[RoyB]

**Edit Ended up ordering the car and it's already here! **

Looking for some opinions on what to do here.

My M340 lease doesn't expire until October 1. I've been really thinking of getting into an M550, but it seems they are going the way of the dodo bird.

Can these still be ordered in the US? If so, is it too soon to order when my lease doesn't expire until October?

If I can't order, I assume my only option is to buy off the lot then? I saw there was a price increase Jan 1, so some of the cars on the lots currently (not many) have the lower MSRP price. Should I just be patient over the next couple of months to see if one pops up with the specs I want.

Below is a list of my Needs/Wants. How likely is it to find one of this spec sitting on the lot in the next couple of months?

• DGM paint, Possibly SGM but I would need to see in person first.
• Black Nappa Leather
• DAP
• PAP
• Executive Package
• Heated Seats/Wheel (pretty standard in Chicago)

The rest of the options I could take or leave. I don't care for the 50th emblem or the black trim, but it's not a deal breaker. It seems most stock orders include this.

Does the M550 have adaptive suspension stock? It appears the base M550 has some type of adaptive suspension per their website. Not sure what the adaptive pro changes. My M340 didn't come with any adaptive suspension and it beats you up a little. At the time I could choose between DAP and Adaptive suspension and DAP was way more important to me.

Last bit is leases. I emailed my salesman about leases on a couple different models and the pricing came back stupid high. I realize that I need to sit down and go over numbers, but are residuals that bad and rates really that high compared to a couple years ago?

[AP]

If you want a new 550 you need to speak to your dealer today
They are going. They have already been discontinued in the U.K. just before Christmas (along with the 520d)

The situation may differ in different countries, the us seems to be a big purchaser of these so may have a better chance

Either way do something about it today to avoid disappointment

[BMW012]

prices are nearly double from a few years ago. if your lease ends in October, I believe they usually allow you to get out 3 months earlier if you get into another BMW.

[Rocket455]

You may not be able to get the exact trim and options you want, but I highly recommend waiting till at least year-end before getting into a new lease. All reports suggest that the car market insanity is cooling off; used car prices are dropping, dealers are backing away from the notorious MSRP markups that used to make the news, and lease incentives are slowly making a come back. Like a total idiot, I didn't follow my own advice and got into an expensive lease for the 2022 M550i I acquired in Sep 2022, and really wish I'd been patient and waited....

[RoyB]

My dealer got back to me and said he has an allocation available for an order.

How does a lease work on a build order? Do you figure out % off MSRP and lock in current lease rates? If rates drop do you get the better rate when the car arrives?

When I have done orders from other manufactures they were always purchases. We agreed on the price ahead of time and any additional incentives available at the time of purchase could be applied to the car.

[RoyB]

I called the salesman and talked. He said they lock in current incentives now. If there are better ones when the car comes in, we can take those instead.

However, he said they aren't taking orders below MSRP at this time.

[BMW012]

Originally Posted by RoyB

I called the salesman and talked. He said they lock in current incentives now. If there are better ones when the car comes in, we can take those instead.

However, he said they aren't taking orders below MSRP at this time.

if the price range is something you are comfortable with just place the order. If it is out of your ball park range. Might be best just to move on. I thought it will change drastically either way. Maybe like 50 bucks? +/-

[RoyB]

Originally Posted by BMW012

if the price range is something you are comfortable with just place the order. If it is out of your ball park range. Might be best just to move on. I thought it will change drastically either way. Maybe like 50 bucks? +/-

I guess I am a little spoiled from when I got my M340. I think total off MSRP was around 10-12%. In this case, that= $200/mo. It's not a deal breaker, but that would be nice to keep in my pocket.

[DNYC1919]

You most likely will make money if you buy out your lease and sell it as you probably leased in 2020.

If so buy out the lease and use the extra money to offset the higher payments in this market. I helped my brother do that with his Honda accord off his lease. We made close to 8k doing that.

[G30 B58]

Originally Posted by RoyB

I called the salesman and talked. He said they lock in current incentives now. If there are better ones when the car comes in, we can take those instead.

However, he said they aren't taking orders below MSRP at this time.

Call other dealerships. You can buy from any dealership and have it delivered to your local dealer, or do PCD.

I'd say you got homework to do on your existing lease and some more homework getting an M550i on order.

Order YOUR car, don't settle. Good luck.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by RoyB

I called the salesman and talked. He said they lock in current incentives now. If there are better ones when the car comes in, we can take those instead.

However, he said they aren't taking orders below MSRP at this time.

You can get pre-approved with BMWFS and they will allow you to use the best incentives from the month approved and forward about 3 months. I do not believe (though I'm not sure) that they allow you to take the best incentives beyond 3 months or so. Check with your dealership or call BMWFS. Quite possibly they allow it if your production is delayed.

My suggestion is you place an order with no obligation to take the car. Meaning a fully refundable deposit. Or better, would be no deposit. My suspicion, based on current economic conditions, is that by July or so, dealers will be discounting (a bit) and incentives will return. May not be strong incentives and discounts, but there will be something better than today (which is close to nothing).

It's a risk, but car buying these days contains lots of risk!

[RoyB]

My Lease end is in October 1. Residual is around 36K I think. Current KBB value is around 46K. The used market is getting pretty soft so who knows what it will be worth in October. I am toying with the idea of keeping it as well. For 36K it's a lot of car.

I've been dealing with a couple local dealers as well as the broker that posts on these forums. I never thought it would be so difficult to order a car. Local dealers keep playing games with allocations and marking up MF. They say they have an allocation and then it turns out they don't until maybe next month. Similar issue with the broker. Dealer says they have an allocation and turns out it's a future allocation.

[RoyB]

Order is placed and ready for production Status 112.

After dealing with 3 local dealers I got tired of the BS and runaround and contacted autocompanion

Smooth Sailing and no BS. Hooked me up with a dealer that had an actual allocation and pricing/discounts were as discussed up front.

[G30 B58]

Originally Posted by RoyB

Order is placed and ready for production Status 112.

After dealing with 3 local dealers I got tired of the BS and runaround and contacted autocompanion

Smooth Sailing and no BS. Hooked me up with a dealer that had an actual allocation and pricing/discounts were as discussed up front.

What did you do about your existng lease? Did you lease again?

[RoyB]

Originally Posted by G30 B58

What did you do about your existng lease? Did you lease again?

My lease doesn't expire until Oct 1. I don't think the M550 will be here until May/June. I will either turn in the lease, run the lease until Oct or Buy it out. Haven't decided yet.

[RoyB]

Car is built and stateside. I am honestly amazed that it really only took 8 weeks. My last 2 trucks (Ram & Ford) took 8-10 MONTHS to get here.

Ordered: 1/31/23
Production Begins: 2/7/23
Assembly Complete: 2/22/23
At the Port: 2/27/23
In Transit: 3/15/23
Notified of PCD date: 4/3/23
PCD: 4/24/23