ask them for a pencil
You really can’t compare leases based on the price of the vehicle. There are so many moving parts at play in leasing. Money Factor, Residual Value, Factory to Dealer/Customer rebates, Supply/Demand of vehicle, Potential Loyalty Rebates. Are you shopping for the car or the deal?
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BMW and Audi to me are two different types of car. I will lease the one which I like more, I currently own Audi Q8 and owned A4 in the past but will jump to BMW in a heart beat. Had 3 BMWs in last 15 years.
I am tired driving an Audi .
So if the difference is not much, go for the vehicle which you enjoy more the way it drives and the interior, Technology you like better.
Unless I’m misunderstanding what you’re saying here, you’re comparing the MSRP and payment on an A6 you leased in 2020 or 2021 to a BMW you’re trying to lease now.
Even if two or three years hadn’t elapsed, that’s not really how it works.
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Yes, that’s what I’m doing. The final price of the Audi was $3,000 more with 15k miles than the BMW with 12k miles, and indeed I am trying to pinpoint why a BMW costing $3,000 less with 12k miles is costing me more per month. I think trying to understand it and make sure I’m getting the best deal makes sense.
The market has completely changed.
But regardless… MSRP isn’t a good predictor of lease payment. There are too many other moving parts.
Start by deciding what’s more important… getting the best deal on a 540i – if that’s the specific car you want, or…
Create a short list of vehicles that meet your needs, and go for whatever is leasing best today – if cost is a higher priority than car preference.
And I recommend spending time here until you’ve mastered it. 
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It’s based on discount, residual, and money factor (interest rate). You can’t really just compare the MSRP of two cars and make any assumptions about which one will lease better.
I leased my wife’s $65k Jeep GC 4xe for $450/month with 0 down for 24/12k. I want to lease a $55k BMW M240i but the same lease terms are almost $900/month because it has zero discounts, no incentives, a high money factor, and crappy residual.
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As it has already been said several times, the leasing equation is similar to that annoying College Algebra class you might have taken. Where you need to know what each of the 4 or 5 variables are to get the answer. We do not ask for all the variables to be difficult, we ask b/c they all play an integral role in getting to the answer.
Luckily the LH calculator really simplifies it and lets you and us critique a potential deal and identify where you may be able to push back and negotiate. The main idea is to know this before hand and make an offer to a dealer vs asking for a quote and letting them set a baseline that started with them shooting for the moon.
Comparing current deals to previous ones in a different time with a lower mf, more incentives, higher rv’s, isn’t really productive and is more likely to leave you frustrated then before.
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As is always the case, the best thing you can do is establish a target deal for what the vehicle should cost BEFORE reaching out to a dealer. You can not effectively negotiate if you don’t know where you’re trying to get to.
Don’t talk to another dealer until you work out why a lease price is what it is. Learning that skill will make all of your leasing (and purchasing) endeavors significantly more successful.
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You cant compare A6 lease numbers which you get it 2-3 years ago with a 2023 540ix.
You can compare a 2023 A6 lease numbers with current rebates ( Costco, penfed, loyality if offered…) with a BMW 540ix . I think 2023 A6 will be lower with the current rebates being offered. Check out brokers on LH, they might get you a better deal with zero hassle… on A6 or 540ix…
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I was kicking around BMW and Audi. I was surprised that one of the BMW brokers told me only a single car is available. Not in my specs…just period…1 BMW 5 series. I’m going back and forth on Audi and BMW this time around and really just trying to find what’s a good deal. Hard to become an expert on this topic when I need the knowledge every 3 years for a couple of weeks. Was hoping to find a good broker this time around but had a tough time finding one. I’ll keep trying. Thank you.
Spend 30 minutes and learn how to use the calculator or else you will always get taken advantage of.
Widen your selection to 5xx series.
Or look at other options like A5 or A6 or EVs…
For 1k per month you can get iX or Q8 etron if you like EV SUV…
I’ve looked at this calculator before and I admit I am a novice, but I still struggle how the calculator results in telling me whether I am getting a good deal or not. I can enter many of the factors and I’m checking with the dealer on some missing info (or otherwise researching it). Even if I get the factors to match my deal, I’m still scratching my head at whether the deal in front of me is a good one or not. Will keep working at it. Thank you.
What is a ‘good’ deal to you? Most popular cars (historically low supplies with strong demand) are still selling around MSRP with base MF (already high) marked up fully and RVs are much lower than the past…it’s math…only thing you can try to do is get MSRP down as much as you can and demand base MF (good luck)…otherwise and regardless most lease programs aren’t very attractive these days…and probably for a while longer!
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Got it. Thanks for the info. I am curious why RVs are lower than the past. I would have thought the assumption is that the cars are going to hold their RV in the future right now. Appreciate the response.
Because it is sales/profit…they make more money if residuals are lower…residuals aren’t always based in reality!
You are aware that a new 5 series is coming out, right? They already stopped making the old one, and the first of the new ones will arrive in next month or so.
The purpose of the calculator isn’t to tell you if you’re getting a good deal.
It helps you understand how to structure an optimal deal, so you know what to offer.
By the time you reach out to a dealer you should already know what you’re willing to pay.
From personal experience, once you’ve got the concepts the rest falls into place.
And the key for me to unlocking the concepts was understanding how to correctly operate the calculator, and from there, the data points in Marketplace informed me on what I should pay.
At that point I could confidently make offers, and know when to sign, push a bit harder or walk away.
(I’ve done two leases in my life, btw, one of which was only six weeks ago ).
Just because a broker told you 1 5Series is available doesn’t mean they aren’t a good broker. They can’t sh!t the car out for you lol
Have you reached out to @Ashleigh or @IAC_Scott ?
As @dbz said, a new body style is coming out so the existing car may be getting thin on dealer lots now.
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