matrix

OK....all the mercedes owners.....MUCH RESPECT!
Now....any tips for the rest of us?Its obvious we're either missing something or that our choice of careers are way off!

Please indicate your industry,salary,years of experience and any tips for the rest of us....Thanks in advance

internet_mafia

Don't be fooled by what appears to be mercedes owners. Many are leasing out high-end mercedes because of the low dp and monthly payments. The dealers will tell you that a LOT of their newer customers are leasers. The real question should be: How many mercedes drivers actually own their car?

VroomVroom

That is correct. A lot of people from here aren't even indicating whether the car is theirs or their family's. If you were to take a poll (which was already taken before), you would find out that most of the community here drives the C (lots of C230's) class, followed by CLK and E.

vraa

HA at least yall can drive.. i'm only 14 right now

dad owns the SL500 and the rest of the cars lol

i think maybe the honda is in my mom's name tho.. not sure.. lol

PL599

so what i people lease. some people lease cars because it benefits them when tax time comes. self-employed people lease vehicles mostly. so IMO I don't think that leasing a vehicles makes a big difference between owning, leasing or financing it.

matrix

Hmmm....ok..maybe i should rephrase my question:

Anyone here make $200K are year?Doing What?

I know that one must work very hard to get there however....its what you are working at the really matters.After 5yrs in the IT field,I'm convinced.....not gonna happen there...I know of an investment banker who make $500K last year.....more tips please!

vraa

my dads self emplyoed.. infact all my uncles are (with the exception of one who is a doctor). We all have owned all our benzo's and lexus's and started off with old datsun and chyslers.. i still have a photo when i'm like two years old sittin on top of the trunk of this dead horrible Chysler sedan thingy... working hard gets u places..

internet_mafia

No matter what the rational for leasing is, the fact of the matter is this: If it wasn't for leasing, the volume of mercedes' on the road would be significantly less. Before leasing became so popular, mercedes used to be somewhat exclusive, now every Dick and Tom has a mercedes. What it meant to own a mercedes is diminishing because the market is flooded with them.

I am not downing anybody who leases, I am only noting the facts. Please differentiate the two.

Juke-box

haha..i think many are owners on this board..

i know that my dad bought and paid for all the cars by cheque..we believe leasing is kinda like.."not owning a car".. or your eyes are bigger than your stomach...that sort of thing..

FC Corp

I prefer ownership. The difference I pay in depreciation trade-in value each year is comparable to how much I would pay out if leasing the car for a couple years and at the end of two years, I would not even own the car! I can actually write a portion of that depreciation off as well. In addition, I can get a new car every year.

My 02 S600 was 136K with taxes. The 03 should be around the 150K mark with taxes. I hope, and I stress the word hope, I get around 105K trade-in for the 02. If so, this would give me a one time payoff of around 45K for a clear title. I then will have a clean title and a liquid asset worth 100K plus. This does not include the amount which can be deducted for tax purposes.

Next year I will do it all over again.

mookie

I agree with Juke-box if u cant afford to buy it then u should not own it by way of lease

sungulent

im leasing both of my cars there are advantages

1... when u lease u can write off tax times
2... lease a benz for 3 yrs or so and give it back get a brand new benz, u'll end up driving a brand new benz every 2 or 3 yrs...
3... cheaper payments and no interests
4.... never ever put down a down payment ona lease except a drive off

people that buy the benzos they propaly got about 500k sitting in their bank accounts and dont know what to do with it..

Dominic

sungulent> Did you say that you leased both of your cars? I'm confused! I didn't think that the dealer or manufacturer permits any modifications to be done on a leased vehicle! Did you misinterpret what you said or what?


DOMINIC

sungulent

i can do what ever i want to the car

when returning it i can return it with mods or i can simply take it off

my dealer seen both of my cars they really like it

i have no problems cutting the headrest on the ml i can simply replace the head rest
or option 2 terutn it with holes in it they will replace it as long as u get another benz from thm

Dominic

Okay! That works for me! Then you just keep adding mods to your Benzos. Sorry for the bother!


DOMINIC

vraa

lol! i wish my dad would let me put mods in the car

i love messing with stuff! lol

///MB

Hopefully you'll be able to get over 100K... however, if I were ready to pay over 100K, I would rather get a new S55 instead of a used S600. Unfortunately, due to the recent facelift and tremendous performance increase of the S55 and S600, I think the 2001-2002 will depreciate hard. There was a post a little while back saying that you could probably only get 60K on trading in a 2001 S600.
I'm assuming you're selling private party tho. Good luck. =)

FC Corp

Paying Cash gets you:

No monthly payments
No interest
New car whenever you want, 6 months, one year, etc
Equity
Tax write off for the buyer (Given the buyer is a company and it is structured in the "employees" salary)

As I stated earlier, the cost of depreciation is around the same amount as one would pay each year for leasing the car, yet you own the car, you have substantial equity. If someone has the extra cash, this is the way to go

leloz

prices of the S600 have not changed much. My 1998 was $141K after taxes new (I bought it from a friend in 2000). I have also noticed that MB has not changed the way they market the 600 sedan. I could not get over how the only noticeable differences between my S600 and the other S-class models was an all chrome grill and V12 emblems. However, when you drive the vehicles and inspect the interior and suspension, you will soon realize why these cars cost so much. Alas, I am selling my S600 to make room for a new toy

Caliz_Finest

i own 3 cars, and i am leasing one.. i have 3 mercedes and one bmw, the lease is my S430, i had a bentley recently but i sold it

Ansonnn

2001 S500 $97,000

Downpayment $62,000
Financed $35,000
$693.28/month for 5 years

2002 X5 4.6is $72,000

Downpayment $32,000
Financed $40,000
$793.02/Month for 5 years

2003 SL55 Designo Graphite Est. $127,000

Downpaymen awaitingt $100,000
Finance $27,000
Est. $680.00/Month for 5 years

sungulent

yeah if u want to husttle with selling your car to private party

good luck selling your car to a dealer's wholesaler they give chump change for your car

oh no doupt if you have extra cash then go for it buy it ....

but me i dont have extra 100k for a car sorry....