Nickelmania-Dal

Well, the end is here. I tried to buy out my 07 E 350. Car had 42K miles. Very good looking ride! It was the Saks Fifth Ave Edition. MB was asking $32,000.00 and some change for the lease buy out. I offered 26K. We never came close. MB simply would not move from their 32K price. My dealer ended buying the car from MB. My dealer was asking 31K. They sold my car super quick. A couple of days.

Anyone have any thoughts on how much my lease car was sold to the dealer for? I am very dissapointed about not being able to buy my car.

Also, looked at 2010 E class. I am thought my payments would be the same or less since the base price went down. My salesman worked up a deal for around $850.00 per month for a base car. I was over on the miles on my 07 E.Old payments were $699.00

Bottom line...I am no longer in a MB. Our business is down and we are a bit tight on money. Please dont beat me up too bad but I ended up with a CPO 06 Lexus GS for $502.00 a month 60 months. No money out of pocket. Not a bad deal but I really miss our MB. When the economy turns around, I hope to be back in another Mercedes.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

that sucks

FirstMB

Hey, hey, hey. J/J. I have an '08 GS 460, and I love it more than my wife's E500. Enjoy your GS.

220S

Used prices are slowly creeping back up. But I'm sure MB gave your dealer a good bargain. Too bad they didn't consider you as the customer first.

Have somebody check the latest Manheim prices on 2007 E350s to get an idea of what it cost the dealer.

K-A

Man, sorry to hear that, you had a nice E-Class.

I'm sure the Lexus will treat you well.

Yeah, Used Prices have been creeping up for over a year back in late '08/early '09 prices were a bit cheaper than they are now, which tells you something, as the market even countered what should have been 1 years depreciation worth on a car.

I'm glad I bought my cars during that low period I guess.

Nickelmania-Dal

About a year ago MB offered someone, on this board, a buy out of around 32K (I think) with much lower miles than mine. His car was the same exact Saks E Class.When I saw his buy out, I was expecting to get my buy out for around 25K 12 months later. Guess I was wrong.

It appears the 211 is holding its value well. I really thought the resale would drop substantially with the new model arriving.

Nickelmania-Dal

K-A Thanks for the kind words. Ive always admired your car too!

Nickelmania-Dal

FirstMB, while I do like the GS, I believe the E rides better. The GS feels like it is always in sports mode. It has a very rough/stiff ride. You have the V8 in both of your cars. I am sure that makes a difference too.

Bibliophile806

My condolences -- I've only had my 07 E350 for five months after many years of Volvos, and I'll never go back. IMO the 211 is a classic; the 212 coupe looks OK, but I don't like the new sedan.

Nickelmania-Dal

Thought you might like to see the trade down. The new/used GS on the left. Not as good as my MB on the right. Really had to take a step backwards. We always got nice comments, from strangers, on the E Class. Have not received one comment on the GS. I guess the GS is just too generic looking?? looks like all other Lexus

Blk04cobra1

Nick, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you could have bought your lease car from the dealer CPO. That is now an option, instead of going through MB. Your dealer should have told you that. As far as what they paid, I would venture somewhere around $24k-$25k for it.

Nickelmania-Dal

Blk04cobra1, My sales guy did mention me buying the car from the dealer however he led me to believe my car may be expensive to buy back from his dealership. He said they MAY pay around 28K and then put another 2.5K into it to make it a CPO car. This conversation happened about a month before I turned it in. My sales guy has worked for the dealer for 7 years and is usually their number one salesman. I dont know if him being number one was a positve or a negative? Maybe it doesnt make any difference?

Also, does it really take around 2.5K for a dealer to CPO a car? I found that statement hard to believe.

K-A

Thanks buddy! I appreciate that, I remember you commenting on one of my first Threads when I bought my E! I'm sure that Lexus will treat you fine, and hope things get better on the work front so you can get back into a Benz soon!

Nickelmania-Dal

K-A, I remember your car being a rare breed. I still dont think I have ever seen an 06 E350 with AMG package in Dallas. How many did they make in 06 with your AMG sport package?

K-A

Yeah, it took a while to hunt it down, actually I dunno but would love to find out!

That's one of my favorite aspects of the car. Actually, with the new W212 E, AMG Package is standard, which means that you don't really get the same satisfaction and uniqueness of having one on a W211, even with the '09's running around with them. I always said, I don't mind driving a car that everyone has, I would just like to have a somewhat unique version of it, lol.

Thanks again for the nice words! Me and my car appreciate it, haha.

SZMB

[QUOTE
Also, does it really take around 2.5K for a dealer to CPO a car? I found that statement hard to believe.[/QUOTE]

Last time I bought the CPO, it came with new tires, rotors, brake pads, carpets, and detailing. Adding in a one year CPO warranty, i think the number comes pretty close to costing the dealer $2500 in average. I think the warranty is potentially a big ticket item for the dealer/MB. But it's definitely worth the money for the consumer, considering the dealer charges $1300 for rotors & brake pads, $800 for new tires, $150 for inspection, $200 new carpets, and $80 detailing.

Blk04cobra1

Just depends on the car. SZMB summed it up pretty well. Most cars with 42k miles are going to need tires ($1000) and most would need brakes to be CPO standards ($1000+). Then you tack on the cost of the CPO warranty ($895+ depending on the car). So it can add up real quick. In all honesty, it sounds like the #1 salesguy wasn't do you any favors. Your car is being bought by dealers in the mid-upper $20k range, usually closer to the mid. There should have been no reason why he couldnt have sold you the car back CPO'd for the upper $20k's, plus last month they had 1.99% financing up to 66 months.

werewolf34

Some lease companies carry insurance against drop-off on the payoff price on the car (i.e larger depreciation than what the residual indicates)

When they carry this insurance, the lease companies almost never cut deals.

MB they get you coming and going...Shame, I really like the twotone interiors on the Saks edition cars

The good news is that the GS series is very reliable

Nickelmania-Dal

Thanks guys. I didnt realize that dealers spent so much $$s on CPO cars.
As far as the dealer/salesguy goes...I dont think they would of worked me any kind of special deal. My car was a very good looking easy to sell E350. Had the really cool AMG package with AMG wheels, tips front end ect. The car was sold in just a few days after I turned it in. I bet they got close to their asking price.

Nickelmania-Dal

werewolf, the real two tone leather interior was nice however my wife's blue jeans stained the white drivers seat. I am surprised MB didnt try to charge me for the seat. I do believe the GS may be more reliable but not near as much fun to drive as the E Saks.

My salesman debadged the car for me when we leased it new. I always had people asking about the car. When I first got the E, I had a man once follow me into the Starbucks just to ask about it. The E Saks had a real WOW effect when it was new.

Can you tell I liked the car? I can ramble on about it forever LOL!

andy_meng1024

MB Financial wouldn't even let me buy my C when my lease ended. They said since I paid all 33 payments all together on the 1st day I had the car, I can't have the option of buying it off.

K-A

What sucks is last year, when the car market bottomed out, they were literally giving these cars away (in some cases) as Lease Buy Outs. One year too late.

MyFirstAMG

Sorry you weren't able to work out a deal to keep the car that you seem to really enjoy. Be happy that you are in a Lexus, which is a very nice car, and consider it a step down. Congrats on your new purchase.

220S

I had the 2009 "Saks" model (Sienna Black on Sahara Beige leather.) After the initial real Saks release, MB will release those color combos on later cars. I kind of liked the "root beer brown/black" paint although it was tough to keep clean.

Same thing with mine; blue jean dye always on the seat. In the end I sold the car after less than one year to a relative of mine. It was fine for what it was but I didn't like the V6 so much and also the car was a bit too feminine for me. Plus the steering was kinda numb. First thing I did was dump the A/S Conti tires it came with and put on PS2s. That helped some.

Hope to see you back in a MB eventually. Enjoy the Lexus in the meantime.

Nickelmania-Dal

I am surprised you say the E 350 Saks was too feminine. I always thought it looked the most masculine of the E 350s. Kind of had the AMG look. While the E 350 V6 was no rocket, it was quicker than my Mustang GT V8 that I bought new back in 1982