ChuckinTucson

We presently have a '13 ML350BT which we really like. Unfortunately we leased it for 36 months and a total of 45,000 miles. My husband got into real estate and has been driving the holy hell out of the car. It presently has 55,000 miles on it and we've got another 11 months on the lease. If he keep driving it at the current rate it will have another 27,000 miles before we turn it in for a total of $9,250 in mileage charges.

I'm thinking I should just park the thing and BUY a CPO. There is a '14 ML350BT same color combination that I can buy for $55,000 out-the-door including the additional 24 months warranty and unlimited miles. I was thinking of getting a '14 at the end of the lease anyhow as we tow a boat with it and I'm not sure about the 2.1L 4 cylinder in the '15 ML250BT.

While buying the '14 now would cost $55,000 it would save me $6,750 in additional overage charges.

The other option would just to continue driving this one, turn it in, pay the mileage charges and buy a '14 in 11 months. Any advice as to what you'd do in my shoes?

gkgeiger

Why don't you just buy the one you have?

ChuckinTucson

Buyout right now is $50,300 which is WAY more than the car is worth. Residual at the end of the lease in 11 months is $39,400. The car will be worth around mid-$30s ($34-36) then with 80,000 miles on it.

skw

Talk to your dealer and see how willing they are to work with you. MBFS usually has a 4 month pull-ahead program available, so that knocks out 4 of your 11 remaining months. The dealer might be willing to eat 2 or 3 payments if you're getting another car from them so now you're down to owing just 4 payments and the charges for the excess miles. Only thing I'm not sure about is if the pull ahead is available if you leasing or financing the new car through MBFS, or if it's leasing only.

zer0t

Do some research on the transmission issues on the new BTC cars. I had an 11 that was flawless and now have a 14 that has intermittent transmission issues, which the dealer has said is common, MB is aware of and there is no fix for.

ChuckinTucson

Decided to just keep this one and buy it after lease. I'll pay about $3,000 or so more than what I could buy a comparable one for, but that is much less than my over mileage fees will be. I bought an extended warranty through Endurance in Northbrook, IL that will cover the car for an additional 100,000 miles. Worst financial decision ever to lease this thing due to the high mileage it gets driven.

Kartergreg

Did you get a good deal? Is that 100k miles total or 100k additional miles? I am looking for an extended warranty for my 2013 bleutec. Not sure if I will go with someone like Endurance of maybe MB. Seemed like Endurance wanted a lot for 5 years from warranty purchase for 100k total miles.

ChuckinTucson

It was for a total of 100K on the odo, not additional. Price was $5,700, but it is an exclusionary warranty with very few things excluded. I could have gotten just a power train warranty for around $3,000 that would have covered the car up to 150,000 miles. They will rebate any remaining time if you sell the car before the warranty expires. There is a waiting period of 30 days or 1,000 miles before the warranty kicks in (I'm sure to prevent somebody from purchasing the warranty knowing something needs fixed ASAP).

Kartergreg

I will probably go with the MB warranty. I checked around and found I can get their 100,000 mile warranty for just under $4200.

Read a few reviews about some of the after market companies that gave people a hard time about covering expenses on high end vehicles such as Mercedes and BMW.