Would $269/mo for the i3 Rex with zero down be a realistic deal for 24 mo with excellent (about 800) credit, or something impossible? I just have no idea what a good deal vs crappy deal would be for something in Washington state. We’re not a CARB state so I know we don’t get as good of deals as OR or CA, but the lease company should still be able to take the $7500 federal tax credit and there isn’t any sales tax on the first $35,000 of the MSRP for the i3 in WA. I guess that would mean I don’t pay any tax on the car? Or do you have to pay the full MSRP in tax on a lease?
24 mo with 10,000 miles. I would rather have a Volt but it actually seems like the i3 might have better deals right now… I don’t do a lot of driving over 80 miles, but occasionally every few months take a weekend trip that’s about 120 miles away, I’m a little worried about the BMW “limp mode” of ~45 mph that can happen while on the range extending engine when I’m on a highway… but I like I said, it’s only every few months.
I think it is totally reasonable to get an i3 REX for $269 a month with zero down. You can likely even do better if you negotiate hard enough. You would only pay tax on your monthly payments and your taxable incentives (such as lease cash). I think the federal tax credit is subject to tax also but I could be wrong.
Ya, that’s fully what I expect going in and trying to ask for a better price. $400 to $450/mo. I don’t understand HOW the hell people just go in and expect to “negotiate” HALF OFF. I’m really not that forceful/a dick so I doubt I could get more then a thousand or two off the sale price plus the federal rebate. Everyone is pointing to California ads as what to aim for but they’re a CARB state. I know there is extra discounts and rebates baked into that, and I suspect the dealers there are FAR more ready to take a huge hit to the selling price because BMW will earn CARB credits for those sales and if they don’t earn enough, they get fined. So I’m realistic about not finding a $99/mo or $149/mo lease insane deal. BUT, I’ve also seen people in non-carb states mention they’ve hit $200 to $299 with zero down on low mile leases with both the Volt and the i3 Rex. However, they never actually post a screen shot of the quote or a scanned copy of their contracts, so they might be full of BS to just get everyone to go “wow” over their “deal” …
I know here in Washington state for the BMW and Volt the dealers are advertising $3000 and $2500 cap cost down payment and like $269/mo or $299/mo. Now I could do the $269 if I could get them to get rid of the down payment on the i3 Rex, but $3,000 is huge to ask off the car, and honestly to keep the monthly at $269 you probably would have to ask for $4,000 to $4,500 off to make up for the fees rolled into it. That’s like a 8% - 10% off the sale price. I could walk into the dealer and ask for 10% off and he’ll probably laugh at me and say they can’t do that, and I’ll walk away, because I’m not a huge dick that will fight for hours with him.
I just live in a world where people pay the price. Maybe there is a holiday sale that offers a % off and that’s great. But I’ve never been raised as the type of person that looks at a price and goes “I think I’ll offer half that and won’t leave till they give me it.” It’s a horrible ass system and I can NOT wait till my Tesla Model 3 order is ready. I hate car dealerships and the shady back and forth of trying to figure out exactly how much they can get out of me. Set a god damn price and stick with it. When you offer some people like 25% off a huge purchase like this and then DON’T offer it to other people, you have a bunch of really pissed off people that feel screwed over.
Tesla is right in changing this system. Go online, figure out what you want, click and order. MAYBE drop by the store if you have some questions but even then no one pressures you to buy, there’s very little talk about dealing, just here’s the price, let me know if you would like us to put in your order.
i agree. i am trying to find an EV that will hold me over till the Model 3 and help me get out from being upside down on my prius.
But, I have been trying to get an i3 for a while hoping that i could some how get one of these amazing deals i have been reading about since 2014.
EV options are limited here. My choices are Volt, i3, and Leaf.
This is what I did when I got my i3 last week. I called dealer and offer them a certain price that I want to pay because everyone else is paying this amount, about 10% discount per the number shown on this site. If the dealer can do it, then we can continue, otherwise call other dealers. Then the internet department accepted the price, but we have discrepancy at MF and RV. Two days later, the sales person called me back, and give me the deal. We went in, test drive the car, and signed the paper. Total spent 1.5 hours at dealership.
You may not be able to get that much discount like we do, however, you may get something close if you show them what kind of discount people are getting. Don’t go in dealership until you have all the numbers they offer you and you are ready to make move.
See, that’s the thing, I’m seeing VERY little hard proof of people getting these awesome deals OUTSIDE of CARB states. I don’t really want to take in something and show that they’re getting good deals when the dealer can point out that they earned CARB credits for that sale and Washington state won’t provide them any CARB credits if they sell / lease a car here. Basically they don’t have any reason to sell / lease the EV in this state, other then making money.
Also, we’re talking 10% off the sale price right, not 10% off the monthly lease rate? That would be about $4,000 to $4,800 discount on the sale price of the car based on what I’m seeing the MSRPs at.
Performacode, can I ask what monthly lease payment you got your i3 down to? Did you put money down? Are you in a CARB state?
@ jvmoore1 - I’m in the same positions as you right now. I’m a little upside down on my 14 focus. There was a 2016 bmw i3 at a dealership near me for $41,000 but that sold as soon as I got to the dealership. =(.
Ah, but I take it you are in a CARB state? The $2,500 sure helps, but more then that is the credit that the state gives BMW. They put a price on that (I’ve heard ~$5,000 per credit) which you never see. To them the car could be X amount cheaper and it’s still worth while to them if they need to earn those credits. In this case the may have discounted the car $5,000 more then they would in the state next door because they needed to get enough CARB credits. My dealer up here would know that if they sold every EV on their lot all year long it wouldn’t help BMW at all with CARB credits. BMW still could be fined at the end of the year by the CARB states for every credit they were short. That’s why you had some of those insane EV leases of like $49/mo with $1,000 down or something and after rebates it almost was free. They were trying to keep from having to cut a check to the state.
It’s also why the i3 Rex’s fuel tank is artificially limited in the USA. The current models have about half a gallon capacity blocked off (the tank is the same size as the EU tank, but part of it is blocked off) so the range on fuel wouldn’t exceed the range on battery alone. It was going to screw with their zero emission status and CARB credit eligibility. This goes away for the '17 model that has the larger battery, but if you OWN (don’t do it to a lease) a 2016 model you can remove the fuel tank block and extend the range of the BMW i3 REx past the 150 mile battery + fuel combined range. Granted the EPA or something might be pissed at you then…
Or you can contact some dealers in L.A. area and get a price quote. Some people do that to get cheaper price. I saw this in Facebook i3 group, the car was shipped to FL, I believe
Getting 10% off isn’t as difficult as you think it is. I find the best way to start is by checking dealer websites to find the lowest sale price currently offered. Then call or email, and ask if they would be willing to go to x amount (x being the price you are really looking for). Check TrueCar. If it’s lower than their price, you can use that to help counter. If they won’t get to your price, move on to the next dealer.
Another tactic that helps is by calling/emailing a dealer and asking if they would be able to do your price. Tell them another dealer came close and you’ll take it if they can’t offer better.
Try to get into a different mindset. You aren’t looking for a car… You’re looking for your price. Once you find a dealer willing to do it for your price, you get a car as a bonus!
I find that a lot of dealers in Washington state don’t have any lease specials, but will have general sale specials. Are basically all new cars on their lot able to be leased, or do you have to find specific cars that qualify for a lease?
Do you have any tricks to get a dealer to actually talk to you? They won’t answer my questions and instead keep saying “when can you come down to speak in person?”
Even more so when you’ve got one local one and the next is 100 miles away, and then a handful in the Seattle area. I don’t mind going to pick it up and even for service now and then if THAT dealer wants to service it, but just to try to hash out a price, that’s a lot of time and energy :-/
When they respond to a question by asking me to come in, I ignore it and ask again using slightly different wording. If they keep doing it, it’s probably better to call. Just tell them no thanks, I’m not coming in before I hash out the details.
