MCONDE01

Well as I previosly posted I have purchased some new rims so I am planning on selling my stock sport rims on my 2005 C230 SS. (currently the rear tires that I purchased are on back order so I am still waiting for my new rims)

After thinking about what I am going to do with my car I have a couple of questions regarding what happens when you turn in your lease:

1) What happens when you don't have the stock rims that came with the car anymore and you are attempting to turn in your lease? (extra fees or penalty?)

2) What happens if you have put less mileage than anticipated on the car?...I am currently 5,000 miles under my 15,000 yearly budget. I am possibly thinking about buying this car after my lease is up, so does the buyout price change if I have driven less miles that originally indicated? (buyout price on my paperwork after 39 months is around $19,300)

3) Is it a good idea to buy your car after you have leased it?...I know MB's are risky to own after the warranty is up but I have purchased a pretty good extended warranty called MBI from Geico that covers the car up to 100,000 - I just have to pay a $250 deductible for any repairs. (of course this kicks in after the MB warranty is up)

I am thinking about just keeping my stock sport rims just in case I do decide to trade in my car.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

///M3N

1) Keep the stocks 'coz they won't take it with aftermarket rims. If you don't have it anymore, you're going to pay a lot, more than what you sold yours for.

2) The buy out price won't change regardless of the miles, not quite sure about MB but years ago when I returned a leased Honda, it didnt matter that I was way below the anticipated mileage (I wasn't planning on buying it either way)

3) If you like your car a lot then keep it, you know how you drove it and how it has been since you started leasing it. If you're going to keep it and get extended warranty, try to get what MB offers 'coz they don't have any deductibles and they have good coverage.

Gilgorm

I agree totally with ///M3N.
1. From your comments, I would keep the stock rims AND THE RUBBER that was on them. If you turn in the car put the old rims and rubber back on. There will likely be a cost to turning it in with non-stock rims and rubber.
2. The residual value for the car will NOT change with low mileage. Only high mileage costs you money. You don't save any for low mileage.
3. I've only purchased one car at lease end because it also had low mileage and was in excellent shape. I kept it one year and then traded it for more than the residual value from the old lease so I drove it for nothing for one year. May not always work but worth thinking about at lease end.

MCONDE01

Thanks for the feedback...

So I probably am going to keep my rims and tires now. I guess I can put them back on when I get rid of the car...whenever that may be. My rear tires are just about bald, but I guess when I trade in the car it won't matter.

And about the car's buyout price - I was worried about the price going up since the mileage would be less...but if that is not the case then that is good. I am really paying for those miles anyway through the lease.

So I guess I will drive my car till I finish the lease and then decide...and I will look into a MB extended warranty if I decide to keep the car.

Muchos Gracias!

sdsilverm3

I swear I was told that you get reimbursed for the mileage you did not use. For example: Say the original lease terms were for 10k miles. You paid extra for 15k a year and you only use up 10k/year you should technically be paid for the 5k you didn't use at the rate they charged you ($0.25/mile?). That's how it was explained to me anyway. I'm guessing it also depends on the terms of your lease.

gaogi

Not in a closed end lease you don't. Most consumer leases are close ended, which means the purchase option will stay the same regardless of how many miles you drive. If you drive more than your alloted mileage, you still pay the same purchase option price in addition to the mileage penalty fees.

I leased my previous car for 4 years @15,000 miles per year. At the end of the lease, I had 40,000 miles on it. The buyout was 13,500.00 and Bluebook trade in was 19,500.00 with 40,000 miles. So I sold the car to a buddy of mine for 17,500. He was happy that he got the car below bluebook trade in, and I was happy to recoup 4,000.00.

Moral of the story, if you're under mileage at the end of the lease, it might be worth it to buy it and sell it to recoup the mileage you didn't use.

sdsilverm3

Sorry about the confusion. I was referring to if he were to turn the car in without even considering purchasing. I believe you are correct though. There won't be any discounts if you decide to purchase at the end of lease.

MCONDE01

Thanks for the good feedback everyone! - Then it might be a good idea for me to think about buying my car when my lease is up since I probably will be below my miles...(of course as long as the car keeps running good)

gaogi - sweet deal you got by selling your car after your lease.

Thanks again for the good info!

Buellwinkle

Keep in mind that there are costs related with turning it in. There's usually a turn in fee that's equal or greater than the deposit you put down (which you get back if you buy it), also they check tire and break wear and if it's less than half they fix it at your expense. Also any scratches, door ding, dents that exceed their criteria (they are all different) have to be repaired. For example, some say any scratch longer than 2", or more than 3 door dings, etc... Also, any outstanding service, for example, you turn it in with the service indicator on then you will be responsible for that service. Also if you turn it with tires that are not to the factory spec or mixed brands they can reject it.

As for the lower than expected miles, you get zilch, nada, zero, nothing. The only way you can benefit is if you can sell the car on your own and it's higher than your residual.

MCONDE01

That is crazy....I knew that there were some turn in fees involved but that is a lot of crap to deal with. I have never heard about anybody getting that beat up with all those fees when turning in a lease. How about if you want to buy the car after the lease is up - do you still get charged all those fees?

I am hoping that the car keeps going good (which I am confident it will) - if so I will probably buy it, then if I am lower on miles than expected that will just help me gain equity in the car faster correct?

Thanks again...

2006c230

No...if you buy the car you will not have to pay the fees...or for the dings...

My boss has bought out his last 4 leases. If they think that you might want to buy/lease another car they are much less likely to have you pay for any fees than if you are just dropping the car off and are like here you go...

MCONDE01

Good info - Thanks! I would think that they would be a lot more flexible with me if I was interested in buying the car after the lease or if I was maybe looking at another car they can sell me.

gens

Try this search if u wanna find more opinions.

http://drivingfun.googlepages.com/cf...&cof=FORID%3A9

What The!?

They are VERY flexible if you tell them that you want to buy the car after the lease. Also, they wave the "dealer aquisition fee" if you decide you want to buy it. Most of the time you can get an awesome deal at the end of the lease.

fwellers

I only wish that were true.
I just leased mine, and was told I'd basically be stupid to try and buy it out at end of lease.
That's because they put such an overinflated residual on the car to keep the lease payments down.
I would think that they would be willing to negotiate on that price with me, giving me a first chance to buy it, but I heard that they won't. It'll be plain and simple, if I want it, I must pay what the lease contract buyout price is, which will most likely be about $4k more than the resale value of the car.

I guess I'll just wait and see.

MCONDE01

I have always wondered about the buyout price on my car...

This is what I have on my 2005 C230 SS = Brilliant Silver - Charcoal interior - Entertainment Package - Automatic - Lighting Package - Sunroof Package.....and the buyout price after 39 months and 48,750 miles (15,000 miles per year) is like $19,300...

I will probably finish with around 40,000 miles
Do you think that my buyout price is way off? I guess time will tell...

Buellwinkle

Tough call considering the new W204 will be out before then. Currently, I've seen people asking that much for a 2003 which would be comperable in age/mileage to yours after 39 months. So while I don't think it's high, it's not a bargain either. On one hand, a 2003 still looks like a 2007 so it's still desireable where your 2005 won't look like a 2008 and will have a larger pool of used W203s for sale. On the other hand, if the W204 is priced considerably higher, it could drive up used car prices.

Mugen711

Your buyout $19,300 sounds pretty low.

was your MSRP was around $35,500?

MCONDE01

Yes it was right around $35,500...

Buellwinkle - you made a lot of good points...I guess a big part of my car's resale value will be determined by the W204

Mugen711

for 39months in 2005, I recall the residual being 59% for 15K and 61% for 12K and 62% for 10K

but anyways, $19.3 is a pretty good price and when I worked for MBZ, there are times MB Credit will let you negotiate on the buyout.

Goodluck

MCONDE01

Interesting...I guess I will try negotiating a bit. Thanks for the feedback!

skr

My brother-in-law has the Gieco extended warranty coverage on his 2002 BMW x5, and he recently had 4K worth of work covered by it. No hassels. So if you decide to keep your car the Geico coverage is good.

MCONDE01

Good to hear...after reading all the info about the MBI extended warranty from Geico I was pretty sure that it was going to be worth it for me to get it. Especially since I might be keeping my car for a long time...(probably 6 or 7 years if all goes well)