Hello! First time posting here. I currently have an owner’s choice on a BMW 530xi. That’s up in January. Dealer tells me that the owner’s choice cannot be extended, so I have to do something before it’s up. Buying the car doesn’t make sense because it’s already upside down. We’d like to do another owner’s choice. What’s the best I can hope for here relative to getting a good price? What’s a reasonable amount to ask them to discount the MSRP (car is about $71k)? I’d like to do it prior to 1/1 so I can take advantage of the 39 month program they have right now. For reference, our prior deal was $6,600 down and payment is about $840/month. The dealer quoted me on a 2025 530xi with a $0 down payment $1,133/month. I can put $$ down but I’m hoping not to or at least not that much. Any advice is appreciated!! And moving out of Chicago isn’t an option 
wtf? How would a lease even with the extra tax have been worse than this?
And it’s not even due to a low residual?
Then apparently it’s good I’ve come here asking for help. I have tried to figure out the calculator but I haven’t been able to. Can you tell me why my old deal was so bad and can you offer any advice for me to get a better deal this time? Thank you!
In a typical market on a 530 you overpaid by at least $10,000.
But I get that if your “lease” is just coming due then your current one was bought in late 2021 to early 2022 when things were crazy. But still, an effective $1000+ payment on a 530 is just nuts.
You’re right - we got that car in Jan. 2022 and things were nuts. First time we’d ever done a “lease”. Our prior car died unexpectedly and we had to get something quickly.
So how can I avoid making another colossal mistake this time? Do I ask them to come down on the MSRP? I’ve tried to look and see if there are other incentives besides the $2k they’re giving us that we could use, but haven’t found anything.
What are your options on the Owner’s Choice? This is not a lease. Can you simply return the car without owing any additional money? I thought you had to pay off the balloon note at the end, but maybe that only applies to BMW Select financing.
If you can walk away, then this should be easy. Use a broker to get you a great deal on a new BMW. Most can do either a lease or another Owner’s Choice financing.
Yes, we just walk away when the term is up. I did contact one broker from this site to see if he did owner’s choice in Chicago, but haven’t heard back.
I can’t find a lot of comparable info for Chicago on a 5 series, which is part of what prompted me to post here. The other was I couldn’t figure out how to use the calculator. I want to go back to the dealer with a counter but don’t know what a reasonable counter would be - that’s where I’m looking for guidance.
I’ll rent you a 2x2 closet in the burbs for $500. There, Chicago problem solved. What a racket.
You don’t need Chicago comps, you just need to know what constitutes a compelling pre-incentive discount, and then use that and the other required inputs so you can make offers.
You aren’t shopping for anything rare or exotic here, it’s the most mass-market-y 5 Series they make.
I think you should be working toward a 10% pre-incentive discount for your next 5-series deal. Since you are in Chicago proper, the Owner’s Choice might be your best option, but how you finance should not impact the discount from MSRP. I guess it could impact what incentives are available.
If I remember correctly, the Owner’s Choice interest rate is roughly equivalent to what BMW Finance offers on straigh purchases.