[persian54]

So... after not having my E93 M3 anymore since fall of last year, and the 2011 Z4's 24 month lease coming to an end very soon.... it's time to pick out something else...


Any ideas?
Has to be a convertible, hardtop vert highly preferred, performance/sports car, lease only, track-able stock (except pads and wheel/tires obviously).
I've never kept any car for longer than 24 months and I have no plans of changing that anytime soon, so lease is the best option (plus, complete w/o).


I looked at the new Boxster..love the design, but the car isn't worth a 30% higher lease payment + less options
(loaded Z4 vs a PDK/heated seat only Boxster have a difference of 30% in their lease payments from what I've been offered by dealers).

Plus the boxster is a soft top...so while it does drive better than the Z4, it doesn't drive 30% better, and the soft top part really kills it

Then we have the SLK, which I haven't had a chance to drive yet, but I'm not a huge fan of the looks. Performance numbers aren't so stellar either. Payment is about 10% more than the Z4, so no issue there if the car was indeed better...

My only setback on the Z4 is that... if I get another one, it'll be my 3rd Z4 (I had a 2009, current is a 2011, so new one would be a 2013/14).

if I get another E93 M3, it'll be my second M3... but I really want a 2 seater/roadster as I already have an E350 that is used as my comfy DD with trunk space etc.

Any help appreciated..

For those that may be interested, these sort of look like cars I may have owned

2009 e93 335


2009 Z4:


E93 M3



E89 Z4

[chron3k]

What's your budget? How about the 991 S Cab? They have killer 24-month, low-mileage leases right now (ask me how I know...).

There's just not many hardtop convertibles out there... SL550/AMG?

[persian54]

Originally Posted by chron3k

What's your budget? How about the 991 S Cab? They have killer 24-month, low-mileage leases right now (ask me how I know...).

There's just not many hardtop convertibles out there... SL550/AMG?

SL is too heavy

I considered the 991, but it gets too pricey... well.. at least what i was quoted.

I heard about them having some good leases, but 5k miles/year isn't enough lol.

If you could PM me what you got, that would be awesome! Maybe my dealer was just raping me lol

[tpg22]

I enjoy driving my SLK55 AMG. I would recommend you test drive one of those. I got it shortly after my wife got the 135i vert. It is a head turner.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by tpg22

I enjoy driving my SLK55 AMG. I would recommend you test drive one of those. I got it shortly after my wife got the 135i vert. It is a head turner.

Yeah I've been looking at the new one

the issue is i cannot find a dealer that has them in stock long enough for me to at least be able to see it, let alone drive it...

[tpg22]

I do see used ones at dealerships every so often. Would it be possible to test drive one of those? I was lucky. I bought it from a co-worker. In 2006 we built and ordered it one day at the office. After 3 years he moved on to a Lotus and I bought the car from him (glad I pushed him to the AMG). It now has 18000 miles on it. Not bad for an 06. Now I kick around the idea of trading it in on something new. I'm amazed they list trade value as $30000 and private sale at about $34000. That's more then I paid.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by tpg22

I do see used ones at dealerships every so often. Would it be possible to test drive one of those? I was lucky. I bought it from a co-worker. In 2006 we built and ordered it one day at the office. After 3 years he moved on to a Lotus and I bought the car from him (glad I pushed him to the AMG). It now has 18000 miles on it. Not bad for an 06. Now I kick around the idea of trading it in on something new. I'm amazed they list trade value as $30000 and private sale at about $34000. That's more then I paid.

Didn't the new SLK55 just come out as a 2013 model?
I didn't think there would be any used ones; but good idea! I've only checked new dealer inventory and totally skipped used ones. I'll recheck to see what I can find :P


A 06 with only 18k! You guys need to drive more lol. My 2011 z4 has 18.5k on it!

[chron3k]

The 991 deals they're offering still have pretty good residuals on 7.5k and 10k/year 2-year leases. The extra mile is 0.30 each... if I go over 10K in 2 years I'll just pay the penalty (I did the math out and pre-paying for extra mileage is 0.24 per mile or something).

IIRC, the residual on a 991 S cab is .73 and top-tier MF is 0.002. My car was MSRP 131K and I pay roughly $1440 incl. NJ tax (0 down).

[tpg22]

Probably no used 2013's yet. I thought you at least wanted to test drive one to see if you liked it. Don't know how different a 2012 would be from a 2013. I did a search on KBB and several 2012's came up in my area.

[Red Bread]

The new Boxster S sure does drive well. I prefer soft tops for their lighter weight, classic looks and low stack height that doesn't consume all/part of the trunk when folded. Plus they're much simpler and should prove cheaper to deal with over the long haul (of course most cars I've seen with broken tops seem to be Porsches).

My only concession with the two convertibles I've owned is to always leave a window open or the top down if it's not raining and at least the doors unlocked if it is raining. I've had random little things stolen, but never had the top cut or a window broken.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by chron3k

The 991 deals they're offering still have pretty good residuals on 7.5k and 10k/year 2-year leases. The extra mile is 0.30 each... if I go over 10K in 2 years I'll just pay the penalty (I did the math out and pre-paying for extra mileage is 0.24 per mile or something).

IIRC, the residual on a 991 S cab is .73 and top-tier MF is 0.002. My car was MSRP 131K and I pay roughly $1440 incl. NJ tax (0 down).

Wait, so you mean with Porsche, if you buy miles at the beginning it's more than buying during the lease? (30 vs 24). That doesn't seem logical...?

$1440 is really good for a 131k one.
The best I was offered was 7.5 down, 1100/month 24months 5k mi 100k car. Seemed pretty outrageous to me..

Originally Posted by tpg22

Probably no used 2013's yet. I thought you at least wanted to test drive one to see if you liked it. Don't know how different a 2012 would be from a 2013. I did a search on KBB and several 2012's came up in my area.

None :/

Originally Posted by Red Bread

The new Boxster S sure does drive well. I prefer soft tops for their lighter weight, classic looks and low stack height that doesn't consume all/part of the trunk when folded. Plus they're much simpler and should prove cheaper to deal with over the long haul (of course most cars I've seen with broken tops seem to be Porsches).

My only concession with the two convertibles I've owned is to always leave a window open or the top down if it's not raining and at least the doors unlocked if it is raining. I've had random little things stolen, but never had the top cut or a window broken.

Long Haul isn't a concern for me cause I don't plan to own it for longer than the 2-3 year lease period
I used to have a 986 Boxster a few years ago, and damn that thing was NOSIEY (top down is fine, but top up! It was hard to have a conversation without yelling)

Z4/E93 335/E93 M3 have all been super quiet. i need to drive the new boxster with the top up on the freeway to see how the wind noise is..

[tpg22]

Sorry, didn't look close enough. They were 2009's. Only 200 were made in 2010 and I don't think any were made in 2011 (I could be wrong). I guess that is why my car has held up so well.

[persian54]

It's definitely more aggressive than the Z4

[Red Bread]

Damn, that looks good, I guess I haven't seen a new body SLK55.

I think the 981 uses the same basic top as the old 986/987, it is a more raw car than the others listed. The 991 uses the semi-hardtop with a canvas cover, but I'm almost certain that the 981 did not get that technology and uses a conventional soft top. I have been wrong before though.

[chron3k]

Originally Posted by persian54

Wait, so you mean with Porsche, if you buy miles at the beginning it's more than buying during the lease? (30 vs 24). That doesn't seem logical...?

$1440 is really good for a 131k one.
The best I was offered was 7.5 down, 1100/month 24months 5k mi 100k car. Seemed pretty outrageous to me..

Other way around (sorry if not clear). It's a 0.30 per mile penalty if you go over the alotted miles. When I did the back of the napkin math on 7.5k and 10k/yr leases, each additional mile (over the 5K/yr) was roughly 0.24 (so it's 6 cents cheaper to pre-buy).

What discount and money factor did you negotiate? Most of the dealers in the tri-state area will do 6-8% without much haggling at all, though some will try and squeeze out an additional .0002 on MF.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by chron3k

Other way around (sorry if not clear). It's a 0.30 per mile penalty if you go over the alotted miles. When I did the back of the napkin math on 7.5k and 10k/yr leases, each additional mile (over the 5K/yr) was roughly 0.24 (so it's 6 cents cheaper to pre-buy).

What discount and money factor did you negotiate? Most of the dealers in the tri-state area will do 6-8% without much haggling at all, though some will try and squeeze out an additional .0002 on MF.

i think MF was .00022?

I didn't sit and negotiate much cause I wasn't blown away by the way it drove. really disappointed . Drove great but not 100k car great..

[persian54]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Damn, that looks good, I guess I haven't seen a new body SLK55.

I think the 981 uses the same basic top as the old 986/987, it is a more raw car than the others listed. The 991 uses the semi-hardtop with a canvas cover, but I'm almost certain that the 981 did not get that technology and uses a conventional soft top. I have been wrong before though.

Hmm.. i would've thought in 10 years, they would have improved the technology..

[chron3k]

Originally Posted by persian54

i think MF was .00022?

I didn't sit and negotiate much cause I wasn't blown away by the way it drove. really disappointed . Drove great but not 100k car great..

Fair enough.. did you test the base or the S? If you're looking at the base, I think you may as well get the Boxster S (most of the car for a lot less money).

Another option may be the RS5 Cabriolet... not a hardtop, though. I believe it just hit the US market. Not sure if the lease deals will be any good on the car, though... being new and all (and compared to BMW, Audi leases tend to be pretty expensive due to residual and MF)...

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by persian54

Hmm.. i would've thought in 10 years, they would have improved the technology..

Some of us still like simple, even if it's a little crude. Light wins in my book, and I'll sacrifice a little noise for less weight, especially from the top of the car.

[chron3k]

Jag F type may also be an option (believe it's launching soon, as well).

[trentagxw]

I got it shortly after my wife got the 135i vert. It is a head turner.

[SaMaster14]

Originally Posted by persian54

SL is too heavy
l

The new SL is still too heavy?? I've driven it, and although it doesn't handle as well as my 335is, it is an absolute monster and the luxury level is above and beyond any BMW I've been in.

Although, I'm not sure if I would track an SL (unless it was an AMG).

Also, I assume the lease price would be more than a boxster, Z4, M3 and all the above...