There were actually a lot of unique parts on the e46 zhp that weren’t offered as factory options or accessories: m3 style front and rear bumpers, minor internal engine changes that resulted in a slightly higher redline and a 10hp bump, lower final drive ratio (but no lsd), gauge cluster with red amber needles, the cloth/alcantara seats (pretty rare as a lot of zhp’s sadly were optioned with leather instead), anthracite head liner, shadow line window trim, unique 18" wheels.
From a performance perspective it really wasn’t all that much different than a 330 w/ sport package but it really was a nice overall package. And it was made in enough volume that it led to a small cult following. While 6spd zhp’s have held their value more than a non-zhp 6spd 330, it of course hasn’t taken off like e46 m3 values have.
So I’ve decided I’m going to buy out my lease on a 2018 BMW 340i. I’m thinking that I will ask to certify it in the CPO program and then finance it through BMWFS, u less the local credit union has a better rate.
My lease ends mid March. At this point I just want to figure out the best timing to buy it off lease and any other advice that you have.
In my first conversation with the local dealer they said that they are offering good deals on CPO and financing right now. Can anyone verify if that is true? Are there promotions/rates that I should jump on now? Or do you think Jan-Mar would be better? Or not matter?
Are there any ways to work this that would be better from a sales tax perspective or is it all the same?
For them. If you get a bad deal they get a ‘good deal’. Never accept what a dealer tells you at face value especially now that used cars are selling for MSRP.
Paid about $1600 to CPO my lease and got the advertised CPO APR. Back then, there was no wiggle room in the buyout pricing, but there were incentives. Not sure if that’s the same now.
Also back then, as you get closer to lease end your payoff letter will reflect a more accurate payoff amount and any incentives BMWFS offers you. December is a bit too soon, so start looking at end of February.
Update on the lease buyout offer… The first dealer I spoke with offered CPO at a total of $1,915 which includes the “CPO fee, shop fee, and nav update.” Odd since I recently got an OTA nav update, and I think the CPO fee was about $1000. So there is about $915 in there for the certification inspection.
The BMWFS financing offer was 1.99% for 36 mos or 3.19% for 60 mos.
This was enough to make me just stop and wait. I have until mid March to hand it in. I’m not too optimistic it will get better, but I can extend the lease and pray for better buyout and loyalty incentives.
Or maybe they’ll be ready to build me that M3 I’ve been wanting. A guy can dream. Most recent statement was that builds are 6-8 months out.
You should ABSOLUTELY buy it. We built an almost-clone of that car before the limited edition was announced; our build lacked the LSD and the rear CF diffuser and was gray, but had the 6MP and MPPSK. It was a TERRIFIC car, easily the best performing 3 series of its generation save for the M3 and M4. Yours has the added benefit of being a limited edition.
Your dealer is salivating over the thought you will return it at lease end so he can sell it in this crazy market for a huge profit. Don’t fall for that.
Buy the car, drive it till at least the end of the 4 year factory warranty, then either buy an extended warranty or list it on Bring a Trailer.
Sarafil while I always respected your opinion on Bimmerfest, I disagree with you here. The MPPSK is a factory tune, combined with the BMW sport exhaust. And with the 704 MSport suspension ( which was only available on the RWD F3X) it transforms the car.
Unlike mods added after the car left the VPC everything on this car was added at the factory or VPC and is covered by the full 4 year BMW warranty. Frankly we were shocked by how much better ours was than our 3 prior F3X cars.
And from a leasing perspective, the VPC installed parts are fully resodualizable. The OP has benefited from that with lower payments over the term of his lease.
Quackbury- agree with your points about OEM accessories and ability to residualize since port installed. But you could build this exact car with normal port installed accessories other than the LSD so I struggle with what actually creates premium for this car. I believe the power kit and exhaust were actually port installed on this car for example - not factory - and you could order this package on F30 335 or 340 models for almost the entire model run. Also not sure I follow your point on suspension - I don’t see anything unique on this package there either from a stock M sport 340? We can agree to disagree but I don’t see the market giving this car a premium over my other 6MT 340.
I also have a 2018 340 ZHP, mine is white/red w/39k miles, and I find myself in a similar situation. I talked to 4- BMW dealers, plus Carvana, Vroom, etc and all were slightly below my residual, and now BMW does not allow 3rd party buyouts. With tax my buyout would be around $38.5k, my payment was $698. I debated on buying the car out, but since I had already extended the lease none of the incentives were available per BMW directly.
I’m on month 3 of extension because I reserved a 22 M240i that the dealer had ordered, but it was damaged in port and has been in a weird limbo for over 1.5 months now. The thought of going to an automatic was hard to swallow at first, but I came to accept it. I also checked into leasing a new 21 M340 xDrive but no way those cars are worth +/-$950/mo! I have recently come across an in-stock M3 manual out of state so that is a big consideration. Yes, leasing is +/-$1150/mo, but on an M-car I think the BMW Select is worth considering too.
I’ve seen dealers asking low to mid $40’s for manual 2018 340’s, but they are taking them in for mid to low $30’s. A lot of what has been said makes sense as to why they’re doing it. The ZHP appears to add no real value yet. I decided against buying mine out because I think it’ll be underwater for quite a while yet, except to maybe that one special buyer. Right now, in most cases, leasing seems to be a safer option because it’ll be a while yet but eventually the car market will, at least, stabilize (if not crash).
Your decision makes sense. Whether or not the dealer really wants my car or not, they aren’t willing to pay a premium for it and I think they sincerely don’t think they can sell it for more (not quickly at least).
So to your point about being underwater… I think that as a private party who is willing to wait for the right buyer or use BaT it’s at least break even at this point with taxes. I think it will be underwater for any dealer buyout or trade in for the rest of its life unless they get really popular.
I think their value will be most driven by what happens to the 6MT market in general. This was the last run of the non-M manual. So there may be a hot market for people who can’t afford a used M but want the 6MT BMW. That would separate it from the rest of the BMW 340 valuations.
Anyways dealers don’t define the market for niche cars any more than monkeys punching numbers into a computer can.
A dealer offered $8,000 for my E60 535i because all his computer could tell him was that that’s what typical E60s were worth. I sold it privately for almost $15k because a RWD M-sport is actually much rarer, better looking and more fun to drive… all things that enthusiasts care about and dealers usually don’t.
I had heard that sometimes BMW will sell you your car for less than residual, or offer certain finance or cash-back incentives if you buy out your lease early. I wasn’t aware of this before mine expired. So when I called BMWFS and asked they said there might’ve been some incentives (didn’t specify) but since my lease had technically expired I was no longer eligible. I don’t believe this would affect anything at the dealer level like APR or CPO.
The ZHP’s are cool cars and should command some premium, but I’m just not sure the market and general BMW enthusiasts have caught up to it yet, plus it was an expensive 3-series in 2018. I’ve enjoyed mine, and it’s been a solid, reliable car too. Sadly, dealers don’t generally care about enthusiasts. Sure they love us when it comes time to sell the latest hotness at a markup, etc. but generally, it’s all about what will sell the quickest for the most profit and sadly the majority of the market could care less about driving and performance and are all about status and comfortable, easy transportation.
I had the same issue with my manual ‘92 Legend sedan. Most people didn’t even know they made the 2nd gen Legend in manual (except for maybe some awareness of the revered Legend GS sedan 6MT), so most valued it below an auto since it’s a niche car. Sold it on eBayMotors for a much better price.
