Did somebody say deal?!
12-25-2008, 11:49 PM
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CLK 350 Cabriolet
Did somebody say deal?!
Thought I'd share this . . . I have a 2006 CLK 350 cabrio and my 3-year lease was just up. The problem is, I love my car!
I've been very sad the last few months, knowing I was probably going to have to turn in the car. The last thing I wanted to do right now is buy or lease a new car, so I was resigned to turning it in and driving my beater car for a while.
MB is notorious for never negotiating on residual values at lease-end, and they set their residuals very high. This is great for keeping the lease payment low, but it means they keep customers revolving into new leases instead of buying out their cars at lease-end.
When MB called me last month, I told them there was zero chance at me buying or leasing a new car, and unless they would lower the residual value to less than Blue Book, I was going to simply turn it in and walk away.
They tried very hard to change my mind, but I was sure I was going to have to turn it in.
Anyway, turns out they will indeed negotiate! I bought my car! For less than blue book! In fact, the deal was so good when you add up the buy-out amount plus three years of lease payments, I ended up paying less than the original purchase price of the car -- my lease payments were basically a less-than-zero percent loan!
I realize this is a perfect economic storm, and the last thing MB wants right now is an old car back, so I don't think they will be offering deals like this for long, but what a great time to be at the end of a lease.
So I think I have to treat myself to a full interior/exterior detail and get that new car feeling back again. Hope this helps anyone in a similar situation . . . the trick here I think was that I didn't bluff -- I was fully prepared to turn it in and walk away. I have a buddy with a CLK500 in a similar situation (same dealer, too), and they got him into a new lease, mostly because I think they new he had to have a CLK and was just posturing about turning it in ...
Crispix
I've been very sad the last few months, knowing I was probably going to have to turn in the car. The last thing I wanted to do right now is buy or lease a new car, so I was resigned to turning it in and driving my beater car for a while.
MB is notorious for never negotiating on residual values at lease-end, and they set their residuals very high. This is great for keeping the lease payment low, but it means they keep customers revolving into new leases instead of buying out their cars at lease-end.
When MB called me last month, I told them there was zero chance at me buying or leasing a new car, and unless they would lower the residual value to less than Blue Book, I was going to simply turn it in and walk away.
They tried very hard to change my mind, but I was sure I was going to have to turn it in.
Anyway, turns out they will indeed negotiate! I bought my car! For less than blue book! In fact, the deal was so good when you add up the buy-out amount plus three years of lease payments, I ended up paying less than the original purchase price of the car -- my lease payments were basically a less-than-zero percent loan!
I realize this is a perfect economic storm, and the last thing MB wants right now is an old car back, so I don't think they will be offering deals like this for long, but what a great time to be at the end of a lease.
So I think I have to treat myself to a full interior/exterior detail and get that new car feeling back again. Hope this helps anyone in a similar situation . . . the trick here I think was that I didn't bluff -- I was fully prepared to turn it in and walk away. I have a buddy with a CLK500 in a similar situation (same dealer, too), and they got him into a new lease, mostly because I think they new he had to have a CLK and was just posturing about turning it in ...
Crispix
12-26-2008, 12:29 PM
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CLK 350 Cabriolet
01-04-2009, 02:15 AM
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2009 CLK 550
Great job! MB is looking to get rid of the CLK-class cars this year, and particualarly lease-returns IMO. I just finished a lease on an '06 C230 and tried to negotiate a buyout to no avail. So I started shopping around and just picked up an '09 CLK550 lease for a song and used the loyalty accelerator program to finish out the C230. Loving the new car. I see why so many are a fan.
