SmokinBuddha

Have anyone gotten a grace period from Mercedes Financial while waiting on their new car to arrive? My lease just ended on my GLC43 and my guy at the dealership told me Mercedes Financial sometimes gives you a grace period. Meaning they won't charge you for the extra time on your current car while waiting on your new car to arrive.

tommyr

I've never heard of that one. In some special circumstances I've heard of dealerships letting buyer drive a loaner vehicle while waiting for their order to arrive, but I think even that would be unusual. MB Fin will allow you to continue driving your GLC43 if you want to continue making your current payments; typically for 2 months with just a phone call, and up to 6 months if you provide your order number for the new vehicle.

stealth.pilot

Yes as tommy r says. They will let you extend for a short period of time while on your current monthly rate. They charge you for the extra time, but you are not paying for your new car yet so it nets out.

mjsbenz

I am in a grace period as I am waiting for the GLE. Phone call and order number and continue making monthly payments. No free ride from Mercedes Financial. I did not press my dealer for a loaner. They do not have enough for service appointments.

tiri

My experience was as follows:
Our MY2020 was available June 19, however our 36 month lease on the MY2016 came to an end a few days earlier and we had just made another payment on the 17th.

Here's the kicker. The leasing arm doesn't care if you just made a payment and return the vehicle a few days later, they will not automatically refund you a pro-rated amount back. They might do it after much complaining/harassing/threatening, but it isn't a given, and we had neither the time nor the energy to chase after them.

The reason they do this is simple. When leasing a new vehicle, it is considered a brand new contract, completely independant from the first, so there is no obligation on their part to reimburse you anything on the old contract which was extended. Side note: the lease continues uninterrupted at the regular rate until it is officially stopped by the dealership.

Think of it as an appartment lease. You lease for a year, and negotiate with the landlord to stay another month. Even if you move out a week later, you still had to pay the whole month. Crappy, I know. That's why we took delivery of the new GLE in mid-July, nearly a month later as we did not want to "waste" a monthly lease payment (or seen another way, pay two lease payments for the same month).

mjsbenz

There are risks associated with extending your lease. I am still responsible to return the car with no service indications required. With 37k miles, and no brake work to date, I am hoping that the evil brake service light does not come on and cost me $2K for the one or two month extension (in addition to the monthly lease payments). Same concerns about wheel and tire damage as my insurance program on this expired end of 36 months.

gearFX

What qualifies as "service indications required"? A persistent light on the dash or warning at startup (because it's due now or past due)? Or would the "Service due in 1,000 miles. Please schedule service" also qualify and be frowned upon?

mjsbenz

You are raising a very good question. Best and most accurate answer will come from MB Financial. And the person at your dealership who is responsible for lease returns. My guess is when the indication says service is due (now).

sgawiser

Our experience was a little different. When our new car came in just after we had made a payment, there was a 10 day grace period and we got a refund of that final payment on the old lease. Of course, we leased the new car with MBFS as well.

SmokinBuddha

I spoke to a customer rep at Mercedes Financial today. I was told if your new car comes in within 10 days of your last payment date you won't need to pay any money driving your current car. That will be your grace period on your current Mercedes, but just let them know ahead of time and keep them updated.

FDTwins

replied to the wrong post, sorry.

fabbrisd1

On your Lease Return - on returning after Original Lease End Date - MBFS determines the Lease End Charges when your Lease Return is going back to MBFS- and your Dealer can only impact those charges if that returning Dealer is planning to purchase that Lease Return from MBFS.

Returning after Lease End Date - you can choose to "extend" and pay month-to-month - on Return you will be charged the $595 Lease Return Fee - if you have a Check-Engine-Light you definitely be charges added $375 - if secondary indicator lights like Service Due - Brakes Worn -etc - I have seen MBFS lease returns go both ways - charge or not charge. The BIGGEST potential Added Expenses - if you return with a non-MB Windshield (due to replacement while you had your MB) whether MB or other German brand you will get hit - and non-MB approved tires will be another bigger hit too.

Retunring Before Lease End Date - or At Lease End Date - just like other luxury manufacturer's - when moving forward to your next New (or Demo) Mercedes smooths a LOT of waters - and you can pickup Payment Credit that waive last 3-6 payments - no Lease End Fee - and your Dealer moving you forward to your Next Mercedes can assess and allow/cancel out "most" if not all misc extra charges A LAID OUT IN ADVANCE with you.

Keep the beat !