[eekthecat]

The 36mo lease on my E92 335 is up in March-2011, and I was wondering what the best time would be to approach local dealerships about either:

1) Buying the car at the end of the lease (+CPO) -- it only has 11k miles on it right now, and will probably have <15k at the end of the least, and is in pristine condition... the residual is $29.5k. It would be nice (wishful thinking, probably, to get the car CPO'd for the same price).
2) Placing an order for a 2011 model, depending on the pricing I get on buyout.

I know buying at the end of the lease isn't the most sound decision, but after test driving some comparable cars and other cars I might be interested in, I haven't found anything leaps-and-bounds better than my 335. (e.g. I test drove a A5 this past weekend, and though it's a stylish car, it's not a lot nicer than my 335 -- if at all, and it would be 2x the monthly payment.)

So, is it +3mos out? +6mos out?

[positiveions]

here is how i did it. The day I returned my car, I went in to the lease return department. I said bluntly: i'll buy the car right now if you knock off 2k from the residual. The man said:" give me some time, let me call BMW NA and find out what is the situation". He came back after 30 minutes: " ok done deal".
VOILA. that is my simple version.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

At about six months out, BMW will start reminding you that your lease is almost up.

I wouldn't even bother responding to those reminders.

At about three months ago, BMW starts to up the intensity of the reminders. I'd keep ignoring them.

From three months to one month out, you should start getting offers from BMW, saying that they'll sell you the car for X. I imagine that some of the offers pertain to the kind of car you have (they might not have a lot of interest in your particular model).

I had a 2007 E90 328 that I was turning in. Residual on the car was $26K. BMW eventually offered to sell it to me for about $19K.

I already had a 2009 E92 335 on order. If I didn't, I probably would have given that offer some serious thought.

You should not be in a hurry to negotiate. You can negotiate toward the very end of the lease. I'd start showing some interest with about 1-2 months remaining.

[Cobu]

Originally Posted by Marcus-SanDiego

At about six months out, BMW will start reminding you that your lease is almost up.

I wouldn't even bother responding to those reminders.

At about three months ago, BMW starts to up the intensity of the reminders. I'd keep ignoring them.

From three months to one month out, you should start getting offers from BMW, saying that they'll sell you the car for X. I imagine that some of the offers pertain to the kind of car you have (they might not have a lot of interest in your particular model).

I had a 2007 E90 328 that I was turning in. Residual on the car was $26K. BMW eventually offered to sell it to me for about $19K.

I already had a 2009 E92 335 on order. If I didn't, I probably would have given that offer some serious thought.

You should not be in a hurry to negotiate. You can negotiate toward the very end of the lease. I'd start showing some interest with about 1-2 months remaining.

$7K off of residual ! The most I was getting was $2k

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Originally Posted by Cobu

$7K off of residual ! The most I was getting was $2k

No kidding. I imagine that my offer was the exception and not the rule.