Update on leasing 2022 E Class




Just spoke to my dealer and here is what he told me regarding leasing a 2022 E Class:
- Due to the chip shortage orders placed now he expects to be delivered before April - between 4 and 6 months.
- The residuals have been dramatically reduced: For 36 months, 10K miles per year the residual on the E350 will be 53%; for the E450 54%. The residual on my 2019 E450, 36 months, 10K per year is 59%.
- There will be discounts but nothing like in the past: the car I configured had a MSRP of $69,800 and a selling price of $68,650 a discount of 1.65%. On my 2019 which I ordered in September, 2018 for delivery in December 2018 was discounted 12%.
- The monthly payment, with zero down and NYS sales tax put into the lease came to $1,195 per month. The monthly payment on my 2019 E450, zero down, NYS sales tax in the lease (apples to apples) is $896. That is an increase of 33 1/3%!
- The MSRP on my 2019 E450 was $71,095, $1295 more than the 2022 E450:
- The residual on my car is $41,946 which represents 59% of the MSRP.
- The dealer has for sale only one used 2019 E300 with 27,500 miles for a price of $47,500. My car is an E450, $5000 more than the E300, with only 20,600 miles, 7,000 miles less, yet the dealer is trying to tell me that I have "no equity" in my lease and my car is worth only $42,000.
I cannot imagine anyone leasing a 2022 for $1,200 a month. In 2019 you could lease an S Class for less. I also suspect that by the 2nd quarter of 2022, when supply equals demand, that the usual discounts of between 8% and 12% will return and for those who lease, residuals will go back up to 58%/59% where they have traditionally been. On the other hand, Mercedes may be willing to limit production and thus compel dealers to sell at MSRP or close to it. This is what Rolex did about 15/20 years ago when they limited the number of stores who were authorized to sell Rolex watches. By limiting sales Rolex was able to protect the value of their watches - both new and used.
However, unlike Rolex Mercedes dealers have invested millions in upgrading their dealerships and need volume to pay for their infrastructure. (Just my observation)
Unless Mercedes Financial is willing to extend my lease, I may wind up buying my car in December when my lease ends. I will not $300 more per month for a car with a lower MSRP than the one I am presently driving and also with interest rates lower now than in 2018.
If anyone else has had experience leasing a 2022 please post to keep everyone informed.








Even if you have a contract for a fixed price, I personally would not bother to sue to enforce the contract. Life is too short to bother with A**holes like this: Just move on and wait and then go to another dealer. Supply and demand will equalize by the February/March of next year.
Even if you have a contract for a fixed price, I personally would not bother to sue to enforce the contract. Life is too short to bother with A**holes like this: Just move on and wait and then go to another dealer. Supply and demand will equalize by the February/March of next year.
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Even if you have a contract for a fixed price, I personally would not bother to sue to enforce the contract. Life is too short to bother with A**holes like this: Just move on and wait and then go to another dealer. Supply and demand will equalize by the February/March of next year.
Last edited by Elvisfan0108; Sep 21, 2021 at 04:35 PM.
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Just spoke to my dealer and here is what he told me regarding leasing a 2022 E Class:
- Due to the chip shortage orders placed now he expects to be delivered before April - between 4 and 6 months.
- The residuals have been dramatically reduced: For 36 months, 10K miles per year the residual on the E350 will be 53%; for the E450 54%. The residual on my 2019 E450, 36 months, 10K per year is 59%.
- There will be discounts but nothing like in the past: the car I configured had a MSRP of $69,800 and a selling price of $68,650 a discount of 1.65%. On my 2019 which I ordered in September, 2018 for delivery in December 2018 was discounted 12%.
- The monthly payment, with zero down and NYS sales tax put into the lease came to $1,195 per month. The monthly payment on my 2019 E450, zero down, NYS sales tax in the lease (apples to apples) is $896. That is an increase of 33 1/3%!
- The MSRP on my 2019 E450 was $71,095, $1295 more than the 2022 E450:
- The residual on my car is $41,946 which represents 59% of the MSRP.
- The dealer has for sale only one used 2019 E300 with 27,500 miles for a price of $47,500. My car is an E450, $5000 more than the E300, with only 20,600 miles, 7,000 miles less, yet the dealer is trying to tell me that I have "no equity" in my lease and my car is worth only $42,000.
I cannot imagine anyone leasing a 2022 for $1,200 a month. In 2019 you could lease an S Class for less. I also suspect that by the 2nd quarter of 2022, when supply equals demand, that the usual discounts of between 8% and 12% will return and for those who lease, residuals will go back up to 58%/59% where they have traditionally been. On the other hand, Mercedes may be willing to limit production and thus compel dealers to sell at MSRP or close to it. This is what Rolex did about 15/20 years ago when they limited the number of stores who were authorized to sell Rolex watches. By limiting sales Rolex was able to protect the value of their watches - both new and used.
However, unlike Rolex Mercedes dealers have invested millions in upgrading their dealerships and need volume to pay for their infrastructure. (Just my observation)
Unless Mercedes Financial is willing to extend my lease, I may wind up buying my car in December when my lease ends. I will not $300 more per month for a car with a lower MSRP than the one I am presently driving and also with interest rates lower now than in 2018.
If anyone else has had experience leasing a 2022 please post to keep everyone informed.
It is a myth that dealers need volume. If the per unit profits are there, and they will be the dealerships will be fine. Plus, most dealership profit comes from parts and service not sales.
Daimler has already signaled that they like the idea of scarcity driving up the transaction prices.




It is a myth that dealers need volume. If the per unit profits are there, and they will be the dealerships will be fine. Plus, most dealership profit comes from parts and service not sales.
Daimler has already signaled that they like the idea of scarcity driving up the transaction prices.
- Mercedes has insisted that all dealership upgrade and expand not only their service department but their showrooms as well. The dealerships in my area, over the past 10/15 years are all new buildings, often double in size from the ones they replaced. Millions have been invested and profits - sales are necessary to recoup that cost. Dealerships cannot cover their overheads by selling a reduced number of cars at MSRP or close to it. They need volume.
- Over 80% of Mercedes higher line of cars, E Class and up are leased. Without a competitive lease those sales will diminish
- Where have you read that "Daimler has already signaled that they like the idea of scarcity driving up the transaction prices."
I know of no auto manufacturer that wants to report year to year a decrease in the number of units sold.
Further no auto manufacturer ever wants their market share to decrease.
Just my $.02.
Last edited by JTK44; Sep 21, 2021 at 05:59 PM.
- Mercedes has insisted that all dealership upgrade and expand not only their service department but their showrooms as well. The dealerships in my area, over the past 10/15 years are all new buildings, often double in size from the ones they replaced. Millions have been invested and profits - sales are necessary to recoup that cost. Dealerships cannot cover their overheads by selling a reduced number of cars at MSRP or close to it. They need volume.
- Over 80% of Mercedes higher line of cars, E Class and up are leased. Without a competitive lease those sales will diminish
- Where have you read that "Daimler has already signaled that they like the idea of scarcity driving up the transaction prices."
I know of no auto manufacturer that wants to report year to year a decrease in the number of units sold.
Further no auto manufacturer ever wants their market share to decrease.
Just my $.02.
Daimler is on record as wanting to abandon the lower end of the market(A Class etc).
They are going to pivot to the high end which is where growth will come from. Not necessarily in units but in profit which is the most important thing.
The US is a mature market, the only way to increase units is to sell your car cheaper than the other guy. Daimler and MBUSA are done with this. They see increased profits from EQ, Maybach and G subclass.
Having been in this business for almost 30 yrs I think the plan will work. Yes, the bargain shoppers will go elsewhere. Mercedes as a brand has a huge amount of cache. People will pay for that.
Not everyone, but enough people will.


2013 Audi A5 cab. - traded in my 08 CLK350 cab - needed to be able to go in the snow and MB didn't have a 4matic cab back then.
Had to buy something in stock, tried to buy a new E450 wagon, (couldn't be Black) spoke to multiple dealers on east coast, none of them were budging off sticker - looked at what used 1's were selling for 2017 to 2020 - ranged from 40% off the original MSRP to 17% off for a 2020, all the cars were CPO. Most were not offering any deals off their listing listing price, finally found a 2017 in diamond silver metallic - luxury no Pano sunroof - YEAH! dealer took $2500 off their asking and we split the additional 2 year CPO. dealer was 500 miles from home, talked to friend about having it shipped down to me - his carrier was 2 months out.
flew picked it up and drove home. Car was over $33,000 off MSRP - glad I didn't do new -
everyone told me that this NOT the time to buy a car, I didn't have a choice, and personally I think even if the market was like it was 2 years ago - wagons will always be tough to buy.




Daimler is on record as wanting to abandon the lower end of the market(A Class etc).
They are going to pivot to the high end which is where growth will come from. Not necessarily in units but in profit which is the most important thing.
The US is a mature market, the only way to increase units is to sell your car cheaper than the other guy. Daimler and MBUSA are done with this. They see increased profits from EQ, Maybach and G subclass.
Having been in this business for almost 30 yrs I think the plan will work. Yes, the bargain shoppers will go elsewhere. Mercedes as a brand has a huge amount of cache. People will pay for that.
Not everyone, but enough people will.
Mercedes has pro actively moved down in order to increase volume: The GLC is now their volume leader. The C Class is their volume leader. Soon the A class will be their best selling sedan. Out of the 1.182 million cars Mercedes produced, 36,000 were S Class. That is 3% of production
Everything I have read is completely, 100% contrary to what you are posting.
see: https://www.daimler.com/investors/re...-sales-q2.html
see: https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaS...ml?oid=9266920
"Mercedes-Benz volume leaders in Q4 included the GLC, GLE and GLA model lines. The GLC led totals with 18,639 units followed by GLE with sales of 15,994. The GLA rounded out the top three with 8,839 units. Year-to-date, MBUSA’s volume leaders were the GLC, GLE and the E-Class/CLS with totals of 52,626; 48,154; and 27,102 respectively. SUVs accounted for 65% of total sales in 2020. The all new GLA and GLB SUVs accounted for more than 25% of total SUV sales in 2020."
see: https://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...25915-Vehicles
Last edited by JTK44; Sep 21, 2021 at 07:37 PM.
Mercedes has pro actively moved down in order to increase volume: The GLC is now their volume leader. The C Class is their volume leader. Soon the A class will be their best selling sedan. Out of the 1.182 million cars Mercedes produced, 36,000 were S Class. That is 3% of production
Everything I have read is completely, 100% contrary to what you are posting.
see: https://www.daimler.com/investors/re...-sales-q2.html
see: https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaS...ml?oid=9266920
"Mercedes-Benz volume leaders in Q4 included the GLC, GLE and GLA model lines. The GLC led totals with 18,639 units followed by GLE with sales of 15,994. The GLA rounded out the top three with 8,839 units. Year-to-date, MBUSA’s volume leaders were the GLC, GLE and the E-Class/CLS with totals of 52,626; 48,154; and 27,102 respectively. SUVs accounted for 65% of total sales in 2020. The all new GLA and GLB SUVs accounted for more than 25% of total SUV sales in 2020."
see: https://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...25915-Vehicles
This was just posted: https://www.motor1.com/news/532591/m...p-prices-high/
FYI, the A class will go away in the US after the current generation.
You are making the layman's mistake in assuming that just because a bunch of cars are built, a bunch of profits followed.
GM took that strategy to bankruptcy.
Mercedes makes very little money on the A Class. I guarantee that the profits on those few S Classes were way more than on all those A Classes.
You are experiencing Mercedes new strategy. I'm trying to explain why.
If you don't want to accept my explanation no big deal.




This was just posted: https://www.motor1.com/news/532591/m...p-prices-high/
FYI, the A class will go away in the US after the current generation.
You are making the layman's mistake in assuming that just because a bunch of cars are built, a bunch of profits followed.
GM took that strategy to bankruptcy.
Mercedes makes very little money on the A Class. I guarantee that the profits on those few S Classes were way more than on all those A Classes.
You are experiencing Mercedes new strategy. I'm trying to explain why.
If you don't want to accept my explanation no big deal.
Time will tell if Mercedes, BMW and I suppose Audi and other luxury car makers will be able to generate sufficient profits by moving upscale, reducing production and trying to maintain selling prices close to or at MSRP. Will the German auto unions agree to cutting their work force in half? With a drastic reduction in production as you suggest, dealers will have fewer cars to service, which you point out is where they make their money.
FYI, at our local dealers you can buy all the S Classes you want - most have 15 to 20 in stock, but only 2 E classes, 10 C classes and 0 A Classes.
I do not know if this the result of MB producing S Classes or S Classes not selling because of the price. The market for the S Class with pricing starting at $115,000 is very, very thin.
While I am old, my wife always says this may be your last car so get what you want, and financially able to afford any car I want under $500K, and I suspect I am not alone, there comes a point where the pricing of a car makes little to no sense.




When a dealer literally has no C classes for sale and only 2 E Classes for sale, there is no reason to discount from MSRP and probably add to the price. I know that Genesis dealers on their GV80 is adding $1,000 to MSRP.
The question is: after the chip shortage, will Mercedes ramp up production or limit production:
- Based on his 30 years of experience mercedesmax is betting that production will be limited;
- I believe the opposite
In 6 months we will all know!












Everyone does better, the manufacturer, the dealer and service department when sales go up!


have chip don’t have chips
Old selling adage
“Without a sale you will will never be able to make money, because without a sale everything is just an expense”
I keep bringing up GM because they were the biggest carmaker in the world and went bankrupt. Why? Because they had to spend so much money trying to move the too many cars they built.
Take leasing for example. Manufacturers have to subsidize leases to help sell cars. This costs a lot of $$. Costs at the front end and back end.
If the transaction prices go up it means the used car prices go up. Big help with lease end residuals. The real cost of leasing for a manufacturer is the loss they take on residual values.
The really dirty secret is that the people who pay the highest lease payment prices are the best customers. They have the most loyalty to the brand and are far more likely to lease another with the brand.
This also helps the manufacturer because it's far more costly to go out and get new customers than it is to retain your existing.
So Daimlers plan is to leverage these customers and create more value by expanding the sub brands. The lesser cars like the A Class will fade away.
C Class transaction prices will go up. Both invoice and retail. Higher invoice prices means more profit for Daimler.
Daimler is working to cut costs, which will also boost profitability.
I believe there is a real sea change coming. Greater emphasis will be put on front end profits for the dealer and manufacturer. Electric cars won't generate the parts and service profitability of ICE cars.
So Daimler is moving their business model to compensate.



