Looks like I'll have my 135is a while longer yet

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/17/2016 at 12:20 • Filed to: None

Yesterday I drove from Madison to Chicago to trade my leased 135is for a CPO Infiniti G37xS coupe. It didn’t happen. BMW’s over-inflated lease residual values, which are why you can get such low payments relative to the sticker price of a BMW, also make it really hard to get out of the car before the end of the lease. Unless you get another BMW.

The Infiniti dealer offered me $28k for my 135is. The payoff on my lease is $31,375. All they were willing to do to try and close the gap was knock another $500 off the sale price of their G37xS. I told the sales guy, “I came all this way, sell me a car!” But they wouldn’t do any better.

Accepting that offer would’ve cost me more than keeping my 135is until the end of the lease and getting another car at that point. So I walked.

To be honest, the more I’ve driven these G37 coupes, the less I’ve necessarily been thrilled with them. They’re...alright. But my excitement about the G37xS on paper doesn’t quite translate to the driving experience. I’d still buy one, but I certainly won’t waste money just to get one a couple months sooner than the end of my 135is lease.

The day wasn’t a total bust as I got a chance to spend some time visiting with assorted Chicago-area family, including springing my 92 year-old grandma loose from her assisted living facility and taking her to a Japanese restaurant where I got sushi, and she got udon noodles because I told her they were kinda like lo mein. When this udon turned out to be a giant bowl of soup, I served some into a smaller soup bowl, and she couldn’t really control the slippery udon noodles with her fork, so she’d pick up one bigass individual udon noodle at a time with her bare hands and eat them that way. But she kept asking for more of those noodles so hey, she must’ve enjoyed them. If you’re 92 you get to eat udon noodles with your hands!

This was the only relevant photo I could find on a google image search for “grandma udon noodles.” My grandma is a tiny little Jewish lady, not Japanese, but I like this picture.

During the course of calling my gf for her thoughts on the situation, the topic of that !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! came up, and I asked her if she thought maybe I should hit up that dealer, but I would only do it if she was comfortable with the possibility of me having another BMW.

Turns out, she doesn’t !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , her main thing she hates about my car is me calling it a Bimmer. I only do it because it’s shorter than saying BMW. I am totally willing to give up saying “Bimmer” if that will make her happy! But I didn’t go to that dealer to see that E92 335i xDrive, because I called them and they were similarly pessimistic about the trade value on my 135is as the Infiniti dealer.

On my way back from Chicago I was kicking around ideas in my head of what to do with this car situation. They included:

Shit, I’m going to buy an E92 M3 convertible! It’s got a flippy hard top and with the LSD I can totally drive in the snow with Blizzaks!

Hey, even though I really don’t want to have 2 cars any more, I should keep my Jeep and buy some cheaper sports car to go with it and keep juggling 2 cars, as long as it’s cheap. Let me get a Z4 M Roadster!

Then I remembered a couple months ago my sales person from my local BMW dealer where I got my 135is reached out to me because if I were to get a new or CPO BMW, BMW would waive my remaining lease payments and disposition fee. At the time I told her I was planning to turn in the 135is at the end of my lease, and drive my Jeep for a while as my only car.

So when I got home, I emailed her that I’ve changed my mind to selling the Jeep and getting one fun awd car to drive year round, and said, basically, if she could find me a CPO 2011-2013 335i xDrive M Sport stick shift with low miles, and the options I want, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and it’d get me out of remaining lease payments and buying more fucking awful run-flat tires, I’ll buy it.

Well, I didn’t say “fucking awful run-flat tires” to her.

I guess we’ll see! But BMW has clearly stacked the deck in their favor with this payoff vs. trade value shenanigans. Sure, you could say I’m falling into their trap, but is it really a trap if it also happens to be the best deal?

DISCUSSION (14)

Rico > Textured Soy Protein
04/17/2016 at 12:34

Okay first off, yeah don’t over pay on the Infiniti. It’s a good not great car and certainly not worth throwing an extra $3k at it to make a deal so good on you for that.

Second, how often do you refer to your car as Bimmer or even BMW? I drive a Mercedes Benz and always refer to my car as “the car”, “my car” and occasionally “the whip”.

I rarely say the Benz or the Mercedes or my Merc unless I’m telling someone who has asked me what I drive or comparing my car to someone else’s.

I’ve got a friend of a friend that calls my “the Benzo” where did you park the Benzo? How’s the Benzo treating you? Shit irks me to no end lol.

Last see what BMW can do for you, smartest thing would be going CPO and I wouldn't mind overpaying a little on a CPO 335 since it will be a more fun car than a G37 balance and chassis wise.

pjhusa > Rico
04/17/2016 at 12:49

Same. We never call our BMW a “BMW” or “Bimmer”. Just car.

DipodomysDeserti > pjhusa
04/17/2016 at 13:01

For those of us with more than one car, you have to get more specific. I never say bimmer, though.

pjhusa > DipodomysDeserti
04/17/2016 at 13:07

Well, we do call our ML “ML” though.

Textured Soy Protein > Rico
04/17/2016 at 13:30

It’s probably because I have it and the Jeep. I tend to specify which car I’m talking about. I suppose I could refer to them as “the car” and “the Jeep.” But I’m really the last person to get caught up in being all thinking I’m fancy for having a BMW. Hell, I kinda dislike being associated with the brand, I don’t like coming off as snobby. I just fell into saying “Bimmer” for no reason other than economy of syllables.

That's gonna leave a mark! > Textured Soy Protein
04/17/2016 at 13:41

A number of high end car companies use the method of high residual value to not only make it easier for you to afford but it allows them to do that without cutting the list price. MB, Lexus, they all do it because they don’t want to get into the rebate pissing match with other manufacturers and also keep the mystique of the luxury brand.

Textured Soy Protein > That's gonna leave a mark!
04/17/2016 at 14:04

In my case, I got the lease payment so reasonable because I had a USAA $1000 credit, something like a $1000 recent college grad discount (I went back to school as a grown-up) and the dealer had knocked a good $3500 or so off the sticker price. All that, plus the high-ish residual.

Montalvo > Textured Soy Protein
04/17/2016 at 14:24

I knew it, I told you to look at these a while back and lo and behold there it is. Those cars just offer too many choices to suit whatever your need it. Also the CPO warranties and extended warranties will still be around for a bit on these cars and if you want M3 power you can get that factory backed with Dinan. AWD M3 in a body style of you choosing with choice of transmissions? I can’t seem to really find a fault in that.

thedevilinside > Rico
04/17/2016 at 14:59

Do you have two cars? I have to specify the Camaro or the Focus. Or some other way, but I go with those. (Still weird to me that is my stable, but hey American cars are lower cost usually)

Rico > Textured Soy Protein
04/17/2016 at 18:05

Nah I understand I didn’t think too much about the jeep when I posted. Makes sense and it’s a good thing she told you! I hate when my girl doesn’t tell me something bothers her right away. Just freakin tell me!

Textured Soy Protein > Rico
04/17/2016 at 19:09

She only told me just now and I’ve had the damn thing for almost 3 years haha! The topic only came up because I had pretty much decided to get the Infiniti then started thinking maaaaybe I’ll look at a 335ix too. She was thinking “finally I won’t have to hear him say Bimmer anymore!” so when I said I was thinking about getting another one, well, she didn’t like that very much.

Basically, she hates how yuppie pricks talk about driving their Bimmers and doesn’t like me sounding like that because she knows I’m not a yuppie prick. Well, I am a yuppie prick, but I’m a nice, nerdy yuppie prick. But as long as I never say “Bimmer” in her presence again, I shouldd be good!

Textured Soy Protein > Montalvo
04/17/2016 at 19:13

Part of why I’ve been ignoring the 335ix is because there’s some stuff about it that on paper, the G37xS does better.

My 135is has the sport suspension and big brakes. The E92 335ix, even with the M Sport package, has the standard suspension and brakes. Also, I hate the open diff on my 135is and while the 335ix is awd, it still has an open rear diff. Both cars have the goddamned motherfucking run-flat tires that I want to curse the existence of all the time.

The G37xS has sport suspension, big brakes, awd, no blasted run-flats, and rear LSD. Its 7-speed auto is way better than the BMW 6-speed Steptronic auto but not quite in the same league as the 7-speed DCT in my 135is, or a ZF 8-speed. In theory, it’s pretty much exactly what I want. But in the execution it sorta kinda comes up a little bit lacking.

Really, there are several brand new BMWs where you can get awd, big brakes, sport suspension, and the BMW accessory LSD. Any of these would be a near perfect car for me. I just don’t want to spend that much money.

jmedarts > Textured Soy Protein
04/18/2016 at 07:00

Do they even make LSD’s for x-drive? Also doesn’t the x-drive have a detectable negative affect on the handling in the first place? Not detectable every day, but when you are on a track-detectable. And I am not sure any BMW outside of an M comes without run-flats.

Textured Soy Protein > jmedarts
04/18/2016 at 09:21

Getting an M BMW is pretty much the only way to avoid run-flats. The rest of them almost all have run-flats and no spare tire. The OEM tire on most performance-y BMWs including my 135is is the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A RFT which does a halfway decent impression of a real max performance tire, but they’re way too heavy, give a clompy ride on rough roads, go greasy in hot weather, and have a 140 treadwear rating. My rear tires are down to 4/32" of tread with only 16k miles on them.

I am not a track rat so I don’t care about maximum track performance. I do live in Wisconsin and want a fun awd car that I can put snow tires on in the winter and have above-average snow capability.

There are aftermarket LSDs available for the xDrive from Wavetrac.