Hi fellow Hackrs, I would like to seek opinion on following situation. I have iX 22, got it at the peak of COVID madness, but thanks to forum member it was not over MSRP, which at that time was a deal 
BMW didn’t pass $7.5k for lease at that time, so I’ve financed it and claimed that with tax return. Fast forward to present time, I’m looking if there is any sense to try get out of it. I’m honesty happy with the car itself, but fact that I pay almost 3x more per month than for leased EQS with even higher MSRP bothers me.
So I was thinking, with current some really great EV deals, before credit expires in September, would it make sense to get one of those deals and burry neggy there? I think there is like $15-17k
Or suck it up and pay until I’m done with it?
suck it up and pay. Driving iX until the end of its depreciation curve is not that bad. Higher msrp doesn’t mean it’s a better car. iX is a solid EV SUV.
It is solid for sure, no questions. But it is no 3x better for sure. That’s why I’m thinking if to get something like Etron q6 or a6 or Polestar, those are also nice cars, but they are like in ~$400 range
So let’s say your negative is $16,000 / 36 =$444.44 + taxes and interest on that number. All the sudden the new $400 ride is now $844+ typically makes it less appealing than riding it out with what you have now.
True, but tech is also getting older. Those new eTrons are pretty sweet. And presuming it is $850, it will be still $500 cheaper than current payment. It is $1340 now.
if you want real opinions, we need actual numbers
Those are close to actual. When doing trade in or selling it, number will differ a bit l, that’s why I give small range and I’ve provided my current payment
The current one you will at some point have a paid off car worth some equity and while you’ll end the next lease having paid off the negative and leased a sweet new ride with no equity at the end.
It’s your money though, if the sweet new ride with new tech is what the heart wants, let it ride!
If you can’t be satisfied with the tech on a 3 year old BMW you are going to be putting yourself on a never ending neggy eggy treadmill.
That’s why I prefer 2-3 year leasing cycle. This was COVID deviation and I’m seeking for opinions if this make sense to get me back into that 2-3 year cycle
I’m in a similar boat, although not with neg eq. I was leasing for 10 yrs before COVID and financed a 2022 Volvo XC60. I’m now past 3 years of ownership - which is when I start getting itchy for a new car. The best thing you can do when financing a car is to drive it well past that point of the high depreciation. Although I am ready for something else, I do plan on keeping mine for 2-3 more years. While not my “norm” it will be the best long term decision. My suggestion is to keep the IX, sounds like you like it. Just remember that “new” car you might lease will end up be just a used car in the next 6-9 months. Don’t trade short term gratification for a long term financial repayment.
It would be so helpful to more detailed numbers here so we can help with the decision-making.
@Rodriges, I’m still trying to understand why there would be any negative equity at this point? I did some math based on the following assumptions:
MSRP $80K
$7,500 tax credit
7% state/local tax rate on purchase
60 month term @ 5% APR
= ~$1,450/month payment. Is this about right?
Assumption a Purchase Date of November 2022 (33 months ago), you’ve paid $48K against a $77K loan balance (including interest and taxes). Excel and ChatGPT tell me your remaining balance today is around $32K. Is that about right?
If your car loan is $32K why would you have any negative equity? You should have a couple thousand of positive equity as far I can tell.
In that case you can trade in your car and get a nicely spec’d 2026 iX for ~$700/month today. You’ll be ahead if you move fast before the tax credit expires and tariffs start to hit.
You are probably right, if to think with cool head Also there is kind of standard depreciation curve and in case of iX, i think it was not fair one. It just followed whole EV drop, negative EV press, political changes, etc. Because reality is, it is really solid car and probably one of the best EV suv. So 2-3 year 100k car, becomes suddenly 40 is quite an issue.
Car was 100k MSRP, it is fully loaded. Also there was no tax in NJ. Anyways loan balance is around $53k now.
Can I ask how you were able to get the tax credit if the MSRP was above $80K? Did you buy it through your business? (IIRC, the limit goes up to $140K in the case of commercial EVs right?)
A $100K 2022 iX was a really nice spec!! I’m sure it was fully loaded even including the Bowers & Wilkins audio system right? That year was especially great for the iX since they secured all the parts before the supply chain shortages happened!
I’m sure you’re accustomed the comfort and smoothness of a top spec’d BMW iX. So if you move to another car you’d probably want to stay in the level of quality right?
So backing out the numbers a $100K car with a $53K balance after 33 months was probably financed at 7% with a payment of $2,100/month. Is that about right?
If you trade in your car, maybe BMW would give you $40K, and you’d have $13K of neggy. You can get a well-optioned 2026 iX for $800/month + neggy of $400/month = $1,200/month for a new car.
So, in summary, you can probably cut your monthly outlay in half and drive a new car. You’ll be happier and get more utility out of it and save some cash each month. That extra $1,000 of cash might be used more productively in your business too!
It’s a win in my book!