Well it’s time to start looking new vehicle options and I always start here, so here we go:
Audi is wanting to buy my ‘21 Q7 back from me for $5k over what I owe, so I thought I’d see what’s out there. I just did the Wrangler 4xe deal for my wife, so I thought I would shop PHEV vehicles A.) because I have became a fan of PHEV’s and B.) because of that sweet cap cost reduction I got!
I prefer the luxury brands (BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc…). I stopped in BMW and that X5 45e caught my eye. I previously had an X7 and really liked BMW. BUT as always, my local dealer basically acts like I would be fortunate to be lucky enough for them to sell me a vehicle. For my X7 I had to drive about 60 miles to get a better deal (I am in Austin, TX)… So… can any hackers shed any light on best way to approach any deal with BMW in Texas? They informed me that the $7500 is not applied for leases to cap cost (which means it basically disappears), so better to buy outright? I always prefer leasing but we are living in crazy times! Looking forward to all the great advice, thanks!!
I am in Austin, TX and am not in a hurry. I usually prefer ordering actually.
You’re not going to be ahead by much because you will likely overpay for the 45e. The only way this makes sense is if you are tired of the Audi and really want to switch to BMW.
The tax incentives are what make this interesting. I can get 10k in tax credits and grants. If I can get any discount, I might be able to sell the car for close to what I paid after 1 year. And with 10k in cash incentives (I own a small business and always have a healthy tax bill), I think I could drive this for a year at near zero overall cost, no?
If you can get a good discount it’s definitely worth considering but the problem is that the 45e seems to sell close to MSRP now and there’s no guarantee that you will be able to sell it for the same price in a year. Why would I pay MSRP for a used car if I can get a new one and claim the tax credit?
Normally I would agree with you, but I just bought a Wrangler 4xe for my wife and people are selling those used over MSRP right now. Some people don’t want to wait.
I know, a dealer just tried to sell me a used 2021 45e for MSRP but this means that they got it about 10K lower. If you pay MSRP for it there’s no way you can exit at the same price a year from now unless something extreme happens. If you can get a good discount plus some incentives it’s definitely worth considering. I’m in the same boat by the way. I want to get an X5 but I can afford to wait.
Look into owner’s choice from BMWFS, it’s a balloon financing arrangement that mimics a lease structure, but the car is titled in your name, allowing you to claim all of the tax credits yourself. The monthly payments are about the same as leasing (the interest rate might be a little higher) and at the end of the lease term, there is a clause that lets you buy out the car for the RV or walk away.
Luckily, OC is available in TX and a few other states. Do a quick google search through the leasehackr forums for people using OC on 330e’s/530e’s and pocketing the grants/credits…
I’m greedy. I’m going to wait until I can get a good discount on the 45e plus some incentive money before I pull the trigger. I realize it may be Q2 or Q3 before this happens but I have another vehicle and can wait.
Even 10K under MSRP may be hard to get in a year because it implies that the dealer has to offer it at MSRP. You may have to sell it yourself to get that but then sales tax comes into play. I think if you can trade it for 15K under is a pretty good deal assuming you pay sales tax only on the difference above your trade. After credits it implies that you paid 5K to use the car which is a great deal.
In your scenario, if I get $3600 in savings at trade in time and sell for $15k off MSRP, after 10k rebates and grants, I’m affectively paying $1400 to drive the car…
so you’ll hear folks recommend that the X5 45e be bought/financed.