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      11-22-2013, 04:53 PM   #1
bigblue99
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Lease acquisition cost

I have a 335i that I bought several years ago. I'm currently shopping for an X5 for the mrs. I'm considering all my options, including leasing. I have never leased a BMW before, but have leased other makes. The lease acquisition costs have been around $500.

The BMW lease acquisition cost is $950 and there is also the documentation fee of $350. This is well over $1,000 in fees (in other words, hefty profit, even after deducting the administrative salaries and detailers). I challenged these costs and the sales guy gave me the "yeah, it's the bank fee and we don't get any of that." Anyway, I called BMW Financial Services and asked them about this $950 fee. They told me clearly that it is 100% dealership fee.

Please don't get me wrong as we're in the capitalistic society so I don't fault people (even dealerships) for making money. But don't lie to my face.

Before I confront them, want to get an idea if anyone had any luck negotiating these fees down?
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      11-22-2013, 06:00 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigblue99 View Post
I have a 335i that I bought several years ago. I'm currently shopping for an X5 for the mrs. I'm considering all my options, including leasing. I have never leased a BMW before, but have leased other makes. The lease acquisition costs have been around $500.

The BMW lease acquisition cost is $950 and there is also the documentation fee of $350. This is well over $1,000 in fees (in other words, hefty profit, even after deducting the administrative salaries and detailers). I challenged these costs and the sales guy gave me the "yeah, it's the bank fee and we don't get any of that." Anyway, I called BMW Financial Services and asked them about this $950 fee. They told me clearly that it is 100% dealership fee.

Please don't get me wrong as we're in the capitalistic society so I don't fault people (even dealerships) for making money. But don't lie to my face.

Before I confront them, want to get an idea if anyone had any luck negotiating these fees down?
If you are shopping the clowns at Open Road ... keep driving ... go to Freehold or JMK ... much better to negotiate with.

I am not quite ready to lease my X5 yet ... 535 lease is up on April ... but I have been shopping a few dealers in central NJ & it seems the going discount at this point is 6% off of MSRP ... I'm confident that by April I can get between 8-9% off MSRP. plus incentives & CCA rebate ... also both ofthose dealers don't have as high of BS fees as Open Road .... $200 vehicle prep fee ... you kidding me .... my detailer charges $200 ... and we both know the prep guy isn't spending more than 20 minutes on the exterior
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      11-22-2013, 07:22 PM   #3
bigblue99
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Originally Posted by pillpusher84 View Post
If you are shopping the clowns at Open Road ... keep driving ... go to Freehold or JMK ... much better to negotiate with.

I am not quite ready to lease my X5 yet ... 535 lease is up on April ... but I have been shopping a few dealers in central NJ & it seems the going discount at this point is 6% off of MSRP ... I'm confident that by April I can get between 8-9% off MSRP. plus incentives & CCA rebate ... also both ofthose dealers don't have as high of BS fees as Open Road .... $200 vehicle prep fee ... you kidding me .... my detailer charges $200 ... and we both know the prep guy isn't spending more than 20 minutes on the exterior
I'm not upset by the documentation fee because I at least know what that is. But to lie to me that lease acquisition cost is charged by the leasing company and they can't change that. I recognize that this obviously is not the only dealership to charge it. Just shame on me for believing it.

I actually bought my 335 from Freehold and the purchase was a pretty good experience. But when I dropped my car off for service, they curbed the snot out one of the rims and flat out denied it so I blacklisted them.

I'm still deciding between a new leftover E70 diesel or order a new F15 gas (mileage for F15 gas or diesel isn't that different) or just keep the current SUV.

Now that I know lease acquisition cost is another bogus cost. I'll be challenging it for sure.
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      11-22-2013, 07:31 PM   #4
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I think the bank acquisition fee is literally the cost of buying the lease into the BMWFS trust (in reality it's a residual claw-back). Dealers usually mark it up from $750 to $975, but I'm not sure you can avoid it (the $750).

Has anyone leased near invoice without paying it?

I'm curious.
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      11-22-2013, 07:33 PM   #5
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http://www.leaseguide.com/glossary/acquisition-fee.htm
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      11-22-2013, 07:39 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by riM3 View Post
I think the bank acquisition fee is literally the cost of buying the lease into the BMWFS trust (in reality it's a residual claw-back). Dealers usually mark it up from $750 to $975, but I'm not sure you can avoid it (the $750).

Has anyone leased near invoice without paying it?

I'm curious.
In other cars that I have leased, it's been few hundred bucks so I didn't push on it much. But now that it is almost a thousand plus a documentation fee on top of that, that's a bit much. If this is truly a fee charged by the banks, I can understand. But I called BMW Financial Services and see if it's negotiable because I had financed my BMW's with them before and have excellent credit, I figure I can knock it down. I was very surprised when the customer service rep said that she can't do anything about it because it is not a fee that they get and it is a fee charged and retained by the dealer.
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      11-22-2013, 07:42 PM   #7
bigblue99
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From leaseguide,

"An acquisition fee is charged by lease companies, not dealers. Dealers typically do not make a profit on this fee, although some lease companies may "kick back" part of the fee to dealers as a reward for sending them business."


This is exactly my point: a fee charged by lease companies. I called BMW Financial Services (the leasing company) and spoke to the finance / lease agent and was told that the lease acquisition cost is charged and kept by the dealership.
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      11-22-2013, 11:43 PM   #8
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I believe the acquisition fee is $825 for 2014 X5...at least for my zip code it is (Not sure if it is zip code based at all, to be honest). When you build you X5 on BMW website, on the right column, there is the list of all your options and the total MSRP. Below that, there is "Estimated Lease" with a "?" next to it. Glide your mouse over the "?" and it'll tell you what the acquisition fee for BMW USA is in your area. I say this because you have to enter your zip code prior to building your car.

As far as Doc fees go, NJ has no limit as to how high the dealer can charge you. However, NY has a cap of $75. So, if you can purchase the car in NY, you'll save some money.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/wh...d-you-pay.html
(scroll to the bottom to find out Doc fees for each state)

Mind you, there are other fees aside from these fees. Title, Registration, Tax (if you call this a fee), Advertising, Training, etc.

I calculated as many fees I possibly can so that I have the most accurate information I can get prior to going into the dealership....but you just never know what other fees might pop up.

I live in California, and I calculated my tax and registration from dmv.ca.gov. I don't know if NJ has a DMV website that lets you calculate these fees, but it's worth looking into. Good luck and happy hunting!

Z.
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      11-23-2013, 07:40 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigblue99 View Post
From leaseguide,

"An acquisition fee is charged by lease companies, not dealers. Dealers typically do not make a profit on this fee, although some lease companies may "kick back" part of the fee to dealers as a reward for sending them business."


This is exactly my point: a fee charged by lease companies. I called BMW Financial Services (the leasing company) and spoke to the finance / lease agent and was told that the lease acquisition cost is charged and kept by the dealership.
I think whomever you spoke to at BMWFS may have been incorrect/mislead you.

More evidence that acquisition fees are assessed by the bank.

http://www.ridewithg.com/2012/12/ban...hat-to-expect/
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      11-23-2013, 11:11 AM   #10
bigblue99
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Quote:
Originally Posted by riM3 View Post
I think whomever you spoke to at BMWFS may have been incorrect/mislead you.

More evidence that acquisition fees are assessed by the bank.

http://www.ridewithg.com/2012/12/ban...hat-to-expect/

That's very possible that she gave me bad info. If I do end up leasing, I will ask questions on the fees.
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