I found a 2007 GL450 with P2 and every option, 21k miles, CPO, for $45k.
I think it's a great deal and doesn't come along often. It's been sitting on the dealer's lot since Sept and they're looking to get rid of it before year-end.

Problem is that my BMW X5 lease doesn't expire until March and I have $1700 worth of payments left to make.

Question I have is:

Is the GL450 deal good enough to buy it now and eat the remaining lease payments on the X5? Or do you think I'll have many more 2007 GL450 CPOs at this price to pick from next March? Remember, this is a P2 package with every option.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

 

My gut feeling is there will be better deals in the March timeframe and you should hold out till then.

 

Thanks for your response. My gut says the same. I think I'm going to demand that they pay off my lease or cancel the deal. I've been watching 2007 GL450 CPO pricing trends since summer time and the markdowns before year-end are getting pretty aggressive.

 

can anyone else chime in? I'm new to this forum. Is benzworld a more active site?

 

IMHO - Benzworld is dead.

Based on what Manheim indicates below for an above avg vehicle with 21K miles, the price the dealer is asking is out of whack. As others have said, hold out until the spring. The market for all motor vehicles will be toast and dealers will be begging for your business. Offer BMW 50% of the end-of-lease buyout - they'll take it.

Here is Manheim info for a 2007 GL450:

Vehicle Identification
Search: Select Region: National
Year: 2007 Seasonal Adjustment: No
Make: MERCEDES-BENZ
Model: GL CLASS
Style: 4D SPORT UTILITY GL450
Auction Averages
For Week Ending Nov 13
Above Average Below 09/08 05/08 11/07
Sale Price $40,486 $35,748 $31,010 $40,885 $47,876 $51,391
Mileage 15,912 31,823 47,735 30,825 24,587 15,971
Total Sold All 100 94 61 51
Average Auction Mileage 31823
Prices are based on more transactions than shown under 'Transactions', above.
Nov 18 - Nov 25 2008
Above Average Below 12/08 11/09
Auction $37,000 $33,900 $30,800 $33,400 $21,000
Est. Retail $40,400 $37,100 $33,700 $36,500 $23,200

 

So the BMW lease is from the same dealer as the GL450? I might try to negotiate with them now to buy out your lease. It can't hurt if it's the same dealer.

 

If the Benz dealer buys out your BMW lease to the tune of $1700 that tells me that they would also drop the price of the GL450 an equal amount. BTW - in some states like California when a lease is bought out sales tax is still due on the amount of the payments. So in a way your double taxed because the dealer (really you) pays sales tax on the $1700 in payments and you pay $1700 more (and sales tax) for the GL450 than you would have if there was no lease buyout.

 

Thanks for your replies so far. No, it's not the same dealer that leased me the BMW. What I'm trying to do is tell the MB dealer to discount the price on the GL450 to the order of $1700, covering my cost of ending the X5 lease early.

Thanks for the Manheim info, although I'm not sure I understand how to read it. So $45k is not a good deal then? I think there should be at least a $2000 adjustment for CPOs though for reconditioning and the extended warranty, no?

Thanks folks and keep the advice coming!

I look forward to becoming an MB owner soon!!!

 

I just bought the same GL last week for much less. But I live in the Midwest. Getting the $1700 discount shouldn't be a problem. BTW I love this car!!!

 

As of right now, the deal is off. The dealer wouldn't take another $1,700 off the selling price to take care of my remaining X5 payments.

I guess I'll have to wait until February to get my MB. Thanks for your responses.

 

GLs with approx. 15K miles in > average condition sell for $40.5K, GLs with approx. 32K miles in average condition sell for $35.7K. Do the math - the stealer would make a lot at $45K, regardless of what the vehicle has or its mileage. Stealers know most GL450s are equipped the same (+/- wheels & tires, RES), and mileage influences the price by $500 +/-, so at $45K, I project your stealer (had you pulled the trigger), would have made $5-6K. Wait until the spring.

 

Thanks. How do you factor in the CPO cost? MSRP for the car was $68k and includes P1, leather, backup cam, wood wheel, lighting pkg, sunroof, and dual screen entertainment package. I'd like to believe that the stealer has room to negotiate, but they make it sound like they don't have any room and claim the CPO itself costs them $2900.

 

I am not in the auto biz, so I can only speculate about CPO. CPO does not cost the dealer anything. A vehicle designated CPO has met certain factory standards (probably based on service history, mileage, a service mgr's gut), and then it's detailed to carry the CPO seal. If (& I do not know if there is extended warranty) the warranty is > 4yr/50K miles, chances are the (dealer's) cost is absorbed by the salesperson or the business manager. If the "extended" CPO warranty costs you & I $2,900, it cost the dealer $1,450 or less. If there is $5-6K of margin on a vehicle, the $1,450 is easily absorbed. Never relevant what the MSRP was, only $ that is relevant is the acquisition cost of the vehicle plus the costs incurred to move the product out the door.

 

Wow, this makes me really happy I leased my GL. Thirty months from now when I turn it in, it will have a lease residual value of $36,663.

 

And the leasing company will beg you to buy it. If the auto industry folds, who knows?

 

I'm now working with a dealer in Manheim to try to track a 2008 GL450. Anyone here that does that too?