I was not sure what to expect with the finance manager since I read here that they do a heavy sales before you can drive off. But was also prepared to just say no to everything.
These were the packages offered for an X3. Sharing since I had a hard time finding what packages are offered.
Wear and Tear: Offered at $1595 and dropped to $1295 without me even asking. This covers up to $7500 of damages at lease return.
Ultimate Care Refresh: Offered at $1340 and covers brakes, pads and rotors
Tire and wheel: $1665
Dent Pro: Offered at $1499 and covers pointless dent repairs, and also key replacement
Shield: Offered at $1155 and covers ceramic coating
Two money saving tips:
The wheel and tire could be a good add on since the run flats can be expensive. However, I called the local American Tire (not sure if other tire stores do this) and they insure tires in good condition. So I just need to take the car in for a quick inspection and get the tires insured. They said each tire would cost me $32 to insure
I applied for and got a BMW Credit card a week before I leased the car. Charged my DAS to it and will also charge my monthly payments to it. They give 5x points for BMW related expenses, so I am expecting the cash back to be a few hundred dollars and would cover maybe a month or two of my lease payments down the road
Lol my first BMW lease the payment was 280 dollars 24 months. They had a little spreadsheet on the computer of packages they could add on and ārecommendedā.
They ended up almost adding more to the payment than the payment itself
Let me know if youāre able to do this - maybe Iām mistaken, but I thought we could only pay by bank transfer? Is there an exception for their own card?
Unless they have changed their policy very recently, you cannot use the BMW credit card for monthly lease payments, but you can use it for DAS and MSDs as long as the dealer will accept it.
Glad you said no to all of those add-ons, they are all drastically overpriced. The only one of those that would be worth pursuing IMO is the ultimate care. That is particularly helpful if you ever plan to transfer the lease as it is the only way that maintenance will transfer to the new owner. It does also cover breaks, batteries, etc. I have added that to a number of leases for $350.
I wonder what a āgoodā price on wheel and tire coverage would be. Depending on where you live it can be useful; if you have big wheels, RFT tires, and bad roads, bent/cracked wheels and bubbled tires can be commonplace and expensive to repair/replace. Ask me how I knowā¦
With my personal experience of leasing/owning 6 BMWs in a row, Iāve never taken any of those add-ons at signing, and Iāve never been charged any wear and tear on any BMW. Iāve had curb rash on rims, small scrapes and dents, and various other things that Iāve never been charged for despite big, fear-mongering comments about how BMW has changed and they are charging people for everything. So, my opinion is all of that is a waste of money.
Second, most cities have dent specialists you can hire on your own. I have a guy who will come directly to my house for $100 and pop out any small dents I want during the one visit.
The only thing that Iāve paid for is new tires which seems to be more common now with run-flats depending on how many miles/year you drive. That tire replacement cost (depending on the Bimmer) can be a throat punch, especially near the end of a lease. However, the one time I had to replace 4 worn tires on a 7-series, I spent way less than $1,665. I also did not buy the tires at the dealership because their mark-up was ridiculous.
NYC + 19ā wheels + RFT tires + notoriously fragile OEM rims = 6 cracked rims and 5 bubbled RFTs. Not saying this could happen to everyone but it does happenā¦ and believe me, Iāve always thought wheel/tire coverage was a waste of money. Iām rethinking that now
LOL exactly. I have never received a harder pitch than I did this time around. This dude would not take no for an answer. I just stayed calm and kept saying no and he kept getting more pissed. I could tell they are used to people believing their bullshit and just buying this crap. He was almost shocked I wasnāt buying it.
I had a 2 series and 3 series both with the max diameter wheels offered (18/19ā on 35 series rubber) and lost a few tires along the way.
Even then, it was cheaper than insurance to buy an entire new set of Michelin Pilot sport non RFTs or complete set of winter tires for what insurance would have cost. With Tire Rack you can also pay the extra $10 for road hazard protection which is a much better deal.
The standard run flats usually ride like garbage anyways, but OP was buying an X3 which has plenty of rubber. Iād only consider that insurance worth it if I had an M3 on 20ā rubber and if I knew I lived in a terrible area. My 19ā rfts never had issues on Long Island even though they hit some nasty potholes in spring.
I wish it were that simple! I have winter wheels/tires. Even with using them, Iāve still had terrible luck with the summer wheels/tires. Honestly, I donāt know what the answer is. Prior to this car Iāve never had a problem like this, hence I didnāt get any coverage this time around, as usual. But now I just donāt know.
My answer was to remove the stock tires, put on good non rfts with the warranty and throw the junk A/S pirellis back on when the lease was done. The ride quality improvement was far better of an investment than anything else.
Ah, I misread your post. Yes that is a potential solution. Not ideal for me as I put so few miles on the car anyways itās still buying new tires when I donāt need them. I just wish the tires/wheels that come on the car wouldnāt fail!
However, the one time I had to replace 4 worn tires on a 7-series, I spent way less than $1,665. I also did not buy the tires at the dealership because their mark-up was ridiculous.