C450/C43 AMG
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Lease takeover experience

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Rate Thread
 
Old 02-06-2019, 08:16 PM
  #1  
Super Member
Thread Starter
 
cenzo86's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: NYC
Posts: 720
Received 73 Likes on 62 Posts
2016 c450 / 2016 VW Jetta 1.8t / 2006 Wrangler X
Lease takeover experience

I haven't been on the board for a bit. My wife and I just had our first kid 7 months ago so he's kinda been my new favorite thing to play with.

I still have my c450 lease until 4 of '20 and am considering my options for getting out early. The car has 12000 mi with 18000 left on the lease. I returned our Jetta so now the family is making it happen with the Mercedes and my Jeep. It works for now but we're going to need more room.

Has anyone ever done a lease transfer with Mercedes financial, or used services like Swapalease or Leasetrader? My greatest concern is the liability issue once the car is turned over. Am I still listed on the title or lean? Can I be held responsible for any issues with the new leasee?
Thanks in advance.
BTW AWE Track exhaust for sale.
Old 02-06-2019, 08:27 PM
  #2  
Super Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Dieseldan9's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 836
Received 132 Likes on 112 Posts
2018 C43 AMG Brilliant Blue Metallic
I tried to swap a lease with my Acura.

The whole lease is transferred to the new owner.

They have to qualify just like yourself and if they have better or worse credit that could impact the payment.

I was not successful with swap a lease and ended up paying 3500 out of pocket to get out of lease.

Honestly it was a nightmare.
Old 02-06-2019, 09:07 PM
  #3  
Super Member
 
Tirgoman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Dallas Texas USA
Posts: 510
Likes: 0
Received 63 Likes on 53 Posts
2023 AMG EQE 53
MB will usually try to take you out early if you lease another onMB, depends on vehicle, dealer and time of year. I've had them take me out as much as a year early and on one car not at all.you walk away from the old lease clean, not your problem but of course you have a new lease. shouThey Youalso waive anyadispisition fee. l'd talk to your dealer.
Old 02-06-2019, 09:28 PM
  #4  
Newbie
 
bjarble's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mercedes C43
Originally Posted by Tirgoman
MB will usually try to take you out early if you lease another onMB, depends on vehicle, dealer and time of year. I've had them take me out as much as a year early and on one car not at all.you walk away from the old lease clean, not your problem but of course you have a new lease. shouThey Youalso waive anyadispisition fee. l'd talk to your dealer.
I’ve done a few lease transfers (as the transferee, not the transferer) and did my 1st Mercedes a few months ago.

For most cars, once the transfer is complete, the whole lease moves over so no liability would stay with you (Audi is one exception that you would remain liable).

The key to transferring the lease will be your monthly payment. People looking to get a transfer on your lease are going to want a considerably better deal than they can get walking into their dealership. Typically that means, unless you put down some cash to get your lease payment down, it won’t transfer easily. Another option is to kick in a cash incentive if your lease payment isn’t especially attractive.

Last edited by bjarble; 02-07-2019 at 08:01 AM.
Old 02-07-2019, 08:32 AM
  #5  
Super Member
Thread Starter
 
cenzo86's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: NYC
Posts: 720
Received 73 Likes on 62 Posts
2016 c450 / 2016 VW Jetta 1.8t / 2006 Wrangler X
Where did you find your cars BJ?
Old 02-07-2019, 09:00 AM
  #6  
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
NYCSoiL's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 1,188
Received 197 Likes on 158 Posts
2018 GT R; Tesla M3P
I've done one with my old C450. It's an easy but not a quick process as MBUSA takes their time to process it. Usually you will have to offer the incentive to attract someone to take over the lease...
Try Swapalease. I'm actually just posted my C43 over there as I'm preparing to take a delivery of the C63
Good luck!
Old 02-07-2019, 08:06 PM
  #7  
Newbie
 
bjarble's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mercedes C43
Swapalease and Leasetrader are the 2 main ones, but seems like Swapalease gets more traffic. Although my last one was a private transfer initiated from the forums on the Leasehackr website.

My area doesn’t have a lot of the cars that I like, so I usually end up flying 1-way, picking up the car and driving home. I’ve gone to Chicago, Philly and New York.

Mercedes is crazy slow with theirs. Usually takes 1-2 weeks to send around the paperwork. Once the paperwork makes it back to the manufacturer, BMW was taking 2-3 days to finalize, Mercedes took almost 3 weeks!



Old 02-08-2019, 09:44 AM
  #8  
Member
 
merlin3008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Chicago
Posts: 202
Received 31 Likes on 28 Posts
2019 C43 AMG, 2016 BMW M235xi (gone)
Originally Posted by bjarble
BMW was taking 2-3 days to finalize, Mercedes took almost 3 weeks!

I had a similar experience with BMW. I was super impressed with how BMW finance handled the lease transfer. They have a solid process that was incredibly seamless. BTW, a key question to ask is whether or not MBUSA lease transfers include a complete release of liability on the car. I remember years ago when looking to exit an Infiniti lease, my name would have remained on the paperwork as a responsible party. BMW provided a full release. You were done with the car once the paperwork was complete. There real issues there. First, you don't want to held responsible if the new lessee defaults on payments. Second, in the vent of a theft or loss of the vehicle, you don't want to be responsible for any shortfall on the part of the bank (although gap insurance usually covers that). Third, you want to get involved in a lawsuit should the new lessee run over a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Old 02-08-2019, 04:12 PM
  #9  
Member
 
pghc63's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 166
Likes: 0
Received 27 Likes on 24 Posts
Too many
with MB and BMW once you transfer the lease , you are not responsible for any damage or missed payments .. basically you are out of the picture
VW group including Audi and Porsche still the first owner/lessee will be responsible for default of second lessee so it is not worth transferring
I have transferred lease with both BMW and Benz , the key is you have to give people very good reason to take over your car as compared to buying new , and most of the time it will be financial
if your lease is aggressive , then this will work in your favor
the few times I have done it , it was very easy process , as long as both parties are honest and responsible
I will suggest keeping exhaust till you transfer the lease, it night be an incentive to seal a deal
I threw in a winter wheel/ tire set that I used for one season when I transferred my M3 lease ... original price of set was 3 k , so used probably was worth 1500 dollars , but the guy loved it ,
try listing here first though unfortunately this forum does not get a lot of traffic
GL
Old 02-08-2019, 06:43 PM
  #10  
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
superswiss's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 8,097
Received 3,676 Likes on 2,456 Posts
2019 C63CS
Lease transfer may not be worth it. Depends on how much money you put down at the beginning and/or if you have equity. You'd potentially leave money on the table or as others have said have give incentive to take over your lease. However, you can trade in a leased car pretty much like any other car. A dealer will buy out the lease and if you have equity you can apply it towards your next car or get a check. If you are under water, then obviously you'll have to come up with the difference. If you are planning on getting into something else, then I would just pursue the trade-in route.

Last edited by superswiss; 02-08-2019 at 06:48 PM.
Old 02-19-2019, 12:38 PM
  #11  
Junior Member
 
navalos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
C43 AMG
First time poster here, and happy to make it this one if it saves even 1 person from derailment as I wish it did for me:
One other issue with transferring the lease might be getting someone approved in the first place. I found a 2018 C43 on Swap A Lease, initiated the process with the other guy, and MB sent me a link to their credit application. First, I was denied with a 791 credit score. Then I re-submitted with a co-signer with a credit score near 830 and 20 years of auto history, including 3 MB's (one of which's lease just ended with all payments made). We were denied once again. This was last Thursday/Friday.

The kicker - I walked into an MB dealer Saturday afternoon and left with a brand new 2019 C43.

Multiple threads around and plenty of other people who have had the same issue. It seems to me that MB purposely denies more-than-qualified lease transfer applicants in order to force a) the original lease holder to stay, and b) the aspiring lease holder to give in and get a new one directly from them. Damn unethical if you ask me, but not sure how much can be done.

Last edited by navalos; 02-19-2019 at 12:39 PM. Reason: More info
Old 03-01-2019, 01:14 PM
  #12  
MBWorld Fanatic!
 
NYCSoiL's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 1,188
Received 197 Likes on 158 Posts
2018 GT R; Tesla M3P
Originally Posted by navalos
First time poster here, and happy to make it this one if it saves even 1 person from derailment as I wish it did for me:
One other issue with transferring the lease might be getting someone approved in the first place. I found a 2018 C43 on Swap A Lease, initiated the process with the other guy, and MB sent me a link to their credit application. First, I was denied with a 791 credit score. Then I re-submitted with a co-signer with a credit score near 830 and 20 years of auto history, including 3 MB's (one of which's lease just ended with all payments made). We were denied once again. This was last Thursday/Friday.

The kicker - I walked into an MB dealer Saturday afternoon and left with a brand new 2019 C43.

Multiple threads around and plenty of other people who have had the same issue. It seems to me that MB purposely denies more-than-qualified lease transfer applicants in order to force a) the original lease holder to stay, and b) the aspiring lease holder to give in and get a new one directly from them. Damn unethical if you ask me, but not sure how much can be done.
Yeah, unfortunately this is true, my overqualified buyer just got denied...

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 


You have already rated this thread Rating: Thread Rating: 0 votes,  average.

Quick Reply: Lease takeover experience



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:25 AM.