[jimmy335]

Thinking of buying out the lease on my 335 coupe. Right on target for mileage and another 12 months left.

Rationale is that I would like to do some mods (exhaust, suspension, pedals etc) and don't want to worry about having to take these items off down the road. Bottom line, after a 24 month test drive I am thinking I will want to keep the car longer than the 12 months left on the lease.

Dealer says I can do so at any time: $1,900 to "certify the car" and then finance the residual over 60 months. I would incur these costs any way in 12 months. 100K warranty with service included up to 50K.

So what is the down side here? is the $1,900 a real number from BMW or some made up local feature from the dealership?

what say you guys?

[E90RWC]

So you wanna be paying a 335 for 7 years after everything is said and done?

Wait till the lease is over actually, the residual value on your coupe is much higher than it is today's real world market.

You will be able to negotiate your residual at the end of the lease and save some money.

[Arustik1]

mod it then see how much it costs at lease end...you might be able to save some money.

ps - dealers do make money on lease buyouts so be careful and shop around

[jimmy335]

Don't I lose leverage with the dealer @ lease end if the car has mods on it?

[angler]

Originally Posted by jimmy335

Don't I lose leverage with the dealer @ lease end if the car has mods on it?

Depend on the mods, the leverage lost is if they think you don't want to lose the money you invested in the car with the mods. You need to be willing to walk away from it if it is not the right price. Mods or no mods i would not buy out the lease now, wait until the lease is over as the residual will be no where close to the market value of the car and that is where you have the leverage. If you can wait, don't do the mods until next year when you strike a deal to buy it. If you don't, just buy the next car and mod it all you want. That's my 2 cents worth.

[BMW!]

lease another one

[Hoothout]

i would just wait till the end of the lease and try and get them to go as low as possible, cause i highly doubt they really want another used car on their lot

[GreenThree]

Yea, unless the car is worth more than what you end up paying for it at lease end, I would say just lease another one. PLus, 5 more year to finish paying off - thats a long time!

In my case, I may be able to get a really good deal at lease end if I decide to buy-out. (Not many people have my color, ZSP and no ZPP!)

[richardew]

There are no absolutes. It may or may not be advantageous to buy out the lease now.
1. Find the payout on your car. If you registered you car with BMW it's on the website, otherwise BMWFS can tell you.
2. Establish the value of your car. There are three: private party sale, trade in, retail. There are a number of websites that do this: Kelly Blue Book, Edmonds, NADA etc.
3. If the payoff is significantly greater than the car's value, don't pay it off.
4. At the end of the lease you will again determine the value of the car and you'll know the residual. You'll have more of an opportunity to negotiate the price. If you choose not to buy the car you remove your mods and sell them.

[richardew]

another thing
Never mention mods. Dealer doesn't need to know. You just have to remove them if you turn the car in. So there is no issue of the dealer having more or less leverage due to their presence.