aprevo15

I'm really amazed at some of the deals I read about people on this forum are getting on their lease.

I paid $3600 due at signing with $499 a month payment for my P01 package 350 sedan sport. The price included 2 year door ding protection and 2 Mercedes service packages. If I got the car back in December then I could of knocked off another grand on the down but I went when the specials were over.

K-A

Perhaps (and let's hope so). The only redeeming factor would be if this was at the very least on a Luxury Package E350 without even P1, but I gotta say I wouldn't be surprised if it was on a Sport (which accounts for 99.99% of W212's anyway) with P1.

BTW, I got an updated Email from them saying the Lease terms have now moved down to the same prices, but just 27 months on the Lease term. With only "one" at the price now.

threeMBs

Exactly as I expected.

K-A

Originally it was a total of 5 at that price (maybe more before the initial Email went out, stating that 5 were available). Which leads me to believe that it probably couldn't be anything but a P1 Sport.

The original term with those 5 available were for 30 months. Assuming they sold quickly, they now say they have "one" left, but now with an even better term, i.e only 27 months.

Mustangbru8

Last June when I got my e350 sport P1 stickered at 59,800 I put 3k down and got 12k miles a year for 33 months with the pre-paid service my payment is 661 a month. I am in upstate NY and thought I got a good deal at the time but now reading what some of you got I am confused why I am paying way more. Is it just because of the timing or where I live?

MBNUT1

Thanks for sharing this info. I will be buying a car this year and would like to buy another Mercedes. Currently holding until the 2014's come out so any info is greatly appreciated.

MBNUT1

KA thanks for sharing this info. It is of great interest to me though I don't live on the west coast. Maybe I can up the mileage for a drive back to the midwest.

alsyli

What you're saying is untrue or, at best, highly misleading.

http://www.keyeschevy.com/Los_Angeles-specials/New.html

Toyota Camrys are even cheaper:
http://www.toyotaofglendale.com/specials/new.htm

In the other thread that was linked in another post, many of the posters clearly stated that this was an unusual deal (and the OP him-/herself even confirmed this).

Range Rovers, all mainsteam lux mades (Audi, BMW, MB, Lexus, Infiniti) are a dime-a-dozen in Los Angeles. MB produces a very narrow selection of cars for US sale, and they've clearly targeted the market correctly (that most people just care about having an MB ornament and could care less about the engineering that goes into the car).

Not sure why there's a complaint about MB being unable to "retain" MSRP? With the exception of a period during the mid-/late 1990s (or more in-demand models), MB has *never* sold its car for anything approaching MSRP (at least since the 1980s, when our family started buying MBs). Back in the 1980s, you literally just had to walk near an S-Class (let alone express interest in buying one), and they'd automatically offer you $10,000 off (and that wasn't even in the few months prior to the car being replaced).

Using the information provided by aprevo15, it becomes fairly obvious what MB is doing. They offer great lease deals on the most popular CPO models and allow you to amortize the cost of maintenance in a package deal (the service stations I've been to stated that the main purpose of creating the multi-yr service deals was to encourage lease holders to maintain their cars correctly).

Then, when the leased cars are returned, MB has a large selection of relatively well-maintained cars that they then sell at CPO, listing them at a higher price than the original purchase price of the car (if you browse the CPO listings, cars that are only 1-2 yrs old are listed at higher than what I've seen listed here as the actual transaction price).

Someone who hasn't done their HW foolishly fails to negotiate much off the CPO car's price b/c the MSRP for a new car is *so* much higher.

It's a brilliant business model....

BenzE350

I am always amazed when I see CPO cars with advertised prices higher than what new cars are selling for. Lot's of people don't know the available discounts.

Nuru

That brings up a question or two:

What do you guys think is a good target price for:

A 2012 E350 4MATIC SPORT, w/ folding seats, halogen lights, 14k miles?

The same car with the Lane Assist, driving package, w/27k miles?

no_mulligan

Alsyli,
Fabulous post! Extremely well worded. Those that are Ok with paying 5-6% off MRSP help provide the rest of us the opportunity for 15-20% off MSRP provided that timing is good. MB can sell CPOs to new buyers thus increasing market share.
Perhaps another part of the model involves the practical life of these cars is 10 years and or 150K miles because at that point, cost to repair approaches or exceeds that value of the car. Then, that's another one off the road and hopefully replaced by another MB. This also leads to more new and CPO warranties are sold because lots of people fear horrific repair bills.


Posted from Mbworld.org App for Android

no_mulligan

Back of a napkin calculation, price the vehicle using MSRP with the options then take 20% off the total. That would have been a great buy price when new. Then, subtract for miles, accidents, and anything that keeps it from good as brand new. Compare that with what similar equip car is going for at Manheim auctions.


Posted from Mbworld.org App for Android

ScottNJ

With 27K miles I'd say $40-45K

fishtail

I will be buying a 2014 E350 in 2 months, so any information is greatly appreciated.

ponytrekker

What's a good deal for a 2013 P2 Sport sedan 4matic? Was offered $5500 off $64k MSRP. Which turns out to be a grand or so under invoice. Seems like a little more room there.

Also if anyone knows the residual and mf on a 24/27 month lease that would be great.

JALLEN4

That would be a good business plan if MBNA was vertically integrated and controlled the sale of the product. They are not and the dealer has control of the sale.

MB sets the residual on the vehicle using their financing arm, Mercedes Financial. The lease is calculated and the dealer sells the new vehicle and Mercedes Financial buys the contract.

The lease is terminated in a variety of ways. The customer can buy the vehicle, they can often turn it in early with the Mercedes "pull ahead" program, they can trade the car to a competing dealer, or they can turn the vehicle in to the dealer when all the payments are made.

Generally, the dealer can purchase the car at that point from Mercedes Financial or the vehicle is auctioned among other Mercedes dealers. After the vehicle is sold, the purchasing dealer can Certify the car or not. If he certifies the vehicle, he pays a substantial fee for the program and the extended warranty component of certification.

Manufacturers started Certification programs for the purpose of raising residual values on the product. The higher the value of the used car the higher the residual value for a new car. A higher residual results in a lower lease payment and more new car sales.

ponytrekker

Quote I got was $58500.

alsyli

Interesting information. I suppose this (partially) explains why dealers are then advertising CPOs at relatively "high" cost b/c they have to absorb the cost of the certification program? But I also wonder why the certification program itself results in a lower lease payment since not all returned cars *must* be certified (meaning that the benefit of a CPO is an "add-on" and not intrinsic to the car itself, if that makes any sense).

I think MB should just follow my business plan. ::snort::

JALLEN4

The certification program was basically pioneered by Cadillac Division during the time I was a dealer. It added tremendous value to a late model used Cadillac. In some cases the used car would actually have more warranty than a new one when the program first started.

The value added is basically the "add-on" and not intrinsic to the car. People can buy a used luxury car without the fear of high maintenance costs after the time of original warranty. They start comparing the price of a used vehicle that has been certified to the price of a lesser value vehicle new.

Dealers simply ask high prices because they can. They are the only people able to certify a Mercedes and there is a relatively small supply of used late model Mercedes, that qualify, available. The car obviously does not need to have been a formerly leased car. All car sales are ultimately based on the law of supply and demand and if the price is high they have the demand.

Nuru

Thanks for the advice, sounds pretty good.

Nuru

The car with 27k has an opening offer of $38.9k - non-benz dealer

BW

For those thinking about leasing an E, a good deal can certainly be had on 2013s. Back in December, I helped my folks lease a BlueTec. 17% off MSRP, 74% residual (24 months, 10k per year), $59,500 MSRP, .0008 money factor (with 10 security deposits and auto-pay)... you do the math.

I didn't have to negotiate. I simply emailed my local dealer that another dealer further away quoted me this price (it was true), and they matched it. The key is to deal with Internet sales/fleet managers, not floor salespeople who need to be compensated for their time.

JALLEN4

Not to argue, but Fleet/Internet salesmen also get paid when they sell a car. I don't know what people think salesmen make per car, but I can assure you the difference in pay between the floor salesmen and the "fleet manager" is maybe a hundred or two on the total sale, if that much. It does though work for the dealer because the customer thinks he must have the very best deal if it came from the "fleet" department. Let's face it, Mercedes "fleet sales" are not a real big part of the business. The only way you get the real fleet deal is when you have a real fleet number from the manufacturer.

BW

I only have an anecdote, but after helping my parents lease an E350 Bluetec for... less than a Honda Accord, I shared the news with my friend, who tried getting the same deal from the same dealer, but from a floor salesperson that he dealt with previously. The lowest the floor salesperson would go was still $100+ more per month, and my friend wasted a ton of time at the dealer.

The following day, my uncle asked for help to lease an E350. I referred him to the internet sales manager, and he got the same price as I did with no negotiating. The internet sales manager told me that, at least at this dealership, they were authorized to sell for less than floor salespeople were.

Even if there were no difference in discounts, the time savings alone are worth it, IMO. I've only had one negative experience, from Jaguar Land Rover of Anaheim Hills, in which the salesman failed to honor the price quote emailed to me--he banked on the fact that we'd driven 50 miles out of our way to visit this dealership, and the sunk cost was too high for us to leave--wasting me a tremendous amount of time and gas.

K-A

Just as I was saying. "Less than a Honda Accord", and that is literal. That's how much you can get an E350 for, which is insane considering a $50+K entry price. Nobody can say M-B's aren't bargains. Lol.

Here's another E350 to cross shop with an Accord or Camry: