bmw select?

[10000111]

[QUOTE=premedsoccergod;5063192]thanks everyone for your input. I have decided to do the ballon financing. i got a sick deal, at least I think so. I haven't bought it yet but this is what i got:

135i black/black, sports package, ipod, steptronic with 5k down for 340/month for 60 months. I think this is great, any opinions on the new offer i received today?[/QUOTE

Seems decent to me, just make sure you know what you're going to owe at the end of the 60 month term. Doing the [very] rough math in my head the balloon should be around 14k assuming you got the car at an MSRP of 39k...

[premedsoccergod]

the car was priced for me at 36k which is 500 below invoice

[wmo168]

[QUOTE=10000111;5063329]

Originally Posted by premedsoccergod

thanks everyone for your input. I have decided to do the ballon financing. i got a sick deal, at least I think so. I haven't bought it yet but this is what i got:

135i black/black, sports package, ipod, steptronic with 5k down for 340/month for 60 months. I think this is great, any opinions on the new offer i received today?[/QUOTE

Seems decent to me, just make sure you know what you're going to owe at the end of the 60 month term. Doing the [very] rough math in my head the balloon should be around 14k assuming you got the car at an MSRP of 39k...

What you going to own after 60 month term? That would determine if it is a good deal.

[Evice]

projected depreciation on 1 series about %45-%55 at the end of 60 month term depending on condition. If you consider inflation and other factors, if you own a 1er at the end of 60month with $10k balloon payment, you may end up with break-even situation, similar to lease... 1 difference would be you are responsible to re-finance or sell your car to pay the balloon. Very Rough math.

http://www.automotive.com/2008/12/bm...sts/index.html

[jkp1187]

135i black/black, sports package, ipod, steptronic

Sound like good specs to me - keep it simple.

the car was priced for me at 36k which is 500 below invoice

That's certainly a good price. Was it a leftover '08? (Watch out for the HPFP issue if so...) Or maybe they're cutting you a break on price b/c you went with Select?

Guess you know what you're doing here with the balloon loan. My opinions have already been expressed, so no need to repeat them. Good luck with that.

Oh - make sure there's no prepayment penalty, that way if you want to get out of the loan quicker and start paying off larger amounts, you'll be able to without getting dinged with fees.

And last bit of good sound advice: if the Finance person tries to sell you all manner of extended warranties, maintenance plans, rustproofing and the like, just say "no".

[dunny]

Very interesting topic.

I just sent off an email to my CA (whenever I pull the trigger on buying, lol) to see what a few situations would work out to.

I have the income and cash to finance however I like. I want to go through BMW because I don't want to deplete my savings account with a huge downpayment. For me, my wife's 325ci coupe still has 2 years left on the payments. So it would be nice to have lower payments for 2 years and then I'd have an extra chunk of money each month to save and/or simply put on the 135i payment. This is part of the reason why I have not purchased yet....I hate to think about how much money each month will be going out for BMW payments! I'm so used to having only 1 car payment...it is definitely nice.

What will determine if it works out best for me is how much extra interest I'd pay for financing the full amount but only paying on 1/2 or 2/3 of it. Then I'll have to weigh out if that is worth having lower payments until my wife's car is paid off. And money now is worth more than money 3 years from now so hanging onto it for a little longer (with the lower payments) is a good thing.

My wife's rate through BMW is 3.9%. I could always take the difference of the BMW Select payment and pay extra on her higher rate loan. That would probably make up some of the interest difference right there.

And I'm extremely good with money and have an amazing credit score so no worries about paying it off at the end. Hell I could write a check out of my home's equity credit line if worst came to worst.....

Anyone see my situation using BMW Select as bad?

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by premedsoccergod

thanks everyone for your input. I have decided to do the ballon financing. i got a sick deal, at least I think so. I haven't bought it yet but this is what i got:

135i black/black, sports package, ipod, steptronic with 5k down for 340/month for 60 months. I think this is great, any opinions on the new offer i received today?

I really think this is a poor idea. You'll be FORCED to work all through college to make the payments, then, 5 years out, in med school, when your finances and debt load is the worst, you'll be scrambling for a new loan. But, you can't work in med school, so youllbe taking a loan to pay to refinance your car loan... Great.

You areliving the exampleof why so many file for bankrupcy. I hope you prove us wrong, but I won't be holding my breath.

Vanity fades, smart choices last...

Good luck!

[firefighteru7]

Im getting a new 128i in 2 days. My credit is 700+ and i was rated for the highest credit rating w/ bmw. I am getting it for 2.9% for 60 months with a $12,500 balloon @ the end. If I keep it that long I can refiance it with BMW with the loyalty discount. The refi will prob be between 0.9-2.9, depending on the future in 5 yrs. Right now ppl that are refi-ing BMW's w/ BMW are getting the loyalty discount and paying 0.9% interest rates on their balloons. Not too bad when you can pay off the balloon with a super low rate.

[adk749]

I financed my 135i through the BMW Select Program. I could see why most people do not like the idea of a balloon payment, but if you actually do the math it makes financial sense. You see, most people do not realize that there is a time value to money. Paying $20,000 to BMW for your car is worth more to you 4 or 5 years down the road than today. You can easily make over 2% in a money market account over those four or five years. So, in actuality you are being paid to hold onto your money, rather that paying it to BMW up front.

For those of you who don't know the difference between a traditional finance and BMW Select finance is that BMW charges you the same finance rate on the balloon as the principal, for the right to move it to the end of the term rather than paying it up-front. So you are paying double finance charges on the balloon payment - but with the rates at 1.9% it only comes to 3.8%, pretty low in my opinion. With my loan it came to like an extra $700 to use the select program over a traditional finance. For me, well worth the advantage of paying the balloon at the end rather than paying it as a down payment up front. I am very confident I will make much more than $700 in interest on that money if I invest it wisely. Even if I didn't have the money, I think $700 is a small price to pay to get into a luxury car.

Now, a lot of you were saying that if you don't have the entire balloon payment at the end of the term you are in big trouble. Don't forget you have the car to sell to pay off the balloon. I realize it is a gamble that your car may be worth less than your balloon (hey, with low mileage and some TLC it might actually be worth *more*), but it is not like you have to pay off the entire balloon. Just sell the car and re-finance under the BMW Select Program once again (kinda, sorta like a lease). Month to month it is cheaper than straight-up financing or traditional leasing. I configured a lease for the same length of time and down payment and it came to more than $100 than the select payment.

So, while it may not be for everyone, it can work for some people - like me.

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by adk749

I financed my 135i through the BMW Select Program. I could see why most people do not like the idea of a balloon payment, but if you actually do the math it makes financial sense. You see, most people do not realize that there is a time value to money. Paying $20,000 to BMW for your car is worth more to you 4 or 5 years down the road than today. You can easily make over 2% in a money market account over those four or five years. So, in actuality you are being paid to hold onto your money, rather that paying it to BMW up front.

For those of you who don't know the difference between a traditional finance and BMW Select finance is that BMW charges you the same finance rate on the balloon as the principal, for the right to move it to the end of the term rather than paying it up-front. So you are paying double finance charges on the balloon payment - but with the rates at 1.9% it only comes to 3.8%, pretty low in my opinion. With my loan it came to like an extra $700 to use the select program over a traditional finance. For me, well worth the advantage of paying the balloon at the end rather than paying it as a down payment up front. I am very confident I will make much more than $700 in interest on that money if I invest it wisely. Even if I didn't have the money, I think $700 is a small price to pay to get into a luxury car.

Now, a lot of you were saying that if you don't have the entire balloon payment at the end of the term you are in big trouble. Don't forget you have the car to sell to pay off the balloon. I realize it is a gamble that your car may be worth less than your balloon (hey, with low mileage and some TLC it might actually be worth *more*), but it is not like you have to pay off the entire balloon. Just sell the car and re-finance under the BMW Select Program once again (kinda, sorta like a lease). Month to month it is cheaper than straight-up financing or traditional leasing. I configured a lease for the same length of time and down payment and it came to more than $100 than the select payment.

So, while it may not be for everyone, it can work for some people - like me.

Well put. It drives me crazy that people jump to the conclusion that you can't truly afford the car unless you straight up finance....and I'd love to know how many of these people are in 72 or 84 month loans.

I choose to lease NOT because I can't afford the car, I choose it for the convenience factor. I don't keep my cars for 5-6 years. I keep them for 2-3 years. Is it a good investment? No, but cars are not usually good investments in general. You want a good investment, buy a Corolla and drive it for 10 years.

I get to drive the car I want, for a nice (lowish) monthly payment, and if I'm tired of it at the end of the lease I give it back. Simple as that. BTW, I've leased several times and have never had to pay a dime at the end of the lease for any extra miles or wear and tear.

If I decide I want to buy it, I get a car that I know has been well taken care of for a nice lease end price. People need to consider all of their options before deciding something isn't worthwhile.

[Xin1120]

is BMW Select anything like Budweiser Select? heh...sorry, had to throw that in. Carry on...