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My lease is ending in November and I've been shopping for a new car. I'm not really seeing anything that I love, so I'm strongly considering buying out my 2022 E450 COUPE off lease. I've always been wary of owning MB outright but will have a warranty for at least another year...and could possibly purchase another. I'm already hearing murmurings about getting it certified etc. from dealerships but of course they are always looking to monetize every situation. I would appreciate any advice, caveats, or considerations based on the experience of others buying their MB off lease and owning these cars outright.

TIA

 

I was in the exact same position when my 2019 E450 came off of lease with less than 25,000 miles and one year left on the warranty in December 2021

MBFS offered me three years financing at 2.64%. My monthly payment is $1278 including NY State sales tax vs. a $1225 monthly 3 years, 30,000 miles for a similarly equipped 2022 E450.

To me it was a "no brainer" and I bought the car. Before the warranty ended I bought an extended warranty from MB, 3 additional years, total of 75,000 miles for $2200. My warranty, bumper to bumper, runs out in December 2025.

I have had one repair, the exhaust, which would have cost me over $2400, so basically the extended warranty has paid for itself.

My additional expenses vs. leasing have been the replacement of the rear brakes and rotors: because of the rear brakes are electronic, the pads wore out and the rotors were scored. Total cost was about $1000. Front brakes and rotors are still good.

I had to replace my Pirelli P7 run flats under the lease: they had plenty of tread left but there were bubbles on the sidewalls. Even though I was leasing. for safety sake I replaced the tires.

I am still on the original battery: I charge it every spring and fall: so far so good but I expect that to be an added expense.

In February my final payment will be made. At that time, I anticipate about 50,000 miles and the value about $20,000, less expenses, extended warranty, exhaust, front brakes (?) battery, total $3000, net to me $17,000 vs. zero if I had leased.

The inside of the my car is like new. There are a few dings and scratches on my car, and the wheels show curb wear and tear, but certainly less than what is on most 6 year old cars. When washed and polished, it still looks great.

For me the MY 2025 lacks many of the buttons on my 2019 which have been replaced by a touch pad. That to me is step backward.

CPO: this is complete waste of both time and money: as your car is under warranty, anything between now and 4 years is covered. Whether the extended warranty is worth it, is up to you. I just didn't want a $3000 cost of replacing the screen or some other electronic part out of warranty. It gave me peace of mind.

I have also brought my car in for service: the transmission was shifty harsh. This was corrected at no cost under the extended warranty.

I have not decided what to do in December 2025 when the extended warranty runs out. I think the lease payments on a new E450 will be north of $1300 a month, maybe higher. That means if I have a major problem with my car, for example the transmission and the cost is $5000, that is the same as 4 months of lease payments.

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you so much, this helps a lot.
Similarly, they have discontinued the E450 coupe I'm currently driving and I'm not crazy about it's replacement- the CLE. The interior design IMO is a step back from its predecessor and the cost much higher with less equipment then I currently have.

The extended warranty sounds smart but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. In the meantime I'll try to get an idea of what out of warranty repairs might cost. I plan on changing out all four tires for more durable ones, which I pray exist. This was the most unreliable item on the car and sidewall bulges and flats were frequent. If leasing again, the tire and wheel insurance would pay for itself in spades.

​​​​​​Thanks again for your insight, it's much appreciated!

 

You are welcome!

If I need new tires because of bubbles, I will get them at Costco which carries a 5 year road hazard warranty.

If I am correct the CLE is a C class and not an E class. Definitely a step down.

Extended warranty: wait until you decide whether to turn in or buy. No reason to lay out money now.

I forgot to mention two things:

• This is the first car I have bought off of lease in over 15 years - the last was a 2008 Boxster which had only 4,000 miles on it at the end of the lease. Almost 100% of the time at the end of a lease you are upside down: the buy back is higher than the car is worth, so I just leased another.
• When my lease came up, we were still in Covid. The buyback was between $8K and $10K less than market value. When I tried to trade, the dealer said I had no equity in the car. What he offered me was between $10K and $12 less than used cars in his inventory that had more miles on them then my car! Clearly there was no way I was going to give up and/or walk away from the $12K equity in my car. When MBFS offered 2.64% for three years - that sealed the deal!

 

Agreed. The CLE is being marketed as a hybrid c/e class to replace the E-class coupe. It feels and looks like what it really is. Seems like we're having a parallel experience . I'm currently under mileage by 6,000 miles. One MB dealer said I didn't have any equity but my car is selling at a $10,000 premium to what is left on the lease. This is the major reason why buying is looking like the best option. I'm also really happy with this car- I ordered it during COVID and it's built exactly the way I wanted it, loaded. Besides the tires, I've never had a problem. I still need to shop financing ... pretty sure the interest rate won't be as sweet as yours!

 

Your lease turn-in will almost certainly become a CPO on the dealer lot if you do not buy it, which means the dealer will have to perform the normal CPO checks and fixes. That should give you a point to negotiate with the dealer, if for no other reason the vehicle won't sit on their lot waiting for a buyer. It should then qualify as a CPO purchase for you and would provide the extra 12 months of limited warranty coverage at no charge to you. From there you could buy extended coverage if you plan on keeping the car and feel you want the coverage. Of course all this depends on your residual and current used coupe prices.

 

You are correct everything depends on the buy back price vs. the cars wholesale/trade in value. (you can check out trade in/wholesale price at KBB.com) If there is no equity in the car, i.e., the buy back is higher than the cars value, then buying the car at the end of lease does not make financial sense. If there is no other car you want, then it might make sense to "over pay" and buy the car.

Unless things have changed, the dealer does not have the option of buying the car at the end of the lease at the buyout price. During Covid, when there was a great deal of equity in leased cars, and dealers were buying the cars at the lease end price and capturing that equity. Mercedes stopped that: they took the cars back and off they went to auction, so that Mercedes and not the dealer captured the equity. Remember Mercedes Financial as the lessor is the owner, not the dealer. Dealers of course could buy at the auction and often did.

As to having your car CPO: I do not understand. If you are leasing the car and it is under warranty, any problems will be covered and fixed: all a CPO will be is a detailing of the car + extended warranty + dealer mark up.

I believe a CPO warranty is extended for three years and up to 75,000 miles, whichever comes first, which equals original warranty of 4 years and extended warranty of 3 years. I do not think a CPO is only a one year extension of the warranty, but three years additional, total of 7 years.

Assuming you are correct and the dealer can buy your car at the buy out price, and not have to go through the auction process, the dealer will pay Mercedes the buy out price + extended warranty + dealer mark up.

Another way to think of a CPO: it is Mercedes still under warranty + buy out price under the lease + plus dealer markup + extended warranty. The dealer will also have cars taken back in trade and these can also be CPO'd.

By buying the car at the end of the lease vs. CPO you save the dealer mark up.

 

We're with the others, not enthused about the new CLE. Too much C inside. Our 2019 has 800 miles left on the ELW which has us wondering about what to do next.

 

it depends.

Has it been giving you issues? Unless something is seriously wrong, the issues would have presented themselves already. It is like any other newer or used car. The question is can you afford if somehting goes sideway mechanically on the car?

 

I don't know what the policies and practices between MBUSA and dealerships are regarding lease turn-ins. Too many variables. However, there seems to be some confusion about what a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) is. Correct me if wrong, but CPO Mercedes vehicles pass an inspection (ask for the report if buying one), and are given an additional 12 months of factory warranty, regardless of mileage. It's different than other "Extended Warranties".

Personally, I have bought CPO more than once, and in each case the vehicle was leased or sold, and then resold as CPO at the same dealership. IOW, the lessee turned the car in to the same dealership where they got it. Everything else being equal, would the lessor (MBFinancial??) be willing to offer the CPO warranty to the original lessee if he/she wanted to buy the car (beautiful color BTW). Worth asking IMO.

 

You won’t find a comparable car on the new market these days. If you like it as much as i like mine, I say keep it.

 

Each time you bring your car in for service inspections are done. If something is wrong it is corrected under warranty. If something is wrong, you bring in your car in and it will be fixed, again under warranty.

All a CPO is a used car that has gone through a series of inspections and if things are wrong they are corrected.

Nothing different that what the lessee is already doing.

As I posted there is no reason for a lessee at the end of lease to give the car back to the dealer, for the dealer to do inspections and then resell the car to the lessee for a substantial sum above the buy out.

I have been leasing for over 40 years and I have never heard of anyone, with warranty left, buying their leased car from the dealer as a CPO. Everyone just buys the car at the buy out price.





A CPO car goes through a series of inspections and anything wrong is corrected.

 

Once again I must take exception. If you buy the car you have been leasing the factory warranty remains 48months/50,000 miles. If you buy any Mercedes CPO vehicle you get the balance of any factory warranty plus an additional 12 months of warranty coverage without the mileage restriction. Additionally, the CPO inspection is (supposedly) more comprehensive than a service inspection. The former focused on reselling the car, the latter focusing on maintaining vehicle operation. My initial response was simply to suggest the OP see if he couldn't negotiate a way to purchase his lease vehicle AND have it qualified as CPO, which would give him 12 additional months of factory warrantyat no additional cost.
Linked below is Mercedes CPO inspection report from MBUSA site.
https://www.mbusa.com/content/dam/mb...s-Brochure.pdf

 

I think you are missing something: the cost of the CPO will be many thousands more than the cost of the buy out. For far less than the cost of the CPO vs. the buy out you can buy an extended warranty from Mercedes for three additional years, instead of only one year for the CPO.

Check out the many threads on this forum and the problems, lack of inspections and limitations on the CPO cars. Dealers are in the business of making money. There is no way possible for the dealer to buy the car at lease end, do inspections and sell it to as a CPO with an additional year of warranty at "at no additional cost."