Hey guys. Happy Holidays. I'm looking for some advice/guidance, and I'm hoping someone can help out. I'm in an '06 E350 and my 39 month lease ends on 1/26/09. Until recently, I've been planning to turn the car back in, and I've already got another car. My brother is interested in buying the car, but I'm wondering if I need to buy it myself first through MB Financial. I'm also wondering if the price they quoted me for the financing option is a good deal, whether it's negotiatiable, etc. The buy-out price quoted is $26,642; $837/mo. for 36 mos., $652/mo. for 48 mos. or $542 for 60 mos., each option at 8.14% APR. And for the record, to extend my lease, the payment would be $812/mo.

The car has 30K miles on it and is in perfect condition. It has Keyless Go, the Appearance Package, Premium Package, fold down seats...orig. MSRP was $59,845. It's silver with charcoal interior.

Is the buy-out option a good deal? I don't want to screw my brother over and want to do what's fair. He's really interested in the car, so I'm wondering what my options are and what the best way to approach this situation is. Any advice?

Thanks, and Happy Holidays!

 

In another C-class thread somoene spoke to a supervisor at MB financial and said they are negotiating buyout prices on E's and R's only... so you may be in luck. 8% is rather steep for a loan!

Is $26,642 the contract buy out price set back in 2005/2006? If so I think you can get a few thousand off that. CPO 2006 E350s are going for about the price you quoted.

 

I just bought a CPO through mercedez financia at 4.9%. So at 8 % that option is a bad choice. See if you can go through your credit union as well.

mine was an 07 e350 29k miles i bought for $29,990

 

My 2006 E350 4matic was turned in December 1. MB Finance was already at $22,900 as an incentive to buy. They were prepared to go a little lower. They will go lower!!! The finance interest rate is not good.

 

FYI, average auction price on that car is $17,600. MBF will not expect to get anything more than that, so any money you pay them above that is profit for them.

 

I'm actually in the market for an ex lease 06 or 07 and am trying to understand the changing market for these cars coming off of lease. Can a civilian (ie non dealer) can get hard information on what MB auction prices are and what cars are coming up for auction? I wouldn't mind finding an independent dealer to work with to buy a car via the auction process but I'd like to find out if I can get more information than just what the dealer tells me.

In my area (Boston), the MB dealers are still asking high 20's to mid 30's for 06 models on CPO and about $4-5 K more for 07s. Independents are now asking low 20s for off lease 06 models with less than 30K miles. I'd ideally locate exactly the car I want (P2, 4matic, silver, charcoal, sirius, wood/leather wheel) from an independent and then purchase an extended warranty from MB rather than go the CPO route. Is there any way to find out which cars coming up for auction have specific features etc? Has anyone worked with an independent dealer on a commission type arrangement to buy a car for auction price plus a predetermined profit?

Thanks.

 

My lease ends 2/21/09. Is it best to negotiate the buyout price on the month that it matures?? For example, on my 07 E350 with pano and wood wheel I was quoted $34,761 in November, then $33,670 in December (both prices include tax). So is it safe to say I will get the best price in February when the lease matures?? Thanks!

 

Thanks for all your replies. As follow-up to one of my original questions, am I correct in assuming I will have to purchase the car from MBFS and then sell the car to my brother?

 

That is usually the case which causes double sales tax issues. However, these times are different and MB Fin want to unload these E Classes. You might be able to get them to sell the car directly to your brother.

 

I already paid sales tax on the full price of the car upon leasing it new (I'm in Texas). What would be double tax? I don't believe I would have to pay tax again upon financing the buyout, would I?

 

8.14% is high. a credit union could easily knock that down a couple points, assuming your credit isnt in the toilet. but $26,600 sounds like a great sale price for the car you have.

 

$26k is high for an '06 and frankly high for a '07 if it has a lot of miles.

I am in a similar situation. MB came down $10k from the $40k residual, but that is still far more than the car is worth. MSRP for my car was $57.5 - its fairly loaded. They (2007s) are going through the auction at $23k-$24k.

Two more months to see what happens......

 

I just got off the phone with MBFS. They are now quoting $23,436 for the pay-off, which is more reasonable to me. And apparently my brother can arrange his own financing and have the payoff check sent directly to MBFS.

 

The price will continue to go down at you approach the end of the lease term. The auction prices continue to decline.

 

I was thinking New Jersey where we pay sales tax on the lease amortization, not the residual. Texas must be different.....texas is always different.