So I’m planning on taking over the lease for a 2017 bmw 540i. I just saw the car in person. What more homework/due diligence should I do?
[1] Ask to see the lease contract and read it over?
[2] Negotiate: $500 lease transfer fee (is end of lease fees also negotiable?)
Anything else?
Depends how far into the lease you’re taking it over at. If it’s more than >10k and the person has modded it or shows signs that they have then I would get a PPI inspection done for peace of mind. Make sure the wheels are what came with it by checking https://www.bmwvin.com/ get the wheel type and compare.
If the car checks out as unmolested and has been serviced correctly (and comes with proof of that) I’d be tempted just to take it. Be aware though you’re taking the risk that BMW might find something at turn-in that you never noticed such as badly repaired accident damage, be it significant or not.
Assuming you’ve done the basics like check the Carfax report on it?
I think (not sure) you’ll have a small disposition fee to BMW at turn-in but it’s waived if you lease or buy another BMW. That will be in the BMW contract.
Yes, this is correct - have an independent mechanic go over the car before you sign the transfer paperwork.
The $100 you spend on a PPI is well worth it especially since you are on the hook when you take over the car.
Make sure the mechanic checks the paint depths to ensure body panels are factory and paint is factory.
Have the mechanic check for any stresses or damage caused by hard driving, worn suspension, stretched / compressed engine mounts, and altered parts.
The lease transfer fee is negotiable on who pays - BMWFS does not care who pays…
here are some pointers listed by SAL to consider:
http://www.swapalease.com/help/fraud-prevention.aspx
i’d say carfax/autocheck and get service records
dealer inspection (sometimes the dept that deals with trade-ins can inspect it for nominal fee). I’d rather get an inspection report from a BMW dealer than a third party in case of a dispute later at turn-in.
tires (make sure if car came with runflats that you’re getting runflats, people take them off all the time)
wheels (make sure they’re not touched up badly, people on this forum have been complaining that badly touched up wheels will flake etc later on).
Some people put in aftermarket light bulbs if car came with standard lights (halo angel eyes etc), verify if original lights are present.
Ask seller if he made any mods. You will be surprised that they’re usually “proud” and think it’s ok to do and just volunteer the info.
With all that being said, while some suggestions here are fine, you will also annoy the other party if you go too far with the inspection and they might lose interest. Don’t make it harder/longer than it has to be.
As far as negotiating transfer fee, that all depends how good of a deal that car is. If it’s meh then i’d have the other party pay with the simple reasoning that they won’t have to pay dispo fee but you will have to. If not split the cost. If it’s a seriously good deal start by asking to split 50/50 and go from there.
FYI - the free maintenance doesn’t transfer over on 2017 BMWs anymore so keep that in mind.
If you can get your hands on an alternate UV light source check the whole car interior.
If not then manually check the following
seats checked for excessive gas
armrests, headliners and under the seat for boogers
Urine and vomit in the back seat (from car seat or underage drinkers)
Trunk for weird smells. lift the carpet.
I worked for a detailer when I was younger.
We would prep cars for sale that required a mask they smelled so bad.
We used to get a lot of customers that bought a used car that started to smell a few days in.
Seconding what @305Hackr said, have the car inspected at a dealership if possible. My friend took over a 330i lease and a local dealership was able to point out some wear and tear items that he ultimately got the former owner to pay for. Further, he negotiated both the transfer fee and disposition fee to be paid for by the owner. With that said, the owner was eager to unload the car so your experience may vary.
what does this mean?
But if I get the car inspected at a BMW dealership before I take it over, this shouldn’t be a concern right?
ROFL. How would one go about performing such a check?
Means that technically you may not have free oil changes and whatever else is included. HOWEVER, this comes down to the service writer handling your service appointment. I took over a 2017 540 and had free oil changes for the duration.
From my understanding that’s a good option and would give you a lot of security. The only thing is that I think BMW use a 3rd party for lease appraisals so they may have different criteria, but of course you’d have the BMW dealer check as proof if the end-of-lease appraiser raised issues. I think I read a story here about someone who encountered that scenario and the proof of the dealer inspection meant he didn’t have to pay the extra cost.
If any of that is incorrect please correct me, keeping track of different brands policies is difficult 
Sniff test.
It’s a running joke here about loaners vs new cars.
So I’m meeting with the current lease owner at a BMW dealership this weekend. He says he can have a service guy there vouch that nothing is wrong with the car that I could be charged with when I return the car.
[1] Should I still insist on an inspection to be done at the BMW dealership?
[2] Should I ask the lease manager/sales manager to put in writing that there is nothing wrong with this car that they can charge me with once I return it?
Also, I saw on the lease agreement that there is a $350 disposition fee at the end of the lease if I don’t purchase it… is this $350 usually negotiable?
Well, there might be something to it… Went to Carmax to try on a few cars for size… Some of them smelled SO bad… Mostly due to way too much and horribly-scented air freshener, although I’m sure some were trying to cover up smoke, etc…
I would explore how much it would cost for an inspection if you’re going to the dealership anyway. It’s basically a quick visual check with it up in the air, plus some other basic checks like oil, etc and can’t be that expensive. If you’re having it inspected you should be able to have a service manager write that there’s nothing visually wrong with the vehicle based on the inspection which holds some weight.
For the disposition fee they normally waive it if you’re buying/leasing another car with them but needs to be in place at handover. It’s part of the BMW contract so no way to negotiate it unless either the original lessee gives you the money to offset it or you take another BMW financial product like a lease or loan at the end of this lease.