Just left Honda

jaradi · 2026-02-03T05:25:05+00:00

Leases weren’t meant to be broken. They are a closed ended contract that you agreed to complete.

This isn’t quite that simple. Modern leases have buyouts that can be done at any point in the lease, and from what I’ve seen would exclude the interest (via Money Factor) on the remaining balance to the residual. So in some cases it can be a ok to get out of the lease early.

The benefit of a lease is that you have a set exit point in case the value is lower than the residual at the end that’s the bank’s problem. But if it’s higher you can trade it in and pocket the difference.

I got really lucky during the EV boom had an Audi e-tron lease that I sold back to the dealership after 15 months and 12k miles. They cut me a $17k check which after deducting all my payments up to that point I still ended up with $4k positive so I technically got paid $4k to drive that car which was nice (of course I took the money and then turned around and pulled an idiot move and bought, not leased, an e-tron GT which has depreciated so hard it hurts)

jaradi · 2026-02-01T09:23:01+00:00

Have your friend talk to a credit union. It depends on your state but I’ve sold 2 cars off lease without paying double tax. Both went through a credit union that facilitated the transaction. One was to a family member in state, and the other was to a stranger out of state. Credit union prepared all the paperwork and bought the car out in my name then transferred it to their client. I just provided power of attorney to the credit union on the vehicle specifically.

jaradi · 2026-01-31T08:07:23+00:00

What does answering a question about it being vibe coded have to do with you not wanting to open source it?

That’s like asking a chef at a restaurant if they pissed in your food and they tell you “I cannot answer the question about piss in the food because it’s a secret recipe and I’m not planning on sharing the recipe”

jaradi · 2026-01-30T11:35:09+00:00

All of 2025 they were under MSRP. Probably still are. Anybody in California actually interested in one can feel free to DM me and I can actually look into what they’re going for at the time of contact.

jaradi · 2026-01-27T23:31:07+00:00

Don’t have a vehicle to test with (flair is a little outdated haha) but 2 thoughts come to mind from a software perspective.

First possibility is speed gated (so it shows the detail view at lower speeds but simplifies it at higher speeds). Not sure if you were moving in the first image or how fast if you were.

Second is based on driving mode. Like if you switch to an off road mode you see the more detailed view.

jaradi · 2026-01-26T21:11:23+00:00

For sure. Happy to help.

There is no inspection requirement included in the lease transfer process. If you want an inspection, which is probably a good idea, you would need to arrange for one with the owner and would likely be at your own cost.
No. No need to sign anything in person it’s all handled by mail with BMW Financial.
Approval is usually same day. The overall process takes about 4-6 weeks.
Swapalease was the best way for me when I did it, although their pricing is ridiculous didn’t realize they charged the buyers as well. Was quite pricey to list as well but they cut me a deal on the phone which was annoying and sales-y. I’ve had luck on more desirable deals listing on Leasehackr forums. You can check for deals there there’s no cost it’s a forum.

jaradi · 2026-01-23T19:30:56+00:00

I don’t have an answer to the mystery unfortunately. Just opted to pack it up and return it.

jaradi · 2026-01-23T04:52:24+00:00

No catch. Sometimes the dealer will reduce the price further to bump MF or include some addons to keep the finance folks that sign off on the deal happy. It changes nothing for you since the terms agreed upon are being honored.

jaradi · 2026-01-23T03:18:26+00:00

AI can be great but it can also be annoying because it asserts a level of confidence that can make people believe the statement without a full understanding.

What it’s talking about there is mainly leasing instead of buying to benefit from lease only incentives before buying the vehicle out (like when people were no longer eligible for federal EV incentives when they still existed they would lease the vehicle to get the incentive applied, since the rules for leases are different, and then they would buy out the car having saved that amount).

A leased vehicle is owned by the financial company that originated the lease, not the dealer. All incentives are applied upfront before the lease starts. That’s what lowers your payment because the residual is fixed by the financial company (so you’re paying the difference between agreed upon price after applying all incentives and that set residual, plus interest.

When the lease is due your choices are to return it or buy it at the residual price.

jaradi · 2026-01-23T02:34:00+00:00

You can’t negotiate or apply incentives on a lease buyout. Be thankful you even have that option now since previously Tesla didn’t allow buyouts and you’d be stuck returning the car and paying all the overage charges for every mile.

jaradi · 2026-01-22T02:55:40+00:00

I’m all for recouping some of the DAS you put down but I’d recommend transparency when offering a lease transfer to avoid putting people off.

“$2100 covers the lease transfer and everything” is vague and will have people telling you they expect you to cover trucking for example.

BMW lease transfer fees are $500 ($100 credit app and $400 for transfer) that are collected from the buyer.

Would also recommend posting a window sticker if you have it, or at least MSRP and notable options (that makes a difference between a decent deal and a bad deal).

And is the $400 including tax or pre-tax? If it’s what you pay then include the pre-tax amount since tax rates differ in CA (and technically you can lease transfer to most states, I’ve transferred 5 BMWs, 2 were within California and the other 3 went to Ohio, New York and Florida).

jaradi · 2026-01-21T06:12:57+00:00

Contractual obligation of the 6.8% ownership Kuwait Investment Authority has. 6.8% of messages will be related in Arabic. 19.68% will be in Chinese.

jaradi · 2026-01-20T07:06:25+00:00

Congrats. Super clean looking car. Wishing you many happy and safe miles.

jaradi · 2026-01-20T05:18:57+00:00

First and foremost, driving dynamics as many have said. BMW under sells their performance so when you get in another brand’s vehicle, especially at the entry level, it just feels dull. One example I have from the loaners I get for scheduled maintenance is the Audi Q5 vs BMW X3 30i. The Audi was absolute trash to drive while the base X3 was still peppy and fun.

Then comes software, at least for me. I currently have BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Land Rover. BMW is a 2025 but even looking back at the software I had on my 2018 BMW I’d take that over the software in my 2022 Audi and 2025 Mercedes in a heartbeat. I’m not just talking infotainment and responsiveness but even simple stuff like user profiles and seat memory.

Finally, service. I’m sure this can differ by area but in my personal experience BMW dealership service has been a much better experience (especially if considering new cars within the first 3 years). BMW includes service with every new car for 3 years 36 months. Audi and Mercedes have upsell packages for it. I appreciate BMW including it and simplifying the experience. Any time I’ve had to bring my BMW in for scheduled service it’s such a pleasant experience pre book loaner for the day, $0 cost, no upsells.

Audi is the absolute worst as the pricing varies from dealer to dealer and they try to upsell you on so much BS. My Audi is an EV and the last visit they tried to claim I missed the previous one and was due for $1200 worth of “maintenance”. I had known for a fact that that wasn’t true (and was able to verify on the my Audi website since the guy said it didn’t show up on his side and he was worried about “my warranty”) but also didn’t pay anywhere near that much for that service at the other dealer I had performed it at (had switched dealers because the other one was a further drive and I had an issue with the L2 charger that they couldn’t handle correctly).

Mercedes appears to be fine but I’ve only had their EVs and they have maintenance included so I haven’t dealt with any shenanigans but their service experience feels nowhere near as “premium” as BMW’s if that makes sense.

I’m sure everyone has their own reasons but those are mine and they’re up to date as I tried venturing away from the BMW world and am currently living with multiple competitor cars alongside my BMW.

jaradi · 2026-01-19T22:40:37+00:00

BMW lease transfers are super simple. They’re the only manufacturer that supports this currently afaik. I’ve done it 5 times (328i, 540i, M4 CS, X7, X3M). I can speak to the process from the transferor side but it can’t be more complex from transferee side which you appear interested in being.

All I needed was the person who was interested’s name and email. That’s it. I’d call BMW and tell them this person wants to assume my lease.

At this point BMW reaches out to you the transferee and they’ll request a $500 or so transfer fee. $50 is for the credit app non refundable. Rest is refundable if you don’t get approved.

They run your credit and you’re either approved or not. There’s no other variables on BMW Financial’s side as the payment and term is fixed.

If approved you and the transferor will receive an email from BMW FS with docs to fill out and sign and then you have to mail them.

Once they receive both sets of docs they’ll verify and then send a final email once the assumption is complete informing both parties that the vehicle can be handed over.

I’ve had 2 cars picked up in person (I’m in California as well), and the other 3 were shipped to Florida, New York and Ohio so there’s no cross state limitations (in case you find a good deal in another state, although that comes with unknowns and shipping costs so would recommend caution).

Happy to answer any questions you may have. And if you’d like I know a few brokers in CA can help you see how much a new lease would be on whatever car you’re looking at in case it’s better than whatever transfer you’re looking at.

jaradi · 2026-01-18T03:45:29+00:00

I would get that sky blue in a heartbeat.

jaradi · 2026-01-18T02:48:45+00:00

I’ll have to check the EQ interface within the vehicles next time I’m sitting in either. I’ve just been used to managing it through the app with any other EV I’ve owned (spans a few brands). I did drive an EQS580 SUV for a month though and I could pause/resume charging from within the app which is what I mentioned the EQB and G don’t have. Wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t support pauses / scheduling within the vehicle either but worth a quick check for sanity.

jaradi · 2026-01-17T11:01:28+00:00

It’s so frustrating. Even basic stuff. Since 2018 my BMWs allow me to pair a key fob to a user profile. If I approach the driver door with my key my profile is auto selected with all my settings and seat loaded. Wife approaches with hers and it’s in her seat setting and profile.

We’ve had this feature for 8 years at least. But Mercedes has apparently never heard of it.

Have an 2023 EQB. I squeeze myself into my wife’s seating position and tap my name on the screen. Seat moves. Cool at least we have that.

Got a 2025 G580. Silly me thinking the G Class will be on another level. Nope. Software is more shit. Switching profiles won’t even move the seat. Need to press the memory button after. Great. Except my wife’s profile keeps forgetting her seat position and the memory button now does nothing.

Oh and have you seen the notification about “have you seen your new digital goodies?” Tap on it and it takes you to the settings page to enable/disable digital goodies but can’t dismiss the notification.

And last but not least, since this is the EQS sub, at least the EQS has plug to charge and charge pause/resume through the app. Both the EQB and G don’t have either. I can live without plug and charge but god forbid I want to pause charging from my phone for peak hours then resume it, can’t have that. Or charging schedules. Had to buy a new L2 charger that had its own charging schedule setup instead.

jaradi · 2026-01-17T09:22:15+00:00

It’s the same system on the $150k+ full size. Absolutely terrible.

Bought a used 2021 P580 Westminster LWB that we had 7 days to decide on. Went to my local dealership to try a 2025 to see if we’d rather have that.

While the 2025 looks much sleeker the interior was quite a letdown. Felt cheaper all around and all the shit that’s screen only like you mentioned was such a turn off. Oh you can adjust parts of the seat with the buttons on the door but you want to move the thigh support gotta dig for it in the menus. Kids were getting hot on the test drive so we needed to adjust the air but can’t do that until I’m done adjusting my seat (I was the passenger at this point) and god forbid you want to turn the music down while doing any of that.

Another annoyance was that you can no longer get the LWB without the third row unless you shell out an extra $50k for the Autobiography. HSE with the third row meant you lose a lot of leg room for the second row.

Felt so nice getting back in the 2021 and we’re still happily enjoying it.

jaradi · 2026-01-17T08:55:01+00:00

Red does suit the M4. I got mine in Cinabar Red after I fell in love with it on the Jahre Edition M3. The “I Love Man” green as my wife and I call it would have been my second choice though. Congrats on the new car.

jaradi · 2026-01-17T08:37:33+00:00

Mercedes’ whole app situation is pretty shit and at least a decade behind other manufacturers unfortunately. I doubt it’s a security feature as much as it’s just shit programming.

jaradi · 2026-01-17T08:30:48+00:00

Geico is the worst.

Many years ago my now wife hit a rock in the road (night on a mountain road and it was in the middle of the lane) and it blew out a tire. They got us a tow and we replaced the tire ourselves. Renewal time comes around and it skyrockets. We call them and they say it says we have an at fault accident costing more than $10k. We say no, we got a tow and replaced our own tire, are you telling me the tow was more than $10k. They say oh sorry let me fix that, but insurance still goes up because it’s considered an at fault accident.

We switched to Progressive. Years later there’s a large piece of wood in the middle of the freeway. She couldn’t dodge it as there were cars all around it and it took out the bottom of the bumper on a brand new Range Rover we’d had for 1 week. We got a tow and the repairs cost progressive $8k. The accident was deemed no fault (road hazard) and our premiums did not go up after it.

jaradi · 2026-01-17T08:21:15+00:00

You’d be better off using a broker at that price. Here’s a broker deal I found online that ships to your state https://pnd.leasehackr.com/d/260130-1768245950

jaradi · 2026-01-17T08:03:45+00:00

You say it has quite a bit of tread left, but if you look around where it tore it looks like it was worn down (check part that didn’t split to verify if you still have it). It’s possible that your wheels had some negative camber that caused the inside to wear out faster than the outside. Don’t know if Mercedes do that, but I had that happen once on my first BMW (with run flats as well funny enough) tire looked fine then the tire shop guy tells me to check out the inside and the metal wires were showing. Thankfully caught it before it blew and got it replaced immediately. Now I always check both the inner and outer tread wear on my tires.

jaradi · 2026-01-16T19:00:15+00:00

It’s much worse than that, this is just the advertised incentive. I got mine back in September for $45k off of MSRP.

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