Found a New Fully Loaded 2006 M3 Convertible for $52k (MSRP: $66k).

In addition to the purchase, I asked the dealer for lease options, and he gave me:
36mo, 15k miles/year
$789.77 plus tax/mo
$2999 total drive off
Money Factor being .00340

I'm inclined towards a lease for this purchase since:
1) will probably want a new car in 3-4 years
2) not looking forward to the m3 maintenance upkeep after 4 years
3) wary of how resale value will hold after 4 years due to new m3 and e90s in general.

What are your thoughts on this offer? Thanks in advance.

 

damn it must be nice to have $800 to blow on a car every month

 

335i hardtop?

 

Go new and get a 336 coupe. It doesnt have that raw performance feel of the M, although it holds its own, but you wont exploit the car that much on public roads to care. For that kind of money i'd get the 335 any day.

 

Why not wait until the new M3 actually comes out?

 

I actually prefer the E46 body style, and the price is about $20k or so cheaper for this

 

That's less than what I was paying on a lease for my 04 coupe which had a lower MSRP (obviously).

So, the guy is discounting the shit out of it to move the car. The rate is nothing to write home about, but the residual must still be descent.

If its only $3k total oop, that deal actually isn't that bad.....assuming its a new 06.

If that's the 1st # he spit out, I'm sure you can work him down a little more.

 

I was hoping you'd chime in

Thanks for the input.

 

The money factor's not going to get any better since the E46 is no longer a car being supported with marketing dollars (ie. rate incentives). Are you putting any money down? Does the $3K drive includes taxes, registration, 1st month's payment, and possible a security deposit (depending on credit)? I would never recommend putting anything down on a lease. Anyhow, the only way you can lower the payment (not by much either) would be to lower the cap cost (negotiated price).

Like others have mentioned, residuals on most BMWs are pretty good, but you'd probably get a better deal on 335i. New style, technology, and ample power (more than enough w/ Procede chip) But hey, if you really like the E46 body, more power to you. I think it still looks great and will remain a classy design. I definitely wouldn't keep it for more than 4 years or when the warranty/free maintenance runs dry. Good luck, the E46 M3 is still a sweet car.

 

A 335 coupe under the same terms......total $3k out of pocket. Most BMW oop costs, included security, bank fee, tax (depends what State allows), cap reduction if one chooses.

Ok, let's just say $3k. A nice 335 coupe you're looking at $620-$630/month (give or take) under the same terms.

A 335 vert is very pricey, same terms about $900/month.

 

I recently bought a 2005 E46 M3 Convertible w/ 15K miles and paid about $53K out the door. So the price you're getting is pretty good.

 

Is this car over at Long Beach BMW by any chance?

 

I say if you can get the price down a little it sounds like a good deal. If you like it more then the 335i I say go for it. It has more HP and it wont be a first year car. I do agree that you should lease because the resale on them will tank once the new M3 comes out.

 

If you love, love, LOVE the car then yeah, sounds like you could probably steal that thing.

If it's one of those "eh, it's a good price so why not?" type deals, I'd keep looking. $52k is still a ton of money and a huge monthly payment on a car you're not head over heels for.

 

Yea- I've been a huge fan of the E46 M3s for a long time. Althought I think the interior of the new 3s are pretty sweet, the overall styling just doesn't do anything for me. So this might be my last chance to pick this up...

Thanks again for all the helpful opinions.

 

Not to mention all new bmws have ultimate service which means, 4 years or 50,000 miles of free maintainace.

 

Yeah, and thats some good maintenance that they give you too.

 

So $789.77 x 36months + $3000down = $31,359.xx
56k OTD (rough estimate) - $31,359 = $24,641
Looking up a private party value on a KBB for a 2004 M3 with 45k comes up with $40,000. Looks to me like you are better off buying then leasing since that M3 should be able to be sold for about 35k?. I do understand that you would have to pay interest if you buy the car but still you should be able to save quite a bit of money. I would try to get that lease down to mid 600's?
Sorry if I am wrong about my analogy and correct me.

 

There is a way to get lower payments on a BMW lease if you have a good chunk of spare change lying around...

BMW allows multiple security deposits to lower your money factor. (not sure if they allow it on an M car, but I wouldn't see why not?)

By doing so I was able to lower my monthy payment by about $40 a month.
Judging by your payment amount...I'm thinking your payment might be able to get down into the sub $750 range.

How it works would be like this:
Instead of putting your normal 1 security deposit at $750 or $800, you would put an additional 7 security deposits on top of that.... so if your SD was $750, you'd leave a total of $6000 with the dealer at lease inception ($750 x 8: 1 required + 7 additional).

for every additional Security deposit you leave, your money factor goes down by .00007. if you put the maximum allowed of 7 additional, your money factor lowers by .00049.

It's confusing I know, but keep in mind, as long as your cars in decent condition at the end of the lease, you should get all of this money back. Invest $6k, save about $1400-$1500 over the life of your lease.

 

Seems like it comes down to if I'm planning on keeping the car longer than 3 years (based off my rough calculations). Anything longer, it seems to make more financial sense (not including any major malfunctions) to purchase.

Lease:
$3000 (out of pocket down)
+$ 790x36 = 28440
+$2400 (tax)
= $33840 (3 years)

Purchase:
$52000
+$4290 tax
+$1500 (lic, fees)
+$3640 (interest or 7%)
=$61430
-$30000 (resale, forecasting drop in resale due to new m3 coming out)
=$31430 (overall cost, not including maintenance)

I'm going in tomorrow to take a look,

 

800$ per month and 3k down is still a lot of money.I agree with the others a 335ihardtop is a wiser choice on a long term if you absolutely want it then go for it.It's a tremendous car looks very good after all these years!Make sure the warranty covers any problems!