slp0313

I currently have an 08 C300 sport with 7 speed automatic. The car currently has 9000 miles with 23 months left on the lease. The Maturity date is May 2011. Options with the car are the following: P2 package, ipod kit, multimedia, AMG wheels and rear spoiler.

Just trying to see what my options are as I really don't drive the car that much. Anyone have any luck with Lease takeovers? Or would i be able to trade this in for something else? Any suggestions/interest?

methodz

i've been thinking about doing the same. i got my car around the same time as you but i only have 5000 miles on my car.

jstaneff

How do you go about having a car like the C and manage to have so few miles on it? At 18 months I had 26K and I'm getting concerned about how quickly I'll need to buy the extended warranty. You guys are way down on mileage!

Is it lifestyle? Do you live where you either don't need transportation, or where there's great mass transit?

Just asking ...

whiteongrey

I'm in the same boat but like and keep my car.

Drive about 50 miles week - rest of the time I take a taxi or airplane, walk or bicycle. Live in the center.

I would say that lease takeovers are not attractive at all with all the mfg incentives plus credit rating requirements are higher than in Q2 '08 for example.

If it's just a matter of being bored with a leisure car take the hit and enjoy the new ride - they will amortize the loss into the new car.

methodz

well, i only live 2 miles away from work and live in hollywood so when i go out, it is usually in hollywood also. at the moment i don't have many reasons that make me drive out any farther than 6 miles away from home. i was thinking of volunteering being the designated vegas driver towards the end of my lease i figure i can take like 15 trips there to make the lease miles worth it.

slp0313

Well, it's my leisure car. I have a Grand Cherokee that I drive daily and a CBR600 that I ride on sunny days.

NJBNZ

Shouldn't you have put some thought into this BEFORE buying/leasing the car? No you can't trade it in on something else. You'll have to pay the remaining months. You can look into a lease-swap kinda thing but that's about it.

Mercedes took back my '07 C280 5 months early when I got my 09 C300...but that was 5 months...not 23 months

AMGTTV8

mercedes does not let anyone get out of their leases...the only way they will waive payments is if you are going into a new car and even then its only 5 months as was noted below...

if you really want to get out of it, you are going to have to put the remaining outstanding equity in your next car...which is never attractive financially

Murray Woo

I seriously considered doing this before and looked into it. I have a 2008 C350. I had a lady willing to take over my lease for her 18 year old son (lucky kid!). I just couldn't stand the slow throttle response of the car and the maddening windshield wiper flutter. I seemed to have fixed both now with a SprintBooster, and after cracking the windshield during wiper arm repair, and $550 windshield repair later, somehow the wipers are working alright again. Honestly I just wanted something new cuz I kept on thinking may be I'll enjoy an Infiniti or Bimmer more, since they are supposed to be much more sporty. So I went over and test drove those. And you know what? They are different for sake of being different. Infiniti G37 felt WAY cheaper, not even in the same league as the Benz. Bimmer 335i is nicer inside than the Benz, but you'd have to shell out about 10K more for the same equipment level. And both cars were quicker than the Benz...but not THAT much quicker. Almost to a moot point. One thing that surprised me though, I was "car-sitting" my friend's Lexus IS250 AWD, and that thing had the fastest throttle response of all these cars! Floor the throttle and it downshifts to the lowest gear instantly! Faster than the Benz with the SprintBooster. Infiniti and the Bimmer suffer from the same lag btw. Interior material quality and overall ride comfort was better than the Benz, although it's even smaller than the C350 inside and the controls are kind of toylike, while looking boring outside. Anyway, lease transfer fee to another person would be $599, payable to MB, at least that's what was quoted to me. The person has to be approved by MB financial also. You would lose the downpayment you made. And since you'd most likely getting a new car, figure another downpayment. And you are not going to downgrade to a Civic, aren't you? It's helluva lot of money to lose and fork upfront to switch a lease. If I want something like a C350, I lose $2600 downpayment and possibly shell out another $3000 to get in the new car? Oh yeah, now a lot of lease takeover people want "incentive" to take it over, since a lot of people are trying to get rid of their cars. My advice? If you are going to get a way cheaper car later or no car at all, lease takeover makes financial sense. If you want to transfer your lease just to drive something new, crunch the numbers. It may be a lot more expensive than you think. Test drive the car you want to switch too. You might find that you appreciate your beautiful Benz a lot more after that.

NJBNZ

Once again...shouldn't you have thought about that BEFORE you got the Mercedes????