vsamak

I have 2002 ML 500 which has about 20k mi on it with few months left on the lease. I'm seriously considering purchasing it after the lease at $30k. It's a good car, no major problems except for a major electric malfunction that was fixed by the MB dealer in NYC during the first few months, but I know the car and it's reliable. If I buy it in time I can take it cross country on a move, otherwise I'd hate to spend on a different vehicle, look at used cars or get another lease (sick of leases already). The thing is I got a good deal on the lease so I may overpay a bit if I use the resid value purchase. What I'm interested to hear from current owners of MLs particular the '02s are few things that will make my decision easier:

1. Do the MB dealers or MBCredit offer any discounts on the purchase of end-of-lease MLs? This is a long shot and I know I have a contract, but just wondering if anyone has had experiences.

2. How much and how good is the extended warranty that MB offers on post-lease vehicles, is this the same as the certified pre-owned warranty? This is a major concern for me because I don't want to pick up a lemon after 39 mons.

3. Can I actually upgrade my MCS NAV system based on CDs to a better DVD-based MCS system? Any comments on this? This is my biggest pet peeve of the car as the NAV is a piece of ****. An older Acura had better dvd-based system with more accurate software. As a bonus iPod integration would be ideal. Comments on this would be great.

Thanks and help is much appreciated,

sosh

I too have an 02 ML500 that will come off of lease in Aug. I am currently on a 1 year extension from the original 3 yr lease. Your options are buy the vehicle for the stated residual plus a small fee, turn the car in and pay the return fee or extend the lease. There is no fee to extend the lease but the mo pmt is in fact a bit negotiable. When I went to extend they wanted the original pmt and thats rediculous. I had my dealer intervene and they came back with a pmt that was less. Reason I extended was that I did not want another W163 after having 2 of them and wanted my next ML to be a W164. which it will be. The folks at MBCC operate very indepently and their numbers are to suit their purposes not yours. I would not really describe them to be customer friendly after the original deal.

LVDell

Negotiate a lower resid purchase price AND have them starmark it. If not, give it back and they will end up putting on the lot, Starmark it, it will sit and you will get an even better deal!

saturnstyl

You can easily upgrade to DVD nav. You simply need to replace the existing drive with a DVD drive. Its very simple. Plus you can ebay your old drive!

sosh

I can see yiu have not dealt with MBCC as a rule they will not negotiate the purchase/residual prices and would rather have the vehicle back. While dealers can purchase off lease vehicles, most of them end up going to a wholesale auction. As for Starmarking, only the dealer can do that if the vehicle meets the requirements. MBCC has no ability to do that nor do they have any obligation to the dealer. They are in fact their own company that acts as a finance arm to help dealers sell new vehicles. Therefore all of your suggestions are invalid.

vsamak

Can the dealers replace the DVD drive? Would that also upgrade the software?

I'm pretty tech savvy so I could probably do that myself, just wondering if this is normally done by the owner or the dealers?

5thmb1stnew

You ask an intriguing question, and Sosh' response really got me thinking on this iced-in morning. While I might be hallucinating, I think I finally understand how the two arms of MB work this stuff.

First off, I doubt the wholesale auction value of your ML is anywhere near $30k. If MBCC auction the thing, they don't really care that much what it sells for, which seems strange on the surface. But who do they sell it to? MB dealers and preferred resellers, of course. Why would they "take less money" than on a deal direct to you? It depends on who finances these purchases. The answer is MBCC if it is a retailer, and likely MBCC if a reseller. If a dealer Starmarks it and leases it again, it stays with MBCC, and the dealer paid MB for the warranty. Preferred resellers use MB parts, if I remember correctly. Either way, it is probably still in the MB "system", creating revenue, this time after a huge depreciation for whomever "sells" the vehicle.

If that scenario is even close to true, I see two pretty good options...
1. Extend the lease to coincide with the end of your factory warranty, or
2. Buy it outright and try to get a discount on the MB platinum warranty for about $2000. With your miles, you can get the full 7 years out of the warranty.

But I would never buy it without protection. Others?

vsamak

There's always a caveat! I thought the negotiations sounded too good. The dealers do say that MBCC is lenient at end-of-lease on giving you good terms for a new MB car. I would think MBCC would have you buy the car rather than go through an auction because they reduce liability and losses on the vehicles. What's your experience like with MBCC?

I'm not worried about starmarking the existing ML. I know it and that's good enough especially if I can get an extended warranty for a few more years.

vsamak

Actually, don't how much truth there is here, but that explains a lot from a marketing strategy perspective. Keeping the used cars in the MB dealer network, through certification, parts and financing, ensures consistent value and quality (i know this can be debateable especially on the MLs) but that's the idea. MB is locking up the channels to approriate the value of the MB cars within its dealer network. Makes a lot of sense, given what I've learned in b-school about marketing strategies.

Personally, I don't care for loosing out on a $2-3k in value from the residual value. It's more than enough to ensure I have a good vehicle, especially one I know. The extended warranty in this case would be valuable, so I'll definitely ask for a refund.

Now if the DVD system worked, that'd make the decision easier in a few months.

sosh

My experience with MBCC is as I stated. No negotiation on the end of lease purchase but possible to negotiate a lease extension at a reduced rate and without purchasing any additional miles. Sometimes they will not negotiate with you directly and its necessary to go to the GM of your dealer and have him get his MB "relationship manager" to contact MBCC. I did this and saved over a hundred bucks a month. As far as MBCC being lienient thats not been my experience except in the area of minor damage/blemishes, etc. when turning the car in. Re an extended warranty, I do not believe in them as its my thought that one should go thru life paying ones own way and of course minimizing the risk BUT not paying others to take the risk for you. The dollars with a auto repair are relativly minor compared to the risk one takes re auto accidents, personal liability and home insurance.

sosh

Here's a new twist on this situation. I have never experienced this before. My E320 (01) lease will expire in early feb. I had considered buying the car and was faced with a brick wall at MBCC when I tried to negotiate a reduced purchase price. I am buying a new 05 E320 4m at this point. Today out of the blue I received a call from MBCC with the explanation that they are having a "special" and I can purchase my 01 for about 4000 less than the residual that they would not budge from two weeks ago!! Apparently MBCC is similar to the other divisions of MB in that one hand does not know what the other is doing.

vsamak

That's interesting news. My months are coming to an end so I may have some leeway on lease extension for a few months or negotiation on a new vehicle. I'll push my luck.

Do you use the Cherry Hill dealership or somewhere else in Philly? I'm asking because I'm wondering how friendly/aggressive are they on leasing.
Thx,

sosh

That whole thing surprised me also. I did turn the car in today and picked up my new one. I use the dealer on RT 202 in West Chester even though there is one closer to me. I think they are teriffic. Personally I would stay away from Cherry Hill, I do not like dealing with people who come off as slick. I have met the managing partner there and I was blinded by his gold necklaces and bracelets. Not my kind of guy. I have owned/leased 70 new cars in my lifetime and have never been treated better than West Chester.