# Early lease turn-in



## mrswh (Oct 18, 2010)

From time to time, I see offers for early lease turn-ins when leasing a new BMW. I am looking to lease a new X5d and would prefer to just get the deal done now and turn in my current X5 early. I am 90 days out now and am ordering the car so I assume I'd be turning it in about 45 days early. I asked BMW Financial and was told that as far as they are concerned, I owe the full amount of the lease, and that any early turn-in arrangements are up to the dealer. 

Can anyone tell me how this works? Does the dealer have some sort of arrangement with BMW Financial or are they going to wind up eating the cost that was otherwise mine? Is it a discounted cost? I'm just trying to figure out how it works so I know how (and whether) to use it in negotiations.

Thanks! :thumbup:


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## mclaren (Jan 5, 2005)

Once in a while BMW offers a pull ahead program where you can turn in a leased BMW for a new one a few months early. There are no such programs available now afaik. When there is no pull ahead someone has to pay the rest of the lease payments and that someone is you.


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## mrswh (Oct 18, 2010)

Thanks!


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## jdubois (Jul 12, 2010)

I've sometimes had dealers themselves offer to pay out the rest of my lease for me. I typically thank them for the offer but ask them to instead further discount the price of the new car by the amount they were offering to buy the lease out for. If they buy out the lease, I save the money but lose the rest of the old lease. If they discount the price of the new one, I still save the money and _additionally_ get the rest of the old lease.

In other words, if the dealer offers to buy out your old lease, it's really not any kind of financial gain on your part.

This is, of course, different than a manufacturer early buy out program.


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## Bart001 (Apr 9, 2005)

jdubois said:


> I've sometimes had dealers themselves offer to pay out the rest of my lease for me. I typically thank them for the offer but ask them to instead further discount the price of the new car by the amount they were offering to buy the lease out for. If they buy out the lease, I save the money but lose the rest of the old lease. If they discount the price of the new one, I still save the money and _additionally_ get the rest of the old lease.
> 
> In other words, if the dealer offers to buy out your old lease, it's really not any kind of financial gain on your part.
> 
> This is, of course, different than a manufacturer early buy out program.


Stated another way, "there's no such thing as a free lunch." The money to satisfy the lease contract has to come from somewhere, and the only 3 options are (1) BMW FS forgiving the payments (ie, their occasional pull-ahead program), (2) the dealer or (3) the customer.

Dealers don't have "free money" either, so if they are willing to pay off a lease, you can be darned sure they are making it up in another way which means that the customer could have gotten access to that money another way (ie, negotiating better).

PS: A subset of 'getting it from the customer' is 'rolling it into the new deal' which of course is no bargain at all.


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## mrswh (Oct 18, 2010)

Thanks, everyone! I think I will just try to lock in the eco-credit before it expires (if it's not too late) and order the car so its arrival coincides with the end of my current lease.


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## mjsbmw (Jan 5, 2008)

Bart001 said:


> Stated another way, "there's no such thing as a free lunch." The money to satisfy the lease contract has to come from somewhere, and the only 3 options are (1) BMW FS forgiving the payments (ie, their occasional pull-ahead program), (2) the dealer or (3) the customer.
> 
> Dealers don't have "free money" either, so if they are willing to pay off a lease, you can be darned sure they are making it up in another way which means that the customer could have gotten access to that money another way (ie, negotiating better).
> 
> PS: A subset of 'getting it from the customer' is 'rolling it into the new deal' which of course is no bargain at all.


There is a 4th possibility. If you are within 90 days of your lease term, the dealer can obtain a special market based price only for the dealer to buy your car. The price is usually based on Manheim Auction pricing plus what it takes to cover your last two payments. If your lease if more than 90 days out, the buyout is simply the stated amount in your lease plus any remaining payments. This only works if your dealer really wants your car to retail and they believe they can make a nice profit after they CPO the unit. So, if you have a car that is attractive to the dealer and the dealer can negotiate a great price from BMW Financial, your old car can go away without a penny out of your deal or your pocket.


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## Rubber Ducky (Feb 27, 2004)

Pull-aheads are month to month. If you're inside the 3-month window, check each month.


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## mrswh (Oct 18, 2010)

mjsbmw said:


> There is a 4th possibility. If you are within 90 days of your lease term, the dealer can obtain a special market based price only for the dealer to buy your car. The price is usually based on Manheim Auction pricing plus what it takes to cover your last two payments. If your lease if more than 90 days out, the buyout is simply the stated amount in your lease plus any remaining payments. This only works if your dealer really wants your car to retail and they believe they can make a nice profit after they CPO the unit. So, if you have a car that is attractive to the dealer and the dealer can negotiate a great price from BMW Financial, your old car can go away without a penny out of your deal or your pocket.


That's what I was wondering. I know the centers have some special relationship with BMW Financial when it comes to buying lease turn-ins, so I can see it extending to early turn-ins. My car is low mileage and in pretty pristine condition so I'll check in with the dealer after we negotiate the new lease deal. If I can turn it in early it will just be a bonus.


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## E92Carrera (Aug 6, 2007)

Not directly related to the topic, but I did have a question about lease turn-in. I have an ED car that has arrived and will be re-delivered soon. My current lease is up on 12/20. Would it be possible for me to turn in the vehicle a couple of days (~2 weeks) before turn-in date? I don't want to have to keep both cars and have both insured if possible. Any suggestions? Thanks


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## mrswh (Oct 18, 2010)

E92Carrera said:


> Not directly related to the topic, but I did have a question about lease turn-in. I have an ED car that has arrived and will be re-delivered soon. My current lease is up on 12/20. Would it be possible for me to turn in the vehicle a couple of days (~2 weeks) before turn-in date? I don't want to have to keep both cars and have both insured if possible. Any suggestions? Thanks


My understanding is that you can turn it in whenever you want, but you will still be responsible for paying out the rest of the lease - i.e., they won't prorate your payment for that last month.

There is a pull-ahead program going on now where BMW will waive up to 3 months of lease payments if you are going into a new lease, but I don't know whether it applies to ED orders. I also don't know whether it applies for a partial month.


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## E92Carrera (Aug 6, 2007)

mrswh said:


> My understanding is that you can turn it in whenever you want, but you will still be responsible for paying out the rest of the lease - i.e., they won't prorate your payment for that last month.
> 
> There is a pull-ahead program going on now where BMW will waive up to 3 months of lease payments if you are going into a new lease, but I don't know whether it applies to ED orders. I also don't know whether it applies for a partial month.


Thanks for the reply. There is no payment for Dec, except for my new car. The current lease has all payments made. The thing is, I'm over my mileage and if I have the new car I'm not going to drive it. It's just gonna sit there while I pay for insurance on a car I don't use. I'd rather turn it in early if possible.


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