Very interesting summary. 2 things strike me in your table:
Second half of 2018 definitely wasn’t lucky for you and this car. I guess it starts to show its age.
Yes it includes everything. I went with BARUM BRAVURIS 3HM tires which is owned by Continental. Got them at Discount Tire and that price also includes the replacement guarantee as well. They are Z rated and have been as good as the Continental DWS I had before. They were $67 for the front and $72 for the larger rear tires. So far with 8k miles driven they have held up great.
It’s a huge battery in the trunk…the battery goes for $150-$200 and labor is $100 which probably takes them 20 minutes. They have to recycle the battery and what not though since it’s in CA.
If you lease every two years you could get away with zero maintenance, zero tires etc, just drive offs, depending on miles and how you drive etc. DMV would not decrease over time though but some of the up fronts and higher DMV would be offset by frequent BMWCCA rebates, as long as you leased new. Plus you’d have newer tech, including safety which may be worth some amount, not to mention perpetual newness, also worth something to some. For me, after being here for a bit I can’t imagine not leasing anymore.
You don’t think the acquisition and disposition fees add up?
Depending on how where and when you handle the lease change the disposition fee may be avoided -> trade-ins, sale to 3rd party, lease transfer. Acquisition fee is just a part of each and every new deal just like tax, incentives and sales price negotiation.
When getting a new car you usually get a free full tank of gas and save on one car wash if we were to really go to last details of the comparison.
Very interesting… thank you for sharing. I honestly would have thought buying a used car and keeping it for 10 years was significantly cheaper than you outlined.
How did you come up with the $7K value? Seems high for a 10 year old BMW with 100k miles. what would Carvana offer?
Selling private party at this point is my life is not very appealing so something I always take into account when thinking about buying vs. leasing
So leasing the next one?
This seems like a real stretch to me. All the good BMW deals under 1% still have $2k+ driveoff. Also keep in mind this is a 335i with a 50k msrp. You might be able to do a lease at $370 per month on a 340i if your timing is good, but 5x in a row? Pretty unlikely even on loaners.
Looking at all my options. In reality I actually ended up $150+ a month cheaper for the same car than leasing. I was just surprised my overall monthly wasn’t even cheaper.
KBB says it’s worth $9k private, Carvana is offering me $5k. I think with my maintenance records I can sell it to a BMW person for $7k. Might be wrong but it seems like a fair number.
Just need to pounce at the right time and not be picky, I’m enjoying my $234/mo 320i($48k MSRP). No $2k down either, just first DAS. If your locked into a certain model, engine, color etc, that’s where you end paying more. Unicorns don’t measure up to the wish list.
That’s one nice thing about owning a car and looking to lease, no pressure on it needing to be a certain month 
You’re mixing two things here. When I say acquisition fee I mean acquisition fee as it shows on the lease worksheet, right by the tax, dealer fee, tabs and what so ever. When comparing cost of ownership to the monthly payments here it is my understanding we talk all included, effective, all fees rolled in into payment. In my humble opinion this is the only way to compare apples to apples. I’m saying that if you lease anything that at the end of the lease has a trade in value within $1k of the payoff you will most likely be able to trade it in and make the dealer pay it off without affecting your deal completely. The dealer will pay it off, mark it up and still sell it with profit. As a result no disposition fee for you. As for the new lease, personally when I see the magic 1% I understand it as total cost divided by months, all in, no fouling with artificial payment decreasing.
Dispo fees are usually waived with BMW if leasing from them again. I’ve even had money sent back to me for under mileage. Net cost of lease vs buy depends on many factors that are individual to each lessee of course…
As an owner (bought cash) of a '07 E92 335i 6MT, your maintenance costs are too high. These cars depreciated like crazy due to a number of issues with them.
I am sure there were numerous warranty repairs, probably turbo’s, high pressure fuel pump, injectors, coil packs, etc done under warranty to your N54. These are motors that either need bought in the late production cycle (2012 or later) or high mileage so the common issues with the motor has been resolved with updated parts.
If you turn a wrench, upkeep isn’t that bad. You are getting raked over the coals for brakes. $300 for a battery? If it only last four years they likely didn’t even code the car for it, as batteries tend to last a long time in these. $800 for some rotors and a simple brake flush - my God. $1500 for control arms (that might have just needed bushings). My car has more miles and is 1-2 years older (mine is a very late build), and no where near the maintenance costs in 4 and a half years. That’s on a car running 2x stock boost and ran hard on the regular. My biggest maintenance cost by far has been tires (2 sets).
Well…you know what happens when you assume stuff. No I did not have any of those items done under warranty.
Not true, but thanks
If you took a second to actually read the spreadsheet it included Inspection II (plugs and coils) as well. I don’t turn a wrench, good for you that you do.
Didn’t do a spreadsheet like you did, but, when I did the roughly calcs on how much my Mercedes C250 cost over the nearly 7 yrs I had it (purchased brand new for a very good price), I drew a similar conclusion (that leasing could be better for a comparable model, depending on how you drive, how well you take care of your car, etc.).
A colleague came to the same conclusion when he did the calcs. Perhaps not coincidentally, all the financed cars in question were German.
Not sure if I’m up to the hassle of changing out cars every 3 yrs, but I’m def never owning any car period out of warranty.
Lol, inspection for coil packs and plugs. Sucker born every minute. The coil pack either works or it doesn’t. Hell, you can replace all plugs and coil packs (easy 30-45 minute job) for under $200 using updated OEM parts. Been there, done that.
These batteries last longer than 4 years. My original lasted 8 years. My current one is 4 years and very strong…just recoded several modules on battery only and did a fresh backend flash without ever hooking up the charger - something you can’t do with a weak battery.
There is no way your 100k N54 is on original turbos, HPFP and injectors. Perhaps done by previous owner. 100k means that electric water pump is going to die very soon. Don’t forget the thermostat as those go around the same time as well (though the failures are unrelated, only an idiot would change the pump and not the thermostat due to the cost and labor involved).
It wasn’t an inspection, it was replacement of coils and plugs…
You can be civil or your posts will end up in the landfill.
Your experiences are not the same as everyone else’s.