Do these qualify for purchase or lease incentives? So does GA have the best options since they also only tax the monthly payment for a lease now? If purchasing incentives are better than lease, do owner’s choice and vice-versa when leasing incentives are better?
They would get purchase incentives, I believe. They can be written anywhere there’s a “tax unfriendly situation”, not just GA (Think Tx or Chi-town). Legacy GMAC used to have something similar. SmartLease was a traditional lease. SmartBuy was a balloon contract like this. Tax advantages if you plan on buying out your lease is the advantage. A drawback is you “own” it so you can’t transfer the lease, as it’s tefhnically a finance contract. If you want out of it before term, you have to sell it and pay off what is owed (monthly plus balloon),!just as if you were trying to trade a retail finance unit.
Other differences, no acquisition fee, no pull-ahead, no gap insurance
It seems like in the cases of EVs, you can file and get the federal EV rebate since you own it? So if one was to get an EV where the captive passes on the entire $7500 to a leasee (ie a BMW i3), you can double dip and get it twice? This could be potentially a huge “lease” hack?
That’s beyond my knowledge of the program, but it sounds logical.
They track VIN numbers. No double dipping without risk.
So the challenge is the buyer assumes any downside depreciation/diminished value risk if gas goes to $1/gallon Or you wreck it.
Edit: Nope, looks like there is a turn in option at the end of the term, just pay disposition fee, so that removes some of the downside risk.
But the bank is the one that can’t file for the federal EV rebate since they don’t own it correct?
Yes. BMWFS does not afford the $7,500 EV incentive for finance or owners choice contracts. So there’s nothing to double dip. You would claim it (the $7,500 Federal EV tax credit) on the following year’s tax filing. There’s a separate form that gets included with your taxes. Please consult your consultant because other considerations apply and ymmv. 
I think there’s some misunderstandings here. Let me clarify. @mp11477 said that for owner’s choice program, it follows leasing incentives. So with the owner’s choice program on an i3, would one be able to get the $7.5k iPerformance rebate from BMWFS AND apply for the federal EV rebate?
The $7,500 EV lease incentive is a pass through offered by BMWFS to move i3s. If you’re not leasing, there’s no tax credit for BMWFS to pass through.
You are reading the application of lease incentives too broadly. The $2,000 lease loyalty and the $2,000 lease credit (options credit or market allowance or whatever flavor it is called this month) are applicable unless they are not included in your region. Bmwfs is emptying different strategies in the different regions. Again, as a result, ymmv. Lastly, I believe the owners choice programs are only available in states that have tax applied to the full sales price and, if I remember correctly, do not subvene as much leases.
I too was looking at this $188 deal in GA. It is an Owners’s Choice (i.e. purchase with balloon) program as a previous poster said. You are required to put the $4001 down and it is up to you to get the rebate back when you file a year from now. Unlike a lease where BMW is the owner and they get the rebate and pass it to you (sometimes). As the clearly state, it is up to you to get they federal rebate. In my short research, it seems unlikely that a loaner car would be eligible for the rebate if it has ever been titled/registered as only the first person to register the car (has the Manufacturers Statement of Origin) is eligible for the rebate. I looked up the carfax for the specific stock number that they mentioned in the ad and it shows that the car has been titled and registered. I would hate to be applying for my federal rebate in April 2019 and find out I am not eligible to claim it. Sure interested if anyone has knowledge on this.
They didn’t take the rebate when they punched it as a loaner…you’d be able to get it.
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What dealer is offering this. Seems like a great deal?