E60forChristmas

I have an opportunity to takeover a lease on a black/black 2005 545i. Payment is only $590/mo. with 16 mos. left on the lease. No Sport Pkg!! How much as far as looks and performance will I be missing? Car has Cold Weather Pkg and NAVI but those ugly stock 17in wheels. I'm thinking it's a great deal still at that payment. Just curious what ya think.

Previous BMW was a 2002 530IA fully loaded. I now drive a 2005 CTS-V but tired of shifting gears (poor trans) around busy Chicago traffic. Missing the Bimmer life...decided to come back.

swajames

There's nothing wrong with the style 116 wheels, but if you prefer 18's there are always a number of style 124's on sale on here. You may find a you get a better ride and less twitchy handling with the 116's as they are 225's all round and less susceptible to tramlining and road imperfections than staggered 245/257 18's.

EBMCS03

Thats not bad. A 2005 545 for $590 a month and 16 months go for it. It'll be fun to have, play around even w/out the sports package... then you can upgrade to the facelifted 550 later.

pennetta

Is there a resource to search for cars that you can take over a lease from? I am up April '07 and would like asn M5 nearer to my 545 lease pricing.

Matt BMW California

Ive heard this is a good source for selling and buying your lease:
http://www.leaseboys.com/

havent used them...

steve_gus

those wheels are great! thats what ive got.

they are standard on UK spec 550SE (which are like rocking hose $hyte)

cheers

steve

E60forChristmas

www.swapalease.com

Matt BMW California

Leases can be structured in some pretty creative ways. Only understanding the monthly payment leaves a lot of unknowns as to what you face at the end. Leases are still owning the responsiblity of paying for the car. Really the bank is just allowing you to buy more car for your payment (if you were ever going to buy it, think of it as a 10 to 12 year loan to but a car). You want to know:

1. the residual or buy-out amount at the conclusion of the lease (chances are the car is owning more than its worth)
2. any fees you incure for mileage
3. transfer fees etc

Without knowing the above, its really difficult to tell if the monthly payment is reasonable or not...bottom line - beware of the 'fine print' and dont focus on the monthly payment...it could really hurt in the longer term if you dont.

Suffice to say leasing is a much more expensive way to buy a car than getting a loan and buying it outright...Leases typcially make sense for:

1. short term ownership (watch your monthly payment doesnt put you in a negative situation) because you dont pay tax up front
2. write off - if you use your car for work
3. want more car than you can afford
4. will not be exceeding the mileage restrictions (no biggie if you intend to buy it out).

LowOrbit

Matt, you made some good points, but leasing may make more sense than buying it even if you expect to own it for 10 years as you can buy it at lease end - depending on the terms.

I leased my 2005 545i at a MF = 0.001 (2.4% APR before multiple deposits) so it made more sense than paying cash as I was getting a great financing arbitrage (i.e. can invest at pre-tax 5%+ and I doubt you can get a loan for under 5%). That even excludes all the other benefits of leasing - guaranteed residual, ability to return a lemon after 3 years etc.

Matt BMW California

In all, leases just need more careful scrutiny than a standard purcahse. Also, my understanding of the question is that he/she is assuming a lease though. In that, they are not writing a new one with the favorable rates that exist today. A low payment with only 16 months to get to maturity is a HUGE red flag. Most people dont walk away from equity so its likely this low payment means the lease terms have the car 'underwater' in terms of what is outstanding.