CPO standards.

[3SeriesDriver]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

You cannot get your car CPO'd after the fact. You can buy a BMW backed extended warranty that mirrors the CPO coverage or even exceeds it. The cost to you of the extended warranty is substantially more than the cost to the dealer to enroll your car in the CPO program. The difference is the dealer has to pay for maintenance and repairs to the car to bring it to CPO standards. However, it's very likely with your two year old car it would have cost almost nothing to get it to CPO standards.

Agreed.

Also, I meant extended warranty rather than CPO.

[Sharp_Cai]

Originally Posted by 3SeriesDriver

Thanks guys for all your replies and taking time to go through the thread!

I have finally purchased my car. I got a good deal (discount + lease payments waiver) from a dealer in LA. I financed the full amount from my credit union and got a good rate (1.49%). Everything happened over email/phone and was a smooth transaction. I did not CPO my car as the dealer told me that I still have 2 years left during which I can get it certified if I want to (I was on a 2 year lease).

After doing the math and considering the discounts, purchasing after lease ended up cheaper than what I would have paid if I had financed from the beginning. For people planning to buy their car after lease end, do yourself a favor and contact the dealer at least 6 months before your lease is ending.

Now I am looking to retrofit the m-sport bumper and add new wheels

Does BMW offer 5 years finance for lease purchase? Also, the selling price wont be higher than the residual value? My car has very low mileage and wonder if dealer will ask for more instead of give out discounts.