It’s been a while since I’ve logged on and followed the current state of BMW leasing in so cal. A lot of things have changed since I last leased my 3 series and it is almost up in June. Figured I’d start researching now to get a better understanding of the market and what trends may follow. I’ve done a bit of searching here but haven’t been able to get a good sense of what things are like. I am now considering leasing an X5 and so some of my questions will be geared towards that. This may turn into some sort of super thread but nonetheless…
What are you guys experiencing when going to BMW so cal dealers regarding inventory? Is it there or do they keep claiming a drought? I have driven past a few and IMO it does not seem empty.
What is the current MINIMUM percentage off of MSRP on an X5? Both new and loaners. What are brokers claiming they can do?
It seems like a lot of dealerships are holding onto their loaners well past the traditional 5,000 mile cut-off, are these loaners still considered “new” that will qualify for incentives? Are there any BMW dealerships left that are still willing to lease a loaner with <5,000 miles? The BMW Leasing Wiki is a bit confusing regarding this.
In general, is leasing a loaner X5 a good idea? I know that there is a LCI 2024 update to the vehicle coming up soon.
What is the current attitude that So Cal BMW dealerships have regarding negotiating? Are they willing to play ball or simply saying “next.”
Please feel free to give any other tips or insight on the current state of BMW leasing.
Massive shout out to those that keep this page running and the community pushing it forward. Thank you.
Given the unpredictable pipeline, I would treat the loaner option as a backup plan and start reading X5 posts in Marketplace to see where the new X5 market is trending.
1 and 5 are borderline nonsense questions. You hire a broker or you make offers on your own. You don’t start existential conversations around the state of the industry.
There have been some relatively bright spots in SUV leasing recently (on specific vehicles like Pathfinder), that’s why I asked.
Start browsing Marketplace now and you’ll have a better feel as June approaches. X5 discounts seem to be creeping up. I recently noticed an X5 loaner (in a different part of the country) > 15% off.
Also note that over the last couple of years it’s become a lot more common to get responses to lease questions like, “You should buy that instead,” as even with a decent discount the MFs are much higher overall and the RVs in general aren’t subsidized to the extent they were last time you were in the market.
I’ll start considering other SUVs outside of BMW if a “good” deal is hard to reach. The deal that was above 15% off MSRP, is it safe to say that is a unicorn deal by todays standards?
But I’m only half watching X5s because I have a friend who wants one – but her timeline is squishy and sort of… a moving target.
X5 is a pretty mainstream vehicle. If you start watching Marketplace now, by the time late Spring rolls around you’ll have a good handle on where the market is going on these.
Have you played around with the calc to get what numbers will be in this environment? If not find a BMW broker that covers SoCal because you haven’t put the time in to know what you are doing.
One problem with X5 leases now vs. pre-Covid is that BMW cut a lot of residual support. I leased one in 2019 with a 57% residual and now it’s 51% for same term.
Someone is on here asking specific questions and would like the community’s help. If you don’t feel like helping, you don’t have to. But replying and saying they are asking to be “spoonfed” or what ever that means is just being a dick.
Agree with this. There are countless threads etc but during the research process, this one might be the first that pops up in search. Would be nice to have community information vs snarky remarks that add no value.
