BMW Lease Protection (and other upsell) question

[Ondraled]

I got a BMW iX last week and this forum was super helpful in securing a deal I was very happy with. One thing I didn’t prepare for was the last minute upsell (tire, windshield, lease protection and a bunch of other stuff) with the dealer’s finance guy. I work in finance, so it was pretty clear what he was trying to do - so at least I negotiated what felt like a hefty discount on the Lease Protection and Tire Protection. My wife will be doing most of the driving so I justified signing up as the cost of peace of mind just in case she hits a curb - and the cost of leasing for the first time… We drive in NorCal (Bay Area).

I am debating getting the i4 for myself. Should I just turn the upsell down altogether or is there any merit to it? I don’t want to deal with the hassle of buying used tires before the lease runs out or haggling over nicks and such. But obviously also don’t want to throw money away.

Thoughts? Tips? Much appreciated!

[jeisensc]

Some good discussion in the archives about what the products are and whether you need them

Don't be a dummy like me in the F&I department

TLDR; Don’t be a dummy when you get to the finance and insurance department. First off… thanks to everyone that posts here for your knowledge. I was a first-time leaser and even though I read many posts here, I still got run over when I got to the F&I guy. I am putting this here as a cautionary tale, but also would like some advice on the best way to proceed. I had read many things here on LeaseHackr about how to evaluate deals, but unfortunately, not enough on what to do once I got in the F&I…

"What is this add-on"? Thread

You want to “protect your investment,” don’t you? Who doesn’t love “peace of mind”? Ask about or discuss the relative value (or lack thereof) of various add-ons here.

In CA they are all cancellable

How to cancel finance office add-ons after signing a lease

Hello, I recently signed my first car lease (24 months), and unfortunately, I felt pressured into purchasing “extra” protection during the process. These extras include windshield protection (24 months) and a vehicle service contract (48 months), both of which were added to my monthly lease payment. I’m now regretting this decision, especially since the vehicle service contract covers 48 months while my lease term is only 24 months. I have a couple of questions regarding canceling these add-on…

Generally on a lease where the term is less than the factory warranty, you are best-off self-insuring, but YMMV

[Wtmeyer]

BMW wheels are not that expensive to repair or replace with aftermarket knockoffs. In general you would have to replace all 4 wheels during the lease period to justify the expense of the insurance. BMW is pretty lenient on wheel scratches at lease end. I am not sure what lease end protection is, but it is probably not worth the cost.

[max_g]

@Ondraled

I don’t want to deal with the hassle of buying used tires before the lease runs out

Chances are, you’ll need new tires well before the lease runs out. Instead of paying for road hazard coverage first (at the dealer) and later paying for new tires, why not go to Costco on day one and get new tires automatically covered for road hazard?

Save the OE tires for lease return.

Whatever you do, don’t drive on balding tires just because you prepaid for the right to return the car like that. Same for your wife’s car.

[trism]

Your lease includes normal wear and tear (no charges).

Look at the BMWFS lease-end guide.

The Lease-End Damage Question Thread

We get a lot of questions about what’s chargeable at lease end and what isn’t. As I find them, I’ll add links to lease-end guides from various leasing companies so you know what to expect at inspection time.

@Ondraled

in case she hits a curb

I scraped the @#$ out of one of the wheels on my Audi. The repair was $125. Cost may have been less if I’d returned it to Audi that way, but it looked terrible and I didn’t want to drive it around looking like that.

@Ondraled

I don’t want to deal with the hassle of buying used tires

I don’t think you meant it this way, but this implies that you’ll let the tires wear out and continue driving around in an unsafe vehicle until you turn in the car. Most people won’t take that risk. It’s unlikely that your tread depth dips below 4/32" immediately before lease maturity.

Cancel all that garbage and don’t look back.

[02cic]

I am very good about guessing my mileage and tire wear at lease end. I bought the package once and returned the car just as the tread was hitting the cutoff, which was safe. But any more wear and I would have been unsafe. I ended up with a few other freebies they covered that made the net cost of the plan barely profitable for me, but did give me some peace of mind. My latest BMW, I chose not to buy the plan, as the deal they offered at the time, after negotiating it down, didn’t make it for me.

[Ondraled]

I ran the numbers and here’s the with / without Wheel & Tire and Lease End Protection:

I’ll need to review what’s considered standard wear & tear (thanks for sharing that!) but otherwise leaning towards just canceling both and dealing with any incidentals as needed.

[trism]

Also take a look at what the wheel and tire plan actually covers.

Many/most plans don’t replace tires that need to be replaced due to normal use / wear.

Also, re: inconvenience, a couple of tire purchases ago I bought from TireRack online and selected a mobile installer, who swapped them out in my driveway.

You can also show up at Discount Tire about 30 minutes before they close, and assuming they have the tires you’ll be out in no time!