What’s Going On – Mid-December 2009

Published by G

Hello all! I am back from my drive up to Utah and I have to say, it was COLD (for me anyway). I managed to leave a little early Friday afternoon to get ahead of the incoming storm, which was a good thing. It did get a little snowy up there, but overall, it wasn’t too bad. The G handled itself admirably in snowy and wet conditions so I can’t complain. I was a bit nervous about how a RWD would handle in the snow, but there wasn’t enough slush to cause any problems. I did had some issues with my tire pressure dropping on one of my tires, but other than that, everything was fine.

While I was gone, I noticed a lot of questions and comments posted on the site.  I haven’t had much time to read over all the comments and questions but I will try to address them as soon.

Now on to the important news. Word on the street is that BMW will be raising the base price of ALL 2010 models starting January 1st, 2010. Some increases are minor, like $50 on the 335d. Others are more significant, like $1,545 on the 7-series. However, most price bumps will hover around the $200-300 range, which I still feel is fairly significant. There will also be increases on the options such as auto transmission, DCT and Comfort seats found on the X5 and X6, which is in addition to the bump on the base price.

What this means to you…

Things will get more expensive next year due to the price increase (and this is for the same exact 2010 model they are selling now), so if you were planning to wait until January to pull the trigger, you may want to reconsider. With the holiday cash (that’s set to expire at the beginning of next month), you are better served trying to cut your deal in the next couple weeks instead. I would personally hate leasing the same exact car next month and lose out on the holiday cash AND get hit with a price increase.

If you are curious as to what the price increase for the model you are thinking of getting is, leave me a comment.

7 thoughts on “What’s Going On – Mid-December 2009”

  1. G,

    Long time reader of the site. Thanks for all the good info. I was wondering if you could post the December Mini Rates?

    Thanks again!

  3. trading in my 05A6 for a new vehicle. looking really hard at 09 328xi. getting 2k credit from BMW canada and dealership taking off another 2k. debating between a 48mnth lease or 48 mnth owners choice with balloon payment at the end. Both payments are within $3/mnth and the balloon payment is the same as the residual. Owners choice balloon payment includes taxes(12% in my province) where the residual does not. Also, my upfront costs on the lease are 2,053(incl sec dep and 1st mnth) whereas owners choice is just the 1stmnth. To me the owners choice seems the way to go as long as future value above balloon payment which is 36% residual. left out totals as price in CAN more than US.
    thoughts

    • Hi Brent! I don’t get many Canadians, but I’m glad you decided to visit and share your dilemma. Regarding the owner’s choice. My understanding of it is that you get your name on the title, while on a lease the bank assumes the title until the car is purchased. This is important because of who assumes the risks of depreciation. With owner’s choice, you assume the depreciation. Should you choose not to keep the car after 48 months, you would not be able to just turn it in and walk away. You would have to sell the car and pay the difference between the balloon payment and purchase offer. With a lease, you simply drive and return at the end of your term and get your security deposit back. In most cases, I prefer the lease over the owner’s choice. However, it is important to note that BMW has been readjusting their residual values this past year (bringing them lower), so it might be possible to have decent amount of equity at the end of your lease. Should you choose to sell the car after 48 months, you actually could get some money back. The downside to all of this is that it is all hypothetical, plus an accident or two could easily whip out a huge chunk of any potential value your car could have once the term matures. For the most part, we generally do not think about accidents when we lease, but part of the reason why we lease is because we don’t want to think about it. When you are looking at buying (or financing a purchase), getting into accidents eats away at a cars value. When that happens, you pretty much have to keep the car until it’s no longer financially feasible (like its costing you more to fix than to drive it) to have it around.

  4. should also mentioned that lease rate and owners choice rate are both 1.9% for 48mnth term.
    thanks!

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