not expert on this but this is what i can tell u from my experience:

under the condition i don't know how your state tax works, u'll have to figure out how it's different than mine. in here California we're paying 8.75% (little difference in different areas) sales tax when purchasing a car. when selling, we don't get any sort of tax credit towards to new car. when buying with cash or financing, the tax is gone, since u pay it upfront. when leasing, the tax is billed monthly on the portion u use the car. that reason alone, makes sense for lots people, including me. i don't want to pay 20k in tax for a 250k car if knowing i might sell it in 6 months. leasing on the other hand, might makes sense in this case ONLY i know i would keep this car less than 6 months. once the tax saving benefit is gone then leasing a garage queen or expensive exotic does not make any sense if u can't write it off.

be aware of the market. when leasing, residual is the key. without getting into details , go find out why BMW usually has better, much better deals than Audi, Mercedes etc. i am very happy with BMW program not only because the number is great, also because if u get a good deal u will have no problem finding someone to take over the lease when u ready for another car. back to residual, i don't know why u picked 24 months instead of 36 months on your GTI lease but i hope it's not only because u'll be able to get out in a shorter period of time. u'll have to compare the residuals. i think GTI is a pretty strong car in resale. if that's the case, the less number of leasing total amount u made is a better deal. therefore, 24 months may not be the best option for you if u're only keeping it for 6 months.

to answer ur another question about ED. let's say BMW, the car is discounted from regular retail price. u can still negotiate a better price since dealer has lowered ED invoice price on the ED car. the existing incentive programs also apply to ED car as well. it is important for you to realize that ED is a pure enjoyment, truly blast experience, a must do, if u can. however, after all the plane ticket, hotel, gas etc., your saving may very easy to turn upside down. and the car will arrive in US 6~8 weeks later than regular car, meaning u'll be paying at least 1 or 2 payments without the car. u need to factor that in. we did the ED last year in mid Sept for wife's car. car was dropped off in Frankfurt late Sept. 3 countries in 2 weeks (take the full insurance advantage if u can) with 1,300 miles. car arrived in US in late Nov. i can tell you it was the best travel experience i've ever had & already planning the next one. btw, the deal was so good that if i post it online the car would be sold within 24hr. that's the key.

bottom-line, it's just a number game. don't think too complicate. lay both of your options out u should be able to see which way makes more sense by ''saving'' money. at the end, both ways cost money so u just need to pick the one that costs less & enjoy more. good luck!

 

One quick note: when paying financing or leasing you can pay the tax up front, or finance the entire amount. Every lease payment/finance payment does not necessarily have tax in it... Depends on what the up front payment is which comes down to what the buyer wants to pay up front.

Also forgot - on a lease, never put more down than the taxes, fees + first month's payment. Cap cost reduction is just throwing money away.

 

cstroked,
the difference is in the pay off. regardless u finance or not u don't want to get stuck with the tax. lease doesn't. finance does.

agreed on the 2nd count.

 

Another alternative if you want/need to get the payment lower on a lease is to put down multiple security deposits. I know BMW will let you put up to 8 (IIRC) down, which will knock the payment down a couple hundred bucks a month, plus you get the money back at the end.

 

yes. they could lower the payment quite a bit. however, unless u keep the car for the entire term otherwise it's tough to get the buyer to give u that deposit back to u upfront. they often see that being an ''incentive'' as motivation to buy. it is very fair to ask though.

 

Thanks again for the replies. I've got a buddy who did the max multiple security deposits w/ BMW - worked well for him. I'll check into how it works out on a shorter term lease. Tax here in Chicago is the worst in the country so I'll look into how that would play into the different scenarios mentioned.

 

I'll echo some here. If you have car ADD like many of us here do (like say, me), the best bet is really trolling the forums for lease takeovers.

Second best would be to lease ED BMW's. BMW leases get traded a lot, and BMWFS has it down. To transfer a lease is a matter of a single phone call to BMWFS by you, everything else is handled by email and fax.

 

When people asked for "incentive" for me to close the deal on my M3 lease transfer, I tell that I am perfectly fine keeping the car for the term. Lease transfer, like selling cars, has become such that everyone buying and looking to takeover your car ASSume that you are in a state of utter financial ruin and need to desparately get out of the car. Then they get really indignant when you tell them that you are perfectly fine keeping the car till the lease is up.

The advice on MSD is totally true though. Most people looking to takeover the lease do not have any cash, so it will be difficult to get it back up front if you put a lot of MSD's down.

 

Thanks again for all the feedback on this.

I'm going to try and set aside some time to do a bit more research here in the next week or so.

 

If you are getting a new car each year, you are paying the most depreciation and it is costing you a fortune every year, especially if you are leasing it. If you are able to live with getting a CPO that is say 2 yrs old, finance it for however long you need to get the payment where you need it, and then sell it a year later (or whenever you are bored with it), you will see a FAR lower cost of ownership for the same cars or can actually get a more high end car for the same money you are paying now for your VW's. Of course, if you must have new cars, this all goes out the window.

I have a killer credit union that has a car buying service that can acquire just about any vehicle I want for FAR lower than I can get it and then they will either finance it or lease it to me at credit union rates. I will never buy a car direct from a dealership again.