tuonoR

For California, dealer is telling me that lease rate on a 2007 is actually BETTER than on a 2006 for the 550.

Can anyone verify this? He said the lease rates for all 2007 5 series are .0250 MF (550s included) with no change to residuals, which means for the 550 the MF is down from 0.0260 (its 0.0260 in CA vs. the 0.0200 listed in the sticky). For the 530s, obviously its much worse than the rates offered on the 2006s.

So on a 2007 550i, 60% residual for 36 mos (15k miles / year) at 0.0250 MF. Not bad unless hes mistaken...

jdubbs

There should not be a premium on the MF in California. I recently bought an M5 in the bay area and can tell you that while many dealers start out insisting on .004 over the base rate, they eventually come down to the base rate (or very close to it) if you negotiate. If your dealer is telling you they can't do the base rate, talk to another dealer until you find one that isn't padding the rate. Then go back to the original dealer and say, what the hell?

In general, I think it is better to negotiate on the sale price *before* talking about financing. Even on a brand new model year, you should still be able to get a few grand off the MSRP at least, which can greatly affect the lease payments. Once you have a good sale price, then talk about financing terms/lease rates.

tuonoR

Thanks. I have pinned down a price and agree that you need to treat these separately rather than negotiating over the payment. However, I saw confirmed somewhere on these forums that the best MF on a 2006 550 was 0.0026 in CA. Now this sales guy is telling me its 0.0025 on a 2007.

Out of curiousity, what MF did you get on your M5?

jdubbs

Money factors change month-to-month. When I first started looking at a 550i, the money factor was something like .0026. This was the rate that my dealer (SF BMW) quoted me, and after some digging I confirmed that it was the base rate. Then in January or February BMWNA started making the 550i lease more attractive... first they increased the residual value (I think in January) and then they lowered the money factor (I think in February) both of which dramatically reduced monthly payments. They do this to move the old 06MY cars out in preparation for the new 07MY cars. If your dealer is telling you the 06MY is still at .0026, it's possible he's just looking at old numbers or hasn't checked with the finance department recently... while there are dealers who will try to pad the rate, most if not all will come down. SFBMW says they have a policy not to pad rates, except on the M5 (where they also try to tack on a $20-30k "market adjustment" to price of the car).

It is true that the MSRP of the 07MY is slightly higher than the 06MY, so perhaps that's what he's thinking of. (But, on the other hand, you also get more... 4 years of roadside assistance, free aux kit, comfort seats in the sport package, etc. It's not a complete wash, but close enough).

Had I gone with the 550i I would have had the .002 rate. (The car I had on order is due to arrive at SF BMW any day now, so if you're interested, I'm sure they would be happy to sell it to you! It is titanium silver, black leather, anthracite trim & headliner, ventillated seats, SMG, and pretty much every other option available.) The M5 I basically got at the base rate listed in the sticky at the time (it has since gone up), though I bought it right as the rates changed so there was some weirdness to the transaction which I'd rather not go into here. I did not buy from SFBMW, however, because I found an M5 I wanted with no "market adjustment" at another dealer.

LeaseCompare.com

I'll post '07 rates tomorrow.

-Tarry Shebesta, OCLC
Certified Lease Consultant

dee

Hey jdubbs,do you mind if i ask which dealer did u go to get your M5?