It’s probably related to incentives and commissions that can get clawed back from the dealer.
Consider shopping out of your region next time around. I have a BMW in Ohio that I originally leased from a dealer in Virginia.
I cashed in some AA miles and some Marriott points, flew to DCA, spent the night, and drove the car back the next morning. Saved me ~$500 a month compared to anything I could do in my home market.
I agree 100%. I really should have found LH so much earlier in our process. We’re definitely paying for it (literally) but this will be helpful resource for when we need to replace my car. Someone mentioned above too that the 10% MSRP in CA would easily pay for delivery too. So many more manipulations to get a deal but so much money to be saved!
Knowing that the payment cycles are just related to dealer commissions and I’m also not going to benefit from buying out early helps. Ultimately it is all about business and making money, so we were too hopeful he would help us out. 
Considering a C40 lease and then buyout. Let us know what you find out about buyout incentives. Definitely interested.
Following the C40 palooza thread …
Dealers can most definitely mark up the MF, it’s how they make their money and also how we figure out if they’re making money. I personally would not take a car without a discount on msrp. Even bmw is discounting their i4’s that you have to order and wait 3 months for so them telling you because it’s low in inventory sounds like a scare tactic.