jhillman

I was wondering what peoples' experience has been with the reliability of the Payment Calculator on mbusa.com with the lease option. For anyone who used this tool prior to closing a deal, has your actual payment amount been close to what was estimated?

I plan to lease (ballon purchase) a C320 with MSRP of $46K, with $8K down for 39 months w/ 12K miles per year. The payment caluclator estimates $472/month. Anyone know whether this would be close to my actual payment amount? (I have good, not excellent credit, and I realize TT&L is not included. I live in Texas.)

deanlnh

I wouldn't use the ballon option. With 8 K down your better off with a 5 year loan, your payment will be cheaper. Ballon leases are actually against the law in some states including NH.

djamer

JHillman,

It's wise to save your hard-earned cash. Putting down $8,000 on a C320 seems like a lot of loot for me. I would never down more than 3-5K for a car valued up to $45-48K. Your car will depreciate as soon as it leaves the lot. Why not put down 4K, and invest the other 4K in some investment strategy earning you 6-8% (T-Bills, Cd, mutual funds, etc..) If you can work w/ your bank to have bi-monthly payments, and you can afford to do some, that is second thing i would recommend. Not only do you save on interest; you aren't suffocated at the end of each w/ a hugh payment of $500.00 or more. If possible, join a credit union. Much more attractive rates and terms for cars. just some thoughts..good luck w/ your purchase..

djamer

jhillman

I don't want to pay more than $500 per month. Even with $8K down, financing would yield a monthly payment much higher than that....even with 72 month financing at a reasonable interest rate.

All I was wondering was whether other people have found the payment calculator to be in-line with what they've ended up paying per month in a lease or balloon scenario.

MB-BOB

Where's that new jersey accountant when you need him?

tommy?

djamer

gotcha..

i used a calculator from my credit union website to finance my car, and it was on the money.

tberry

NOPE. Mine was wayyyy off. I calculated on MB site for lease C230k coupe w/ C5,C7, auto, 6disc CD for $3500down, 39mnths 12k miles per year lease at $390. Dealer tells me same deal for 15k miles per year at $465 a month! I'm trying another dealer right now. I'm in Houston, TX by the way where are you?

jhillman

I'm in Dallas, TX

deanlnh

This one pops up a few Debug messages but it shows you the payment for both leasing and buying. Good luck.

http://www.calcbuilder.com/cgi-bin/c...3.cgi/usatoday