Kieffer

As the arrival date gets closer, my dealer wants me to come in and talk lease deals. I had previously told my salesperson that I was probably going to go through leasecompare.com, which has shown decent rates on its website. Today, my salesperson surprised me with rates that beat leasecompare.com by a substantial amount. I'll probably go with the 39 month lease, as putting $5K down on 27 months is a bit extreme for me. Both are 12K miles per year with $5K down and a purchase price of $43K and some change:

27 months: $559
39 months: $545

When I lease a car, I just go for the payment. I don't talk money factors, etc., as I just don't care - the monthly payment is all that matters to me. So, I don't know the money factor, residual, etc. on these quotes.

Do you think I have any wiggle room on the 39 month payment, or should I go lock this in as soon as possible?

Thanks.

akusnowo

My drive off was $3500 for 27 months @$500 incl tax. C300 black on black, p1 and auto.

If it's p2 with panorama, same drive off, terms, but $559 incl. tax (8.25%)

Good luck!

oblu

Can't really know if you have wiggle room without knowing what the variable amounts are ... since you're only looking at monthly payment, then all you can do is ask for a lower payment.

If you knew what the MF, residual and cap cost were, then you'd know if there was wiggle room and where. Not that hard to find out, or figure out.

That's a lot of cap cost reduction btw, without actually plugging #'s in, that sounds much improved over the the Oct rates.

But is that $545 with tax or without?

Kieffer

That's without tax.

oblu

Without tax, and actual 5k cap cost reduction or is that 5k drive off?

If it's 5k down, it looks like it might actually be Oct rates + a markup on the MF. If it's 5k drive off, rates might've changed a tad for Nov. Or they're throwing in a small discount.

But, without details, who knows.

Kieffer

Sorry - that was $5,000 drive-off, so including first payment (but not factoring in tax on the first payment)

oblu

Rates have probably come down a bit then.

I'd still want to know what they're charging me for MF, residual and cap. I've never seen a sales manager yet that doesn't try to mark up the MF from buy rate.

Kieffer

The dealer and I have been exchanging e-mails. I started looking at a 27 month lease, thinking it would be good considering my 'need' to trade cars every couple of years. The payment didn't freak me out, but when I asked about the residual and money factor, I was a bit freaked. The residual was 69% on a $43,000 purchase (that did not seem bad) and the money factor was .00377. Unless I'm doing it wrong, that comes out to 8.8% on the money factor. That seems INSANE to me.

My question is, is a MF of .00377 the norm for a short-term lease like 27 months? Or is my dealer just thinking that I will be an idiot and say "yes"? Does anyone know the actual MF that MB Financial has for a 27 month lease on a C350 Sport?

Thank you all for your advice! I really appreciate it.

LaicepsYdobon

Funny this topic came up. I was at my dealership this past Friday and was talking to my service guy. We're just shooting the breeze when I asked him about the new C-Class. He was telling me about how he likes it but thinks its a bit "flat" on the inside but the main problem with the car is that its practically unleasable. MB is charging way too much money for the lease. Whom in their right mind would pay $550 a month (before taxes with $5000 down at signing) for a C-Class when you could pick up an E-Class the $50 more. I was a little shocked when I heard it from his mouth but I had to agree with him. I'm playin $450 a month for my 205 Luxury W203 fully loaded and I'm staring to look elsewhere because $550 a month for a C-Class is not really worth it for me. I'd rather get into the $600 range and go with an E-Class.

oblu

MBF rates for Nov got posted yesterday.
https://mbworld.org/forums/automotive-leasing-financing/216821-mercedes-benz-lease-rates-november-2007-a.html

They're marking you up a bit, but MBF rates on the C are high right now. I'd give leasecompare a go although I haven't read any, nor do I have any feedback to offer on them. I did try fleetrates.com and I didn't get a good feeling. They offered up a deal that seemed stellar but then when I wanted to sign on the dotted, they disappeared and wouldn't return calls/emails. At least they disappeared before I gave them money.

One of the dealers I went to tried to get me to sign off on .00469. I did go with .00315 (C300) but there were other components to the deal that made it worth my while.

I still don't know how the math is working on the deal they're offering you though. Even pre-tax that seems awful low for the MF stated. There seems like there has to be a lot of cap reduction in there for 69% and .00377 to get to $559.

oblu

PS. I second the E-Class lease statement ... just I didn't want an E-Class. I almost did lease one before I decided I just didn't want/need one. However, if when my C lease is up, the rates on the redesigned E are still as attractive (doubt it) I'll probably get one then. It was a nice car, but it just felt long in the tooth.

A salesperson I was working with, the same one that tried .00469 on me, emailed me the other day to say there are rumors of a lease special on the C in Dec.

wase4711

Ask them how much a one-time, single payment would be..thats the BEST lease deal, if you can afford it..

Kieffer

Until this week, I was going to go with leasecompare.com. They had amazing rates. But the November MB deals beat them on a 36 month lease, and there was no comparison going for less than 36 months. Thanks for the link to the November rates. Yeah, they're marking it up a bit, but not as much as I thought they had done. Their ridiculously inflated residuals are what make them attractive. All others have lower money factors, but also realistic residuals. If I'm going to turn the car in at the end (likely, knowing me), the residual value doesn't matter.

I, too, saw the E350 4matic lease deals this weekend - wow. I just don't like the E. I've driven one - they're a nice drive, but they just don't do much for me. In fact, it's been a long time since a Mercedes car did much for me, until the W204 came out. That's why I'm willing to pay for a C - though it's smaller than the E, it doesn't have that stodgy look, plus the C has the newest navigation / COMMAND technology. The E has the older version that is in our ML320CDI. Those things matter more to me than going up a size class.

Thanks for the info!