Lease Info 2004 330ci

[bronxborn]

I was occasionally frustrated by the lack of complete info on leases for 330 coupes. In the event it might prove helpful to anyone else, here is the info on my recent lease:

2004 330ci (6-speed)
Premium package
Sport package
Cold Weather package
Xenons
CD changer + all weather mats + clearcoat for the front end

$500 down
$528 + tax for 36 mos

 

[MrElussive]

Hey, welcome to the forum. Congrats on the car! What was the MSRP of the car, may I ask? It will really help out to see the lease price based on the MSRP of the car.

Not a lot of members on this forum lease their cars, but some do. If you don't ask, we don't tell.

 

[bronxborn]

I think the dealer told me it was $43,420 before I added the CD changer, all weather mats and clearcoat for the front end. According to him, the cost of these items is $895, $100 and $400. As part of the deal he offered them to me for $500 down (the deal without these items was a nothing-down deal).

The deal seemed reasonable to me. Also, while I had looked at the 330 in May/June, a family problem put it all on hold for the summer. When I was ready to get the car, there were almost no coupes available (especially with a 6-speed). I was prepared to take any reasonable deal.

By the way, the car is fantastic, as I expected.

 

[Militant-Grunt]

Sigh, lease is such a bad idea, your getting jipped in the end, you pay very close to the actual price of the car, financing wouldnt cost you much more than that.

thats just my .02 cents.

 

[MrElussive]

Sigh, lease is such a bad idea, your getting jipped in the end, you pay very close to the actual price of the car, financing wouldnt cost you much more than that.

thats just my .02 cents.

Completely untrue. Depending on the resale value of the car and the lease deals the company is offering, you pay around mid-50% of the car's value to lease it for 3 years/36K miles. If you buy a car and drive it for 3 years/36K miles and sell it, you'll get around 60% of the value back (referring to BMW's resale value of course). But the advantage of leasing is that you get a brand new car every 3 years, you don't have to worry about reselling the car (you literally just give it back to the dealership at the end of the lease), and you don't really have to worry about how you treat the car and accidents that potentially lower the vehicle's resale value. It is a good setup for those who do not believe in cars as a worthwhile investment.

 

[deutsch100]

Sigh, lease is such a bad idea, your getting jipped in the end, you pay very close to the actual price of the car, financing wouldnt cost you much more than that.

thats just my .02 cents.

I agree 100% with Mr. Elussive. Leasing is totally amazing. Personally, I would NEVER finance a car. Leasing allows you to enjoy driving a very expensive car for a fraction of what it would cost if you financed it...and then every 2-4 years you just dump the car and get a new one. There are no worries about purchasing extended warranties, unexpected repairs due to no warranty, being stuck with a discontinued model.....

I have been leasing since the early 1990's and there is still "pride of ownership", credit building..etc....

I LOVE my leased BMW every bit as much as anyone's financed one. There is ZERO shame in leasing....in fact it shows that you understand that purchasing a car is almost never an investment. Why shell out tons of $ for a purchase, if you can drive the same car (or a much more expensive one) for less a month, and still have money in the bank???

 

[hosagod]

I have a question, my 2004 330ci is leased as well and I did the "owners choice" way.

Now at the end of my 42 months lease term, do I have to start all over with a whole new down payment and such on the new vehicle or does my old vehicle which I turn in count towards the down payment on my next vehicle...I'm so confused on this issue.

Can someone clarify?

 

[MrElussive]

At the end of your lease, you just turn the car in. You can opt to buy it out (in one big check or in financing), but assuming you turn it in for a new car, you just start the whole thing over. You put $500 down (which goes towards the lease) plus the initial registration fees and stuff, you work out the monthly lease price, and you get in your new car in a whole new lease. It's very simple and if you're a repeat leassee, the process gets easier and easier every time you lease a new car from the same dealership (because the dealership likes and trusts you more and more).

 

[hosagod]

MrElussive you stated that when you turn in the car you start the whole thing over with a new one (this is true for LEASING)...however, we did OWNERS CHOICE and I found this on their site and it confused me even more...

***OwnersChoice financing combines the lower monthly payments of leasing and the security of ownership. You make low monthly payments for your selected term then reach a 3-way option point:

1.You can get a new BMW and sell your BMW back to us at a predetermined price. (???)

2.You can refinance the balloon payment amount.

3.You can complete your purchase by making the balloon payment. ***

Now according to number 1, I will get to sell my BMW back at a predetermined price just as I would have had we financed the vehicle??? So in other words, will they buy it from me for $20,000 or so, because that would be its value after my lease term ends according to the dealership.

It sounds too good to be true, that you can have the power of lease and get to sell your car back when you're done with it...someone explain!

P.S. - I'm sorry I'm unclear on all this stuff b/c the dealership was very vague as to what exactly "owner's choice" entails and plus my parents are the ones who leased the vehicle for me while I just sat there and drooled and didn't pay attention.

 

[MrElussive]

I don't know if owners choice makes any sense at all. When you lease a car, at the end of the lease you can buy the car outright or just finance it from there. What else does Owners Choice give you??

 

[hosagod]

1.You can get a new BMW and sell your BMW back to us at a predetermined price.

lol...

 

[hosagod]

This is the part that is astonishing, they actually let you sell your car back to them after your lease term if you choose the OWNER's CHOICE route.

Or so I am presuming...

 

[Bryan330i]

Traditional financing is absolutely the worst way to buy a car. On the other hand, leasing is the only way to buy a new car.

1. The actual cost of financing is cheaper on a lease: shorter term, lower cost.

2. The actual payments can be smaller and offer more certainty that the vehicle will not be in a negative value situation in 2-3 years like most conventional financing.

3. There is not a leasing company on the planet that wants the car back. I had a truck through Key Bank and they did everything in their power to get me to buy the thing out, including low interest buyout financing and taking a few thousand off the buyout price.

4. Lease-end financing almost guarantees great financing at the end should you want to actually purchase the car.

5. If a car is totaled within the first couple of years, the conventional finance buyer could be liable for thousands between the market value of the car and the loan payoff of the car. A lease through a reputable company involves just walking away with no further financial damages.

And just a side note, my car has a KBB value of between $30,000-34,000, trade-in to retail. A 2004 ZHP has a KBB value between $31,400-35,000 with the same mileage.

These ZHP resale values suck!!!! My car was like $42,900 new!!!!

So should I decide to buy my car at the end, I start will an offer of about $5,000 under residual and probably settle at about $2,500. Someone that made a purchase on the same car probably paid more in payment and will also likely pay more again should they decide to trade the car after a few years because of the value drop.