[Doenermann]

My I3 journey is coming to an end after 21 months and many ups and down, tow ins, long dealer visits, but also plenty of summer driving fun! The family is growing and it's time for a new car with a wider second row. Unfortunately I was unable to eye to eye with my dealer on leasing a x5 40e, shame with the current lease cash... so ultimately opted for a Scandinavian competitor who is also covering my remaining two lease payments. Does anyone have experience turning in an i3 early under 90% mileage allowance but with a tire around 4/32" and without getting another BMW?

My car is in great condition overall, a very shallow door "dent" (they don't quite dent like metal and make more shallow but larger indentations), but I did just notice that my RR tire is down to exactly 4/32". I actually just made my third to last payment thinking I could have a 'free' vehicle for a little longer, but I do not want to purchase a tire or two just for that. Are they very strict with tire wear? I'm turning in the car with 17-17.5k miles on a 20k lease depending on how much more I'll be driving, would that work in my favor if the tire happened to be at 3.5/32" after one last electric mini road trip?

Any thoughts or feedback appreciated!

-D

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Doenermann

My I3 journey is coming to an end after 21 months and many ups and down, tow ins, long dealer visits, but also plenty of summer driving fun! The family is growing and it's time for a new car with a wider second row. Unfortunately I was unable to eye to eye with my dealer on leasing a x5 40e, shame with the current lease cash... so ultimately opted for a Scandinavian competitor who is also covering my remaining two lease payments. Does anyone have experience turning in an i3 early under 90% mileage allowance but with a tire around 4/32" and without getting another BMW?

I haven't lease returned the i3 yet (8 more months to go), but did that with a 335i a few years back. At that time I was also not buying another car from the same dealer, so in that sense, the experience is somewhat relevant.

Three (3) things to keep in mind:
(1). The dealer has an option to accept the car into its inventory, or use up some of its mulligans to dump it straight onto BMW FS balance sheet. With i3 sales being anemic and depreciation being draconian, they will most likely be passing it straight through to BMW FS.
(2). There is more than one way to lease return early. Look at your lease agreement's fine print for details. The easiest path for you (most likely, but do 2x check) will be to pay the total of your remaining payments plus excess wear and tear.
(3). Wear and tear will be upto BMW FS standards. In this case, expect extreme scrutiny for your tires. If any portion of the tire tread is below 4/32, you will be charged whatever the cost of the new replacement tires at dealer rates (or not, read more here: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=941881)

Originally Posted by Doenermann

My car is in great condition overall, a very shallow door "dent" (they don't quite dent like metal and make more shallow but larger indentations), but I did just notice that my RR tire is down to exactly 4/32". I actually just made my third to last payment thinking I could have a 'free' vehicle for a little longer, but I do not want to purchase a tire or two just for that. Are they very strict with tire wear?

Yes, it's one of the few areas with little wiggle room.
i3 tires wear unevenly across the cross section of the tread (usually more on the outside for the fronts, inside for the rears). They will measure the most worn-out part of the tread and call it.

Originally Posted by Doenermann

I'm turning in the car with 17-17.5k miles on a 20k lease depending on how much more I'll be driving, would that work in my favor if the tire happened to be at 3.5/32" after one last electric mini road trip?

Not if it's at 3.5/32".
Not if the dealer is processing car for BMW FS return (vs. local inventory resale).
i3's 19" tires are $150 at Tirerack.com.

However, you can schedule a lease return pre-inspection to hear it directly from your dealer.
You may want to consider doing just that to minimize the uncertainty.

a

[TimeFor]

What kind of numbers were they talking on the x5 40e? How much discount below MSRP were they doing on those 40e? I remember fighting a dealer over the X5 diesel a few years back and they didn't want to budge because it was so called "rare" in CA. Did you hear something similar with the 40e?

[craigcayetano]

Unlike every other BMW the i3 and i8 need to have a third party inspection handled before turning in the lease. BMW FS still has not allowed the dealers to do self-inspections. I've posted about this before in the FB i3 group. So 45 days prior to maturity call BMW FS and tell them you need to setup an AutoVin inspection. That company will then call you 1-2 days later to schedule. Good luck!

[Doenermann]

Sorry for the late reply, but I do have some potentially valuable feedback to provide:

Just received my final statement - 2 payments including tax, and the $350 fee plus tax - exactly what I expected. One tire was at exactly 4/32" in the center of the deepest groove - passed. I also had one or two what-on-metal-cars-would-be door dings - passed as well. it makes a 'wider' but much more shallow indentation when these cars get hit by a door, but all the same at turn in apparently.

I just dropped it off at my dealer on a Sunday after I picked up the new car and transferred the plate. Signed the odometer statement via email Monday and got the okay to take off insurance. Very smooth process, would certainly consider another Bmw when our next car is due next year.