BMW 328i + 340i (Demo) Experience - CA

Signed Deals & Tips
1

I’m here to report on why I’m convinced that everyone within a couple of hours of Camarillo should head to Steve Thomas BMW.

Going in, having already received numbers from someone in their internet department, I was convinced that my girlfriend and I would end up with either this 328i m-sport, or this 340i m-sport. After driving both, and then a 235i, we settled on the 328i. These were the numbers for a 24mo lease (I’ll get to that later):

MSRP: 44,415
Selling Price: 37,580 (included 1500 option allowance, 1000 USAA credit)
Residual: 27,057.60 (72%, 10k miles)
MF: 0.00088 (7 MSD)
Fees: 925 Acquisition, 355 registration, 80 doc fee

Contrary to what I had previously though, it turns out you can add all of the fees into the payment, this has negative implications as you might now be subject to paying interest/sales tax on more than the depreciation of the vehicle, but it’s an interesting strategy for those that are trying to absolutely keep drive-offs to a minimum. The other thing I learned is that for BMWs, the amount of each security deposit is rounded to the next $50 interval, so, a post-tax monthly payment of $408 would round up to a $450 security deposit, or, $3150 for seven. All that being said, I was able to work with the manager there to get the monthly payments under $350, in order to keep the security deposit amount down, minimize drive-offs, and also avoid paying too much in interest/tax for the whole thing. All that being said, this is what we settled on:

347.42/mo (9.5% sales tax, includes registration + doc fee)
1272.42 drive off (1 mo payment + acquisition)
2450.00 security deposit

FWIW this is what I was quoted for 36 mo:
315.15/mo (incl tax)
1799.39 drive off (acquisition + payment
2450 security deposit

Some might ask, why do 24mo rather than 36mo? For me, it was a matter of learning through this process that if one wants to be eligible for the BMW CCA $500 credit, and $1000 loyalty cash (not always available), I’d rather save money on having to buy new tires, and be eligible for a future $500, if not $1500 savings. Once one factors in the increased likelihood of new tires over 30k, rather than 20k miles (say, $800), the 24/36 mo difference washes out. Factor that in with the $1500 future savings, it made more sense for us.

Long story short. We settled on the 328, were happy with the numbers, only to remember that there was a manufacturers demo 340i (6 mo old, 3500 miles in). Literally minutes away from signing on the 328, I realized that we hadn’t run the numbers on the 340, this is how it worked out:

Selling Price: 45,268
Residual: 37642.15
349.50/mo
1353.50 drive-off
2450.00 security deposit

Shocked to realize that this car, 6 months ago, had a sticker price of 56k+, would only cost an additional $100 over the course of two years, and come with all the things the 328 didn’t have (B58 engine, technology package, sunroof, heated seats, premium sound), it was a no brainer, we signed on it 15 min later, also knowing that in two years, our next car would be $500-1500 cheaper.

** Notes

  1. CCA rebate cannot be applied to demos
  2. USAA credit cannot be applied to demos
  3. USAA credit cannot be combined with CCA rebate
  4. Unsure if USAA credit can be combined with loyalty credit
  5. Most likely scenario is, combine loyalty credit with CCA for $1500
3 Likes
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you are going to bite yourself in the ass in 24 mo wishing you would have done the 36 mo. $350/mo for a 340i is a great deal (prob even cheaper on the 36 mo). The reason why i say this is that there’s no way to predict the future, how BMW is going to handle residuals, incentives, loyalty etc in the future. They are already taking away certain maintanance perks on the 2017 models etc. I would have locked myself into this car for 36 mo but to each their own.

Enjoy the car, it’s a beast!

1 Like
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What is a cca rebate and how much is it?

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Congrats. $350/month and $1,300 drive-off + MSD is AMAZING for the turbo six beast that is the 340i.

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5

Not a demo, MSRP $49,795:

6

His 340i has m-sport, so I think he got a good deal. 56k MSRP.

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That’s a legit deal. Well done on that demo. Enjoy in good health!

IMO the shorter the lease the better. You can always extend it slightly at the end if you love it so much.

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Of course he got a great deal. I’d jump on a deal like this if not fo VA tax + property tax. I just posted to show that good deals are available on new 340’s also.

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For those that are wondering, 36 mo for the 340i does translate into the same thing as the 328, or, $315/mo, $1800 drive-off. The only issue I have now is, where to store the standard (awful), Continental Pro Contact SSR that I’ll swap with the Michelin PSS everyone’s such a fan of (for good reason), only to switch them out once I have to turn the car in.

FWIW I was quoted $470/mo with ~$1300 drive off over 24 months for an M235i, which has those Michelins. The residual is 5% less than the 3 series so a payment of $120 more than a 340i ruled that out pretty quickly.

1 Like
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I rented a small storage locker when I had to store a set of tires for a few months (after hauling them around in the back of my SUV for a few weeks). It shouldn’t be too expensive for a small unit, paid in advance.

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IMHO, you should always take the shortest lease possible UNLESS you are virtually stealing the car.

  1. You lease a car because you like new cars…a 25 month old car has picked up smells and wear and tear!
  2. You are paying the same at month 30 as month 1, yet the car is worth 30% + less…that means the payments in the later months are “too high” for the car you’re getting.
  3. Ease of trading in early.
  4. May not need to replace tires/brakes etc (not relevant with BMW, but is for most brands)…that is a substantial savings.

Heck, I’d do 12 month leases if the numbers worked out! That’s what Steve Jobs did…of course, not only could he afford it, but Apple probably picked up the tab!

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No Steve Jobs refinanced exact same (SLK i think) every 6 months as a new car, so that he didnt have to put license plate on his car as that is legal with DMV.

2 Likes
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Did some research. Turns out it was an identical, but new, sl55 AMG that he leased every 6 months.

So he was driving a brand new car every 6 months.

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yeah. BMW leases can be cheaper for 2 yrs vs. 3 yrs especially if you have incentives that are fixed $ amounts vs. % reductions

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Leasing for 36 months usually works out to be cheaper, which is why people do it. With a 24 mo the lease, you are paying for the bulk of the depreciation and it only works out cheaper if the manufacturer manipulates the mf, residual, or incentives to make it cheaper.

1 Like
16

With the amount of tech in cars these days it is too hard to swap cars every 6 months. I would need to reprogram all my favorites stations, my destinations, memory seats, garage door opener etc etc.
24 months is optimal.

Plus, as much as I enjoy car shopping, who wants to go to dealer every 6 months to “negotiate” lol

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Then you keep paying all the fees (in VA dealer’s fee is $599, for example; marked up acquisition fee, disposition fee, etc.) and full taxes on the sale price in some states every 2 years instead of every 3. Assuming you keep leasing.

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I only do zero drive off leases, and wouldn’t pay much more for a 24 vs a 36 month lease…but one should always aim to get the shortest, cheapest lease possible…that’s all I was trying to convey.

If a 24 month lease is only 10-20 more a month, I’d take it everytime.

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But you still pay what I mentioned above every time you lease :slight_smile: And no one’s arguing about your preference. I personally like a 36 month lease, and felt that 24 month lease on XC90 was too short for me - I liked the car.

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You are correct. What can I say…I like the new car smell!