[Gamyr]

Asking for a friend
Which BMW will have the most affordable and aggressive lease prices (lowest)?
I am considering an X1, X2, 228i, or 330i to lease for 36mo/15k (or whichever has cheapest lease).
Zip code 92602, Los Angeles, CA

[madpistol]

Probably the X1. It would be the most desired in today's market of that list you just made, mainly due to price and practicality (and it's the cheapest BMW you can currently buy new).

My mother has an X1, and for as small as it is, it is actually very nice and extremely easy to live with.

[Datemike]

Originally Posted by madpistol

Probably the X1. It would be the most desired in today's market of that list you just made, mainly due to price and practicality (and it's the cheapest BMW you can currently buy new).

My mother has an X1, and for as small as it is, it is actually very nice and extremely easy to live with.

Cheapest msrp alone wouldn't equate to cheapest lease. You can have a $60k msrp vehicle with stupid high residual and incentives and it would have a cheaper monthly payment than a $20k less msrp vehicle with garbage incentives and residual.

OP - If you don't want to do lot of legwork of gathering residuals and incentives, I would start with browsing share a deal section on leasehackr and see what folks have been able to achieve lately. Just know that you're starting at a disadvantage right off the bat because a 15k mile lease has a 3% lower residual than 10k.

[M340i Pride]

Originally Posted by Gamyr

Asking for a friend
Which BMW will have the most affordable and aggressive lease prices (lowest)?
I am considering an X1, X2, 228i, or 330i to lease for 36mo/15k (or whichever has cheapest lease).
Zip code 92602, Los Angeles, CA

I do not know which of those cars have the cheapest lease, and in fact I don't even know whos who on the msrp. But get the best drivers car... the 330i of course!

[dr_frankfurter]

Originally Posted by Gamyr

Asking for a friend
Which BMW will have the most affordable and aggressive lease prices (lowest)?
I am considering an X1, X2, 228i, or 330i to lease for 36mo/15k (or whichever has cheapest lease).
Zip code 92602, Los Angeles, CA

I live in a nearby zip code, prices around here depend on who you talk to. Call up some auto brokers around you and see what kind of numbers they can do. X1/X2 will likely be in the low 400's. You can easily get into a nice 330i for mid 400's, or even a pretty base car for low 400's. Having driven the X1 and X2 for hours on end, the 330i is worth every penny more that it will cost.

[RigaTony1982]

I have not driven the 330i, but I have a M340i and my wife has a 2019 X1. They’re clearly aimed at a different audience, but the X1 is a fine car. As someone mentioned, you won’t get the driving experience with it as you would the 3 series but it your looking for nice, useful transportation it is great. I’m surprised how much stuff we’ve been able to fit it in cargo-wise, and we’ve had no issues at all with it. She was also considering the X2, but the X1 won out for its better practicality. I do feel the X2 drive a little more sporty, but it could be in my head as I think most of the drive components are the same.

[madpistol]

Originally Posted by RigaTony1982

I have not driven the 330i, but I have a M340i and my wife has a 2019 X1. They’re clearly aimed at a different audience, but the X1 is a fine car. As someone mentioned, you won’t get the driving experience with it as you would the 3 series but it your looking for nice, useful transportation it is great. I’m surprised how much stuff we’ve been able to fit it in cargo-wise, and we’ve had no issues at all with it. She was also considering the X2, but the X1 won out for its better practicality. I do feel the X2 drive a little more sporty, but it could be in my head as I think most of the drive components are the same.

I was surprised how refined and practical the X1 is when I drove it. It's very nice, especially considering the price. Obviously it's no sports sedan, but lets be real... most people aren't looking to drive their car fast. They want efficient, reliable, and practical transportation, and the X1 ticks all those boxes while adding a dose of luxury and, of course, the BMW badge. For most people, the X1 is an excellent vehicle.

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by madpistol

I was surprised how refined and practical the X1 is when I drove it. It's very nice, especially considering the price. Obviously it's no sports sedan, but lets be real... most people aren't looking to drive their car fast. They want efficient, reliable, and practical transportation, and the X1 ticks all those boxes while adding a dose of luxury and, of course, the BMW badge. For most people, the X1 is an excellent vehicle.

Only thing I would mention on the X1 is that it has halogen headlights standard. I highly recommend getting the package that includes the LED headlights. At least when we got ours a few years back that package included some other nice stuff like a HUD and a bigger Nav screen. They may have reshuffled stuff since then so I’d double check.

[Germanauto]

A Los Angeles area dealer is quoting me $580/mo on a 36 mo/12k mile lease with $0 down. The car only has M sport pkg and leather (those are the only options I care for).

In my opinion that's bull. Not paying that type of money for a 330i. I'm sure other dealers can do better, but if you're curious about a ballpark for a 330i then this is it.

The X1, X2, and 2er Gran Coupe will certainly be cheaper, but all three of them suck too. They are appliances not BMWs. I'd recommend taking a look at the Audi A4, C300, and Lexus IS as well. They are not as good as the 330 but would likely be cheaper.

[wtwo3]

The "cheapest" to lease depends on a few variables, but if you just generally peruse broker listings on leasehackr, it seems currently the 2 series gran coupe has the lowest least figures, followed by the X1.

But again, that depends on a variety of factors (location, timing, etc).

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

A Los Angeles area dealer is quoting me $580/mo on a 36 mo/12k mile lease with $0 down. The car only has M sport pkg and leather (those are the only options I care for).

In my opinion that's bull. Not paying that type of money for a 330i. I'm sure other dealers can do better, but if you're curious about a ballpark for a 330i then this is it.

The X1, X2, and 2er Gran Coupe will certainly be cheaper, but all three of them suck too. They are appliances not BMWs. I'd recommend taking a look at the Audi A4, C300, and Lexus IS as well. They are not as good as the 330 but would likely be cheaper.

Here on the forums we consider a lease payment of about 1% of MSRP to be a good price on a well negotiated lease with no down payment. So on a $50,000 MSRP you’re shooting for a $500 lease payment. That’s on the sweet spot lease of 36 months/36k mile lease.

So, on a 330i M Sport with leather, MSRP $47,175 a good lease payment would be about $470.

[Merami fan]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Here on the forums we consider a lease payment of about 1% of MSRP to be a good price on a well negotiated lease with no down payment. So on a $50,000 MSRP you’re shooting for a $500 lease payment. That’s on the sweet spot lease of 36 months/36k mile lease.

So, on a 330i M Sport with leather, MSRP $47,175 a good lease payment would be about $470.

The 1% rule is a load of shit. Every car leases differently and the market can change from month to month. 1% is terrible for certain cars and impossible for exotics. For lower BMW models, 1% isn't terrible but you can do much better, especially with loyalty. Loaners are a good option to get bigger discounts, too.

To OP: read up on leasehackr. You should understand how leases are structured, what the current market looks like i.e. typical discounts on X model, base Money Factor for the month (determines finance charge) and any bogus fees to look out for.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Merami fan

The 1% rule is a load of shit. Every car leases differently and the market can change from month to month. 1% is terrible for certain cars and impossible for exotics. For lower BMW models, 1% isn't terrible but you can do much better, especially with loyalty. Loaners are a good option to get bigger discounts, too.

100% agreed. I'll also add to that... what your lease payment is also depends on what incentives you do or don't qualify for. For example, if you've never leased a BMW before and don't qualify for loyalty, are you SOL because you can't reasonably achieve a 1% payment when you don't qualify for one of the major incentives?

[TiMSport]

MB would laugh at such a "rule".

[Datemike]

OP posted the same question on r/BMW the same day this thread was created and I'm pretty sure they're never coming back to read any of the useful stuff posted here.

Edit : make that +2 on 1% being a really bad way to evaluate a lease deal.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Merami fan

The 1% rule is a load of shit. Every car leases differently and the market can change from month to month. 1% is terrible for certain cars and impossible for exotics. For lower BMW models, 1% isn't terrible but you can do much better, especially with loyalty. Loaners are a good option to get bigger discounts, too.

To OP: read up on leasehackr. You should understand how leases are structured, what the current market looks like i.e. typical discounts on X model, base Money Factor for the month (determines finance charge) and any bogus fees to look out for.

Originally Posted by wtwo3

100% agreed. I'll also add to that... what your lease payment is also depends on what incentives you do or don't qualify for. For example, if you've never leased a BMW before and don't qualify for loyalty, are you SOL because you can't reasonably achieve a 1% payment when you don't qualify for one of the major incentives?

Originally Posted by TiMSport

MB would laugh at such a "rule".

Originally Posted by Datemike

OP posted the same question on r/BMW the same day this thread was created and I'm pretty sure they're never coming back to read any of the useful stuff posted here.

Edit : make that +2 on 1% being a really bad way to evaluate a lease deal.

This isn’t an exotics forum or a Merc forum. It’s a BMW forum. Y’all are certainly welcome to your opinions. I’m perfectly comfortable standing by my general rule of BMWFS leases based on my fifteen years of helping folks calculate leases here on Bimmerpost and on Bimmerfest. This isn’t my first rodeo.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Here on the forums we consider a lease payment of about 1% of MSRP to be a good price on a well negotiated lease with no down payment. So on a $50,000 MSRP you’re shooting for a $500 lease payment. That’s on the sweet spot lease of 36 months/36k mile lease.

So, on a 330i M Sport with leather, MSRP $47,175 a good lease payment would be about $470.

Somebody on Leasehackr just scooped an M340 for low $500s with $0 down lol. And this dealer wants me to pay $580 for a 330

[madpistol]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

Somebody on Leasehackr just scooped an M340 for low $500s with $0 down lol. And this dealer wants me to pay $580 for a 330

Yea, I got shafted on my M340i lease payment. $0 down and mid $700's per month, even with the $1500 lease credit. I checked BMW's website for a ballpark figure on lease, and by that measure, I got around $60 per month off what BMW was suggesting as a lease rate.

I'm calling shenannigans on the guy that said he got a low $500's w/ $0 down lease on an M340i. That's literally a $10k haircut off the original MSRP on a low-volume sports sedan... Not a chance.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by madpistol

Yea, I got shafted on my M340i lease payment. $0 down and mid $700's per month, even with the $1500 lease credit. I checked BMW's website for a ballpark figure on lease, and by that measure, I got around $60 per month off what BMW was suggesting as a lease rate.

I'm calling shenannigans on the guy that said he got a low $500's w/ $0 down lease on an M340i. That's literally a $10k haircut off the original MSRP on a low-volume sports sedan... Not a chance.

I'm not familiar with M340 leases but yeah mid $700s sounds like a lot. The low $500s is definitely an anomaly; like the stars aligned once in a century anomaly. Regardless, I'm sure the average M340 is somewhere in the $600s. So $580 for a 330 is a rip off.

[madpistol]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

I'm not familiar with M340 leases but yeah mid $700s sounds like a lot. The low $500s is definitely an anomaly; like the stars aligned once in a century anomaly. Regardless, I'm sure the average M340 is somewhere in the $600s. So $580 for a 330 is a rip off.

Just checked LeaseHackr, and the amount I'm paying is a bit better than what the estimate says based on their calculator and info I'm getting for my market from Edmunds. Everything their info is telling me says I got a decent deal, at least in my area (which is admittedly low volume).

How the hell are people getting these cars for so cheap? They must have a trade in or money down of some kind. $0 down + no trade-in? For a brand new 2021 M340i? For low-mid $500's monthly payment?

Total BS. Not possible. Some people are lying up a storm.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by madpistol

Just checked LeaseHackr, and the amount I'm paying is a bit better than what the estimate says based on their calculator and info I'm getting for my market from Edmunds. Everything their info is telling me says I got a decent deal, at least in my area (which is admittedly low volume).

How the hell are people getting these cars for so cheap? They must have a trade in or money down of some kind. $0 down + no trade-in? For a brand new 2021 M340i? For low-mid $500's monthly payment?

Total BS. Not possible. Some people are lying up a storm.

This guy's was a leftover 2020 with leatherette, so not totally optioned. BMW loyalty credit can help if one qualifies. At least Pre-Covid, BMW would give like $1000 rebate for attending one of their drive events. Then there's a rebate for being a member of BMW CCA, etc.

[madpistol]

How do I know they're lying? Because that's the suggested price on a lease for my exact spec, and I'm paying way below that per month with $0 down and $0 trade-in.

Originally Posted by Germanauto

This guy's was a leftover 2020 with leatherette, so not totally optioned. BMW loyalty credit can help if one qualifies. At least Pre-Covid, BMW would give like $1000 rebate for attending one of their drive events. Then there's a rebate for being a member of BMW CCA, etc.

So a bottom-of-the-barrel M340i that is (let's be honest) basically used with almost no options and a bunch of incentives.... that would make more sense.

If it was a leftover 2020, it probably had a few miles on it too.