Ok all, I took my first stab at the calculator (if it’s unrealistic or has obvious mistakes please be kind lol).
Notes -
I accounted for corporate incentive of $1500 through other options available on the calculator that summed up to the same amount. Assuming that should be ok since it would a taxed incentive too.
I estimated the govt fees based on what I added up on my county’s website (King county, WA state). When I test drove an ioniq 5, the dealer gave me an estimate of approx $850 for govt fees, but my calculations came to $1050. I took the upper number to be on the safe side.
I checked about 5 dealer websites to get a rough idea of their fees but all of them asked me to enter information which I didn’t want to do before I’m ready to send offers myself or ask a broker to do it for me. So I estimated a $250 on what I saw on an Oregon dealer’s website.
Question - This is my first time leasing and the leasing 101 video here + other sources tell me that doing 0 downpayment is the preferred way to go because if the car is totaled you can walk away if you have gap coverage. But I saw that paying complete lease upfront increases the Leasehackr score considerably - if I have the budget to do this, is there a guidance or any suggestions here?
Here is my dream deal for an i4 edrive35. If this can happen, I think I’ll sign but the discount seems a bit high to me -
For an edrive40 (just the extra range, but I would prefer paying less for the e35), this is what I would want to target -
A one pay lease is not a lease with a large down payment. They are different things with different contractual terms, so you cant view them as the same.
An alternative option with bmw is applying msds, where youre making an upfront refundable security deposit to basically buy down on the money factor.
Calculator looks good. Have you tried looking into a loaner/demo that can be leased as a new car? That way, it would be easier to reach larger discounts.
As @mllcb42 stated. One pay is different from large downpayment. You can do one pay lease or put down MSDs to lower the MF and sweeten your lease deal.
A one pay lease is not a lease with a large down payment. They are different things with different contractual terms, so you cant view them as the same.
An alternative option with bmw is applying msds, where youre making an upfront refundable security deposit to basically buy down on the money factor.
Interesting, thanks for the info! The calculator says paying the lease upfront is better (in terms of the years) but MSD isn’t far behind. Also, MSD locks up much less cash so maybe that’s better in a different way.
Is there a TL; DR version? Have you settled on a car?
I thought the calculator will be much better way to represent what I’m willing to pay for a e35 vs e40 etc. Anyway, a TL;DR for the 35 would be -
Either a total payment of $18,275 upfront with the following breakdown -
Lease Payment: $15,023
Upfront Fees: $2,225
Upfront Taxes: $1,028
Or, with 7 MSDs -
$474 per month, $2708 upfront (fees & taxes only, no downpayment), $3500 refundable MSDs
I did find two e35s that match what I’m looking for (one a color I want, and one I would settle for). I’m also still collecting which ioniq 6 dealers to email offers to see if I can get a better deal there.
Thanks, I’m glad I did a decent job on my first try! Do you think it’s good enough to actually email the dealer who has the cars I’m looking for? Is the discount ok? Also, how does the haggling work - do I start even lower so that we can meet at the price I want lol?
Have you tried looking into a loaner/demo that can be leased as a new car?
I tried looking up a few (very few random sampling) but they were almost the same cost as new ones. I do need to look into it more.
Shoot your shot. Whatever you dont don’t send the calculator to dealers. Write out an email with the line items that got you to your payment. Msrp, discount, term, miles, applicable incentives, zip, etc.
How does it compare to brokers in the Marketplace ?
Slippery slope…you don’t want to be overly aggressive where your offer is ignored or delete.
Long thread but worth the read, I think you want to be armed with as much info as possible before losing a deal. If all else fails just hire a broker and pay for shipping.
I test drove a BMW i4 this past weekend and loved the car. The trunk space is tiny but the car itself is amazing. I specifically went out of my way to test drive with this dealer (Dealer A) because I read good reviews of their sister dealership in another state. I’m glad I did - I really liked the sales person and the manager who talked to me after the drive and we had a good conversation about what I’m looking for etc. with no pressure to buy anything right away. He also said they are trying to give out dealer specials because they’re a relatively new dealership.
They did not have the specific configuration I’m looking for, but he said he can try to look it up and get it from other dealers that they have relations with. I’ve usually been told by other dealers that if they get cars from other dealers, they can’t provide the same incentives as the ones they have in inventory so I asked him that. He said it shouldn’t be a problem (other than naming two specific dealerships lol) and he should be able to get me a good price. My question is this - I found a dealership (Dealer B) that has the car I’m looking for - would it be better for me to talk to Dealer B directly and send a proposal to them, or should I email Dealer A the proposal and about Dealer B’s inventory?
I really liked Dealer A’s sales manager, but I don’t know if I’m shooting myself in the foot by trying to bring in a middle man.
Incentive will be the same. Are they owned by same company or not? If they are make an offer to the person in Dealer A. If not make an offer to the person in Dealer B.
Dealers do swaps like that all the time. As noted the incentives and the “deal” will be the same regardless.
If you like Dealer A then there’s nothing wrong with making them the offer first and seeing if they can find the exact spec you’re looking for (be it from Dealer B or elsewhere).
What I would not do is send your offer to Dealer A as well as Dealer B at the same time. If Dealer B knows they have a lead on that exact car then they will be much less inclined to agree to any swap.
This is not always true. Swap customers traditionally have the LOWEST CSI. A dealership that is smart would try to heavily discourage this kind of deal.
A bottom of the market customer, who wants a specific car swapped in is a recipe for disaster
Do you think it’s good enough to actually email the dealer who has the cars I’m looking for? Is the discount ok? Also, how does the haggling work - do I start even lower so that we can meet at the price I want lol?