Need Help and Adviced! BMW 2018 i3 lease up next month!

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Hi – I really need some advice/help re: my lease.
Sorry – in advance – I’m new to this.
2018 BMW i3/BEV
Leased in Orange County
Live in Los Angeles County
Imperial (Navy) Blue/ All Leather Interior
Bought 45,000 miles (June 2018 pre-Covid when I thought I’d have commute)
When/if I turn it in mid-June (next month), car will have only 27,500 miles on it.
(at least 17, 500 UNDER what I bought)
Car is in excellent condition. A little bit of tire rash on two wheels.
Put 4 BRAND NEW factory tires on car at dealer May 2020. Tires will have only 6000 miles on them if/when I turn it in.
Monthly payments high: $615 a month (I know, I know…)
got 2k CAL ev rebate. And have HOV stickers (which I believe good through end of 2021?)
$350 disposition
Longtime BMW leasing customer. (Have leased a dozen BMWs in the past 20 years (740s, X5s)
Gross Capitalized Cost at Time of Leasing: $53,945.00
and this is what it says on BMW Financial re payoff:
Quote Date: May 16, 2021
Valid Through:
Jun 13, 2021
Valid Through
$29,944.75
Total Lease Payoff

Again, I apologize for all the info. Here’s my situation:
I really can’t afford to lease a new car. But I have to have a car to drive.
I like the i3 a lot. But I hate that it gets only 100-105 miles on a charge. I can’t drive out of town at all.
SO:
Is there any way to negotiate another 6 months on this lease?
At a lower monthly payment?
Also – I will have to pay for a whole new year registration which is about $500
Obviously, I don’t want any more miles, I’ll still be way under.
Don’t anticipate driving more than 10k in the next 6 months.
And my tires will still be good.
(just want 6 months because the HOV stickers will expire then I think, I don’t think BMW will give me new stickers, right? and I def need them).
And If there is some way to get 6 more months, who do I negotiate with
The dealer?
Or BMW Financial?
Obviously, I’m out of my depth here, and you guys have the expertise.
Any and all advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.
And I’m happy to answer any questions!
Thanks so much.

2

BMW Financial Services generally allows lease extensions up to two months, or up to six months if you have another BMW on order. It will be your current payment; I’m not aware of them ever renegotiating the payment. To extend your lease, you’d contact BMWFS; your BMW dealer has nothing to do with this situation.

You could check Carvana, Vroom, Shift, and CarMax to see what they’ll pay for your car. If they buy it for more than your payoff (highly unlikely, given the low resale value of i3), you might have some lease equity.

But honestly the best bet seems to be returning this car, paying the disposition fee, and leasing something like a Nissan LEAF or Bolt EV, or buying a beater. I recall seeing good LEAF deals on the Marketplace this month. Should be about a third of what you’re paying on the i3.

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You can extend for 2 months but your monthly will remain the same. (We have done this, others in the forum have done it too.) To extend for 6 months you will need another BMW order.

But regardless, don’t extend your lease with this horrible payment. Check other EV deals in your region.

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You’ll have to figure this out with the CA DMV. Neither BMWFS nor dealer will have anything to do here.

If BMWFS hasn’t given you a lower buyout by this time, they are not going to.

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Advice: Hand BMW back the keys to this mistake, and lease a Bolt (even the nicest trim one is wayyyy cheaper) or another EV that has greater range and is leasing well - ASAP.

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Thank you everyone for the great advice.
Will be turning in the car next month.

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