I’ve been around for a few months now and only opened an account last week. I live in the Seattle area and have been looking for a BMW/MB loaners for a while.
I did see some nice 330i xDrive for about $360 + tax and C300s for about the same price but was reluctant to make any deals because of lack of experience. I was not sure if it’s good to show such luck of knowledge at a dealership where they can use it against me. Also, this will be my first time ever driving a “luxury” car so I am not really sure if I want to start with an entry-level CLA/C300/330i or look for a more exciting M/AMG ones.
To gain some more knowledge, I had some general questions about leasing a loaner, I assume some things can vary between dealerships and that I might need to ask when I am at the dealership, but I would like to not be needing to ask the obvious questions that show that I am not a PRO lease hacker.
So here it goes:
Are the terms for a loaner lease identical to a new car lease? for example, I read somewhere in the forum that Audi comes with GAP insurance in the price (not sure if it’s the same case for BMW/MB), is the same true about an Audi loaner (if I find one)? if not, how do I know what will be different? what should I expect to be the standard?
Is there a state residency limitation? for example, since there’s a lack of dealerships here in Seattle that advertise a loaner lease on their website, the BMWs that I saw were at Portland, since I am a resident of WA, I wasn’t sure if I can go down and lease a loaner there. Does it vary between dealerships? Should/Can I look for loaners in socal/nocal and ship to Seattle?
Can I swap a loaner lease if I want to swap my car after 18-24 months into the lease? What happens if I move to another state that is not on the west coast?
What’s the best month/months to look for a loaner? or does it vary and the month doesn’t really matter and it’s all about demand and what’s in stock?
Thanks for reading and sorry if that post’s too long, It’s my first post in the forum.
Avoid Audi loaners, no incentives, you probably haven’t been told, they don’t lease well, at all unless you get an INSANE dealer discount. Gap is cheap, Google fu if your lease includes it (shouldn’t be a difference, but double check) I added it to my insurance policy as a double layer for anxiety protection.
No, some dealers may say no due to current state of affairs, shipping is doable, and for PNW, NorCal is a great market to shop.
If the lease owner says yes (bmwfs, Audi fs, etc). You can, many don’t, Audi holds you responsible for damages or payments if assumee skips, Land Rover fs /chase don’t, ally only allows in state, etc. You can move with a lease, tax may throw a wrench, but that’s calculable. BMW and Mercedes both allow with stipulations, can’t recall off top of my head, bmw is 6 months before lease end, and Mercedes might be a year, but I don’t remember, don’t quote me on Mercedes.
We like to push, sales are bs, it’s about incentives, inventory, and finding a unit a dealer wants to discount. Loaner terms, months don’t matter, it’s mileage. Quick guide for you —> Volvo sub 10k (if you can find one, usually 3k-5k due to new rules), BMW, under 5k miles, Audi, nope don’t even bother, Mercedes look for 2019 under 10k, lower with higher discount the better.
If you are considering shipping let me plug my favorite lux dealers in Cali, they are SoCal but they’re are all awesome, I would definitely give them a chance.
Thanks! Yep, I did read this article, that’s where I saw that “usually a courtesy loaner car, that can still be leased under the manufacturer’s new car lease program.” and I was wondering if it’s true for all loaners or should I ask this at the dealership.
Sometimes I see on the dealer’s website that a specific loaner is marked as available for lease but other loaners aren’t, although they have the same price/miles and I am not sure if it makes sense to reach out to the dealer or if it’s non-negotiable.
It’s leaseable or not, no negotiations. It’s an ex loaner car or not, can’t change that. Mileage is key, bmw looses loaner car lease incentives above 5k miles, can’t lease above 10k (stay below 5k), Mercedes can lease above 10k, I’m more specific above.
Find out if it’s a loaner car, they are all leaseable if they meet the criteria (duh), you gotta ask if they do though.
@avocautos has been posting loaners for NorCal and @legendsauto has loaners too. Not sure if they’ll work with out-of-state buyers, but the sooner you get in touch with folks, the sooner you can lock things. Inventory’s slim, so YMMV. Good luck!
Yes I’m happy to help. Thanks for the plug guys. I can do out of state as well. I have a number of clients in the Seattle area as well as NV and AZ. Any state is welcome although sometimes the shipping expense going coast to coast offsets the savings benefit.
