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Semi-Official: Manual Transmissions Destroy Resale Value

Discussion in 'Buy, Lease, Finance & Insurance' started by 109941, Jul 19, 2009.

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    So, I did the "dance" to check-out the $349/month lease deal from BMWFS. I specified a 328i with the preminum package, fold-down rear seat and manual transmission, which has a lower (~$800) MSRP than the "well equiped" model listed in the ad. In addition, I offered to increase the down payment from $3500 to $4000. In total, my changes should have been similar to a $1300 capital cost reduction and should have reduced the monthly payment by $40~45, in "ball-park" numbers.

    That deal was sent to several dealers (5~6) and most responded. The best responses, tried to detail the deal but things got mirky when the "complimentary" automatic transmission came into play. The least satisfactory responses were just a single number with no-explanation. In any event, I couldn't alter the monthly lease payment ($349 + taxes) by either increasing down payment (Capital Cost Reduction) or lowering MSRP. My favorite response offered a 328i with leatherette (no premium package) and a stick (~4500 lower MSRP than the advertised car) for 349/month plus taxes, if I increased the downpayment to $4000. Some dealers did try to follow-up and offer explanations as to the apparent "threshold" in monthly lease payment. In general, the story was that manual transmissions kill residual value which is obviously true for many cars. However, I've puchased and leased several used 3-series and can't say that I've seen a dramatic price difference between manual and automatic equiped car. In my experience, the price difference is similar to the cost of the option, $1000~1500.

    So, based on my little experiment, the advertised lease deal is a bit bogus. Perhaps, you can buy the exact car for that price, but I'm suspicious. In either 2006 or 2003 MB was advertising a manual transmission C-series sedan with a $299/month lease deal. It was a really attractive deal and the car felt good, but had a lower ride height than a 3-series. In any event, I told the dealer to "get me one of those cars". Curiously, there wasn't anything similar to advertised model available and it was too late in the year to the order a car. Thus, the advertised MB lease deal appeared to be a "tease" to get foot traffic into the dealerships. I'm assuming that BMW is trying the same thing with their current offer.



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