[steve@codemybimmer]

Does anyone know if there's some sort of program that allows existing BMW Financial Customers to upgrade to a new car while on lease without any penalty?

I'm racking up a lot of km's on my 2012 328i and I was looking at a 2014 428i xDrive with the premium package and BMW Connected Drive Professional package since the 2014's are at 1.9% lease now.

Initially, I did trade in my E90 so my monthly payments are relatively low and I'm at about $500 a month after taxes. Do I lose out on anything if I go this route as opposed to waiting for the lease to mature? I'm willing to pay up to $200 a month more.

Are they able to write off the negative equity and put me in the new car without any sort of penalty?

[CHCCubs]

They do have a pull ahead program, but that generally only covers a few payments near the end the lease. Your best bet is to go into a dealership and see what they offer.

[carzaddict]

getting out of a lease that early is super silly. you're basically paying more on your current car to finish paying off your old car that you dont have anymore. but i mean its your money, manage it how you want

BMW will let you get out up to 3 months ahead of the end of your lease...anything more than that and the dealer will rape you.

we cant determine how much more your new payments will be, your best bet is to go to a dealership, find out....and then do the math and see if its cheaper for you to just pay the excess milage

[aspiring335]

Good advice above. Also, the 1.9% interest rate is really meaningless and not much more than a marketing gimmick to clear out old inventory.

Low interest rates on leases are usually combined with low residuals. The interest rate might be 1.9%, but you could still end up paying the same or similar payments to a 2015 model with a 4.9% interest rate. Making things worse, in some cases, BMW even makes the dealer kick in a bit of their margin to subsidize the low rate, so your negotiating power on the selling price is reduced.

[Earthmaster]

Originally Posted by aspiring335

Good advice above. Also, the 1.9% interest rate is really meaningless and not much more than a marketing gimmick to clear out old inventory.

Low interest rates on leases are usually combined with low residuals. The interest rate might be 1.9%, but you could still end up paying the same or similar payments to a 2015 model with a 4.9% interest rate. Making things worse, in some cases, BMW even makes the dealer kick in a bit of their margin to subsidize the low rate, so your negotiating power on the selling price is reduced.

Agreed, so you need to know roughly what the residual was beforehand before accurately knowing if its a good deal or not. However, this is a positive if you plan on keeping the car as the low residual = lower buyout and you have put less cash into interest.

[xpidex]

As well with a lease trade in is more like "selling the car"; since to walk out of a lease normally you have to pay all the remaining payments (I have no idea who would do this over 3 months).

I've done it in the past and always end up with some negative equity after spending a lot of time and waiting for the right time (sometime end of the month, national incentives, etc.).

I'm in Calgary and I found they are the least flexible (I've been with Acura, Audi and Lexus).

good luck!

[aspiring335]

But if you're going to keep the car, why not just finance it to begin with? The interest rate is usually lower for BMW loans vs. lease. In addition, the loan's advertised interest rate is the same as the APR, whereas for the lease, the APR is actually higher than the published rate because interest accrues on the entire capital cost of the vehicle, including the residual amount.

Originally Posted by Earthmaster

Agreed, so you need to know roughly what the residual was beforehand before accurately knowing if its a good deal or not. However, this is a positive if you plan on keeping the car as the low residual = lower buyout and you have put less cash into interest.

[Earthmaster]

Originally Posted by aspiring335

But if you're going to keep the car, why not just finance it to begin with? The interest rate is usually lower for BMW loans vs. lease. In addition, the loan's advertised interest rate is the same as the APR, whereas for the lease, the APR is actually higher than the published rate because interest accrues on the entire capital cost of the vehicle, including the residual amount.

Because it keeps your payments usually lower and gives you flexibility in getting out of it if something does come up (lease transfers are easier than finance). It also gives you flexibility near the end if your car has had issues to move onto another vehicle. You pay for some of this flexibility in general but for some people its worth it.

[casualDIYer]

Your payments are low. Offer to pay the transfer fee and leasebuster the car. Good luck. Let us know how you make out. Might be in a similar position myself next year.