[btanks]

Hello Fellow Bimmers -

I need some advice. My lease is almost over (mid of Feb 2024) and I'm contemplating buying my 330i after my lease ends in few days since current lease rates/incentives are not that great. I have never done this before hence need the help

Info about my current lease

• 2021 330i xDrive. MSRP: $53,270, term 36/10k
• Paid 4k down, my monthly payment $578
• Purchase option at End of Lease Term: ~31,300 (from my lease contract)

Current info on my car

• Low Miles: ~11,300 - Excellent condition
• No accidents, damages, scratches. Perfect condition

I visited BMW dealer and below are the charges they mentioned to me

1. Selling Price: $31,293.21
2. Full Car Inspection: $350
3. Doc Fee: $200
4. Tax (Estimated): $3,301.43
5. Reg Fees: $869.00
6. Total Unpaid Balance: $36,013.64

Questions -

1. Other than ~$31,300 + Tax, does BMW dealer usually charge us when doing a lease buy-out? Which of these are some "junk fees" I should look out for?
2. Should I be going through BMWFS or the dealership?
3. Anything else I should be aware of if buying my car at lease end
4. Also, is buying the car at lease end a good idea? (Sorry, new to this)

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

[DanG]

The inspection and documentation fees are junk fees. No inspection is required when you buy the car. Documentation fees are negotiable. Nothing you can do about the sales tax and registration fees.

If you like driving the car, there is no reason not to buy a low mileage car.

[ppointer]

+1 on the inspection. That is crap.

Also, +1 on buying it. That is great mileage for a 3+ year old car, and it is the best used car you know. I have bought out a few leases in the past, with no regrets.

[tturedraider]

I just posted in your other thread. In WA you should be dealing directly with BMWFS.

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

I just posted in your other thread. In WA you should be dealing directly with BMWFS.

This here. Do you have an option in your BMW account to just send a payoff check to BMWFS and just deal with them directly? Will avoid all that extra stuff.

Otherwise, try another BMW dealer. Any should be able to help you with the buyout and you can avoid those BS fees.

[Westside Guy]

I just bought out the lease on a 2021 228i GC that also had only 11,000 miles and the car was in excellent condition. The residual payoff was only $23,700. In Florida you are no longer able to make a direct payments to BMWFS and all I paid to my dealer was the sales tax and normal fees to transfer the title, etc.

Those other fees the dealer is trying to charge is total BS!!!

[btanks]

Thank you all for your response. Sorry, I was very new to this and came across bimmerpost forum quite late. I already completed the inspection and they found to be no issues and everything good with it, can I still negotiate on the inspection charges?

Yes, I'll give a call to BMWFS and get the details from them. I did find the payoff document in my BMW account and the selling price is the correct RV value that I have on the lease term. It seems the dealer is adding additional charges towards the Selling fees too. Below are the details from the payoff information

* Residual $30,896.60
* Outstanding Balance $0.02
* Sales Tax $3,213.25
* Total Payoff Amount good through February 9, 2024. $34,109.87

[crashoverride]

You can also look into buying it as a Certified Pre-Owned. The dealership is always looking to get credit for selling CPO cars and you get an extended warranty. There is a cost to the dealership to do this. Ask to have the inspection fee applied to the CPO.

[btanks]

Originally Posted by crashoverride

You can also look into buying it as a Certified Pre-Owned. The dealership is always looking to get credit for selling CPO cars and you get an extended warranty. There is a cost to the dealership to do this. Ask to have the inspection fee applied to the CPO.

I see. Thanks a lot for the suggestion

[btanks]

Originally Posted by RigaTony1982

This here. Do you have an option in your BMW account to just send a payoff check to BMWFS and just deal with them directly? Will avoid all that extra stuff.

Otherwise, try another BMW dealer. Any should be able to help you with the buyout and you can avoid those BS fees.

Yes I do. I called BMWFS in the morning and can directly do it with the help of credit union (as I'll be opting for loan). Thank you for the details

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by RigaTony1982

This here. Do you have an option in your BMW account to just send a payoff check to BMWFS and just deal with them directly? Will avoid all that extra stuff.

Otherwise, try another BMW dealer. Any should be able to help you with the buyout and you can avoid those BS fees.

This. You never have to go to the dealership. Just pay off the lease with the lessor. If you need a loan, then the bank/credit union works the payoff with the lessor. You have to get new tags and register it in your name. Depending on your state's regs, you may not have to pay tax on it, just registration and tag fees. When you leased it, you already paid the state the tax on the car through the lease.

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

This. You never have to go to the dealership. Just pay off the lease with the lessor. If you need a loan, then the bank/credit union works the payoff with the lessor. You have to get new tags and register it in your name. Depending on your state's regs, you may not have to pay tax on it, just registration and tag fees. When you leased it, you already paid the state the tax on the car through the lease.

Each state is different on the taxes. In certain states, he would be responsible for the sales tax because the portion he paid via the lease is only for the "leased" portion. As a result, he'd have to pay taxes on the buyout portion.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by RigaTony1982

Each state is different on the taxes. In certain states, he would be responsible for the sales tax because the portion he paid via the lease is only for the "leased" portion. As a result, he'd have to pay taxes on the buyout portion.

That is correct. In Washington he has to pay sales tax on the buyout amount. He will also need to pay registration fees for the tabs.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by DanG

That is correct. In Washington he has to pay sales tax on the buyout amount. He will also need to pay registration fees for the tabs

In Florida it is the same, you are only taxed on the residual buyout price.

[btanks]

Sharing the experience here post going through all the comments -

I visited the BMW Service Center directly instead of BMW dealer first to pick up the car after pre-inspection. The report was all ok and in inspection found no faults/issues. Not sure if that was the case or something else, but got lucky and BMW Service Center did not charge me for anything (might be that I was still under warranty till then), including the oil change - even when the BMW Sales Specialist told me that I'll need to pay $350 to the BMW Service and bring in the receipt with me while visiting the BMW dealer.

Post picking up my car, went to the BMW dealer and called out all the "fake fees" and additional charges on top of my original RV. Sales person was surprised to see that BMW Service Center did not charge me any money for the pre-inspection. Asusual post the callout, they acted of talking to their Sales Manager and came up with the reason that this is some "Dynamic value" of the car that they accidentally charged to me and came up with revised interest rates (which were still higher than what credit union was offering it to me), and even removed the doc fees (when called it out).

I politely declined on proceeding ahead with dealership, and went to credit union to get it all processed. Credit union were more than happy to help and got me better rates than BMW was offering, plus did not charge me any additional charges than RV + Taxes that were mentioned in the BMW payoff information

Thank you all for your valuable inputs and the help. These certainly helped to understand the entire process as well as how dealers lure you out and add any fake charges for the sake of buyout

[DanG]

Glad things worked out for you.

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by btanks

Sharing the experience here post going through all the comments -

I visited the BMW Service Center directly instead of BMW dealer first to pick up the car after pre-inspection. The report was all ok and in inspection found no faults/issues. Not sure if that was the case or something else, but got lucky and BMW Service Center did not charge me for anything (might be that I was still under warranty till then), including the oil change - even when the BMW Sales Specialist told me that I'll need to pay $350 to the BMW Service and bring in the receipt with me while visiting the BMW dealer.

Post picking up my car, went to the BMW dealer and called out all the "fake fees" and additional charges on top of my original RV. Sales person was surprised to see that BMW Service Center did not charge me any money for the pre-inspection. Asusual post the callout, they acted of talking to their Sales Manager and came up with the reason that this is some "Dynamic value" of the car that they accidentally charged to me and came up with revised interest rates (which were still higher than what credit union was offering it to me), and even removed the doc fees (when called it out).

I politely declined on proceeding ahead with dealership, and went to credit union to get it all processed. Credit union were more than happy to help and got me better rates than BMW was offering, plus did not charge me any additional charges than RV + Taxes that were mentioned in the BMW payoff information

Thank you all for your valuable inputs and the help. These certainly helped to understand the entire process as well as how dealers lure you out and add any fake charges for the sake of buyout

A bit late to join the discussion: you know the car + low miles = great deal. Enjoy it!

[tturedraider]

Very glad to hear we were able to save you from spending unnecessary money!!

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

This. You never have to go to the dealership. Just pay off the lease with the lessor.

This depends on the state. There are now a dozen or so states (referenced in the link I posted) where BMWFS can no longer sell the leased car directly to the lessee. The lessee must go through a dealer. A number of states sued BMWFS claiming they were acting as a dealer in violation of state dealership laws.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

This depends on the state. There are now a dozen or so states (referenced in the link I posted) where BMWFS can no longer sell the leased car directly to the lessee. The lessee must go through a dealer. A number of states sued BMWFS claiming they were acting as a dealer in violation of state dealership laws.

The auto dealers in certain states have a strong lobbying presence and the legislatures there gave them a present. 👎🏻

In Florida several dealers were caught trying to ripoff customers with outrageous fees when the residual payoff plus sales tax and state docs (title & plates) is all you should be paying. Do a Google search and you will see both TV and newspaper reports busting those dealers! 😉

BMW of Ft. Lauderdale where I did the buyout on my wife’s 228i is one of the good guys and doesn’t play any of these junk fee games and it was a straightforward transaction. They also didn’t play the ADM game which is total BS during the pandemic which is why I really love doing business with them! 👍🏻

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

The auto dealers in certain states have a strong lobbying presence and the legislatures there gave them a present. ����

The auto dealers and the NADA in all states have strong lobbying power. This is one of a host of reasons you will never see the manufacturers start selling directly to consumers. Regardless of what a lot of folks wish for the dealership selling model is not going anywhere. In addition, the manufacturers may give a little lip service to direct sales, but the truth is they are not interested in retailing their cars. They are in the business of manufacturing, not the day to day nuts and bolts of retail sales and service.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

The auto dealers and the NADA in all states have strong lobbying power. This is one of a host of reasons you will never see the manufacturers start selling directly to consumers. Regardless of what a lot of folks wish for the dealership selling model is not going anywhere. In addition, the manufacturers may give a little lip service to direct sales, but the truth is they are not interested in retailing their cars. They are in the business of manufacturing, not the day to day nuts and bolts of retail sales and service.

I often wonder how many elected officials in those state legislatures receive sweetheart deals on their cars from these dealers to vote for these anti consumer/ pro dealer laws?