So I found myself at the BMW dealer
 

We've been thinking of replacing the wife's Grand Cherokee for a while, and pondering pretty much any and all SUV's in the mean-time. Yesterday we finally had some time (and a baby sitter) to head over to the BMW dealer where they happened to have a used MDX, and a Cayenne. (Previously we've driven both gen X5's and a new Jeep GC.) It didn't take long to realize that for one reason or another we were both happiest with the x3 over everything else we looked at.

We ran the numbers a bit and it seems like they must have some pretty awful residuals/money factors on the x3 right now. Shouldn't the 2012 lease be pretty much as good a deal as can be right now? I've been looking around the net and can't seem to find the actual numbers from BMW anymore. Am I missing something, or are these no longer published? I know we have several bmw leases around here - where do you guys go now to research and figure these things out?

It's really annoying that nobody else can figure out how to make a decently competitive vehicle. I feel kind of dirty actually considering buying a no dipstick, turbo BMW, but what are you going to do. :speechle:

Oh, and I must be the only person who actually appreciated the a la carte ording system, because they've really moved to all sorts of silly, overstuffed, packages now. booo

LeaseCompare doesn't seem to be around anymore, or at least Tarry is no longer posting.

This source has the programs:

http://www.ridewithg.com/index.php/2...november-2011/

Why the X3 over the new Grand Cherokee?

I prefer stand alone options too, seems the average american joe wants the loaded up vehicle nowadays:(

I would imagine it depends on what your priorities are. The new Grand Cherokee is really nice. I think it would beat the X3 in terms of overall value, space, off-road ability, etc. But when it comes to things that some of us probably care about (acceleration, handling, road feel, etc.) I am pretty sure the X3 is in a different league than the GC.

Thanks. Those were the numbers they were showing me but it just seemed like 54% was awfully low, no?

This.

The new GC is really nice and a total bargain. However, the sight lines aren't great, and it is quite large/heavy feeling. My wife also decided that ultimately it was too similar to the jeep she's been driving and she wanted something different.

We haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet, but I think at this point it's just down to choosing options. If we could get the m sport without the mandatory premium pkg gee gaws I think we'd be done.

I think some of us are still used to the old programs that BMW had 3-4 years ago. Mid-50s is probably the "true" residual for that car right now. The X3 is new enough and selling well enough that they don't have to get really aggressive yet on the leases. If you look over the past year, the cars that have had aggressive lease support have all been E90/91/92/93 or Z4 derivatives.

If you're leasing, I'm still a fan of the zero down max MSD route. The overall lease is just not a screaming deal like it might have been a few years back.

No doubt. Some of us are still used to prices from back in the day too. :eeps:

I've been reading about the MSD thing, but honestly it's still over my head.

X3s are still holding really strong on resale... my parents just bought out the lease on their 2009 for residual (shocking!!) of about $27k and that was actually a good price based on the market value.

You could take your chances buying it and taking their finance offer. The X3 and X5 had consistently done well in resale over the past few years other than the significant 1st year depreciation hit that all BMWs take.

That's what I'm leaning towards now. I can get a low interest rate from my credit union.