I spoke to BMW’s lease end info. center today. The agent swore I couldn’t sell my car to anyone other than a BMW dealer at my upcoming lease end. I asked about any other dealers but the guy was adamant that that isn’t possible. He said anyone who said different didn’t know what they were talking about. I was considering getting a quote from Equity Hacker. Is this still possible with a BMW?
Equity hacker may be able to process the buyout through a bmw dealer.
1 Like
I did post with Equity hacker but it takes 24- 48 hours for a response. It’s a loaded, pristine 330i with only 6 k miles so I’m not interested in returning it for the measly $200- 300 credit they offer. From local dealer listings, I estimate it to be worth quite a bit more than my buyout price.
Time to shop it around the local dealerships , because $200-300 usually means no equity
$200-300 is the offer in the email they sent and based on my phone call only. My inspection is in a couple weeks. My equity must be approx. 12k more than my buyout price if I base that on the 33 to 35 k dealers are asking for similar cars with more miles.
What’s your estimate based on? Why not take a few minutes and get a few online quotes ( yes, I know Carvana can’t buy your vehicle ) however just put in that you own it and repeat that amongst several online buyers and you should have a more solid foundation for your estimate in about 20 minutes.
Spend another 10 minutes looking on Autotrader for a nationwide search with very similar low mileage vehicles. See what the asking price is then subtract several thousand and you’ll start to get an idea where you might land amongst your nearby BMW eligible dealers.
1 Like
Check with Autonation, Group 1 and Lithia.
1 Like
If your buyout is <$15k, why not buy it out and keep it?
Good idea. Done. Still 7 weeks to go though. Thank you.
Buyout is about 28k + or -. I really like the car but live in the country with lots of potholes and windshield rocks. Any damage to my 19" wheels or head up display would cost far more to repair than I’m comfortable with. Maybe I erred in the math.
I am near lease end. My 330i rwd is loaded, pristine and under 6000 total miles. My buyout price is almost 28k plus doc fees and tax. In my research [thanks for the advice hackers] I have found almost similar cars nationwide listed at approx. 33k, though all had higher mileage, so I would have a similar value to that if I were to buyout the lease. None of the handful of buyout quotes I got online have been that appealing, taking into consideration the added time and hassle. The dealership has informed me that THEIR buyout price would be 30k if they were to buy it from BMWFS. They said it would be the same for all dealers. I’ve heard people here say to get buyout quotes from several local dealers. It’s a great car but I’m hesitant to buy a car that is so expensive to maintain. Would I get possibly higher prices by checking with other dealers or should I simply turn it in?
So, you don’t have much equity, if any. Deduct at least $5k from their price and you land at your payoff (not counting tax and fees). Also, if what you see are CPO, then it also adds couple of thousands.
Yeah, keep in mind that $33K is the retail price, and $28K is the wholesale price. So that $5K spread is the margin. So even if someone was able to negotiate with a dealer, you’d still wind up paying around $30K to buy this car.
On LH we love to find deals where the dealers are breakeven or losing money, but in the real world, I’m sure you understand that these money losing deals are the exception not the rule!
As mentioned above, the market price is pretty darn close to $30K.
And I’m sure you also know that BMW does not allow 3rd party buyouts. So you have to buy it yourself or just turn it in. Sorry, I can’t see any easy way for you to make more money because you’ve taken care of the car so well!! The next owner will appreciate your effort though!! 
1 Like
So, you’re saying I won’t get a better deal at a different BMW dealer if I were to go get quotes from them to buy it and perhaps get a little of my money back? Buyout would be close to 31k if I were to buy it myself, including tax and doc fee. A week later I’d have to reregister it with DMV, too.
Would you consider just turning in your car and leasing a new one? You can get an 330i for less than $500/month. It certainly would save you a bunch of monthly cash compared to buying out the car considering today’s interest rates on used cars!!
I haven’t seen a 2024 that I could get into for 500/ month 0 down without putting a hefty amount in at signing. I have an old dependable car with a non-op I could drive if needed. I paid over 21k plus steep insurance to own this car and barely drove it. I’m not sure a new lease would be worth it for me at this point but I am leaning towards biting the bullet and just turning this one in, based on your comments, and putting my money into my house instead. I’m driving a 2024 loaner today and it’s definitely a learning curve, esp. when I want to reach over and turn off the fan but can’t because I have to learn to use the new touch screen. This new model is not a car I absolutely must have, though I enjoyed my leased car and will miss it.