How To Roughly Calculate Lease Money Factor

[Ibiza]

With the recent news from GOLFFRR that BMW FS sent Centers a "Cesit and Desist" letter to stop posting the lease Money Factors I complied a spread sheet of past months APR-Finance, MF, calculated the actual lease APR (MF x 2400) and delta between APR Lease-APR-Finance to see if BMW FS used a consent modify to add onto the APR-Finance rate so the MF could be reverse calculated. During 2017 as the interest rates rised, the delta between the 2 interest rates (Finance and Lease) decreased. Going forward I would add 0.3% onto the BMW FS published Finance-APR then divide by 2400 to arrive at a rough estimate for the MF and round accordingly. At least this would gives us all a ballpark figure that the buy rate money factor should be at to keep CA's honest and to recognize if the MF is marked up.

I welcome all feedback, including missing monthly data points (the 2018 pricing thread after August moved APR's to the 1st post which has been updated monthly) to recognize the trend that BMW FS uses to calculate the MF, and will update the spreadsheet. I know that GrussGott has a financial background for feedback.

[firedown31]

Another way is to use all the information BMW currently gives you online. Head on over to their lease offer page https://www.bmwusa.com/special-offers.html and find the model and year you want.

Click on "Important Info" under the listed monthly lease price


You'll see this popup


Pay attention to
$759 per month
$64820 cap cost
$43398 buyout (residual)

BMW uses 3 years 10K miles per year and base MF for their numbers (subject to change of course). The one thing we are missing is the MF, but we can figure this out with the posted information. All you need to do if adjust the MF until you hit the advertised monthly payment.




This may not work forever and we may need to rely on Ibiza's posted method. Some day BMW might start posting their website numbers with inflated or random MFs, since they already tried to silence dealers sharing information.

[Ibiza]

Originally Posted by firedown31

Another way is to use all the information BMW currently gives you online. Head on over to their lease offer page https://www.bmwusa.com/special-offers.html and find the model and year you want.

Click on "Important Info" under the listed monthly lease price
Attachment 1730972

You'll see this popup
Attachment 1730977

Pay attention to
$759 per month
$64820 cap cost
$43398 buyout (residual)

BMW uses 3 years 10K miles per year and base MF for their numbers (subject to change of course). The one thing we are missing is the MF, but we can figure this out with the posted information. All you need to do if adjust the MF until you hit the advertised monthly payment.

Attachment 1730979


This may not work forever and we may need to rely on Ibiza's posted method. Some day BMW might start posting their website numbers with inflated or random MFs, since they already tried to silence dealers sharing information.

Bimmerfest was silenced years ago by BMW NA. If BMW NA inflates the MF for the published lease 'specials' on the website, it will just drive customer traffic away from Centers. Centers need the 'carrot stick' of a low lease payment to attract customers into the showroom, then when additional packages/options are added to the published lease 'special' the 'bait and switch' tactic of marking up the MF can occur when the new monthly payment is calculated.
Slezzy marketing.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Ibiza

With the recent news from GOLFFRR that BMW FS sent Centers a "Cesit and Desist" letter to stop posting the lease Money Factors

That blows and is really stupid on BMW's part as the world is going towards transparency.

Your method is as good any, and all we can do is get everyone to publish their MFs, and maybe between the two (and any friendly sources) we can come up with a "forum" MF

[Space gray]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

That blows and is really stupid on BMW's part as the world is going towards transparency.

Your method is as good any, and all we can do is get everyone to publish their MFs, and maybe between the two (and any friendly sources) we can come up with a "forum" MF

Agree completely with respect to transparency. The genie is out of the bottle and there's no way that "truth" can be held by select few anymore in any area.
This might be a political move to show that they're something about protecting proprietary information.
Thanks Ibiza and everyone who contributes to this effort.

[FriedPiston]

This a big blow for future leasees. I hope it's only temporary.

[chaddeus]

Ibiza and firedown31 thank you

[GrussGott]

Seems like we might want to sticky this thread and Ibiza's list to keep people pouring those MFs in...

[Ibiza]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Seems like we might want to sticky this thread and Ibiza's list to keep people pouring those MFs in...

I don't mind updating the spread sheet monthly, just PM me if I forget. Edmond's has it posted (MF) within the forums.

[Thescout13]

Yeah I always use Edmunds as a back up just in case. BMW FS acts like we cannot do simple math with their online advertised offers. Dumbshits. As a lawyer, all I can say is screw the lawyers for being so blatantly dumb in this tactic.

[Ibiza]

Originally Posted by Thescout13

Yeah I always use Edmunds as a back up just in case. BMW FS acts like we cannot do simple math with their online advertised offers. Dumbshits. As a lawyer, all I can say is screw the lawyers for being so blatantly dumb in this tactic.

I'll take that 'cesit and desist' leter from their legal department and use it as toliet paper. For such a great customer experience, premium brand luxury company, I call their 'bluff', but we have already received our fine of no ED incentives and piss poor residuals this year.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by Ibiza

I'll take that 'cesit and desist' leter from their legal department and use it as toliet paper. For such a great customer experience, premium brand luxury company, I call their 'bluff', but we have already received our fine of no ED incentives and piss pour residuals this year.

Aint that the truth. Preach!

[Franco3000]

Why keep the MF hidden, but post APR for purchases. So its ok to post borrowing rates for purchasing a car, but not for leasing? Is BMW or car companies implying that lease customers are dumber?

[Ibiza]

Originally Posted by Franco3000

Why keep the MF hidden, but post APR for purchases. So its ok to post borrowing rates for purchasing a car, but not for leasing? Is BMW or car companies implying that lease customers are dumber?

I have never financed, but maybe there is no dealership finance department mark-up allowed by BMW FS?

I read under a internal BMW Acounting document that the Bank Fee is dealership profit. Just go to Google and enter search "BMW Center Accounting Manual" for the referenced PDF. Not going to post the PDF as parnoid mods would remove.

[Thescout13]

Originally Posted by Ibiza

I have never financed, but maybe there is no dealership finance department mark-up allowed by BMW FS?

I read under a internal BMW Acounting document that the Bank Fee is dealership profit. Just go to Google and enter search "BMW Center Accounting Manual" for the referenced PDF. Not going to post the PDF as parnoid mods would remove.

It is. There is also some processing fees they can finagle to get some extra squeeze.

[jjrandorin]

Originally Posted by Franco3000

Why keep the MF hidden, but post APR for purchases. So its ok to post borrowing rates for purchasing a car, but not for leasing? Is BMW or car companies implying that lease customers are dumber?

I am fairly certain that there is a legal requirement to provide "interest rates" for loans, but no such requirement for money factors for leasing. That would be why interest rate is published.. because they have to. Money factor is not publshed because they "dont have to".

If I am working on a deal and I specifically ask the dealer what money factor they are using for their deal, I expect them to tell me. Whether they tell me if its marked up or not is another story, but If one asks "what is the money factor used in this quote" thats a signal that one knows what "money factor" is, and should be told.

[Ibiza]

I missed updating the spreadsheet with Dec '17 & Jan'18 finance rates. Does anyone have? I believe the buy MF stayed the same at 0.00152 for Feb 2018.

[KevinM]

Unbelievable. BMW has a low opinion of the intellectual capacity of its customers.

[Ibiza]

I suspect that Centers were complaing through the National Dealer forum since there were 'headwinds' attempting to pass along the MF mark-up when customers knew what the buy rate was. With the 2017 drop in sales, Centers are scraping for every cent to keep the lights on. I have even noticed that some extend warranty policies are being marked up from MRSP by stealerships.