BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

Kafkaesque320 moves uptown to a 2016 M Sport 328i - The hunt and the Acquisition

48K views 651 replies 60 participants last post by  FCBayernFTW 
#1 · (Edited)
Here's a long one to read on the crapper...

I talked a little bit about the new car in my existing 320i BMS Stage 1 epic saga thread, for those of you who actually follow that one and I still haven't decided whether or not to keep that thread going. I doubt this will become anything close to that thread, mainly because for the first time in, well, ever, I am content with my car. The day I was driving the 320i home I was having buyer's remorse. Car felt a little like the emperor's new clothes, if anyone is familiar with the reference. I threw the stage 1 piggyback on there to try and up the boost and HP on what was a quick yet, overall pretty gutless ultimate driving machine and was trying to block out the fact that this $36,500 MSRP car lacked features that my $23000 Mazda3 had back in 2010. But overall, I learned to love that car and it served me well. It was flawless mechanically, the build quality was solid (not a squeak or rattle for 3 years) and though, at least the way I had mine optioned, it was a 'stripper' as BJ would have said (RIP), it still had that BMW DNA.

Fast forward to a month or so ago when I really started shopping around. Some of you followed that search process on my other thread so I won't elaborate but, though I saw a lot of 2016 328i heavily discounted, most were the middle-aged Koreatown, college-aged kids-out-of-the-house Mom-mobile lease specials with 17's, halogens and not much else. I drove a '16 with Greg Poland (sales adviser savior of the forums...) and while I was somewhat impressed, the base suspension (even on 18's) still fundamentally bummed me out coming from the 704 M sport suspension, as did that crappy base steering wheel they throw in all the non-M 3 series. So I kept looking and was starting to give up, not finding any M sport 328's, or finding them and thinking they were out of my price range. I wanted to stay with my 320 monthly payment of $367. I figured I would have to settle, again.

I wanted the cake and I wanted to eat it.

So after Greg and a guy @ Irvine BMW I was talking to struck out and weren't able to acquire a few M sports I found at other dealers, I decided to go straight to the source and hit up Crevier BMW. From the get go, they (particularly Craig Holland) were the absolute best, most streamlined staff to deal with. Night and day. Within a few days and with the help of a few forum members (mwm1166 thanks!) I hit them with a counter offer to their initial offer that they accepted and I went down to Santa Ana to get the car - a Black Sapphire 2016 328i with M Sport package, driver assist, Navigation & heated seats. Sticker price $48,575. After some negotiating on-site and me refusing to do the deal unless they took my car and ate my last 3 payments, we agreed, and I signed on the dotted with the usual $1500 driveoff, zero 'down' and a monthly payment of...No $hit...$367 a month, out the door, tax included. Safe to say I am driving one of the cheapest $49000 328's on the market. I am still in shock as to this deal. They ate 3 payments, drive off was the same as the 320 and my payment is the same, for an M Sport 328 with a $13k higher MSRP? Moral of the story is they really want to move those 2016's right now.

So on with the review:

I won't go too deep with the review since the vast majority of you have the 328 and know its strengths and weaknesses, but here it goes in no particular order. I will be making a lot of 320 comparisons, mainly to my 320 which had moonroof, sport package and thats it. This thread isn't intended to bash the 320 but, since I did have it for 3 years, I will say whatever the hell I want about that car, prefacing it with my thoughts that it is still a great car even though at the end of the day, in my short time with this car, I do think the 320 is 'BMW-light', generally speaking.

Power

Compared to stock 320i, the stock 328i blows it away. Simple as that. Compared to stage 1, it still blows it away. I haven't done JB4 or whatever on the 320, so I don't know, but yeah, I've seen the dynos. With the 320i, I was always having to get on it, wind it out. The 328i is just effortless and strangely, because of that, I find myself driving it more conservatively than the 320. Something about knowing that when I throw it in sport and step on the gas, that it will unleash, is enough for me. I have thus far had my share of onramp blasts and aggressive passing and have had some time to drive it hard and this car is fast. Car and Driver clocked low 5's right, 5.3, something like that? Seems about right. Couple this with the 'active sound', which I think sounds beautiful, and the car feels like a beast compared to what I am used to. Right now I feel like I am 100% fine with it stock but I have that stage 1 piggyback in my back pocket I could try if I get used to it.

Ride/handling/etc.

Car has the same M sport 704 suspension that I loved so much from the 320. The ride is very similar but I will say this - I know that on paper, the difference isn't much, but in real life, the 328i feels heavier. No doubt about it. Same summer tires, same suspension, but this car feels bigger and heavier. I would say that is the one advantage the 320i had - it felt lighter and easier to throw around.. But not by much. This car is still very fun to drive and for whatever reason, the car feels more solid and substantial than the 320 did, so overall, it feels more solid.

Steering


I don't really have a problem with the steering. I thought the E90 steering was too heavy. Always thought that. I don't mind the steering on the F30. I think its one of the most overstated gripes about the car. But I also don't think you need to hand crank your engine to start it or have roll up windows to be an 'enthusiast', so who knows.

Interior and exterior design/tech and features

Alright this is really where it gets good and where the car feels a lot nicer than my last car. The little details and attention to detail is immediately felt with this being not only the M sport but also the LCI. There are little metal and chrome touches everywhere, on all the switch gear and framing the buttons, we have the little 'M' elements, which I don't mind, like on the wheels, the door sills, etc., we have the M steel dead pedal cover, we have the excellent and robust paddle shifters on an already great M sport steering wheel,we have the sport AT now standard which means the significantly nicer shifter compared to what I had, we have the anthracite wood trim which is beautiful compared to the ****ty silver matte trim I had and much nicer than the burl, in my opinion. We have standard power seats with aluminum trimmed buttons and switches and lets stop right there. The power seats. Compared to the manual seats, there is so much more room for finite position adjustment. The M sport body package... I think some of it is borderline rice, but its subtle rice, so I don't really care but the front grill looks so ****ing good. Couple that with the full LED headlights and the whole front end is just MEAN.

Moving on to tech. Where do I start? The 320 was so base its just night and day. Comfort access is nice, the foot sweep to open the trunk is nice, the different options for backlighting the instrument panel is a nice touch, having satellite radio (even though it sounds like ****) is nice and the extended display is nice. Which leads me to Nav.

I humbly take back and eat my words re: Navigation, not needing it and it not being necessary or Waze being better or whatever. Having the much nicer, larger, higher res Nav screen with all the options for split screen displays, displaying album artwork, the maps, and having the directions and routing displayed under the speedo and tach is just really nice. Honestly, the nav screen and extended display makes the interior. The screen is beautiful, the maps are nice to look at even if you aren't using them (especially at night) and the options to zoom in and out and interact with the maps goes much deeper than I really care to go. Less than a week in and I would never get another BMW without it.

Interestingly, I have taken the same routes I used to take in the old car when all I had was Waze, and the BMW routes are similar. It uses real time traffic info to route and reroute you and overall, its fine. Love the nav, love the extended display.

Other, Misc.

The car is still brand new so MPG will improve a little but I have noted a 2-3 MPG decrease vs. the 320i on the exact same routes. Floor the 328 a few times and its amazing the dent that puts in the fuel consumption reading on the trip computer vs. when I used to floor the 320. Moor boost, more power, heavier car, more gas. Still, Im getting 25 overall so far which is fine.

2 things the car doesn't have that would be nice are HK audio and leather. In my case though beggars cant be choosers and this is how the car was optioned. I may be imaging this, but the sensatec seems a little nicer in this car/the LCI. Yeah, probably imagining that. Also, today for example, I took my daughter to the park and it had just rained so she stepped all over my backseat with muddy shoes and left her scuff marks everywhere and all I had to do is wipe them down with a wet rag and they were like new. I think with 2 young kids, sensatec is probably the way to go. I sat in some cars with leather on the showroom at Crevier and honestly, blind taste test and most people wouldnt be able to feel the difference. You really only notice the difference with the higher end leathers in the 5 and 7 series, otherwise the Dakota is pretty crappy. These seats are heated now, which I love and missed from the GTI. (Another option available in most $25k cars that my 320 didn't have.)

As for Audio, I mean I have said it before, but I think the base system is really pretty good. I listen to a lot of lossless FLAC and WAV files and the sound quality is night and day vs. satellite or Pandora. So HK would have been nice, but audio is fine, esp considering I listen to podcasts and audiobooks quite a bit.

So that is it for now. I have gone on long enough. Though based on the same F30 platform as my 320 was, this car is nicer in every possible way. It feels more like a 'luxury' car because almost every surface you touch is well crafted, well made, nice to the touch with attention to detail and design. This is the overall vibe with all the little bonuses of Nav and extended display/options as well.

A car that feels quite a bit more luxury, considerably more powerful with plenty of sporting characteristics to keep me amused from day to day.

Gripes

There are few but here they are:

This came with the conti sport pro contact summer run flats and they suck balls compared to the Pirellis. The Cinturatos are much better tires. These are noisier tires and they ride rougher. This is an easy fix.

The other thing is something I experienced with the GTI - chassis flex and subsequent groaning or squeaking from where the rubber door seals flexing against the metal door frames. I did not have this problem with the 320. This is however a common grip with the F30 328 and I have read countless threads about the problem. I am no stranger to this so for the time being I rubbed some Gummi PFledge (sp?) on the seals which helped and stuck a few small black felt furniture pads (the kind that go on the bottom of chair legs) along the metal door frames and it has silenced it.

When I get a moment I will take it to the dealer to apply the BMW Teflon tape which is supposed to be a 'permanent' fix.

Thats it for now. Haven't had time to take any pictures besides this. Thanks for reading. Love this car.







 
See less See more
4
#343 · (Edited)
The 704 suspension and tires has a lot to do with it I suspect. That suspension + bad roads + a ton of plastic = not a silent car.

My wife's Pontiac Vibe was a GM car and after about year 5 it had too many rattles to count. But yes, for contrast, this complete piece of **** Hyundai elantra rental I had when I did that week long work stint in Tennessee had zero rattles. That is pretty much what totally bums me out about it. A $50000 car should be dead ****ing silent. And in a way, it is, which makes it all the more maddening because if there is one squeak or rattle, you hear it distinctly.

Well, trying to be glass half full about it, so compared to when I got the car a month ago, I have had fixed or have fixed about 75% of the noises inside the car - main culprit being the creaking flexing rubber seals which is all but muted now and the creaking seat which was maddening. That was worst of all and I fixed it myself and it hasn't returned since. So if they can just fix the buzzing passenger side door, the car should be reasonably silent.

I have yet to own a German car that doesn't creak and rattle so I partly just don't believe the people who say their cars are 100% silent but hey, stranger things have happened. Much of this comes down to personal tolerances and OCD though because I have pointed things out that bother me to my wife, while riding in the car and she is like "I don't hear anything".

These E90 guys saying they 'never had rattles' blow my mind though because I spent quite a bit of time in my friend's 2010 328i with the sport package and jesus christ, that thing was so loud inside. The whole thing rattled and road rough. I couldn't believe how much more refined my 320i felt when I got back in it compared to the e90 328. Not just more refined but I found that generation sport suspension to be punishing. Reminded me of my GTI. Just road rough pretty much all the time on all but pristine roads. I agree though that overall, the build of the e90 seemed more 'solid'.
 
#344 ·
Of course some E90s rattled and some F30 don't, and vise versa. However, if you go through every nook and cranny between E9X and F30, the difference is obvious.
A lot of people expected this back when E9X forum was dominant. Between fuel efficiency mandates, turbo and weight savings, we knew it was coming. Overall F3X is a very solid RWD vehicle, but no longer exceptional. That E9X was something else during its time. It truly reigned supreme. I feel strongly that E9X M3 is already a classic. I have high hopes for G20 because BMW needs to bring back some enthusiasm from the media. Let's hope for the best.
 
#347 ·
My 2016 328i has a rattle on the passenger side. I can't figure it out because I'm driving the car. What's the likely candidate?
 
#348 ·
First, make sure the plastic pockets of the doors are empty, those have no lining at the bottom so any loose object will generate annoying rattles.

Second, make sure the passenger seat belt buckle does not bang against B pillar hard plastic.

The next thing to check is the passenger door lock pin/latch, mine was replaced, plus the tech put felt tape around it to get rid of rattles.
 
#354 · (Edited)
Found it!

https://youtu.be/HlgWNuprIMk
Dudes check out this vid I made. Anyone who has experienced the creaking sound that may or may not have been coming from the door seals flexing with the chassis against the frame should watch this. So even after getting the teflon tape installed at the dealer, while most of the creaking went away, i was still getting it even over the slightest road imperfections.

This morning, determine to get to the bottom of it, I tried a few things. Or neighborhood is hilly with really crappy uneven roads so its perfect terrain to test it. First I drove with all windows up and confirmed it was there. Then I drove with the windows cracked. The popular theory to prove or disprove the window seals being at fault is to crack the windows like 1/2" and see if it goes away. It didnt. So then it occurred to me "the sunroof you idiot."

The sound is the rubber seal around the sunroof flexing against the roof metal trim when its fully shut. It is really loud and annoying. I did the samw drive with windows all up and sunroof cracked just a hair and viola! Silence. Serenity now!

So I put a little gummi pfledg rubber conditioner on the front seal but you cant reach its entirety because the roof resedes into the body. So really they would have to remove the sunroof and lube or treat the seals.

Just knowing what the problem is is HUGE. Because the whole time the wondering is what drives me mad. So thats it. Diagnosed 100%. Sunroof cracked a half inch on rough roads or slow driving and it is dead silent in this car. Driving it like that over these bad roads and i noticed that as far as rattles the car has none besides this pesky door buzz which is an easy fix.

So when I bring it in for the door buzz i will show the tech and show him the video. Its really loud so it is obvious. Im sure theyll know what to do. One step closer to serenity.

Oddly, the 320 had the same sunroof but didnt have that problem.
 
#355 ·
Got a ton of coding done today, amazing, like a different car. So many features, pretty much every possible option including having the Nav voice instructions changed to a sexy British woman's voice.
 
#356 ·
Got time to itemize what you had done? I presume coding options tie into what option packages you have on your car? For example, does every three series have foldable side mirrors?
 
#361 · (Edited)
Its funny you should mention that. The guy who coded my car I found on the F30 forums and he is like the Southern CA grandad of coding in the Bimmer community. Codes tons of cars but is getting out of it now. Goes by Frogman on the F30 forum and the dude is a wizard. He made a funny comment and I apologize in advance if I offend any Asian bros because that isn't my intention but he mentioned that option to me when we were going down the list. I asked him what he thought and he said, "well for me, I want as many ways for other cars on the road to see me as possible and not crash into me because people can't drive, so I left mine factory but a lot Asian guys ask me to do this." I thought that was funny. Whatever the correlation is, call it 'rice' or whatever but I agreed with him that the mod was a little ricey and aired on the side of safety since I dont really think that looks bad and have honestly never thought about it until yesterday. He said the Asian guys always want everything blacked out too and I got a laugh out of that as well. Maybe I should just be done with it and attach a big wing to the back of the car?

I kid...

Just had my car coded too and it is like a totally different car. I also had sport+ turned on and that really changed the performance of the transmission in my 2012 328i.:):)
Cool, yeah he coded sport+ on my 320i since it didn't come with it and that was cool. The LCI 2016 and beyond 328i comes with the sport transmission and paddle shifters as standard now so I didn't need to have it done. The coding is amazing. so many little things and they make a difference. What is cool too is there is the option to export your profile onto a USB stick and save all the coding so if the dealer wipes it out at any point, you can just import it from the drive via the USB port.

The key to coding is the options. If your car is stripped and doesn't have much, there isn't much you can do but if you have some option packages, there are a lot of little things

In other news, a little silicone sure did the trick with the creaking and groaning coming from the sunroof seals flexing against the frame is completely gone now even over the roughest of roads. Car is completely silent and rock solid now beside the little door buzz I am going to get taken care of next week.

This other guy had just gotten coding done before me yesterday who had a 2013 335i. Black, M sport with a 6 speed. Pretty sick car. We were comparing cars and talking shop and he was saying he had the exact same thing with all his seals and he used Gummi PFledg and rubbed it all over the seals and it went away. He was like "you'd think I wouldnt have to do that on a $60000 car but hey..." My sentiments exactly but the moral of the story is if you employ a little DIY to these things, they are easy fixes.
 
#370 ·
Just started using the connected drive app on my iphone 6 with the bmw nav system. Seamless, really impressed. Combines ease of use of phone based nav apps vs the akward and sort of clunky means of entry with the iDrive, but then you get the nice BMW nav display vs some cheesy phone nav set up like some kind of Uber driver.

I did it the other day on 2 various destinations, found them in connected drive app on phone, sent to my car and then when I turned on the car, i had a message in my office inbox with the destination, you click start guidance, the british lady starts talking and youre good to go.
 
#371 ·
The connected drive app-nav is pretty sweet. They make it too easy to use. I saved my home address as a dash preset, so no matter where I am I just hit the "8" button on my center console and the connected drive jumps to Nav with my home address as the dest. Coupled with live traffic, it always gives me a good estimate on the best way to get home and my eta.
 
#373 · (Edited)
Is it possible this car is perfect? No car is perfect, but for the money, it might be close. Only real gripe is the stock tires. I think they are to blame for the road noise and harshness of the ride at times. Because this is the same suspension my 320 had but the Pirellis weren't nearly this bad. Still RFT's, but way better tires. I am internally changing my tune re: runflats as well. At least these in particular really suck. Loud, harsh tires. I plan to run them for about a year and then get a solid set of ultra high perf summer go-flats and call it a day. I have an air compressor in the trunk and I can get the little flat patch **** and if I go on a long trip can just throw a spare run flat in the trunk or something if I'm worried about it. When I got my car coded, one of the guys there who had a 2013 335i had some hankook ventus or something or other, as did the guy who was coding my car and they looked at me like I was insane for rolling with the runflats. They claimed quieter more comfortable rides and better grip and this guy got a set for $600 after a rebate. Compare that to the astronomical summer RFT cost and I just can't. Right now, I seriously think I am going to do like 10 years/150k miles in this car.

That and I see a minor upgrade to the stereo in my near future. Probably just add a standalone plug and play amp and keep the stock speakers intact. Crutchfield etc. has some decent units for like $500 range. My main issue is that I listen to a lot of podcasts and the audio quality on those as well as Pandora etc. is pretty poor and so I have have the volume at like 3/4's at which point it can break up with a little digital distortion which sounds like garbage. I have spoken about how the type of files you are streaming in your car make a big difference, and they do, but since I can't listen to a lot of things in anything better than low level MP3's, an upgrade will be in order.

Oddly too, the buzz from the passenger side door went away. That was the last remaining thing at which point the car is now silent. Windows up, sunroof closed, stereo off and there are no squeaks, creaks or rattles. 90% of all of that was coming from door seals, sunroof rubber seals and the driver seat vinyl rubbing against plastic at tight contact points and springs. My theory is that this car is probably an earlier 2016 build and it was on that dealer lot for close to a year before I came along. Not sure how, but I think this relates to it literally needing some application of elbow grease to quiet it down. After applying silicone spray on a microfiber rag to all of the seals and the areas where the driver seat material meets plastic, as well as the springs and other metal components of the seats, the car became like a bank vault inside. I suspect it should be quiet for some time now. Anyone experiencing the creaking from the weather seals on the doors under chassis flex should push your dealer to apply the BMW teflon tape. There is a TCB on it and its a well known issue so you shouldn't get any resistance unless your dealer is just totally incompetent.

Hope everyone had a good holiday. We had plans to go down to be w/close friends in orange county until our daughter came down with a cold and was running a fever. So we stayed local and instead went to dinner at a local chinese restaurant and had a feast. Was honestly one of the best 'thanksgiving' meals I have ever had. Then again, I abhor thanksgiving food and think it is generally pretty gross so I'll take chinese any day over that old timey, old man cement in your stomach Grapes of Wrath gravy food. I mean, sweet, you literally have a leftover carcass in your fridge. A carcass.
 
#374 · (Edited)
Is it possible this car is perfect? No car is perfect, but for the money, it might be close. Only real gripe is the stock tires.

That and I see a minor upgrade to the stereo in my near future..
Tires get yourself a set of non RFT tires for the car and hold on to your stock tires, this way when you are ready to return the car you have a new set of tires, I've read many festers doing this and I plan on doing this for my bmw.

Stereo upgrade, there is a lot you can do one is

https://www.bimmer-tech.net/audio-amplifier-for-bmw/
it's a bit more then $500 it's a direct plug and play? (do you have the HK system?)
or

Technic PnP harness
JL AUDIO XD600/6V2 6-CHANNEL

https://technicpnp.com/

Technic is a fester who has a plug and play harness for the above amp, its a true plug and play system, this will run you about $150 less then the Bimmer Tech's amp. I've heard a stock system with the Technic system, much better then stock, but the speakers will really hold you back, there are companies that sell direct drop in speaks for the F30 but then again you are talking about $600. You could pick up that JL AUdio amp on ebay (used) for about 300. This isn't one of the top end amps, but works well for what you are looking for.

I plan on doing the Bimmer Tech amp and speakers as I want a cost effective upgrade without tearing up the interior.
 
#375 ·
I would suggest michellin pilot super sports
 
#380 · (Edited)
Lot of driving in heavy rain the past few days. I swear I feel like this is the best car in the world. Just does everything so well. Handles everything beautifully. Any task you throw at it it does well. Long highway trips it is comfortable, quiet, stable. Take it on a back road and drive it at the limit, check - harder you drive it, the more it complies. Commuting, inching along in traffic, check, does that well too. Driving dynamics, ergonomics and tech are all integrated beautifully. I swear this ones a keeper

I have clearly drank some of the brand kool aid but if anyone hasn't seen this yet, I highly recommend. I watched it a few years ago when it came out and recently started rewatching. Amazing the lengths this company goes to bring us a car that tries to live up to it's marketing slogan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqeky1u8z7Y
 
#381 ·
I used to drive my E46 325ci just to drive it. I'd park it afterwards and look at it in amazement, thinking "what a machine". Just so connected. This 340i may not be the same experience but it is quite the step up in capability.
 
#382 ·
Was just in San Diego and rented a 328i from National Car, it was 2016, it had 20K miles on it, the only options were Nav, heated seats and Premium package, no leather. I was impressed with it, the only thing I would have changed was Suspension, but that is easy with set of springs. It rained for 90% of my time and the car handled it very well. Now having a car with the Tech package and driving this particular car with just Nav, I can see the benefits of the added cost of the Tech Package, having the direction right in front of on the windshield (not taking your eyes off the road) instead of in the dash or nav screen is a + thing.

Just a FYI, the 328i was $39/day
 
#383 ·
How did you swing that rate? thats a great rate

What else does tech have besides HUD? When I test drove a car with HUD, it was during the day and that feature was invisible to me as I wear polarized prescription sunglasses, so it would only be useful at night. And can see how that is a cool feature for sure though
 
#393 · (Edited)
Canyon drive this morning

Finally got a chance to take the car out Angeles Crest Highway and stretch out its legs. Its only 15 min from my house but its just been so busy. LA area has so many amazing drives: angeles crest, mulholland, all out malibu way/PCH, etc

Great car, just great. Did a quick 0-60 too that will go up soon











 
#397 ·
Finally got a chance to take the car out Angeles Crest Highway and stretch out its legs. Its only 15 min from my house but its just been so busy. LA area has so many amazing drives: angeles crest, mulholland, all out malibu way/PCH, etc
I miss my Sunday morning rides along Angles crest and playing by The Rock Store this was all done on two wheels too. Great Photos so when is the stage 1 being put on?
 
#394 ·
Nice pictures!!
 
#396 ·
Call me crazy but for some reason I thought the pictures etc would have elicited more than one response. The first shot with the daytime moon is a good one.
 
#399 · (Edited)
Nice -- looks like the perfect day too.

Did the 0-60 make it to 60? Reshoot! It will sound and perform better with the stage 1. Look forward to reading your response after you see the light!

Tint looks good. I'd limo tint the reflectors. Some new springs to lower it a bit, and a front splitter would also improve the look a lot. And how bout a black plate?
 
#401 · (Edited)
Nice -- looks like the perfect day too.

Did the 0-60 make it to 60? Reshoot! It will sound and perform better with the stage 1. Look forward to reading your response after you see the light!

Tint looks good. I'd limo tint the reflectors. Some new springs to lower it a bit, and a front splitter would also improve the look a lot. And how bout a black plate?
Yeah it makes it to 60 just before the vid cuts off. The stage 1 thing is obvious. Just havent gotten around to it. It will be done, but I currently have my reasons for waiting.

I dont want to limo tint the reflectors or lower the car. I love it the way it is. Any lower and it would cut some functionality and ground clearance. Currently I think the ride is perfect and drivability is on point. Back plate? I am going to get a CA legacy plate when I get around to it.

Did you buy the car or lease? Has to be a lease right? $367 a month is way too low for purchase of $48k
I leased. They ate my last 4 payments and I got a $250 low mileage credit on top of that. Zero down, $1000 driveoff. If you figure in the last 4 payments on the 320 expunged and the credit, it more than cancels out the drive off to a true zero down. Selling price on the car was like $42k plus more incenives applied, 63% residual. Its early in the game but my thought is if the car proves reliable I will buy it @ lease end and not think twice. Residual is like $32k. $30k is a realistic selling price since I was offered a few grand below RV to buy the 320, so if I could buy the car for $30k, in the end it works out to a $42.5k selling price - its just taking a longer road to own it; making the lease-own a good strategy on this particular car
 
#403 ·
Sure the cash deal may be cheaper initially but with the lease and then purchase, you have 3 years to decide if you want to keep the car. Car turns into a nightmare at any point in year 1 to 3 with a lease, hand it back at lease end...DONE! Whereas if you buy it outright, and it turns onto a nightmare, youll quickly take a bath on trade, especislly if car is financed and youre underwater.
 
#411 · (Edited)
The cost for lease flexibility is 3% that BMWFS charges. There is 1% finance rate(e.g. PenFed), so the lease flexibility is extra 2% above finance. Compared to cash purchase, the lease costs extra 3%.

Lease term of 65% RV, 85% cap cost, 3% rate, plus 36-month costs around 9-10% of MSRP extra over cash deal(of $40k to 50k MSRP), and that 9-10% is the cost of the lease flexibility.
 
#416 · (Edited)
At first they acted like they didnt want to take the 320 and they were looking at it forever and were talking like i was on the hook for the $1460 in back payments but in the end they ate all 4. No idea why they dont pull ahead more than 6 mos
The explanation given is that lease is the same as balloon finance, hence it also has amortization schedule, just like a mortgage with balloon payment.

BMWFS usually sets its 30-month RV to be 3%(and at times 5% on new models) higher than 36-month lease. By the time the 30th payment is made on the 36-month lease, the amount of depreciation paid is already close to the 30-month RV set by BMWFS. :) Any pull-ahead more than 6 months will not have enough depreciation paid and BMWFS will lose money.

The hesitation of pulling ahead may have to do needing BMWFS's nod on the numbers to make sure BMWFS is ahead/even with the pull-ahead.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top