Modified leased M5's - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

M'nd · 10th July 2003, 21:19

Just curious how many owners on the board have modified their leased M5. If so how much modification and what are your plans at the end of the lease period.

rennen · 10th July 2003, 22:08

I did a bunch of stuff, I'm just going to leave it on there when I give it back. No point taking it off in my opinion.

FAST 5 · 10th July 2003, 22:33

Hey Guys,
I've been contemplating whether or not to re-lease my 2000 model 540ia sport, which has been converted over to a ///M Euro Sport package vehicle. The car also has basic DINAN modifications done to her. They are, CAI, engine software, transmission software and free flow exhaust, all by Dinan. The car has been very good to me and the wife, with ZERO issues/problems. The car is a cream puff! Thats why we are considering doing a re-lease on this car. Now that I have the 03 M5, the wife exclusively drives the 540 car. I spoke with my BMW dealer contact about the possibility of a re-lease. After having worked out the payment numbers (which are super sweet) for a 24 month period and at 15,000 miles a yr, he chimmed in, telling me, the car CAN NOT be CPO'ed! I freaked out & asked him why

He said it was due to the Dinan mods. He told me the mods are documented in BMW's computer service history, so the computer system will not allow the car to be certified. Even if the Dinan mods & its software were to be removed and the OEM parts re-installed, it still can not be CPO'ed!!!!!!!!! He told me the only way the car can have a warranty is if I have a Dinan BMW dealer certify the car. The catch to this, is there is no Dinan BMW dealership anywhere close to me, so this can't be done. Plus, the Dinan CPO warranty would cost approx. $3000.00, which is considered to be very expensive. My BMW contact told me that if BMW discovers any alteration/modification to the car, it is documented with the car's history and the documentation can be used to decide whether or not the car is eligible for CPO or not. So, mods by A.A., RMS or anyone else (not just Dinan) can be used against the driver/owner to deny CPO coverage. Plus, this price ($3,000) is for a 540 car, not the mighty M5, which would be super expensive to warranty, as a CPO. The 540 has almost 40,000 miles on her, so if we decided to extend the lease, the car would be covered by BMW up to 50,000 miles. The re-lease term for 24 months would take the car to the 70,000 mile marker/range. So, for 20,000 miles my wife's car would be without coverage. This for me is a scary thought! After much discussion, my BMW contact was able to "hook me up" with a warranty for the 540, outside of BMW's warranty. He was able to get me bumper to bumper warranty coverage through Triple A (A.A.A.), which is known as their PLATINUM PLAN. This plan mirrors BMW warranty plan in every way! The cost for this plan for me a bit over a grand. hehehehe....
I called Triple A to inquire about this particular warranty plan and its much more than the price my BMW contact obtained for me. Based on this I will more than likely re-lease our 540 car.

The point of this story is, if you guys "MOD OUT" your M5 cars, come the end of your lease, whether you decide to re-lease it, buy it out or simply return the car back to the BMW dealer, the modified car can not be CPO'ed, even if a different person wants to buy or lease the vehicle.
I know, this was a loooonng story. Thanks for reading it.
Robert

Teutonaddict · 10th July 2003, 23:27

I leased my Beast, with no intention of ever turning it back to BMWFS. I knew that I would either (1) buy it outright, or (2) find a buyer and "sell" the vehicle through my long-term-relationship dealer. This way, I never have to worry about how many mods OR miles are on the car.

I've taken this very approach with my prior three 5ers, ALL leased through BMWFS. In each of those cases, I found a buyer (all thru Roundel), sold the car to this third party, and paid off my lease to BMWFS.

With this car, however, I will buy it outright at the end of my lease term. The residual and the book value (per the Manheim Market Report) are dead-even, so it looks pretty attractive, given all the added goodies on her and the fact that she's now perfect.

While CPO is a good deal for bone stock cars, as Fast5 noted there are plenty of similarly comprehensive extended warranties out there. BMWNA has done a great job of marketing their CPO program, but in the end it's merely a glorified extended warranty.

I waited until I had about 36K miles on the Beast before I pulled the trigger on mine, and it cost me ~$2500 for a +5 year (from date of contract) / 100K mile (total odo) exception-based plan. Had I bought the plan when the M5 first came out, they were going for ~$1400. He who hesitates is lost....

If your plan is to turn your M5 back into the dealer at the end of your term, I don't know how you could do anything but return it to stock form. I'd hate to think how they'd assess "excessive wear and tear" on non-original components!!

-Dave

Jacob Lee · 10th July 2003, 23:44

I didn't think BMW or other car manufacturers even allowed you to modify leased cars. That if it wasn't stock you weren't eligible to turn the car back in and had to buy it out?

Wilkie · 11th July 2003, 18:49

Quote:

Originally posted by Jacob Lee
I didn't think BMW or other car manufacturers even allowed you to modify leased cars. That if it wasn't stock you weren't eligible to turn the car back in and had to buy it out?

Each lease is a bit different, but usually, the lease just says all mods and additions belong to the lessor when and if the car is returned. Also, as a practical matter, whether the mods add or detract from the value of the car, that is taken into account when the final accounting is done when the car is returned.

Wilkie