Seeking some input on a lease quote in Santa Rosa, CA

Hi there,

First post here - did my first test drive Saturday in the i3 and I loved it. We already have another EV in the family and I'm looking to swap out my wife's big, ugly, gas-guzzling Mercedes R350 and get her into an i3. Because we are going all-EV we are going to get the Rex-version and I got a lease quote with 36,000 miles/3 years - base Rex model with only the DC fast charger as extra options - the rest we really don't need. The lease quote is $444/month not including tax and $3,500 down (plus taxes, etc, etc). It sounds very much like the advertised $439/month lease deal that is advertised (my MSRP is a little lower than the ad but I want 12k miles instead of 10k).

Has anyone been able to get better quotes in the bay area?

Thanks,
Lars

Look at the Owners Choice w/ Flex. It works like a lease but if you can take the entire $7500 federal tax credit you can a better deal than a normal lease.

LCT said:

Hi there,

First post here - did my first test drive Saturday in the i3 and I loved it. We already have another EV in the family and I'm looking to swap out my wife's big, ugly, gas-guzzling Mercedes R350 and get her into an i3. Because we are going all-EV we are going to get the Rex-version and I got a lease quote with 36,000 miles/3 years - base Rex model with only the DC fast charger as extra options - the rest we really don't need. The lease quote is $444/month not including tax and $3,500 down (plus taxes, etc, etc). It sounds very much like the advertised $439/month lease deal that is advertised (my MSRP is a little lower than the ad but I want 12k miles instead of 10k).

Has anyone been able to get better quotes in the bay area?

Thanks,
Lars

Click to expand...

Hi Lars- The only way to really evaluate a lease quote is get the dealer to show you (and then you relay to this forum) the MSRP for your particular car, the actual selling price he is basing the lease on, the residual, and the money factor. Then people on this forum can advise you on whether or not you are getting a good deal -- both on the selling price and on the lease costs.

In advance of those details, I can say that sales of the i3 are soft and now is a good time to buy. You should be able to get a good discount off the MSRP - currently people seem to be getting at least $2,000 and in many cases significantly more. And with the REX you should also be getting an extra $1,000 off through the current "innovation credit" program funded by BMW North America. And you definitely should not be giving your dealer any markup on the money factor that BMW finance charges on leases. And you want to make sure the dealer is using the correct residual. And the money factor is supposed to be reduced if you make a down payment of more than 15%.

Meanwhile, I second the idea that you should look at the Owner's Choice option also; I ended up going with that because getting to use the full federal tax credit made the net full term cost significantly less than with the lease. Best of luck to you.

PS- You might also want to reach out to a couple other Bay Area dealers to get competitive quotes from them. Stevens Creek in particular has a ton of i3's on their lot and seems willing to deal. I'm told East Bay BMW may be in a similar position.

See my post on the $299 lease for how to calculate. If you're looking at a REX I'd shoot for $3500-$4500 off MSRP. This includes the $1,000 incentive.

Last I checked Stevens Creek had 28 i3s....

Now Stevens Creek has 46 cars and the are advertising zero drive off and $369 per mo.

LCT said:

Hi there,

First post here - did my first test drive Saturday in the i3 and I loved it. We already have another EV in the family and I'm looking to swap out my wife's big, ugly, gas-guzzling Mercedes R350 and get her into an i3. Because we are going all-EV we are going to get the Rex-version and I got a lease quote with 36,000 miles/3 years - base Rex model with only the DC fast charger as extra options - the rest we really don't need. The lease quote is $444/month not including tax and $3,500 down (plus taxes, etc, etc). It sounds very much like the advertised $439/month lease deal that is advertised (my MSRP is a little lower than the ad but I want 12k miles instead of 10k).

Has anyone been able to get better quotes in the bay area?

Thanks,
Lars

Click to expand...

We leased an i3 BEV from Stevens Creek BMW at the end of September and I was pretty happy with the deal. We negotiated on monthly payments and finally threw out a low number so we could leave and get lunch, but to our surprise they took the offer. It was a total of about $3,700 off MSRP if I understand the lease paperwork correctly. We also live in the north bay and we cut things a little close getting it home, but if you get the REx version it shouldn't be an issue.

Alexander99 said:

Now Stevens Creek has 46 cars and the are advertising zero drive off and $369 per mo.

Click to expand...

hi guys, is the $369/mo with $0 drive off a good deal for 36 month lease? I see people post $299 + tax but not sure how much they paid for drive off.

Depends on options. Base car, not so great.

With totally zero drive off they are paying first, bank fee (750), tags, tax on the 4875 fed rebate and about 80 in fees for you.

My all option BEV with. MSRP of $50,600 is $325 a month plus tax. My drive off was $3500, $1600 went to cap reduction, the rest fees.

Contact Jenn at Weatherford. She did my deal all over email and it was very smooth.

Trying to pull off a similar lease here in SoCal. Any chance you can share a bit more detail on your deal?

Specifically wanting to know:
Residual
Final Cap Cost
Money Factor
Mileage Cap/Term
Fee Breakdown--if 1600 went to Cap Cost Reduction, what fees were you responsible for?
How much off MSRP

Appreciate the help.....

If anyone has any knowledge of a SoCal dealer who is aggressively discounting, please share.....

Fully loaded white BEV
MSRP $50,600
Discount $6,100 off MSRP (included $2k from BMW)
Govt $4,900
Res 63%
Cap reduction $1,600
Cap cost $39,000
MF is the top tier .00125
Payments $325 plus tax for 24 months.

I thought the deal was really good and in the color I wanted, couldn't refuse.

what was the down payment on your lease: what is the actual lease payment (the check you write) 3 yr lease get $2500 back, 2 yr. lease get nothing back
what would the price be for the Rex?