BMW Loaner Leases and Maintenance "Refresh"

I am in negotiations for leasing a loaner BMW 330i from the dealer with ~2k miles on it.

Since the dealer is assumed the title of the vehicle, I am assuming for it to “transfer” there is a fee for this maintenance refresh. The dealer informed me that this car does not come with the basic 3 year maintenance (BMW Ultimate Care) and would like to charge ~$400 for it.

While I know this fee likely varies from dealer to dealer, does anyone know what a fair price of this should be? Note that this is not for the Ultimate Care + which includes brake pads (another $400). This is only for oil changes and air filters. The maintenance refresh should be free, since you’re leasing it from the dealer.

I just wanted to get people’s experience or opinions on this. I have seen on this forum that people have paid $100 for a refresh, but I wanted to see there this $400 was coming from (unless it’s just a made up # to profit on).

Edit: will include the car I am negotiating. LH Calculator
Mineral Grey 330i w/ M Sport and Premium Package
MSRP: 50175
Selling price after discount and rebate: 42175
MF .00168 (dealer offered MSDs but there was a smaller discount on the MSRP)
incentivesL 2000 loyalty and 500 rebate (applied to 2019 models)
0 down, 1400 drive off, monthly payment $460
12 k miles a year for 3 years (loaner has 2176 on it)

I would negotiate the car first. Then, figure this out. Will $300-$400 make or break the deal?

If the deal is good enough on the discount/MF, does it matter?

$300 is negligible if the deal is good enough, so I would not get caught up in the details like this until the end. You could spend all your time negotiating this and then the numbers end up not working anyways.

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Thank you for your reply! I do agree that it depends on the deal. The $300 - 400 isn’t a deal breaker, but I moreso wanted to see other people’s experiences with the cost of the “maintenance refresh” and negotiations surrounding it. I will update my post with the deal I am negotiating.

Totally. I would look at the deal in its entirety above all else.

i.e. If they give you an amazing discount but charge you extra for maintenance, versus giving you free maintenance, and not discounting the selling price $300-$400 more.

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The loaners should already include the 3 year maintenance starting from the initial date it was put into service loaner status.

The only time I’ve seen the refresh is for transferred cars. I’ve heard it can be easily transferred for $100.

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In the case of a lease, if the dealer assumed the title of the car and I later lease it, are they “transferring it” to me?

No, the title wont be in your name, rather the bank. Not sure how it’s relevant to this conversation.

The refresh maintenance fee seems like a scam since that has never been discussed here with a loaner, although it technically could run out before the end of the lease.

Seems pretty poor deal with a maxed out MF and ok discount so a lot of reasons why to walk.

Yes, cost about $100 to refresh for me.

was this for just the basic maintenance? did you reach out to BMWFS for this or do it through a dealer?

Yes, Dealer refresh for me “automatically”

Theres is no fee. You can confirm with one of the bmw dealers here. If the car was a loaner or demo, the maintenance portion carries over to you just like the warranty from the date that the car was punched in to loaner status. They are probably trying to sell you the ultimate care plus.
And this is not supposed to be called a transfer lease. You are leasing from a BMW dealership, an actual BMWFS contract will be generated on the terms you agree to (in regards to months, miles and payments)
A transfer would be in the case that you were taking over a lease from a person who has already leased the vehicle on his own terms and now wants you to take over the remainder. In that case the maintenance does not transfer over but the warranty still carries on. You would then need to refresh the maintenance package in your name which would cost $300+ depending on the model of the vehicle.

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Problem would be on a loaner that was punched 9 months ago, and you buy it today. You only have 27 months of coverage, so he could theoretically be SOL toward the end of the lease should he need an oil change before grounding it.

I wouldn’t say it should be “free,” but 400 seems high.

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Hmm good point. I would like to know from someone who has previous experience with this but wont be the service left at similar point be only one oil change and tire rotation maybe ?
Brakes and wipers aren’t included on the ulitmate care plan anyways so OP would have to pay those either ways.

Don’t forget brake fluid change, which could be an issue toward the end of the lease as well.

BMW doesn’t recommend tire rotations, so that shouldn’t be an issue. If it’s just the oil change, Jiffy Lube would resolve that problem for a fraction of 400, or even 100. Brake fluid would be my concern.

Theoretically you could reset the notification, but BMW would know it wasn’t done if they scanned the key, or without a receipt from a 3rd party Indy garage.

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They’re actually trying to sell me both of the packages, ultimate care AND ultimate care +.

I guess what I’m also trying to figure out is if them selling the refresh is even possible, since the car is still within the 3yr/36k ultimate care (oil changes and air filters basically).

Maybe they’re trying to sell me the maintenance that isn’t covered that would come up closer to the end of the lease since it was punched earlier this year? It’s my understanding that all BMWs leased from BMW should have the 3yr/36k maintenance.

Would it be possible to decline the coverage from them but still technically have it until the 3 years are up from the punch date? Can they take away the ultimate care that comes with the car? (Assuming leasing from a dealer with BMWFS)

Regarding brake fluid, that would have been my plan for sure. On the BMW site, it shows ultimate care + is $700 for me series and I am pretty sure I can get that done at an indy with a receipt for much less.

They do, but if punched as a loaner, the clock starts ticking on them when it’s put into loaner status. Therefore, they can (and do) sell a refresh option, and it’s perfectly legit. If the car was put into service 9 months and 5k ago, your maintenance would be valid for the remaining 27 months or 31k miles. You can certainly decline this option and pay out of pocket for any maintenance items that would arise once the maintenance expires. You will not lose the balance of the remaining ultimate care maintenance if you declined the refresh.

The 4/50 warranty clock starts ticking in the same fashion, although usually not a big deal in a 3 year lease. However, if you’re getting 15k/yr lease, the miles Incurred could bite you on the warranty toward the end of the lease as well.

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Back to the actual deal, you said the selling price after rebates was $42K but you have the factory incentives separate in your calculator? You have this in writing from them? Usually that means the $2,500 is built into the selling price.

MSDs are offered by BMWF and have no impact on the dealer or what price they can offer the car at, so another lie.

The money factor is marked up to the max (.00168 vs .00128) too.

If you got buy rate MF and used MSDs you could save about $60/month.

Not sure where you are located but may worth looking elsewhere as this dealer is certainly not being honest.

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Dealer is in the Bay Area (which this forum has shown to be as a tough place to shop all around) I am definitely going to try to see if there is more wiggle room, thank you for pointing that out.

Thank you for this information. This is what I was looking for. I think them charging $400 for what would be maybe an end of lease oil change is definitely not worth it. I will decline it or ask to see if they are able to give it for $100 as others on this forum have gotten.