Need some help with what the market rate is for lightly used (less than 2 weeks of use) is for carpeted floor mats since my family switched to rubber mats.

I have one brown, and one black set.

Thanks

 

I was wondering the same thing. I have a set of new car take-offs in Espresso. I replaced them with a set of cream mats.

 

If you are "renting" your car you will want to keep them for when your "rental" period is up and you return the car.

 

Rental? What are you talking about?...I paid cash for my car and what does that have anything to do with mats??? Just curious.

 

Sorry...do you mean lease?

 

Leasing ~= renting

 

Good for you. I thought I was the only one who pays cash to own a car.

I know famous basketball and football players here in Dallas who rent (lease) every car they drive. Ask any MB dealer and they will confirm that 95% of all new MBs they offer are leased (rented).

And to answer your question... Rented cars have to be returned with all equipment (ie, mats) in place.

 

Thanks for the clarifications above.

As to DFWdude, my parents were a product of the Great Depression and succeeded in life while avoiding debt. I guess some off that rubbed of on me!

 

That's probably true because MB makes leasing cheaper than buying. Many threads on other forums where people think about buying their leased car after the lease ends, but the residual value is higher than book value. That means MB subsidized the cost of the lease with an artificially high residual value. So they have to go through some shenanigans with the dealer to buy the car back at a lower price after lease turn in.

 

This being true, how do I go about getting the best deal when /buying/ a new E450? I could pay cash, and kind of intend to, but I intended to with my Acura too, and due to lease concessions, it was cheaper to lease it then buy at the end of the 3 years. Turns out, health and other problems have required that I get a non-SUV, so I'm glad I can hand it back and get my new MB. With the E450, in a way I'd like to lease it, especially if it's cheaper, but as I am ordering this car very special, with everything I want (may be my last car), unless I have a problem with it by end of lease, I'll want to buy it. But not at an inflated or higher-than-market price. MB won't let you buy it at market price at the end of lease?

 

Check out leasehackr.com. Lots of good information on there about leases in general. Basically sometimes the lease incentives are way better than a purchase. The big key being a good money factor and the residual. When they're artificially subsidizing a lease, they have a high residual value.You really don't find out til the end of the lease what the market value of the car is so they're guessing about what the value of the car is worth afterwards. You can special order a car to lease or buy just as easily. Basically it just depends on how much you can negotiate off MSRP which lowers your monthly lease payment and what incentives you can use. At lease end, the price for the car is already set as the residual value. You can either buy it back at that price or turn it in. Many in these forums have reported that the purchase price was about 5k higher than the market value so it didn't make any sense to buy it for the agreed upon residual value. That's when they turned it into the dealer and made some arrangements to buy it back afterwards. You'll have to ask the dealer exactly how that works, no idea here.

 

Thanks, I appreciate the info. Thus far I've negotiated 8% off the MSRP. Don't think that's too bad, considering the car isn't even out yet. My concern is that when leasing, the price I'm paying goes out the window, and they calculate the lease and residual in their own way, possibly negating my discount. I don't want that. So, I feel like I need to be happy with the lease payments and residual total, basically consider what the "interest" cost is, and if I'm willing to pay that for the possibility of handing the car back if I have problems with it.

 

I have posted many times on leasing and have been leasing since the mid 1980's - over 20 cars. You can check the forum for my posts.

In all but two instances, I have turned back the car at the end of the lease as the residuals were much higher than the current value of the car.

I have found that KBB.COM "trade in value" to be very, very close to wholesale. As I approach the end of the lease I check KBB.com and almost 100% of the time, even 6 months ahead of the lease end, the trade in value is already below the residual vale.

10 to 15 years ago the residual value was negotiable. That is no longer the case. The leasing companies now have insurance to cover the cost difference between the residual and the actual value of the car.

Here is a link to the site I use to calculate lease values.: https://www.leaseguide.com/calc/

Finally, I always insist on seeing the lease several days before I sign. Additionally, when I negotiate the lease, I request and every time the dealer has agreed, the MF, residual, MSPR, and selling price. This is a printout that the dealer will give you.

One final tip if you decide to lease: make sure everything is put into the lease payment which includes, bank fee and sales tax. Never put anything down to reduce the monthly payment: the reason for this is simple: if anything happens to you MB, for example it being stolen or totaled, your insurance company will pay off the lease - the remaining months on the lease times the monthly lease payments. Anything you put down to reduce the monthly payment or anything you paid at lease inception, for example sales tax, which reduces the monthly payment, is gone puff into the air!

 

WOW, this thread has really strayed from the cost of floor mats...

IMO, you have a third option… In 2001, I paid cash on a list price minus $1200 new C320. Like most high-end autos, MBs depreciate like mad the first 2-3 years. I watched this car depreciate by half in the first 2-years. I swore I would never buy a Mercedes as new, again.

I had never bought a “pre-owned” car before. Hate the idea, really. But, I paid cash for my non-CPO, 2016 W212 E350 as an off-lease return in March, 2018. A Florida car, just 17,000 miles on it and 18 months left on OEM warranty, driven by a woman.

True to form, this 2-year-old car had slumped from its $66,000 MSRP to the $33,400 I paid for it, from a reputable MB-specialist retailer, TexasCarsDirect.com. The local MB dealer does all the warranty work as if I bought the car from them.

I’d shudder to think that had I acquired this car new on a 2-year rental (lease). I would have paid $3,000 down and $900 a month -- plus what else? -- ($24,600+), only to have the dealer charge me an extra $6,000 to buy it back as a “CPO” car, for $39,999 or so. (The dealer is not about to offer you trade-in price for any car.)

If my math is correct, I’ve basically paid list price for the car -- two years later – for a car still worth only $33K. I thought leases were a way for “people to buy a premium ride for the cost of a Honda?” Better to have paid just $33k cash for it on a lease return and be done with it, I think.

Bottom line... I will pay cash for new Hondas, Toyotas, and the like, because they hold their value. But I will not lease (rent) a high-end car, just for the privilege of driving it as new. The cards are all in favor of the dealer. And no one is fooled in thinking you're not leasing it anyway. If you are patient, and careful in your research, one can do very well buying a lightly used, off lease MB. My car has performed flawlessly to date… half-year remaining on the warranty, too YMMV.

 

Thanks for the advice. My problem is 1) I'm 76 years old, 2) I've never owned a real luxury car, 3) I want to own a true luxury car, with EVERYTHING I want on it, before I die, 4) I /want/ to keep the car, which I will probably drive about 6k miles a year, until I die, and 5) I've budgeted $80 k to do this. No car on the lot, or even available, comes close. Yes, I know its value will dive immediately, but I've budgeted for that. And I refuse to not have even one option I really want, to save a buck (or thousands of bucks). I have no problem buying it cash, but JUST IN CASE it turns out to be a lemon, the idea of getting out in 3 years or so with a lease is attractive. I just hate to pay more to do it. Now, if the residual is high, that just means I've paid less during the lease, so as long as I still like the car, paying over book isn't a problem for me; I've saved money during the lease. At least that's my current thought. ;-)

Sorry for highjacking the thread.

 

Sir, I hope you don't die and get to enjoy your car!! That is a very grim, although realistic, view of the life

 

Thanks, but I don't consider it grim. I've had a good life, and have always enjoyed cars (from my '56 Austin Healey 100M on), done national sports car rallying, had some nice cars over the years, always interested in them. Could never rationalize owning a MB before, and wouldn't have the IRA and savings I have now, if I had. But I've worked hard all my life, and feel I deserve one really good car before I'm gone. I couldn't have done it every few years, but I can get this one. And it's not like "well, if this one doesn't have everything I want, I can get it in the next one." This one is it. I intend to keep it, and love it and call it my own. I'd be buried in it, probably, but I intend to be cremated, so that might not work out. ;-)

 

I'm just a few years younger than you, so understand and have the same outlook. I can afford to pay cash for a new MB (as I did with the first). I just think it wasteful, considering the car will be worth only half its new value before its second oil change. In my case, the money saved will be used to buy the next (and last) one.

Anyways, buy your new car and enjoy it. The smiles will be worth it.

 

Dear DFWade:

You wrote:

Do not shudder: Here are the real numbers for my 2016 E350 4 matic which I bought BRAND NEW in December 2016, MSRP was about $64,000: 3 years, no money down - (no downp ayment at all), 10,000 miles per year, NY State Taxes and bank fee all in: $632 a month: due at signing, transfer of plates, NY State Motor vehicle fees less than $200, total due at lease signing under $800. The $632 per month included three years of service, $899.

Total cost of ownership for 3 years: $22,752 or just over $7,500 per year for a brand new car. I consider that reasonable.

Of course buying a two year old C Class will always be cheaper than leasing a Brand New E class.!

If you check KBB.com, there are three values for your car: trade in, private sale and cost from a dealer. As I posted, trade in is close to wholesale and that is generally what your car is worth and what a dealer will give you. Both private sale and cost from a dealer are higher.

The difference between trade and cost from a dealer is the profit the dealer will make after the expense of CPO the car.

Hope this helps.

 

I believe the lease payments are higher for a 2 year rental than a 3-year rental. A 2 year rental provides a chance at some warranty remaining (peace of mind) if buying an off-lease vehicle.

Regardless, just take the amount the car is worth (your KBB Trade-in), add your $22,752 cost of ownership, and a dealer CPO markup ($5-$6K), and you get my point (the REAL cost of ownership) if you decide to buy the car at end of lease. No wonder you and others just turn the car in.

Reading comprehension always helps... The 2-year old car I spoke of was an E-Class, not a C...

BTW, there is no difference in depreciation by "class." I have an acquaintance whose $165,000 CL55 AMG was worth just $65,000 (39%) a scant 2 years later. Boy was he pissed!

 

Hope this clarifies:

You bought a 2 year old 2016 E350 for $33,000. You mentioned that the MSRP was $66,000, (very close to my MSRP) so the buyer suffered in 2 years at least a $33,000 loss - I assume if you paid $33,000 the person from whom you bought it from paid less perhaps $30,000 so he made 10% a minimum.

If the person had just leased the car as I did, then his cost over three years would have been $22,752 instead of over $33,000 for two years.

By leasing he would have saved a minimum of over $10,000 and had use of the car for three years instead of two.

While I do not doubt you, I have never heard of a MB depreciating more than 50% in two years.

If MB depreciated as much as the car you bought then in third year it would depreciate another 10% to less than 40% of MSRP vs. 59% on a lease.

If that were the case no one, for financial reasons would ever buy.

Who would ever buy a car that depreciates more than 60% in three years, if they can lease it with a residual of 59%? That 20% difference on a $66,000 MSRP car is over $13,000.

2 year vs. 3 year lease: yes the monthly payment on a 2 year lease is higher than a 3 year lease: As the warranty is for 4 years, 50,000 miles, almost no one leases for 2 years. The "sweet spot" is 3 years, 10,000 miles per year: My experience is that tires, brakes, and other "wear and tear" items last 30,000 miles.

Using my example, $632 per month payment, 36 months, the lease would have gone up by perhaps 13% to $700 a month but never to:

Which is nearly $1,000 a month - more than $100 a month more than I am paying on my 2019 E450 with a MSRP of over $70,000

Depreciation: As you know in a lease the residual, a percentage of MSRP, determines the depreciation component of the lease. The residual varies by model, length of lease and mileage. The residual on a S Class may be different than an E Class and C Class.

Finally: generally speaking leasing a CPO does not work: that is because the residual values are very, very low and the MF is higher than on a new car. The residual on a new car are "artificially high", subsidized by MB in order to sell NEW cars. If you are leasing you only want to lease for the remainder of the warranty. So quite often a two lease on a 2 year old CPO will be very close to a three year lease on a new car.

However, money can be saved buying (but not leasing) a CPO. Clearly there is more "value" in a $33,000 two year old MB, than a new MB for $70,000 - assuming you can find a two year old MB for 50% off of MSRP - which is very, very difficult.

 

If anyone is in the San Jose area and wants to pick them up, $60 for either set ,or $100 for both.