Looks like you've done your homework!!

It would be difficult to find a similar car with 11,000 miles for $15K. With this car you know how it has been driven and cared for whereas another used car, who knows? that alone adds some value, IMHO.

And you learned that the dealer can buy the car for $14,500, which isn't much less than the residual. So, assuming $14,500 is for real, then $15,300 is more than fair, and maybe another grand for some additional warranty, depending on the car and your circumstances. Grind hard if you want CPO/extra protection package, and good luck. Maybe start at $16,000 with the extra warranty and see where it goes?? (BTW, CPO is useful if you are buying a car you know nothing about -- but since you know your car's history, maybe there are other extended protection options that will serve you better. than a CPO plan.)

 

I've been reading this thread and maybe this is a dumb question, so I apologize in advance:

I know with Mercedes, if you lease a car, it has a set residual value. Let's say the residual value is $20k. At lease end, you either turn the car in and pay a $700 disposition fee OR write a check for $20k (agreed on RV) plus $200 purchase fee and thats it. The dealer doesn't get involved at all - the car doesn't belong to them - the contract is between you and MB Financial.

Does MINI/BMW not let you just buy the car at the end of the lease without buying it from a dealer? In VA, you pay tax for the entire price of the car even on a lease. So thats the other reason you just write the check at the end (assuming you want the car and it's priced fairly in your opinion). If you turn it in and then buy from the dealer you pay tax all over again. Why would anyone do that?

There's a piece I'm missing I think. What is it?

 

If you return the lease, there's a disposition fee ($350 for MINI), plus I heard dealers (not MINI dealers but some other brands) try to ding you with everything they can.

If you decide to keep and buy the car, you just pay the initial agreed residual plus tax if applicable. On my lease, I don't see any purchase fee, but that may be because I'm in OR.

I was told buying the car at the residual price at the end of the lease is still done through the dealer. Maybe buying-out a lease before the end of the lease might not involve the dealer at all, as I don't see anything required from the dealers part in my auto-loan check-list.

What I was hoping for is that if I return the car at the end of the lease, pay the disposition fee (and hopefully nothing more), the dealer can buy it from MINI Finances for less than the residual. Then they can resell that car to me for less than the residual that I would have paid MINI Finances. There could be MINI-USA to dealer kickbacks which could motivate the dealer to do this, but I had no luck with that.

 

HP79. The inside mechanics of the deal don't matter that much if you can agree on the numbers. MINI Financial will honor the letter of your lease contract, meaning you can buy the car for the residual without doing a lease inspection/return. You just give MINI the money and the car is yours. Or you can try to do better with the dealer's help, requiring the lease turn-in and the dealer reselling the car to you. The dealer will help with paperwork either way.

The dealer can tell you the most advantageous way to do the deal -- whether a lease return and then purchase from the dealer or a straight residual purchase.

Your position would be that you want the lowest possible acquisition cost and, if possible, better financing than what you have been able to secure on your own. And, of course, a deal on any additional protection if you feel there is some value to be had there.

It comes down to numbers. The dealer, of course, will want to make something -- that's what they're in business to do. Nothing wrong with that. You want them to make the minimum -- they want the maximum, but you know that going in.

Where you get a gold star is for learning that the dealer can purchase the car for $14,500. This will help you calculate the right deal and might save you a few hundred dollars. But, and this is the main point, it's about the car more than the deal. You have decided you'd like to keep your car. You decide what it is worth to do that, and if the cost goes beyond your comfort point, then you decide what to do instead.

So, figure out what you want in the deal and what you're willing to pay, and let the dealer figure out how to make it happen.

Keep us posted and good luck.

 

Update: I sent BMW Financial a payoff check. It was the easiest, lowest cost route. I like the car.

 

Update from me as well. I bought the car with one more month of payment to go before the lease ends. I went through lease buy-out, paid the residual plus a little less than the one month payment. (Again, it's more than the residual because it includes one month payment.) If I had waited and paid the last month lease, then I would have been paying exactly the residual.

Oh, I didn’t need to visit the dealer or call BMW finances at all.

I got my loan from OnPoint Credit Union, 5 years @ 2.39% and now I’m paying $271/month on the same day I used to pay my lease. Auto loan took maybe 15 minutes total to go over signing everything. I did have to change some information on the insurance and send them over to my credit union.

I couldn’t find anything better for $15k with very low miles. If I had returned the lease and were shopping for a brand new car, it would have been maybe a Subaru Forester or Hyundai hybrid or something. I hope this F56 lasts.

 

i've purchased three cars off lease over the years (Two Toyotas and one VW). NEVER paid over the residual price; that makes no sense. But yes, you do need to pay sales tax to purchase the car, just like any vehicle.

BMW Finance owns the car, not the dealership. Deal directly with BMW, or at least have them recommend an honest way to buy it. I have a feeling the dealer is offering you a higher buyout in hopes that you give it back and buy something new off the lot. Most dealers are hurting right now, and need to move inventory.

But only one Mini dealer in Oregon????? Wow, didn't know. Maybe some calls to northern California dealers are in order? Still, I don't see why you have to go through that dealer, but I'm used to having 4-5 in an hour's drive from me.

 

I think you misunderstood my post. I cleaned it up a little. Basically, I paid little more than the residual because I still had one more payment to go. It was a one month early lease buy-out (not a purchase after lease end), that's why it was residual + 1 month bill. I could have waited 1 more month, pay the last month lease, and then just pay the residual, but there was no reason to delay the lease buy-out.

 

Glad it all worked out for you.

 

The repairs are just too expensive on a MINI, unless you're doing the work yourself. Give them the keys and get another MINI.