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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences BMW 3-Series Prices Paid and Buying Experience
10321 messages, Last post on Dec 08, 2009 at 5:31 AM
You are in the Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Forum. Your Hosts are car_man & kyfdx
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Replying to: yukit (Jan 06, 2007 10:13 pm) Simplest thing...make en excel spreadsheet and try the following 3 scenarios (this assumes you have say 40,000 in cash): Option 1: Put 40k into an ing or other high yield savings account. On your sheet set up interest compounded monthly and check that $40k at 3, 6, 9 and years. Assume maybe $600 a month for a lease - money you're not saving. Remember at the end of 9 years haven't got any equity in the cars you've leased. It looks like a healthy chunk of cash. Yeah...wait... Option 2: Start out with 20k in an account (so imagine you financed the car for 20k and put 20k into it). Run different numbers for your monthly deposit into the account. Say you pay $500 a month on the car, so you put $100 into the account until you figure you've paid off the financing. Then bump up to $450 or $400 (figuring the difference goes to pay for maintenance). Your savings numbers will look pretty good eventually. and you have an asset. Option 3: Start out with 0 in an interest building account and add $600 a month for 3-4 years and then $450 or so thereafter (out of warranty) for 5 more years. Figure at the end of 9 years that 36k car (40k for TTL) is going to be worth maybe 8-9k after that much time. Options 2 and 3 look far more attractive if you can hold onto a car and just maintain it. Check Edmunds' true cost to own for cars and you'll see estimates on what a vehicle will cost you over time. Really want to see how much you're throwing away by buying or leasing a brand new car? Run the numbers for a 3 year old car of your choice v. a similar car brand new. Egad, those first 3 years of 40-50% depreciation (it really is closer to 50% because of taxes on the car's purchase) make buying new/leasing new just plain bad for saving money. That said, I've been leasing new for the last 7 years. It's utterly idiotic of me and I'm having a hard time stopping the cycle. At least buying new and holding for a long time (6+ years) would work out better financially than my foolhardy leasing addiction. My fiancee has one car - her daily driver - that's 13 years old. She spends about $500 a year keeping that toyota corolla running. It's brilliant. I can't do that for some reason.  Opportunity cost - I'd assume you mean re-investing the money? Get a decent loan to value ratio and you may end up making money on say rental property. After taxes with a good LtV, you will probably make money or even have positive cash flow. During the housing boom it was possible to buy and resell too for profit but that quick buck opp passed. In the end you gotta look at how much driving a fancy new car is worth v. having cash on hand v. long term savings/low debt. Cars are a lousy investment...no way around it.
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Replying to: blueguydotcom (Jan 06, 2007 11:21 pm) I suppose I have to consider leasing a new 335i sedan if I figure renting a $50k car for 3 years for about $16k is a good deal.
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I have worked a deal with a dealership to get an executive demo 330i for $36,500. The car is loaded, has 8400 miles, and the original MSRP was $44495. I am new to the world of BMWs so I don't know if this is a decent deal for the car. Also, does the car handle relatively well in snow (with snow tires). Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. |
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Replying to: yukit (Jan 07, 2007 1:16 am) There is of course the argument that buying a pre-owned BMW is a better deal because of depreciation. This is both an economic and personal decision. Some folks want a new car with worrying about how it was previously maintained. The other issue is BMW's "free" non-maintenance plan. A 3-year old BMW will likely have had 2 oil changes and a (very limited) Inspection 1. I have had conventional (read old-style BMW)maintence performed since I plan to keep it. Of course, this extra maintenance is a waste of money if you are turning in at lease end. Future resulting car problems will be someone else's headache. I have 2004 325i with a 3-year lease about to end. I am buying it at lease end. For me, it's a good deal on a well maintained car with a buyout price about $4,000 less than a similar car for sale at a dealership (because you are essentially purchasing a pre-owned car). However in Texas, after paying sales taxes upfront on the full MSRP, you must pay sales tax again on the buyout price. However, I don't want to lease again and get into that cycle -- just going to pay cash. I only leased because the lease interest rate (money factor) was substantially less than interest rates for traditional financing.
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| I'm curious to see what the discount off of the MSRP you have been able to get for those of you who purchased or are negotiating for the 335 coupe. I'm in the chicago area and the dealerships seem to start by offering $1,000 discount. I've been able to get an offer for $1,100 off + Red Star Approval Service or $1,500 off without the Red Star Approval Service. Options I choose are: cold/premium/sport/navigation packages. Also since I'll be new to owning a bmw, I wanted to get your feedback on whether selecting more options give us more leverage to bargain. Thanks | |
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Replying to: txbmwfan (Jan 07, 2007 9:28 am) I suppose leasing is a nice way to be able to walk away from the car if you end up with a lemon despite the free maintenance. I do wish I had that option with my VW Passat I drive now.
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Replying to: yukit (Jan 07, 2007 5:01 pm) So, yes in your example if a $50K (MSRP) car was leased with a contractual residual of 60%, you could buy it for $30K at lease end. |
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Hi, I am negotiating with a dealer to buy a used 2006 BMW 325i with 7500 miles on it. The car has premium package on it. It was imported in MArch 2006 and was sold to first owner right after. Later it was sold in an auction and has been with the dealer for three months. The car is in excellent shape and I have test driven it. Dealer's asking price for the car is $30,300 plus tax. He is taking care of the title and there is no hidden cost other than this. Does this seem to be a reasonable price?. I was planning on going max. to $30,000 since the negotiation started at $31,450. Will appreciate your inputs! Thanks. |
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Replying to: iiask (Jan 06, 2007 4:07 pm)
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Replying to: iiask (Jan 08, 2007 3:54 pm) |
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