SHHKNewport

Hello,

New member here and I apologize if this is not posted in the correct forum. I have some specific questions for purchasing/leasing a S class and most information I found online may not seem to apply to a $100,000 vehicle. Any practical advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I have never leased a car, currently have a BMW 5 series which was purchased as new car with cash 7 years ago. No credit card debt, no student loans, no business loans, 401K/IRAs maxed out, mortgages all fixed term<3.75%, etc. Philosophically I don't like to finance/pay interest on anything, or get into any complex financial agreements that I don't fully understand.

I am currently in the market for a W222 model S class because wife's 10 year old car is just about dead and we need a safer car with our toddler, and I have wanted a S class for a very very long time. I have $100000 cash ready to go, with credit rating over 800, and no good investment opportunities at the moment. Intuitively I was thinking of buying a preowned W222, not too many out there yet but I thought to let someone else take the 1st year new car depreciation while the car still has good amount of warranty remaining. However, I am a small business owner and the tax benefits of a lease made me think about getting a prepaid lease, since I have the cash and would rather save a little bit on the money factor, and I don't want to worry about monthly payments. Newer cars are obviously more hassle free in terms of maintenance but I have no problems keeping my cars for at least one full model cycle 7-8 years, and drive ~12k miles per year.

Surprisingly the dealership told me 85% of S class owners lease their cars. Is this true? Even though I am averse to leasing cars, I figure if leasing made sense of 85% of S class owners then it must not be that bad of a deal.

I would like to know which method of acquisition you chose to get your S class and why? In my situation, which would be the better way to go?

Have soooo many more questions about options and packages, etc! Pretty settled on diamond white metallic though...

Thank you for any replies/advice!

LovinMercedes

If you are keeping a car this long... buy.

wilassasin

People lease for a multitude of reasons but I would say ultimately due to the depreciation of these cars, leasing to some just makes more financial sense. Then you have the other buyers who come and purchase the CPO's after the car ages about 2-3yrs for roughly 65-80k and then add another 4-8k on that for extended warranty costs because u don't want to own these out of warranty and also these cars take a hard hit on depreciation but not as bad as the 7 series. Then the CPO buyers also get hit by depreciation because the car takes almost another 50% depreciation hit from the 65-80k they spent in just 2yrs of ownership and the car is now worth 30-40k when it originally was purchased or optioned out as a new car for 110-120k just 4-5yrs prior.

I.e, u can find 2012-13 BMW 7 series priced out between 35-45k then shop for the 2012-13 BMW 3 series and they are priced about the same as the 7. So the smaller models seem to hold better value in the long run compared to the german flagships, but if you love the big beasts then hey just enjoy it and don't think of the depreciation loss. Personally i don't lease, I always buy my cars and trade it out when Im ready. I'll probably go with the future model CLS 550 next because they are sportier, but you can't go wrong with the w222. Good luck on your decision. I agree with "LovinMercedes" comment, if you tend to keep your cars for the model life cycle just buy it.

ChuckinTucson

Listen to this guy.

My advice as you have the $100K available is to look for a 2014 or 2015 CPO with the color/option packages that mean the most to you. You'll receive an extra year of warranty in addition to what came with the car originally, but you'll also have unlimited miles. You can also purchase an additional 2 years of coverage for a total of 7 years and unlimited miles. (4 years original warranty + 1 year for CPO + 2 years additional purchased = 7 years.) You could conceivably have the car covered by Mercedes Benz warranty for the entire time you own the car.

CPOs also come with prepaid maintenance for I believe 24 months (two service intervals).

WEBSRFR

Good advice. If you plan to keep the car buy it. The only way leases usually make any sense is if you own a business and can write off your lease payments (thereby the depreciation).

MNGUY32

I ended up buying my W222, I just couldn't stomach paying $1500+ every month for 3 years, totaling $54000!!!. I figure if you buy a well optioned car and get 10-15% off theres no way you're going to lose $54000 come trade in time..

MNGUY32

Forgot to mention. I usually put 10k a year on my cars. I already have 9k miles on my car after buying it in January with 15 miles on the odometer... I have never put this many miles on any of the (5) cars I've owned in the past few years. The car is a blast to drive.. own it and enjoy it!

hyperion667

I bought mine as well, I don't ever want to play the "I borrow money" game......too many dudes with their hands out for doing little to nothing in return


kudos for no debt and paying as you go.........you, like me are a rare breed........I don't use a cell phone either

ezshift5

No kidding. Mine is CPO. How might I verify two services are prepaid (I DID look thru the mountain of paperwork the M-B dealer laid on me)

ez

ChuckinTucson

Easiest way is just to call your service adviser and give him your VIN #. They can look it up. Or the sales person you bought it from.

mikey94025

It's expensive to swap in/out of high end cars after only 2-3 years, whether you pay cash up front or lease. Leasing just makes the monthly "rental" cost obvious and guarantees how much you spend. A low money factor and incentives can also make leasing attractive. Some people have circumstances with additional tax benefits for leasing (lucky you).

But if you plan to keep the car, you're probably better off not leasing. This seems to apply to you.

If you do lease, do not do a prepay lease. While you might save a small amount, you loose one of the advantages of leasing and put yourself at risk if your car is totaled early in the lease period and when you're "upside down" (i.e., you owe much more than the value of your vehicle). Normally you just add gap insurance to your auto insurance to cover this risk when leasing (it's cheap). But if you prepay your lease then you loose this protection. It's then the same as if you buy your car with cash, total it a few months later, and your insurance pays you only blue book so you end up paying a lot of $$$ for just a few months of ownership.

SHHKNewport

Thanks for all the replies they are really helpful! Thank you!
I hope to get a car within the week...

kath00

I have been leasing cars (3-4y leases) for the last 4 cars. I adore getting new cars as the inside technology is advancing at a rapid pace these days. I also can tax deduct for my business. And I drive low miles. I find that all the fees such as getting dings or going over on your miles are usually ignored when I turn my car in because the sales person wants my business badly enough to let it go. I have done this with 2 Lexus, an Audi, my current 7series BMW and next will be the S550. It works out great for me with no maintenance costs ever because all my cars are always in warranty. I used to keep my cars for 10 years each time but not anymore.

SHHKNewport

So I got a car...picking up later today :-)
2015 Diamond White with Premium package, Black Nappa, Surround View, Driver Assistance,
Only thing is I wanted poplar wood but all the inventory was walnut...oh well, first world problems.
We have the final sale price but still haven't decided whether to pay cash or lease...dealer said I can still take a couple days to figure that out...
Thank you all for your inputs!