I'm looking to lease a GL 450, and the quote I got from House of Imports was:

TOTAL (Premium pkg, Rear entertainment): $68,445

Selling to you for: $63,216
36 month lease
10k miles per year
$2000 total drive off
$1018 monthly, includes 9.75% tax rate (in CA)

How does this deal sound?
Should I put more $ in to lower the money factor?

Thanks!

 

If you're leasing, consider going to the 2011 as your residual will be higher (so will the money factor). Ask your dealer what the 2011 residuals and money factors are. My dealer initially told me they would be the same. When I insisted they would be different, he checked and they indeed were 5% points higher. We now know we could lease a 2011 for the same or less as a 2010, but that's on a GL350. The deals are better right now on the GL450 than the GL350. The money rate is insanely low on the GL450.

Couple of things:
- need MSRP to evaluate the lease (consider subscribing to www.leaseguide.com for the lease kit)
- you should never put money down on a lease (read CarMan on the edmunds.com forums)
- the money factor is the money factor, putting more down does not reduce the money factor

Post your MSRP and I'll put it in the lease calculator.

 

Doesn't seem bad to me, then again I got flamed by people saying $1600/mo lease on my CLK63 black series was too high.

If you can put down more to lower the mf and cap then that's always a good deal. I'd say go for it!

 

Never understand the focus on monthly payments for those who have the capacity to put money down on a lease. It's not like buying. If you can afford to put money down, consider the total cost of leasing which is not necessarily reflected in your monthly. Gap protection (on most leases and on the MB Fx Lease) ensures that if the car is stolen or totaled, you're not "upside down" on the car. Whatever $$$ is paid down, you likely lose that in the event of a wreck (your fault or not) or theft.

I've heard MB Fx allows you to make up to 10 payments on a security deposit over the life of the lease allowing you to lower the MF on the lease. If this is true, it might be a good idea in future years.

Use the lease calcs on leaseguide.com free and you'll see it doesn't affect your "lease charge" much. Better yet, post the question on the leasing board. Tarry's the expert.

Here's a couple of quotes from leaseguide and car_man on the edmunds board:

from www.leaseguide.com
"Q. What are the advantages and disadvantages of making a down payment on a lease?

A. Making a down payment can substantially reduce your monthly payment amount. If you think you might ever want to end your lease early, an initial down payment can reduce or eliminate the cost of early termination. Many promotional lease deals require a specific down payment amount in order to get the deal. Some people mistakenly think that a down payment is a kind of deposit that you get back at the end of the lease. Not true. Having said the above, a disadvantage of a down payment is that, should your vehicle get stolen or totaled in an accident, you probably won't get any of the down payment returned to you.

from car_man @ edmunds:
"I see that you are considering paying a lot of money at lease signing. I always advise consumers to put as little money down as possible when leasing. Those who pay big bucks at signing risk losing part or all of it if their vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen and never recovered.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Forum"

 

You know drive off $2k more than likely does not include any cap reduction considering, drive off normal includes first month lease, plus DMV fee's. In Los Angeles County those DMV fee to register your car run approximately 1.3% of the purchase price. Also their is a bank fee from MBF which officially is $795 but most dealers mark up that fee, plus a document fee most dealer charge.

So if you figure all of the above, in reality he is rolling some fee's into this lease payment already which are 100% amortized over the lease term and he is paying interest on that money. The GL450 does not have the greatest interest rate as the money factor converts into a 4.7% interest rate, sure compared to E-Class Coupe or E-Class Convertible who money factor covert to over 8% that might seem like a good interest rate, but when interest rates are 0% and many other car's money factors are less than 1/2 it is by no means low.

 

you can find better deals than this. There are only two things to consider if you get a good deal for lease. first is the selling price or the final negotiated price, the lower the better. Second is your lease rate or money factor that you are qualified for, with no money down. All the others including residual value, DMV registration fee, annual miles rate, etc are out of your control, and will be the same for all consumers when they are leasing the same model at the same period.
Monthly payment means nothing to determine if you get a good deal or not. A guy can tell you that he leased a GL for $600 a month, but he may not tell you that he had put down $10000 to reduce the cap, and he is actually paying second tier lease rate because his credit score did not qualify him for the top tier money factor.
As for you case, the dealer's selling price is at invoice, which is not hot at all in southern California. You can easily find dealers will do it at $2000 below invoice. Your lease interest rate seems fall into the MB financing's top tier which is 4.7% (June only, for a 36 months lease) assuming you are qualified for that.

 

We've gotten lease quotes from four dealers in SoCal and all the bank/acquisition fees are $1095. The lease on our other '07 was $795. Other lease brokers are quoting $795.

Of all the GLs for this period, the GL450 has the best money factor which is likely MBUSA's way to incent leasers. I did a comparative spreadsheet on GL450s back to 2007 and these money factors ARE THE LOWEST MBUSA has ever offered since they've introduced the GL. That being said, my understanding is MBFx plays with the residual and money factor to achieve their ends, so it's important to look at the two variables together.

If you mark the money factors to interest rates (Fed Funds Rate), there seems to be a very low correlation.

Tarry just released the July lease rates on the 2011's on this site. The residual on the GL450 is higher, but so is the money factor. On the GL350, one would be able to lease a 2011 for about the same total layout as a 2010.

I'd consult Tarry or pay $20 and get the Lease Kit at www.leaseguide.com. I'm already using it for my second lease and wouldn't walk into a F&I or lease brokers office without it!