My wife and I landed on the GLC 350 back in October to replace our 5 year old BMW X3. We wanted a pretty specific, fairly loaded build, which we couldn't find in the US, so we placed a custom order from our local dealer. The build has a list price of $73,850. We talked to a number a dealers internet salespeople, Truecar, etc... and eventually agreed to an 11% discount from MSRP out the door which is $65,762.10 in early November with our local dealer.

They placed the order, (we paid a $2500 deposit). We eventually got a VIN and boat tracking number. The car is now in the US and we're supposed to pick it up sometime next week. We're planning to lease the car (my first lease), and so I'm just looking for any advice about what to expect/avoid to get the best outcome.

I looked at the lease factors and incentives in November, and again in February. It now looks like we'll take delivery in March, so am hoping the $7500 lease incentive carried forward for March.

We haven't offered/discussed a trade in. We're going to sell our used (low mileage) X3, but assume we'll do it privately to maximize the value. I plan to give the dealer an option to pay our price, but don't expect them to take it. I plan to minimize/avoid any upfront costs in the lease, and not put anything down. Why put money in a lease that I'll lose, if they vehicle is totaled? I can afford to buy the vehicle, don't need a specific payment. I'm mostly leasing because of the $7500 incentive, we're a very low milage user, like to change cars every 3-4 years, and write off a portion of the work to my business.

I also plan to avoid any financing team add-ons, paint, pre-paid Maintenace, gap insurance, etc...

Anything else I should know, or be cautious of? Thanks so much for any advice. We look forward to being part of the MBWorld family going forward.

Cheers,

-Jason

 

I'd always suggest finding a lease broker! My boyfriend just picked up a GLC 350e with an MSRP of 64K. He paid $3000 closing cost (including taxes, fees, down, etc) and has a payment of $680 a month which includes tax. 39 months 10k miles/year. Not a demo/loaner either - brand new. This is way below any dealer in our area (and beyond) offered and the car was delivered by one of the dealers that had offered him a much higher down and monthly. This is in Los Angeles and he paid the broker nothing. I've used a different broker and wrote them a check for 2k picking up the car (twice). Definitely try to find one who doesn't charge. It takes a few days to find the right build/options/MSRP since they're searching stock inventories.

I understand this may not be an option since you paid the dealer a deposit. You can still talk to a broker and get a quote from them for a specific MSRP. This might help with the negotiation if you take it to the dealer.

The only other piece of advice I have to offer is to stand your ground and refuse any add-ons like you mentioned. Three dealers we visited had BS like paint protection film, permaplate, etc. tacked onto the window stickers. Ranging from an additional 999 to 1999! They all claimed the products (some of which like permaplate are just hazard/warranty providers) had already been installed and could not be removed. Don't buy it.

If you can afford to buy the car in cash as you mentioned, leasing incentives may not be worth it. Be aware that the $7500 lease incentive is often available year round and most dealers eat it when factoring out your lease. All the quotes from dealers and the broker for the GLC 350e included a $7500 incentive but still varied in down and monthly.

I got an email from the sales manager from where I leased my 2022 C300. They're offering for me to trade in to a 2025 if I pay them $5000 closing cost and a monthly payment for $50 more than I pay now — all for less miles at 7.5k miles/year. According to them, this already includes the vehicle trade in value AND $6500 in incentives. They're very plainly trying to rob me, take a look below. This is their offer for a car worth 12k less than the GLC 350e:
The best lease incentives are the loyalty and lease accelerator, which aren't available to first time buyers. You mentioned it's your first MB so you may find pre-paid maintenance a good value. Depending on where you live, most local shops won't be able to properly carry out regular Service A and Service B on new models. This is not only because of their complexity, but because MB purposefully locks down their cars and information necessary for any kind of work to be done unless providers they deem authorized pay them a subscription fee. They can't even reset the digital service counter without paying MB a subscription for tools. You may find yourself being forced to go to the dealer, which extorts customers for interval service. When I had my first c300 six years ago, service A was 150 and service B 300. Today, the cheapest I can find service A for is 250 and service B 500. Service A is just an oil change which can be self-attempted. I take it to jiffy lube and pay them $30 for labor and filter after bringing my own oil. I reset the service counter manually myself based off videos posted on the forums. Service B is much more involved and I am forced to take it to the dealer, even in Los Angeles where there's a lot of local shops specialized in MB. If you can negotiate the price down low enough, pre-paid maintenance can save you a nice amount.

Another package I would recommend is the wheel/tire hazard package. I believe it is $750 and covers replacement for tires and rims no questions asked (unless the tread is worn out under 3mm). Depending on the quality of your roads and if you get run flats, it may be a worthwhile investment. I have popped 6 tires and cracked 1 rim over the course of six years and two cars (I know what you're thinking, but potholes are everywhere and truly unavoidable after a single day of rain). The run-flat tires are expensive to replace and they are extremely prone to popping/bulging. This may not be worth it if you have factory non-run flats or plan on replacing the run-flats for a superior ride. Our 350e has factory-run flats but they're high profile instead of the low-profiles like on sedans. Time will tell.

I only recommend these two packages since I wish I got the prepaid maintenance (would have saved me like $1000) and the wheel protection has already paid for itself on my W206.

 

Thanks so much for the detailed reply.

I did end up buying the pre-paid
maintenance. It sounds like it’s near impossible to use a non-dealer, and I found out the pre-paid could be used at any authorized dealer, so I’m not locked into one dealer.

Chicago has awful roads, so I’d have been interested in the tire warranty, if it was reasonable, but it was over $3k/year so I passed.

I left money in the table with the lease negotiation. They came in with a high o.0035 money factor
way over 0.00283. I negotiated down to .003 but then after we’d agreed he offered to drop
the .003 to .00283 if I bought one of the cosmetic packages “to help me make quota and actual lowers your monthly payment”. So I ended up with the paint and scratch protection, but it mostly made
me realize I should have stuck to my guns to get 0.00283 without any add ons 😕 You live and learn I guess. I did get the $7500 lease credit.

 

Congrats on your new purchase! Hindsight is always 20/20 but based off money factor I say you got an amazing deal.

Even with the paint protection, I think the money you paid to line the local dealer's pocket is less than you would have paid MBFS with the increased money factor. It's also an actual product you can use.

If the paint and scratch are service based, just file a claim every 6 months for them to come over. I was stuck with a $500 add-on from them when I bought my C300. The first time I used the permaplate protection it was when I scratched the front of the car and headlight. I made a claim online and a very nice technician came out to my home. He said the damage was accidental/not natural and wouldn't be covered, but filed the paperwork and restored the car for no charge. Gave him a $40 tip for half an hour of work and he was super happy.