BMW 530e lease questions

My first lease (in Seattle) so had a bunch of questions.

Recently I asked my local BMW dealer to custom order a BMW 530e xDrive. I placed a $1000 security deposit over phone but did not sign any papers.

Question 1: how binding is this agreement. The dealership said my deposit is non-refundable but I didn’t sign any papers so how is this enforceable?

The reason I ask because after seeing the good deals posted around here I wonder if i got screwed and i would be better off losing the security deposit to pursue a bettter deal or possible asking or the deposit back.

Question 2: Did I get a decent deal on the lease or did I get screwed over? How much better would I be able to do?

I specifically asked for the base money factor of 0.00166 which I got but didn’t realize i could negotiate on the price of the car.

Here is the lease sheet I was sent:

I was planning on doing the 3 year 10k lease with zero cash at signing (and 1st month payment rolled into the lease term). Monthly payment for that is about $803 per month before taxes ($887 after taxes).

Question 3: Is it too late to sign up for BMW CCA to get the car rebate?

I heard if i do the 3yr subscription to BMW CCA i will get instant accces to the car rebate. I placed the order for the car but it will take 10-12 weeks for me to get the car. I haven’t signed any papers to take any ownership. Can i just sign up for BMW CCA 3 yr plan now and get the rebate after the car arrives?

Sorry for so many questions? I am brand new to leasing and have been trying to understand how leasing works.

That’s a pretty awful deal. Check to see if your state has a law that requires deposits to be refundable. Otherwise, you might want to shop in SoCal and think about losing the deposit. You aren’t going to get an amazing deal on a custom order. The best deals are on ex-loaners and in-stock cars.

You can sign up with BMWCCA 3 year plan up to the day of taking ovnership of your 530e.

Doubt your dealership will charge you for deposit. If you’re dealership does charge you, let them know you will contact BMW. BMW dealers measured on customer satisfaction by BMW.

Go to the “Ask A Dealer” section in Bimmerfest. They will know the answer. One of the board sponsors on there is from Seattle and pretty honest guy.

Thanks guys for confirming my fears. i feel awful i got such a bad deal. Every dealer basically tells me they are losing money on the deal.

I guess the question becomes how good of a deal would i be able to get to justify the hassle of trying to get my security desposit back.

I cross posted on bimmerfest “ask a dealer” to see any advice i get there as well.

good to know i can still get the BMW CCA rebate.

Someone on here mentioned Passport BMW a while back and they are my go to BMW price check. These aren’t customer orders but they are all 530e X drives with 8k+ off MSRP and you know dealers aren’t losing money on prices they post online so 8k in discounts seems reasonable

You can probably get out of your deposit whether your oral contract/deposit/lease data sheet is binding or not. First try to be very nice, you catch more flies with honey.

If that doesn’t work, for this deal you still have to sign a bunch of stuff. If you don’t agree to those terms (say refuse the arbitration agreement) they won’t sell you the car. If they won’t sell you the car and won’t return your deposit, a demand letter threatening to take them to small claims court (remember - there is no arbitration agreement yet) probably leads dealership to decide it’s not worth fighting this battle.

If you want a deal don’t order a car, try to find something in stock.

You will not get an aggressive deal like you see here by buying in Seattle. Best bet is to try Portland, but more likely will save a fortune going through @samson or @BMW_Dave in SoCal and having the car shipped up here.

Have a So Cal BMW Dealer who has offered the following. Good deal?

2018 530e $61,530 (Dark Graphite, Black Interior, Pem. Pkg 2, Driving Asst. Pkg, 19" Wheels =4600 in Packages & Options)

Sales Price: $54,530 (7000.-- Off or 11.25% below MSRP – But no $4,668 Fed Rebate)

MF 0.00166 - May and same for June.
Residual 58% on 15k Miles
36 mos.
Rebates$500 Lease Credit and $500 OL Code (or not and) $500 USAA 2 or 3 Only (OL Code was for Win Ultimate Trip to Japan which said 1k but he says my redemption code OL only good for $500)

Payments: 658.00 per month + LA County Tax = 721.00 per month

Down Payament: 2437.00 includes all fees - 1st month payment, 925,00 Acquistion fee, DMV and tax on rebates.

Based on what I’ve learned here amount off MSRP seems good. Down payment? Not so good. No Fed Rebate worked into lease or on top of 7k off. NOT SURE WHY? But get free flatbed service too.

Told him about BMW CCA 1k Cash Rebate to me for 3 Year $134.00 Membership. He was not aware of this. I don’t have BMW Loyalty or current lease (another 2k or 2.5K but I know a work around.

Car is equipped pretty nice but I’d take a white interior with Grey Ext and Sport Pkg too.if someone had one.

Thanks in advance. Cheers

Here’s my specs that I just negotiated. Found a loaner. As it’s used, and a lease, no federal or state rebates and no bmwcca rebates. Still get hov access. I’m in ny state. Car had 3,800 mi on it.

MSRP: $61,560
Selling: $52,450
Rebates: $3,000 (repeat bmw leaser)
Final selling: $49,450
MF: .00166
Term: 36 mo/12k
1st pmt, taxes, fees, etc $3,550
Month: $542

Had 2 pmts left on a current lease, bmw ate those. Taxes were just over $2k. Shopped around at 1/2 a dozen dealers in my area and no one could beat it. Don’t know if 530e loaners are easy to find in your area, but hopefully my deal points help.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Got some helpful info on bimmerfest as well.

I’ve contacted someone at Kuni BMW who has a car similar to what i built. Will see if i can get a better deal.

Forgot to mention earlier, but if the deposit is on a card just dispute the charge.

yeah it is on a credit card. i just hate to be a dick without trying to resolve things amicably but suppose it is a last resort.

Sounds like a good deal! What dealership in NY were you able to get this from?

If you live in NY area, I’d also try BMW of Freehold in NJ (reach out to their internet sales manager Maria). If you search the forum, you can see the deal I got for my new 2018 530e back in March which I thought was really good and the process was painless. I had a recent colleague go and lease from them last week and they said they had a great experience and their first offer was better than even a family connection at a BMW dealership. Happy hunting!

This is a little embarrassing. I signed up but cannot figure out how to open a new post in the forum. So posting here. This is my first lease in Chicago Suburbs. BMW 530e cDrive with premium package 2 and driver assistance. Can you guys please let me know if this is a good deal? Also can you recommend any good dealers in Chicago

Not a good deal. You should try and see if you can get more off of MSRP (I was able to eventually get 12% and was easily getting ranges of 7-9% back in March for a new 2018) then add incentives (which in PA would be an additional $2k loyalty + $1k lease + $1k OL Code + $500-1k corporate fleet/bmwcca rebate). Also find out what your money factor is as it shouldn’t be higher than buy rate which is at 0.00166 now. Good luck shopping!

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Thanks for the quick reply. So the two dealers that i did contact are unwilling to budge on the MSRP. Is there a strategy to getting this down? Also any recommendations on dealers in this area?

You’ll have to do some homework yourself or work with a broker. When I went shopping I reached out to 10 dealerships within a 3 hour radius of me to try to find the best deal and had numerous email exchanges and calls. The reason why you were not allowed to post a New thread was because leasehackr only allows a user to do so after you have spent a certain time on the site reading posts. Not from Chicago but I would suggest you search Chicago BMW dealerships here and at bimmerfest.com to see dealerships that other folks have had success or good customer service at.

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If that selling price doesn’t include any rebates/incentives, that’s 11% off, I doubt you’ll get much more than that. An extra percent is about $655, I’m not sure why @ThanxsisC is saying get more off. Those numbers don’t even make sense, you need more of break down. I just punched them in the calculator and they are way lower. Something is wrong.