Is BMW the King of Luxury Sport Sedans?

Like some folks have said already… you really will get a lot of different opinions. For example… my opinion is that you can’t compare the 328i to an IS350… they are very different cars with completely different engines. I personally feel that an IS350 is more comparable to a 340i. With that comparison, the IS350 value score jumps a lot higher which is how we ended up with IS350 :slight_smile:

The IS350 leases extremely well recently with high residuals and low MF. I found them to be better than BMW about 6 months ago.

Good luck!

Coming out of a 250K Corolla, I’d be happy in a 320i or IS250 or base Q50…if you don’t need the space, maybe even one of Loberant’s Mini specials might be the best value.

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@max_g is right, a 320i is quite peppy and worth considering, I had it as a loaner and was pleasantly surprised.

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The 320 is not the value it appears, not only are you giving up 60ish hp you are also getting fewer standard features for not a lot of price difference, get a 328, you will be happy.

BMW is the king of Luxury leases. Good deals to be had, posted recently
280 - 320 a month for 3 series
350 - 399 for 330e
360 - 420 for x3
400 - 450 for 5 series, 370 for demo 5 series

A lot depends on his local market (or how far he’s willing to travel) and how much of a difference…if it’s not much, then sure, why not.

Residuals on the 16s dropped another 2% to 60% in Jan BTW, and are only 62% on the 17’s. I am guessing its pretty tough to get those deals now.

Blockbuster deals via a dealership might be over for now (maybe month or qtr end again?) but if Loberant has any left…OP said it’s his first nice car and therefore I assume he won’t be terribly picky…take whatever Loberant has left.

Loberants deals will also be affected as has to use BMWFS as well. 2% in residual is $1,000 on a 50k car, or about $30 a month. And since his cars are punched already the incentives have already been taken and his dealerships would just have to eat the difference…

The ones I checked (some of the east coast ones) were CPO cars…not exec/demo which I think technically qualify for the ‘new’ car programs. AFAIK CPOs have a fixed dollar residual that gets adjusted down for mileage.

PS: It’s possible those fixed CPO residuals might get adjusted…every quarter? Sounds like a lot of work to do it every month for what is a tiny part of their volume (for now)

I am not an expert on lobs deals but i am pretty sure his cpo cars are whats called “CPO Elite” which is what bmw calls its CPO demo/loaner cars. BMW did have a program to lease older regular cpo cars (MY 2013 or 14’s I think) but the deals were pretty uncompetitive and I think the program ended.

Good point re: CPO Elite.

BMW, Lexus and a couple others announced plans last year to lease CPOs, not sure if that’s the program you’re referring to that ended

Wow thank you for the tremendous replies everyone, I really appreciate it! @max_g I apologize I meant 15k/yr not 1,500 a month. I think I’ll be alright with 1,000-1,250 miles. @atomhawk I’ll take the IS350 into serious consideration then, I see what you mean with the value to power ratio there. It’s definitely comparable to the 335/340 But closer to the price of a 328. And I agree with @conanohasselhof on this one, I’m treating myself to this car, I think if I got a 320 I’d be regretting it every day for not getting a 328. For the extra options and horsepower it is totally worth it to me. The 340 on the other hand more like $400 a month is a little costly.

I emailed loberant but have yet to receive a reply. I’m guessing he’s super busy at the end of the year. Now the CPO Elite do those still carry the same 4yr/50,000 warranty/maintenance? Also I’m going to be breaking down numbers on leasing vs buying used as well if anyone is interested. I think leasing is going to come out on top haha.

Actually cpo elite extends the warranty to 6yr/75k but does nothing for the maintenance. 2 things to consider regarding maintenance:

  1. 2016’s have 4 years 50k miles maintenance included, if you lease a demo loaner with more than 5k miles you may be responsible for some maintenance but should be ok.
  2. 2017’s only have 3 year 36k miles maintenance included, you will almost assuredly be responsible for some if you are driving 15k miles a year.

this is what i was referring to:

Same thing happened in October. Residuals went down, deals died down for a few weeks then came back with bigger discounting. Bmw just keeps playing with rv incentives and discounts.

No worries (and no need to apologize!)…and goes without saying, don’t get something you know you will regret so skip the 320i…all the best

The waters are kinda muddy re: Free Maintenance, which no longer transfers to second, third, etc owners even if it is within the 4yr/50k window. Per the verbiage below, you would need to be the “initial purchaser” of the demo or Corp exec vehicle to get free maintenance:

NON-TRANSFERABILITY
These maintenance programs are available to the exclusive benefit of the initial purchaser, owner, or lessee of a new vehicle, sales demonstrator vehicle, Aftersales Mobility Program vehicle, or BMW Group company vehicle from an authorized BMW center in the United States (including Puerto Rico). Coverage is not transferable to subsequent purchasers, owners, or lessees. The sole exception to the non-transferability of coverage is that household transfers—transfers within the United States (including Puerto Rico) to members of the household of the initial purchaser, owner, or lessee of a BMW vehicle from an authorized BMW center—will not terminate coverage. Household transfers are limited solely to transfers to a current or former spouse or spousal equivalent, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or grandchild from the initial purchaser, owner, or lessee of a vehicle. In the event of a household transfer, purchasers, owners, or lessees of a BMW vehicle should promptly advise their authorized BMW center to document and confirm the household transfer for purposes of coverage. The payoff of a loan on a vehicle by the initial purchaser and the purchase of a leased vehicle by the initial lessee are not considered transfers for purposes of coverage.

And MY17+ models no longer get brakes (pads & rotors) covered as part of “Free Maintenance” so it’s just a name for glorified oil changes like the other mainstream brands.

One more reason to get a MY16

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