[squeaky]

With 29,000 miles, of 25,000 allowed, on my 2014 BEV lease and with 4 months left, I wanted to find out if it would make sense to buy my car out early or not. I called Derek Dicker at Shelly BMW, who I spoke with a couple of years ago when I was first looking at i3s, to see if he could give me my options even though I hadn't leased the car from him originally. In the end, it made sense to buy out the car early and Derek was very good at explaining the pros and cons of doing so. If you're interested in keeping your i3, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Derek to help you wade through the process with BMWFS. I was happy with the terms of the deal, as well as the hassle-free nature of dealing with Derek. And, even though I'd like the bigger battery, I still enjoy my i3 every day.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by squeaky

With 29,000 miles, of 25,000 allowed, on my 2014 BEV lease and with 4 months left, I wanted to find out if it would make sense to buy my car out early or not..

So, what were the buyout terms?
How much below the stated lease residual value did you pay?

a

[squeaky]

Deal was pretty much near where they're selling, just above $20,000, not the residual which was at $28,000+ miles. I was worried after seeing posts about dealers not moving from the residual, so was glad I didn't have to deal with any BS from Derek. And, knowing how hard it was to find an arravani gray car with HK and DCFC in the first place, turning the car in and trying to find another comparable used i3 wasn't going to be easy. Once I was within 120 days of the end of the lease term, Derek was able to get the dealer's buyout cost from BMWFS and let me know what he'd charge me to buy the car. I do think my price was a little lower, though, because I had relatively high miles.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by squeaky

Deal was pretty much near where they're selling, just above $20,000, not the residual which was at $28,000+ miles. I was worried after seeing posts about dealers not moving on the residual,

Dealer's don't move on the residuals, BMW FS does.
On all i3's. Like clockwork.

Glad it worked out to your liking.


a

P.S.: Personally, I would not recommend buying a used i3. With battery range increasing by ~50% every other year, the old one are depreciating like rocks. It's far cheaper and less risky to let BMW FS take the depreciation hit via leasing.

[squeaky]

In 2 more years, maybe they'll be selling them for free? ;-). I'm glad I didn't ask for your recommendation, then.

[soslower82]

I can't fathom buying a used i3 with the crappy range and add the fact that it would be out of warranty with worse range