StreetDreamz

I searched here searched fest, read bmwusa, read posts...but I still am not sure how the prices go. I want to lease the 545 but then I get confused on how much I totally have to put down and pay before I pick it up at Munich. I am going to lease to refinance it. I saw the new program bmw has with their free flights but then I get lost with the 14 day full payment before pick up date. Isn't that bad compared to the original 30 day full payment extension?

Basically:

1) How much am I paying the dealer at USA bmw?
2) How much total should I pay before I pick it up? (I know that it depends on what options I'm getting but am I paying for 1st month? 2nd month? A downpayment for the lease?
3) Thank you.

pharding

Negotiate for the best price on the car. Then negotiate the lease.

There has been a lot of information posted here and at Roadfly.org on the e60 board. Search those boards for the "Rizzo method". Search for "European Delievery and Leasing". Make sure that the lease residual value is based upon US MSRP.

mrbelk

You negotiate the prices on an ED lease exactly as you would on a domestic lease; only your base invoice price is much lower. PHarding and others have had issues with the residual values, but know that the residual on the lease is based on the US MSRP of the vehicle. Because of this, if you negotiate a good price, you can get an instant cap cost reduction of around 6500 - 7000 on a 545 with no money out of pocket.

It used to be that for an ED lease, you signed the lease (and hence started the lease) 30 days prior to pickup, and were required to make 2 lease payments + the security deposit + the lease acquisition fee + whatever other cap cost reduction you wanted to make at lease signing. Now, starting on December 1, you have until 14 days prior to pickup to sign the lease paperwork, and you are only required to make 1 payment + sec dep + acquisition + additional cap cost reduction. BMWFS will make the 2nd payment (that you had to make before) for you.

From a purely financial perspective, putting any significant money out of pocket down as a cap cost reduction on a lease is unwise. This includes any monies from a traded-in vehicle. If, for whatever reason, the car gets totalled or stolen, you will never see that money again, since the insurance payout goes straight to BMWFS.

You're better off taking that downpayment money and divvying it up over the life of the lease and using it to supplement your payments. With ED, the "built in" cap cost reduction should be enough to lower your payments by over $100/month over a domestic delivery.

The Lufthansa deals are separate specials that your BMW client advisor cannot help you with, really, and have absolutely no connection with the financial aspects of the transaction. They're sweet, though, if you don't mind tooling around Europe in the coldest and nastiest time of the year.

I hope I was able to answer your questions. PM me if you have any others.

-MrB