New comer here so please let me know if I need to provide more details. If the title scares you on how vastly different the cars are, I’ll explain in detail below.
I’m in SoCal.
Looking for advice on the following (details below):
Make: BMW
Model: 530e iPerformance
MSRP: $56,495
Monthly: $563/month includes tax (includes some extras)
Lease term: 36 months/10k miles
Down: $3,500
Security $0 (though I’m trying to get them to do it for me to lower payments)
Due at signing: $4,954 with $925 acquisition fee.
Credits: $2,500 via fleet program
Residual of 58%
Biggest perk for me: free HOV access and a good sized vehicle (it turns out 330e isn’t eligible for CA HOV)
I believe CA state will give a refund of $1,500 for this car (according to their site). Not sure how the federal tax credit works for leased vehicle (if at all).
Now here is the alternative: Maserati Ghibli. The best price I see is $498/month 39 months 10k/year.
Make: Maserati
Model: Ghibli
MSRP: $74,300
Monthly: $498 + tax
Lease term: 39 months/10k miles
Down: Not sure. Need to get more information
Security $0 (though I’m trying to get them to do it for me to lower payments)
Due at signing: $7,200
Credits: $0
Residual of 53%
Biggest perk for me: It’s a Maserati… and I’m the monthly payment is comparable to the BMW 530e above, but overall value of car is higher and insurance is significantly more.
If I may ask, why is down so bad? Is it wiser to have a higher monthly payment with no down? I would assume it’s because down is essentially money lost no matter what happens?
Bad deal on 530e for sure. I always go for $0 down or less than $1000 with TTL and first payment. Now for Beemers, this is a rule for good deal at least is true for most of the cars I bought. If car price is $50k payment should be 500 ish with tax. so $56K $560 ish with tax and nothing down.
Thank you. They are quoting $150/month for every 1k knocked off the down payment. This will put the car at over 1300/month with no down payment… I’d rather get a porshe for this much. I think they are playing with me now lol. Oh well - lost business for them.
I’m giving up on this dealership. Bit of a bummer really. The lady can hardly speak proper English and is quoting outrageous prices. It really should be 150/month extra for the full $5k, not every $1k.
I’ll speak to others, but on further research I also found that the official BMWusa website is giving the Sport Line - Premium Tier (with heated seats, power tailgate, etc.) for 529 + tax and 5k down. Given the package included, is that a bad price? I understand the comments on the down. Assuming they settle for an even match exchange, it should be $679/month + tax or about $730/month total. Per @gluck comment - a good price would be $540/month including tax.
Also, per my first post, do you all really feel that the Maerati is a bad price? If I remove the down and add it to the monthly (assume straight match), is it still a bad price? I’m thinking it’s almost the same price as the BMW, but is a 25k more expensive vehicle at the MSRP level. Sounds like a good deal, but seems people here disagree.
This is like comparing fruits and vegetables. They are both luxury brand sedans but otherwise completely different products. The Maserati is a performance vehicle that will get lots of attention, even in SoCal. Maintenance will be expensive even for a lease The BMW is an electric car, so it is not going to operate like your normal gas-powered 5 series. You buy the Maserati because you want a fun car, you buy the BMW if the carpool lanes are the primary consideration (but if you only drive 10k/year you are paying a major premium for electric).
In late 2016 there were a few deals with the Maserati at the same monthly rate with zero down. That would be my target.
Thanks - appreciate the input. The service they said is $1k/year on the Ghibli, but can purchase a “service package” for $1,495 which includes the yearly service for all 3 years (so 50% off).
“but if you only drive 10k/year you are paying a major premium for electric” <-- can you explain this? It’s the same MSRP as the 530i.
The car is really for my wife… depends on how much attention she wants with the Maserati.
@leasequestions just talk to the finance manager directly. Tell them your target. Tell them you got options. They don’t want to play, leave. You want to be at $560 or less with 0 down.
I don’t understand your comment about you’d rather get a porsche if you are paying $1,300/month with no down payment. You’re paying the same amount in total…you are either paying a lot down to get a lower monthly payment or you are paying a higher monthly with zero down. You (and more so the dealer) are just tricking yourself in getting a lower price by putting all that money down.
Hmm no. What I meant was the Panarama is 1300/month + down. I was comparing off total car values and total out of pocket for same amount of time. With Porshe is shelling out a lot more money for that car because it’s a significantly more expensive car (56 vs. 100+). It’s fine - I was just trying to make an example, but poorly worded it.
I will approach them tomorrow with the advice everyone gave. I like the ideal @Kos mentioned to just speak with the manager directly. Let’s see what s/he says.
