Diamond

There is no room for negotation with a RV which is set by bmw financial services. The only thing you can negotiate is the cap cost of the vehicle which people usually aim for invoice price.

As far as where to park your money I have no clue where you live, what your portfolio looks like, which business you are in etc. There are multiple ways to utilize that much money over 3 years varying from mutual funds, money markets, currency, investment in your own business, lending the money out -there is no blanket way to make x amount of profit obviously or everyone would do it. Its dependent on your situation.

You can do as you please, its your money, but I am trying to inform others who may be persuaded by this lower lease payment that it really is not the best use of money.

Always consider why bmw is letting you utilize such a tool? Because its profitable to them with the ability to use your money for 3 years for their own investments and still give you a discount on your MF. So why not make the entire profit yourself instead of bmw taking acut of the profit from the invested money. Doesnt make sense.

With all that said the MF must be high on the 550i's right now as that is a high lease payment for that cap cost.

Gene

May 2011 lease rates (per leasecompare.com)

2011 BMW 528i Sedan Lease
24 Month ? Residual 61% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
36 Month ? Residual 55% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
48 Month ? Residual 43% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
60 Month ? Residual 35% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate

2011 BMW 535i Sedan Lease
24 Month ? Residual 62% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
36 Month ? Residual 56% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
48 Month ? Residual 41% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
60 Month ? Residual 35% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate

2011 BMW 535i xDrive Sedan Lease
24 Month ? Residual 62% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
36 Month ? Residual 56% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
48 Month ? Residual 42% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
60 Month ? Residual 35% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate

2011 BMW 550i Sedan Lease
24 Month ? Residual 65% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
36 Month ? Residual 59% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
48 Month ? Residual 40% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
60 Month ? Residual 33% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate

2011 BMW 550i xDrive Sedan Lease
24 Month ? Residual 59% of MSRP ? .00185 Base Rate
36 Month ? Residual 53% of MSRP ? .00185 Base Rate
48 Month ? Residual 39% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate
60 Month ? Residual 31% of MSRP ? .00200 Base Rate

yes, that MF is terrible..I could understand why you would want to do MSD's...hopefully june rates would be better so you can lock int he rates for that month instead...

fuenfer

Not sure where I live has anything to do it with it - most investment opportunities seem to be fairly accessible from any location nationwide. While you state that I could make more money by parking my money elsewhere, you have not provided or described any alternative investments where (i) my principal is guaranteed to be returned and (ii) I'd be able to beat, as you say below, my returns by 3-4 times. What you list above - mutual funds, money markets, current, investment in business and lending money out - certainly do not meet the conditions in (i), and I'd hardly say any of them guarantee 3-4 times the returns on the MSD. In terms of conservative investments, the MSD program certainly seems to be much better than a standard money market account, savings account or CD.

Again, it would be great if you would kindly provide specific examples of the investments that meet the foregoing criteria - I'd be happy to cancel my MSDs and invest accordingly.

Of course, that's comparing apples to oranges. BMWFS is an institutional investor, with access to a very different set of investments vis a vis an individual investor, and accordingly, most individual investors simply will not be able to make the "entire profit" themselves. Moreover, I'm not sure profitability for BMW should really matter, as long as it's also profitable for the lessor.

fuenfer

It's not the MF that's killing me - with MSD, it's actually quite reasonable, but it's the awfully low residual.

I ordered the car in April (with the awfully low residual), but since I'm not taking delivery until the end of the month, have not finalized the deal with my CA. I'll have him re-run the numbers with the higher May residuals, and hopefully will get a cheaper lease!

Diamond

Dude suit yourself. I am not going to argue with you because you are the one throwing your money away. GO for it and have fun!

Bdaddylo

Obviously, you should not take financial advise from anyone who thinks money market accounts are savy investments.

Diamond

Hey let this guy throw money into the trash by giving bmw his security deposits. Its nothing of me or anyone else. Some people just like to waste money and are really good at doing so. Such is life!

denissm

Yet you haven't provided him with an alternative. How is he then acting incorrectly?

sdg1871

The 550's residual is excellent. The MF....not so much. Not as crazy high as Mercedes but definitely higher than when BMW decides to subsidize a lease.

DrLev99

And some people like to waste my (and everyone else's) time posting stupid responses...such is life!