Thanks for this very helpful thread. I have a slightly different question: my 330i lease ends in December. Can my local BMW dealer buy the car directly from BMWFS…and that will require me turning in the lease? How will I “benefit financially”?
@BMW_Dave Only the leasee or BMW can buy out the lease (no third party buyout). If there’s equity to be had, is it likely that the BMW dealer will let you roll that equity into another vehicle?
Trying to decide whether I should shop my car to local dealers or just buy it out and flip it to Carmax/Vroom etc
If they give you a trade in value that is greater than the lease payoff then yes you would be able to roll that equity into your next lease or purchase.
If you decide to buy out your lease only to sell it to a buying center, keep in mind that you will be charged sales tax on your purchase so that may absorb any equity you would otherwise have in the car. Doesn’t usually make sense.
Hi Dave, can you describe how the CA DMV process works when going through you?
I think normally it takes like 3-4 weeks to get everything done with the DMV.
Would you do e-title and e-registration? How long does it take?
We take care of the title and registration with the same process as if you were buying a car off our lot (assuming you live in CA).
You would keep your current plates and I’d stick an RS (report of sale) sticker in the front windshield which would hold you over until the new registration comes in the mail. The DMV sends that to your home address and it takes about 4 weeks.
Let me know if you’d like me to assist. It’s best to email me directly at Dave.Townsend@bmwofmurrieta.com
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@BMW_Dave do you happen to know how quickly the CVR title is updated?
And would you do this for a fee/spiff - not sure if you keep the financing fee for early payoffs (looking to sell to CarMax and need CVR in my name and loan payoff amount).
Unfortunately it can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks. CA DMV is about the slowest moving organization on earth.
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Is the bmw dealer supposed to charge you gov’t fees again (eg like $500 worth), in addition to taxes and doc fee? Or is my local dealer trying to pull a fast one.
If your registration is due, yes.
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BMW of Brooklyn wanted to charge me a $500 safety inspection fee to buy out a car from BMW because “they can’t sell me the car until they look at it and ensure it’s safe”
LOL
As a consumer I agree with you, the fee is ridiculous.
But from dealer’s perspective I understand why they do it - and it’s not just to get $$ out of you.
When you do buyout through dealer, it’s technically 2 transactions. They buy car from BMWFS, and then they immediately resell it to you.
In many states there is a mandatory used car warranty or safety requirement for cars under certain age/mileage or over certain $$ sale price. In other words dealer has to guarantee any used car they sell is roadworthy.
Why does this matter? Let’s say you know your car has bald tires and brakes are down to the metal. If you wanted to be an a$$, you could technically hold them accountable for repairing the car since they sold it to you in that condition. Or worse yet, what if you’re clueless and don’t even realize their car has bald tires and no brakes left - and then you crash and kill someone? Eventually an attorney for the person you kill finds out dealer “sold” you the car and sues them. Dealer has no record of inspecting your car, attorney convinces jury the big bad dealership is negligent, and they have to pay a few million $$ settlement.
The odds of either of those scenarios happening is really really small, but I can’t blame them for covering their a$$.
hmm, makes sense, although 1) perhaps it should be free to be competitive and not sound silly and 2) doesn’t BMW financial, when selling me the car, have to abide by the same rules?
Ok - asked for a quote from Carvana and got " Your Carvana Offer - $32,404"
" Leases can be tricky
We love buying cars from our customers but BMW Financial Services policies prevent Carvana from paying off your current lease, which stops us from purchasing your car. This bums us out too."
Breaking down your offer details
Offer amount
$32,404
Lease payoff amount
- $27,162
Payment to you
$5,242"
My lease buy-out is * $27,162 - so are there taxes/fees I will have to pay on top before selling to Carvana? (California)
Not sure if this is worth it as I’m unsure exactly what I would walk away with after completing the buy-out and then selling to Carana (would it really be $5,242)?
Is there a way to calculate this? I’m in CA and the equity I’d receive (from a CarMax quote) is about $5,500.
Wondering if processing the buy-out and then selling to CarMax is worth it as CarMax can’t buy-out the lease directly and there is a conflict w/ BMW.
Just add 2% to your tax, to get a basis, or 10% for a general.
Apparently in California if you sell it to a third party (Carmax, etc) - you get the sales tax cost / retitling fees back after 10-days of receiving the new title and selling the car?
Can someone clarify this?
Read this long thread if you want info.
Basically you need proof that you sold it before the 11th day
The Biggest Gotcha is you have to pay the car tax directly. Buying from Dealer might mean the ‘refund’ goes to the dealer, and trying to get a refund from a dealer is a job in itself.
Thank you for this and you mean as in paying it at the DMV to pay directly correct?
Correct, there’s a case here where they did a Nissan Dealer Buyout (Because Nissan used to force that) and sold the car, and went back to get the tax and it was refunded…to that dealer.