X3 Lease Promo

[Rob V]

I was hoping to get some advice regarding an X3 lease I want to make. The local dealer told me that there is a .00100 Money Factor/60% Residual going on for the 3.0 X3 until the end of March. I currently have a lease on a Freelander but I honestly don't remember going over these figures when I got it so I don't quite understand what this all means. What I do know is that this appears to be a heckuva deal.

My question is if this is a good enough deal to consider early termination my current lease. Is it the "You can't pass this up" kind of deal or a "Don't worry about it, better deals will come along" kind of deal? I have about 5 payments left and if I work with the dealer I can probably stretch out the buying process so that I only have 3 payments left on the lease but there is still an early termination fee.

By the way, this is in Colorado Springs so if there is anyone from Denver on this board I would appreciate any insight on purchasing locally. There is only 1 BMW dealer within a 60mile radius from here so I'm curious if that will affect the price at all.

 

[Bryan330i]

I have noticed “good” X3 lease deal for a while now. You should still be fine in a few months I would think.

Your interest rate equivalent is 2.4% which is great but it may not be worth throwing extra cash on the deal to make up for your last payments on your current car because I think even if you wait the rate won’t go up much anyway.

 

[Rob V]

Thanks for your thoughts Bryan. From what I gather these current lease rates can save about $40/mo on the lease payments which works to about $1,500 for 36-39 payments in the long run. That's no small chump change (IMHO).

Is there anyone on this board thatmay have some more details on lease rates? Maybe you work for BMW . I would like to know, for example, how this rate comapres to previous promotions or if a similar deal would be expected soon. Maybe towards the end of the year?

 

[Neil Westfall]

That is a very good program, in fact that program is about $30 per month better than the program that was in place for most of January and February.

We are quickly approaching the launch of the 2006 models. When that happens the 2005 will be nearly impossible to lease well, though they may make good purchases or cash transactions.

The ability to lease a car well is affected by three main items: Residual Value, Money Factor, and Overall Cap Cost of a Vehicle. As the 2006 models get closer you will see the support (low money rate) for the 2005's move to the launch of the 2006 models. You will also then see the residuals values lower on the 2005's because of the imminent launch of the 2006. The price may be lower to help move the 2005 but it may not be enough to counteract the residual and money rate changes.

 

[Rob V]

Thanks Neil, that's very helpful. I wasn't aware that the 2006 models were due out soon. About what time frame does BMW usually come out with their next years models? I asked the sales-rep at the local dealer and he told me that the new models won't be coming out soon and that there also would not be any major design changes. He could have just been telling me that so that I would feel better about the purchase, who knows. If I wait until the very end of my current lease then it would last until late August. Would the 2006 be available then? Even if it is, it probablly wouldn't carry as good a deal as the current deal. Ugh! I'm just trying to get the best deal possible.

 

[Neil Westfall]

The X3 launch is still several months out (late summer/early fall), but the lending institutions will typically start pulling back the residuals ahead of the actual launch of the 2006 models to prepare for them.

The pull back can be stemmed by the manufacturer artifically raising the residuals to counteract the lendors (ie give the lendors money to keep the residual high), or continuing to lower the money rates to make up for this lower residual. Eventually the well will run dry and the 2005 will not lease well but will have some cash incentive to make it an attractive purchase.

In my opinion the lease on the X3 is very, very good right now. In fact as good as I have ever seen. One other thing to consider is the availability of the vehicle. Right now inventories are good and you should be able to find the exact car you prefer, if you wait too long it may start to limit what you can acquire. Additionally the lease programs will change at the end of March. All in all it sounds like a good time to move forward.

 

[Rob V]

How long does it normally take to get a vehicle that you have to order. For example, if the options and color combination you want are not available and it has to be ordered how long does it take to receive? The reason I ask is because I still want to take advantage of the current lease promo and ordering a vehicle might help in a couple of ways. First, I plan on getting pre-qualified at the dealer to lock in this promotion as I was told that if I do this I can extend the promo for myself for up to 60 days. Then I plan on ordering a vehicle because I have not seen the combination on the lot when I’ve been there. Combining these two actions should buy me some time when it comes to terminating my lease early.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this being a good/bad move on my part?

 

[Unit74]

From what the sles guy told me a few months ago, it takes about 2 months to get the car.

 

[Rob V]

I also forgot to mention if it costs more to special order a vehicle or does it affect the dealers profit at all...effectively hurting my negotiations with them?

 

[Larsd4]

Special Order

I just ordered an X3 2.5 for delivery in June, but I could have ordered one on March 31, for delivery in mid to late May (my current lease runs through June). The dealer told me that the production date of the first one is April 14th. The two week window between ordering and production is about as tight as you can get it. It then takes 3-4 weeks in transit to Minneapolis.

Regarding the negotiations, I would bet you could drive a harder bargain with a car in current inventory, but there is no specific charge to order it special. In my case, the type of options I wanted were unlikely to be found on any lot. I wanted leather, sunroof, automatic, cruise control, and nothing else. White with grey interior.

This is my first Beamer! Stoked!

 

[Rob V]

I finally ordered by 3.0 last week and it's due to be in mid-late June. You're probably right about getting a better bargain with a vehicle already on the lot but I had 3 things against me. First, they only one X3 on the lot and it wasn't anywhere near the options I wanted....two...the dealership is the only BMW place in town so they are hard no the price......three....I HAD to order it if I wanted the promo deal and still not get it too early before my current lease ran out. Despite all this I'm still so excited about this that the past week has seemed like an eternity. I have to do something to get my mind off of the X3 until it's time to pick it up otherwise I will drive my self crazy. This is also my first Beamer and I'm stoked as well.

 

[Larsd4]

You scored a great deal on the lease. The best they could do for me on an X3 2.5 in March was a .0020 money factor with a .57 residual. I don't know if there are regional differences in these numbers, but the salesperson said that these numbers are dictated by BMW and are non-negotiable. Maybe I'm getting taken for a ride.

I'm so nuts about getting one that I saw a White one like mine driving this weekend and ended up following it for a few minutes just to get a better look at it from different angles. Hopefully they won't report me as a stalker.

Oh yeah, forgot to list heated seats on mine. It is Minneapolis after all. [bmwkick]

 

[MrElussive]

If this helps you at all, I will show you the information I got. I went to my local BMW dealership a couple of months ago to test-drive an X3 and get some lease pricing information. We ended up going with another vehicle, but here were the numbers I was quoted:

05 BMW X3 3.0i
Almost fully loaded, the MSRP came to $45K.
36 months lease, 36,000 miles (12K miles per year)
$2,500 down for inception fees, which consist of first month's fee, bank fee, security deposit, registration, maybe other things.
$623/month.

I don't think this was a particularly great deal, but it wasn't outrageous at all either. I initially went after the BMW because they typically have a high residual value and a low money factor (which makes for good lease rates), and you get free maintenance for 4 years/48K miles, and a 4 year/50K mile warranty (which makes owning the car very easy on your pocket). I figured if I could get the vehicle for around $580 or $590 a month and $1,500 down, I would have gone for it. But $2,500 just to pickup the car along with $623/month was just a bit too high.

 

[AeroG]

If this helps you at all, I will show you the information I got. I went to my local BMW dealership a couple of months ago to test-drive an X3 and get some lease pricing information. We ended up going with another vehicle, but here were the numbers I was quoted:

05 BMW X3 3.0i
Almost fully loaded, the MSRP came to $45K.
36 months lease, 36,000 miles (12K miles per year)
$2,500 down for inception fees, which consist of first month's fee, bank fee, security deposit, registration, maybe other things.
$623/month.

I don't think this was a particularly great deal, but it wasn't outrageous at all either. I initially went after the BMW because they typically have a high residual value and a low money factor (which makes for good lease rates), and you get free maintenance for 4 years/48K miles, and a 4 year/50K mile warranty (which makes owning the car very easy on your pocket). I figured if I could get the vehicle for around $580 or $590 a month and $1,500 down, I would have gone for it. But $2,500 just to pickup the car along with $623/month was just a bit too high.

Especially with only 12K a year.

 

[MrElussive]

Hey AeroG, welcome to the board. You're absolutely right...I think since the X3 is a brand-new vehicle, the residual value is a little low. The guy quoted me for a 59% residual value at the end of the 3 years/36K miles...typically, BMW's have a 63% or even a 64% residual if the car is still in great condition. It doesn't serve as any kind of "bad sign" for the X3, simply a conservative residual value now since these X3's are very new and there are no 3 year old models running around yet.