[PChem]

I admit my weakness. I am a used car kind of guy and a picky one, too. The worse kind of bad trait for some gear heads.

I want to buy a two to three year old BMW turned in off lease in the color, interior and options I want. I constantly patrol BMWUSA's certified inventory website, CarGurus and other sites. It's not happening and when it does, it is usually on the West Coast and gets gone pretty fast. I'm sure the desired option set in the desired exterior and interior colors will eventually surface. I searched for six months in 2018 and eventually the option requirements for my present 2015 435Ix convertible showed up 500 miles away in Indiana and it was a lease return vehicle from New Jersey the Indiana dealer bought from BMW's internal auction/resale process.

My crowdsource questions to this esteemed group are:
1. Can a local BMW salesperson gain access to the BMW lease inventory statistics such as knowing when and where a particular model is located that is likely to be returned off lease?

2. Supposing they can gain this information, can they put a placeholder of some sort on that upcoming return vehicle? Something like I have a party interested in that car so let me know when it is available or something to that effect.

Anybody on this forum know how the internals of the BMW Leasing system is operated and how dealerships get or don't get information on up-coming lease returns? BTW, I am happy with my 435Ix with ACC. It is an X series I'm seeking with ACC to replace a 2013 Lexus RX350. As you know, ACC option is darn scarce in BMW vehicles built during 2015 - 2018.

Thanks in advance,
PChem

[OUGrad05]

Originally Posted by PChem

I admit my weakness. I am a used car kind of guy and a picky one, too. The worse kind of bad trait for some gear heads.

I want to buy a two to three year old BMW turned in off lease in the color, interior and options I want. I constantly patrol BMWUSA's certified inventory website, CarGurus and other sites. It's not happening and when it does, it is usually on the West Coast and gets gone pretty fast. I'm sure the desired option set in the desired exterior and interior colors will eventually surface. I searched for six months in 2018 and eventually the option requirements for my present 2015 435Ix convertible showed up 500 miles away in Indiana and it was a lease return vehicle from New Jersey the Indiana dealer bought from BMW's internal auction/resale process.

My crowdsource questions to this esteemed group are:
1. Can a local BMW salesperson gain access to the BMW lease inventory statistics such as knowing when and where a particular model is located that is likely to be returned off lease?

2. Supposing they can gain this information, can they put a placeholder of some sort on that upcoming return vehicle? Something like I have a party interested in that car so let me know when it is available or something to that effect.

Anybody on this forum know how the internals of the BMW Leasing system is operated and how dealerships get or don't get information on up-coming lease returns? BTW, I am happy with my 435Ix with ACC. It is an X series I'm seeking with ACC to replace a 2013 Lexus RX350. As you know, ACC option is darn scarce in BMW vehicles built during 2015 - 2018.

Thanks in advance,
PChem

They can see what's coming up off lease but I'm not sure if they can see that nationwide or not?
You should check with your local dealer(s) because some may not want to share the info. I know BMW of Tulsa was able to pull upcoming lease returns 5 years ago when I bought my car.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by PChem

I admit my weakness. I am a used car kind of guy and a picky one, too. The worse kind of bad trait for some gear heads.

I want to buy a two to three year old BMW turned in off lease in the color, interior and options I want. I constantly patrol BMWUSA's certified inventory website, CarGurus and other sites. It's not happening and when it does, it is usually on the West Coast and gets gone pretty fast. I'm sure the desired option set in the desired exterior and interior colors will eventually surface. I searched for six months in 2018 and eventually the option requirements for my present 2015 435Ix convertible showed up 500 miles away in Indiana and it was a lease return vehicle from New Jersey the Indiana dealer bought from BMW's internal auction/resale process.

My crowdsource questions to this esteemed group are:
1. Can a local BMW salesperson gain access to the BMW lease inventory statistics such as knowing when and where a particular model is located that is likely to be returned off lease?

2. Supposing they can gain this information, can they put a placeholder of some sort on that upcoming return vehicle? Something like I have a party interested in that car so let me know when it is available or something to that effect.

Anybody on this forum know how the internals of the BMW Leasing system is operated and how dealerships get or don't get information on up-coming lease returns? BTW, I am happy with my 435Ix with ACC. It is an X series I'm seeking with ACC to replace a 2013 Lexus RX350. As you know, ACC option is darn scarce in BMW vehicles built during 2015 - 2018.

Thanks in advance,
PChem

First, your entire premise is flawed as just about every lease returned is the Dealership's car to deal with. BMW takes back on a very few mulligans that the Dealership is allowed per year.

1) Only on the leases their Dealership originated are what they know are expiring.

2) Again, only that Dealership's leases and they have no idea if leasee will buy the car or not. So it's essentially worthless for your purposes. And unless you wanted to put a deposit down on a vehicle that they may or may not get returned (remember, leasee does not need to turn in car to their Dealership either) I see no reason they would waste time with your Din Quixote chase.

Again, Leasing Dealership has to take back just about every car they lease if returned to them. They get very few mulligans which are turned over to BMW. BMW will look at auction sales and decide to send it to auction locally or ship to entirely different region where sale prices are higher for auction. For example, they would send RWD South and XDrive North. Convertibles to Southern California.

BMW was setting up an internal network several years ago where Dealers could see what was available that they (the few mulligan BMWs only)were sending to auction (as local Dealer used one of their mulligans). It was suppose to go into operation in 2017 but I never checked to see if it ever did.

[PChem]

OUGrad65 and IK6Speed,
Thanks for this information. My assumptions about a national database within BMW's leasing group were incorrect. Thanks for explaining how BMW's leasing system operates.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by PChem

OUGrad65 and IK6Speed,
Thanks for this information. My assumptions about a national database within BMW's leasing group were incorrect. Thanks for explaining how BMW's leasing system operates.

I had exactly the same idea two years ago and learned just like you did that it wasn't possible.

Best way is to do what you said. Totally educate yourself about options and build codes so you understand what you are looking for. Search about 5-6 national sites every couple of days. Dealers use boilerplate descriptions so put the VIN through decoders for any car of interest.

Keep all emails and voicemails and photos that you are sent. Many leases only return with one key. Get guarantee that two keys come with car, a common way that dealers screw purchasers. A replacement key can cost $350!

Enlarge your geographic search area and don't hesitate to ship cars. Your risk on low mileage cars under CPO warranty is mainly cosmetic. Hire/ask local high end detailers to check out interior and exterior of a car right before you buy. They can evaluate better than anyone and will spot any resprays or accidents that aren't in a CarFax. Bought two cars unseen this way and both went well because I did my homework. Sounds like you do too!

Hope this helps!

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by johnung

I had exactly the same idea two years ago and learned just like you did that it wasn't possible.

Best way is to do what you said. Totally educate yourself about options and build codes so you understand what you are looking for. Search about 5-6 national sites every couple of days. Dealers use boilerplate descriptions so put the VIN through decoders for any car of interest.

Keep all emails and voicemails and photos that you are sent. Many leases only return with one key. Get guarantee that two keys come with car, a common way that dealers screw purchasers. A replacement key can cost $350!

Enlarge your geographic search area and don't hesitate to ship cars. Your risk on low mileage cars under CPO warranty is mainly cosmetic. Hire/ask local high end detailers to check out interior and exterior of a car right before you buy. They can evaluate better than anyone and will spot any resprays or accidents that aren't in a CarFax. Bought two cars unseen this way and both went well because I did my homework. Sounds like you do too!

Hope this helps!

If you are passing on a unicorn because it only has 1 key, be prepared to never buy your unicorn.

[TwinTurboXI]

What exactly are you looking for?

[floridaorange]

Call a couple car brokers

[johnung]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

If you are passing on a unicorn because it only has 1 key, be prepared to never buy your unicorn.

Not passing on a unicorn, just not getting screwed by dealer. One car showed up from shipper with only one key. Over the phone the dealer tried to play dumb and claim that's all the car came with.

Sent him an email with an audio clip from a voicemail that he left me listing what came with the car where he said "keys", plural. No argument. Check for $350 for the second key arrived in the mail a couple days later.

[Gospeedracer]

Hunting down your unicorn is all part of gaming the system. You're not paying msrp for it. You've Won.
You have to be willing to do what it takes to get it. No mercy.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by Gospeedracer

Hunting down your unicorn is all part of gaming the system. You're not paying msrp for it. You've Won.
You have to be willing to do what it takes to get it. No mercy.

Well said. Not paying MSRP is a win already with a different fulfillment process. Keep searching.

[vtown]

I went though the same process when I bough my F30. I found that calling dealers and telling them what I was looking for and to call me if found was completely useless. They forget about immediately. The used market is not run by the A team.

You literally have to troll the certified BMW page daily and be ready to put down a deposit immediately. My search took 2 years and I still missed a couple options that I wanted. I also paid more than I thought was fair, but I found the lowest figure they would take pretty quick and wouldn't budge. They all claim KBB is low, bastards.

[AngelFarelli]

Did you try autotempest it searches multiple websites and pulls all the listings to one site to filter from desired options. Really helpful

[GeorgeF31]

Originally Posted by vtown

I went though the same process when I bough my F30. I found that calling dealers and telling them what I was looking for and to call me if found was completely useless. They forget about immediately. The used market is not run by the A team.

You literally have to troll the certified BMW page daily and be ready to put down a deposit immediately. My search took 2 years and I still missed a couple options that I wanted. I also paid more than I thought was fair, but I found the lowest figure they would take pretty quick and wouldn't budge. They all claim KBB is low, bastards.

This. Mine took almost 2 years as well. With one exception who did try to call when he actually had something I might like, every single dealer I talked to couldn't be bothered to find anything I wanted. They'd call and keep trying to convince me that I wanted one of their cars often not even close. I wanted a wagon — a tall order in the U.S. — and had told them no X models but that didn't seem to stop them. Or, when they did get close — but missing "must have" options — suggest thousands in retrofit costs as a solution. I came very close (deposit down) on two that fell through before finding my wagon.

There is an internal listing system where dealers can find off-lease cars that receiving dealers don't want, corporate cars, and performance center cars. However nobody would look. There are dealers that grab those cars and the best ones I found were in Atlanta where I bought mine. They buy tons of those cars.

In the end, you have to know what you want, know what you're willing to pay extra to get, know what you're willing to pay for extra stuff you don't care about, and be ready to move fast. If it's a desirable and/or low volume car, it will come and go fast. A good dealer will give you pics and videos. A good dealer will also let you put a refundable deposit down. Be prepared to fly to the car and drive back. Again, Atlanta is really convenient for that.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by PChem

My crowdsource questions to this esteemed group are:
1. Can a local BMW salesperson gain access to the BMW lease inventory statistics such as knowing when and where a particular model is located that is likely to be returned off lease?

2. Supposing they can gain this information, can they put a placeholder of some sort on that upcoming return vehicle? Something like I have a party interested in that car so let me know when it is available or something to that effect.

This makes no sense. Even if it's easy to see VIN#s or owner info on lease expiration dates, how would any dealer know (1) whether the car will be turned in or bought, or (2) if the car is turned in, WHERE the lessee will turn it in? Seems like a total waste of the sales person's time to try and track something with such unknowns.

[natesi]

I feel your pain, OP. I eventually gave up and bought new. I was spending a lot of time searching and it just wasn't worth it any more. If I found something even remotely promising it was either thrashed, previously wrecked, or an east-coast car (I won't own a car from a state that salts their roads). And like others have said, for whatever reason, BMW dealerships have little interest in helping you find a used car. You may NEVER find what you're looking for, to be honest.

[Elvisfan]

I’m planning on trying something when I get my next car. I’m going to ask the dealer if they will spec a car how I want it optioned. Then the dealer would use the car as an executive car for like 6 months. Then I would buy it at a discount. The car I have now was an executive car. It’s worth a try. I couldn’t find ACC. I finally gave up.

[Sinner328]

Originally Posted by vtown

I went though the same process when I bough my F30. I found that calling dealers and telling them what I was looking for and to call me if found was completely useless. They forget about immediately. The used market is not run by the A team.

You literally have to troll the certified BMW page daily and be ready to put down a deposit immediately. My search took 2 years and I still missed a couple options that I wanted. I also paid more than I thought was fair, but I found the lowest figure they would take pretty quick and wouldn't budge. They all claim KBB is low, bastards.

This is how I got my F30:

- visit CPO page twice a day
- visit TrueCar (USAA/Consumer Reports) too
- don’t be afraid of 500 mile radius search
- bookmark all dealerships in 250 miles radius, and visit them twice a day
- use TrueCar to contact dealership when you find a possible car, and go ASAP to test drive it
- be persistent
- be realistic on price

After having driven 2 that weren’t in good shape (some people abuse the crap out of them) I got mine at the end of the month, almost all options I wanted, mileage I wanted, in excellent condition, at a price I was looking for.

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by Elvisfan

I'm planning on trying something when I get my next car. I'm going to ask the dealer if they will spec a car how I want it optioned. Then the dealer would use the car as an executive car for like 6 months. Then I would buy it at a discount. The car I have now was an executive car. It's worth a try. I couldn't find ACC. I finally gave up.

Won't happen.

[Elvisfan]

Originally Posted by Elvisfan View Post
I'm planning on trying something when I get my next car. I'm going to ask the dealer if they will spec a car how I want it optioned. Then the dealer would use the car as an executive car for like 6 months. Then I would buy it at a discount. The car I have now was an executive car. It's worth a try. I couldn't find ACC. I finally gave up.

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

Won't happen.

No harm in asking. Worst that can happen is they say no.

[CrumbyButter]

In mother russia, system games YOU

Someone told me that BMW dealerships typically keep cars for 3 months, and if they don't sell, they're sent to wholesale or auction or whatever. They cut the price each month supposedly. Not sure if this is true but makes sense. Basically like everyone said, you have to be patient and persistent.