My dealer has agreed to replace my '03 E500 with an '04 E500 as a settlement for the service department not securing the lug bolts. ( I lost a wheel while driving).

He has agreed to give me the 04' at cost but charge me for milage used on my '03.

He called it a collateral transfer and I would pay no tax, fees etc. just the mileage and oh yeah I added a few features so I pay for those

Seems fair to me...'

Question is - What is a fair rate per mile to charge me? He mentioned .34cents per mile. I countered that IRS allows .35 cents but that includes fuel. He seemed stuck on it.
Whats fair?

Nav replacement guys have any input about this ?

 

I would look at this differently...calculate out what you have to pay based on your mileage and figure out if you think that is fair and negotiate the final number, not per mile charge. To negotiate that number, I would go to ebay and see what other used W211 are selling for. Once you have an idea of how much your car is depreciated, make sure you have to pay much less than that, if it was me I would pay no more than 1/3 or 1/4 of the typical depreciation....probably no more than $1K or $1.5K is what I would pay, that seems reasonable to get a new car ('04)..

Keep in mind that they did screw up the service on your car, but I would imagine that screw ups are quite common in the automotive service industry, and if they took a hard line with you, it would cost you much more than that to fight it.

 

What's the mileage overage on their leases? Most likely closer to 10 to 15 cents per mile and I think a more reasonable figure to compare to as that IRS number is for tax purposes not vechicle valuation.

JR