I spoke to the sales manager at a Mini dealership here in Southern California about leasing a Cool Blue MC Cabrio (non-S model) with all 4 option packages (Premium, Convenience, Cold Weather, Sport), xenons, navi, rear fog light, cloth/leather interior with a price of $29,300.00. He quoted me the following lease:

36 mos. lease
$3000.00 total drive off
$469.00/mo. including tax

Does this sound like a reasonable deal? For anyone who leased from a dealer here in So. Cal., please let me know what your thoughts are. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

JGS

 

I was under the impression that there were no "deals", per se, in SoCal.

Amazing what the MC pricetag can become if one chooses to option up!

 

The price seems a bit high. Have you optioned it out on Mini USA web site?

Edit: I just specked the car as you described and it came to $28,970 which I assume is close enough. Using their payment calculator I got:

36 months lease @ 15,000/year
$3000 down
$400 / month + tax = $433

So the dealer might be taking you for a bit of a ride. But not much. Which dealer?

When I originally bought mine from Long Beach Mini, the price was exactly as the website quoted (they sell MSRP) and the lease payments were with in a buck, or two. Of course I have refinanced the car since then to make it a purchase through my bank.

 

Theoretically a MINI should be a good car to lease. In theory all you pay for in a lease is the depreciation, interest, and dealer profit. Since the MINI holds its value so well, the depreciation cost should be minimal, so lease payments should be low. That said, "good deal" and lease can rarely be used in the same sentence. The lease process forces you to look at payments and deflects your attention from the price of the car. You often end up paying substantially above MSRP. Sounds like this dealer needs to "sharpen his pencil"!

 

leases are a scam, just buy the damn thing!