Ok, I've test driven a few MCS' and am planning on ordering mine in 2 weeks or so and was hoping I could get some assistance from everyone here.

First off, when I was at the dealer I visited, the price they gave me on the lease was over $100 more than on the website (mcs with sport, premium, winter packages + LSD). This puts it $100 over my price range if I still want to buy a house this year. For probably the first time in my life I'm going to give up a little on my gadget fetish and drop some options to get me in a new mini.

The dealer I visited is in a very overpriced section of my city so I'm going out into the country a bit (both dealers are around 40 miles from me). I have a feeling that the first dealer was raking me over the coals a bit on the prices. $100/month adds up to $4800 over the lease... which is way more than taxes and fees should be. anyone lease theirs? if so, how much more are your payments than what you were quoted online?

I'll find out next week during my test drive how much the other dealer charges over the website price. In preparation for that I'm considering a few options. What would everyone suggest? It looks like I may be able to get the MCS with just the sport package and MF wheel/cruise (I need cruise) as long as the other dealer charges no more than $50 over the website price per month. The other option would be to get a regular cooper with the premium, sport, winter packages as well as the xenon lamps and stripes added as an accessory. I know it won't be as fast as the MCS, but I do a fair amount of city/suburb driving and probably wouldn't get to open it up as much. Also, as a gadget guy, all the extras in those packages are really enticing.

So basically, do you think it's better to get a semi-stripped cooper S or a loaded cooper?

 

A semi-stripped MCS is better because it comes w/ tons of extras anyway. Still, it's your call. Coopers are really great...I drive one. I just prefer fewer options. After a certain point they go past what is really needed (although certain options may be a legitimate need for some). MCSs also offer extra hp but I also considered that an extra I'd seldom use...that's why I got a Cooper. I'd get another, too!

 

I think you already said it yourself, your a gadget guy and don't seem to really care about the speed. Loaded Cooper.

Plus, better gas mileage, cheaper fill-ups

 

THere are a LOT of places to hide charges to jack up a lease. Post all the figures and we can tell you what's up.

 

OK, the price I got was as such... HB/W MCS, sport, premium, winter packages and LSD. MSRP $24,870
1500 down payment
48 month lease, 12,000 miles/yr

Website gives me $347 and the dealer came back at $473.

I had originally planned on only going as high as $350, but would have gone up to 375 without freaking out. I know I should have read the fine print, but I figured that BMW US being the huge company that it is could have a database with tax rates and that would be included in their payment estimation.

Even so, PA has a 6% sales tax and that should only be $1500 or so. that works out to 6048 additional on a call I wouldn't own. I don't know how much less it will be at the other dealer yet, but I would think it will be less... especially not being in a section of the city where people can and do pay whatever requested for what they want.

 

First of all, the tax,title and registrations fees are never figured out on the MiniUsa website, those are extra. The fees are going to make a bigger impact on your payment on a lease program than a traditional financing, because term is shorter.

On top of everything, you need to double check the interest rate that they are charging, they might charge you a couple of rates more to make some back-end money. This is a very common practice in car business.

Another thing, check for if they are trying to include car wash, road hazard, extended warranty to your payment quote. That is another common practice.

Finally, every state has different regulations for the lease programs, there is some fees and charges like personal property tax...etc. They might include the initial payment at delivery for the total price, so if you ask for 0 money down, your payments would have come higher.

For the car choice, I would go with a bone stock MCS over a Mc all daylong.

Good luck

 

For the short amount of time my car was leased, it was with in a couple of bucks of the web site quote.

 

I completely get where you're coming from. I was never presented with the lease numbers in writing... the guy went into another room and came back with a sticky note with the lease price. this annoyed me quite a bit before I even heard the number. Also, not that I would have problems with my credit as it is quite good... but this was all before they ran my credit score. I really appreciate the info. hopefully the second dealer will work with me on the leasing and not be quite so shady. Thanks!

also, I'm seeing some people reporting that they won't get a car ordered now until december... does this seem a little long to anyone else?

 

First off your problem is you are talking affordability by monthly payments not purchase price or your income.

Second, A fleece....err I mean a lease is not a good idea at all
From dave ramsey:
"Leasing stinks. Here’s why. Take a 2001 Honda Civic? Sells for $18,000. If that car in four years loses 60% of value it would be worth $11,000. You've lost $7,000 in value. If you lease this Civic and bring it back to the dealer in four years and you have not paid them $7,000, then they have lost money. You have to pay them the depreciation value or they lose money. They aren’t in the business of losing money. They make the depreciation up and a profit, mostly in interest on the loan. You can’t even get close to a cash transaction. If you could lease a car for less than it goes down in value then it would make sense. You’re letting someone else take the hit. That’s when renting makes sense. “Someone has got to lose money, and it ain’t them.” Food for thought: Smart Money Magazine says the number one most profitable thing on the car lot is the financing contract. Number two is the repair shop. Number three is the extended warranty. Number four is the sale of vehicles. What kind of business are they in?! Buy a slightly used vehicle and you can get it for 25% off sticker. You’ll always in this way."

I would strongly recomend find someone very knowledgeable on these things to guide you through or do a lot of reading yourself.

 

maybe I should explain the situation I'm in a little further... I'm 25 and saving to buy a house this year. I have fairly good credit, but have been told I don't have enough credit. I've never made payments on any car and have only one credit card and a student loan. The suggestion was to take on a car payment to get me some credit. At the same time fixing my current car and selling it won't get me much more than the $2500 down payment and the return on just repairing it and continuing to drive just doesn't make sense in case a major problem comes up. If I'm going to be getting a car just to get through a few years, I may as well have something I like... and I'd end up taking the hit for depreciation at least as hard if I bought a much cheaper car that holds resale less than a mini. I can certainly afford to give in a few thousand over the years to get a nice little mini rather than something horrid like a chevy cobalt or something. But an additional 5-6 thousand is money I could be putting into an appreciating asset like a house. having the investment in a depreciating asset like a car is backwards in my situation I think.

 

You have two separate decisions here: (1) should you buy or lease. (2) should you configure the car differently. I think you should keep these two decisions separate.

Just for rough numbers, if you buy the car for $24,870 + $2,000 tax and license = $26,870, and put $1,500 down, that means you are financing $25,370. If you finance that amount for 4 years at 6%, your payments would be $595.82 per month. At the end of the 4 years YOU OWN THE CAR.

Instead, you're talking about renting a car for 4 years and paying $347 or $473 per month. At the end of 4 years, you own nothing.

You are saving between $122 and $249 per month by leasing. The present value of that savings at 6% is between $5,000 and $10,000. So the financial question is whether your loaded mini cooper S will be worth more than $5,000 or $10,000 at the end of 4 years? If so, leasing is a bad financial deal. I think there is little doubt that leasing is a very bad deal here.

My suggestion (preachiness starts here). Buy a car with less equipment, and pay for it rather than leasing. The S with no options sells about about $21,400 and the non-S for about 18,000. At 6% over 4 years, your payments would be between $422 and $500. So, if you want to start saving for a house, buy a car that you can afford (if that means a stripped down non-s mini, so be it), and take good care of it, instead of throwing away $20,000 on a lease. If you can't afford the payments, then you really can't afford the car and shouldn't be buying. Running up debt that you can't afford is not going to help you qualify for a house. The best way to qualify for a house is by saving a big down payment. I don't know your financial situation, but if you are going to struggle to make the payments, you might be much better off buying (financing) an inexpensive used car for transportation, and saving the balance for a house (which, unlike a car, is an investment).

By the way - who told you that leasing a car is going to increase your credit enough to help you buy a house? While making payments on debt can increase your credit score a bit, the most important factor in a home loan is showing that you have the ability to repay the home loan. The more debt you have in relation to your income, the less ability you have to repay the home loan. If you have the income to support a mortgage, no debt, and a 20% down payment, you'll qualify easily. If you want to put less down, then your credit score is a factor - but it's a small factor in relation to down payments and showing ability to pay.

 

Well of course a loaded S is better than a stripped. Just more fun that way, but when you have to add money to that equation it tends to divide what we WANT from what we NEED. If you are only looking to drop $100 from the price, then see what you could lose. Such as the Cold Weather Package. I mean I've never had heated seats, so I guess I wont ever know what I'm missing, but really when I am out in the winter I have a trench coat and a good pair of jeans on thus the temperature of the seats rarely bothers me. Also the heated mirrors are not really nessasary because if there is enough snow that I need to clear the mirrors, then I'm going to be scraping anyway so a quick run over the mirrors is usually nothing aggravating. The washers are the only thing I MIGHT consider, but I'ver never had my washer jets freeze yet so I'm not worried. So that is a good $300 off there for my MINI, then you could take that $300 and get a JCW intake or something.

Good luck with the money stuff, I sympathize with you. With all these college loans that I'll have to pay off eventually it can get a bit overwhelming. Good luck with that house to, that is pretty important.

 

You should not take on a lease or finance a new car if you are planning on buying a house this year or next year. You should always buy your house first, the added loan or lease of the car will not help your credit, but will have the exact opposite effect when you fill out a mortgage application. Get the house first, then decide on the car.

 

WHAT?? 60% loss would leave $7,200.00 or a loss of $10,800.00. Either that or my math has gone to pot?

Earl

 

You are right, He got refrenced the wrong percentage when how much the car is worth.....But, Of course, that just makes the lease an even worse deal then as described

 

Please, don't take this as an insult. But, you really need to slow down here and do the right thing with your money.

First, Don't listen to broke people. Carefully examine the choices people you listen to make with thier money. If they have lots of debt and you listen to them you will too. If a slave to the lender is what you want to be, so be it.

Second, Financing things generally means you don't have the patientce to save and pay cash or pay over a very short term. It just simply COSTS YOU more. Again if you actually prefer to pay more for your car than I did, so be it.

Third, credit scores are for people that can't afford what they are buying.
No lender will turn away someone with a 20% down payment and good rental history. As someone pointed out buying a car will actually hurt your mortgage finance options because it will raise your debt to income ratio.

Fourth, repair is always cheaper then new. I don't care if you have to replace the whole engine in your current car that still amounts to maybe a few months of payments on a new one. A new car is a lifestyle choice and one that makes sense when you can afford it. not just because you are tired of your current car

Fivth, Only finance your home on a 15 year fixed rate and do not get a payment more than 25% of take home pay

The choices you make now will have very long lasting effects. They need to be concidered carefully and with wise consel (i am not refering to myself) Choose your advisors carefully, do not listen to your peers, and beware of people who appear wealthy but own nothing. Lastly, read read read. There many books aimed at protecting the consumer and making wise choices with money.

Get clark smart is a handy brief refrence an consumer pitfalls, Not exhaustive but covers just about everything you spend money on
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...858288-0906517

The millionare mind and the millionare next door are also good for deciding your priorities for your money
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...858288-0906517

Good luck,

 

Credit rating is largely based on how long you've had credit (all other factors aside; paying on time, etc). So if you're 25, the longest duration of credit would be about 7 years, and that's assuming that you got a credit card on your 18th birthday, and still have the same card.

I'm assuming that you've run a credit report, and have your credit score. Which is the only way you'll know if you have good credit. Figure that if you're not above 750, you're not going to get the best rates on loans.

Honestly, I would buy the house first. That will cement your credit rating. Owning a home is a huge factor on credit score. And 30 seconds after you've signed those papers, other banks will be beating down your door to give you more money. Depending on your area, the house you buy will likely go up in value between the time you sign the contract and the time you move in.

Unless there is some other reason to wait, buy the house now, you're not saving money faster then the housing prices are going up. If you've got a solid job, someone is always willing to give first-time home owners a low, or no-downpayment mortgage. I bought my first house with $2500, and this included inspectors, and application fees etc.

Then you can either: 1) get a better rate on your car loan, or 2) wait a few months and then use the equity in your new house to pay off some of the car [double bonus being that this interest is usually tax deductable].

 

I justified the purchase of my 05' PW/PW MC based on the explicit fact that I won't be able to afford to buy a home in Southern California anytime soon! $900K for a 2 Bedroom in my current town of Huntington Beach? or even better still, $600K for a 2B all the way out in Corona or Santa Clarita? I figured, what the hell, I'm probably going to have to move out of state to be a homeowner anyway...so I might as well have fun while I'm young! Its still my only debt though...

 

Ditto...

About a month ago I looked at a 1100 sq. ft. house in Sherman Oaks that was barely standing up. The floors were rotten and slanted and the kitchen had fire damage. Asking price? $750,000. I will be renting for a while...

Hijack over.

 

Contrary to popular belief it is possible to have fun when your'e older too. And the magnitude, ability and the sort of fun you have when you are older is directly related to the choices you make under the age of thirty.

 

Theroyalwe,
You have received some good advice from here from people that have learned through life experiences. You don't have to have it all at 25 years of age. Doing the right thing, not the thing that brings immediate pleasure, is part of maturing. Some people don't learn that lesson until it is too late and they have made a mess of their life in financial as well as other ways. I hope you are paying attention to some of the advice that you have been given.

 

I just wanted to thank everyone for their insight. I think I've come up with what seems to be the best compromise for my situation. I didn't mention, but I have a lot saved for my house down payment already. I wasn't as much concerned with what I would be paying, but that it was so much over the online estimate that I expected to be fairly accurate.

I've always paid for everything with cash which leaves me with very little credit. not bad credit, but very little credit. What I've figured in the calculator thing is that I could put down 10,000 on a purchase instead of 2500 on a lease and have roughly the same payments over 4 years. It would seem that way I'll end up owning the car for only $7500 and change more... and we all know that it will be worth a good bit more than that. At the rate I'm going I may just be at the 20% down payment on the house by the first quarter of next year.

My friend's argument about investing in a depreciating asset would be fine if the car didn't hold it's resale value so well. This was from a guy that drives a saturn, so I guess his argument would make sense if the car dropped from 16k to 2k in 4 years... but that's not the case with the mini.

I'm very glad I took some time and didn't let the impulse to just get one on the spot take over. Not only that, but now I'm waiting a bit to see if I want to get a space blue MCS checkmate package... I'll let you all know when I order and thanks again!