globetrotter

I'm nearing (4 months to go) lease end on my 2008 S550. The lease miles allowed were 48,500 and I've already got 55,000 on it and at the rate I'm going, it will be well over 60K when I turn it in. At $0.25/mile, I'm looking at a big payment to MBNA. It's a great car and I love it but I'm reluctant to buy it for the $47,500 fixed buyout price for such a high mileage car. Will MBNA negotiate? Any thoughts as to what my best options are? I'd love to have a new one but finances won't allow it so if I turn it in, I'm probably looking at a E350 or E550.

Thanks.

clkwork

I'm pretty sure you can roll the fees over to your next car if you are financing. The residual is certainly negotiable as well. Talk with your dealer and see what they can do... you might even want to consider an early trade-in to avoid more mileage fees.

IDriveAnM5

You might be well advised to contact MBF if they hold the lease contract. Often times, they have a pull-ahead program on their leases designed to get people into their next MB a little sooner. For the S-Class, the pull ahead is usually between 3-5 months.
A friend once told me never to lease a car knowing my mileage will go over because it's not financially responsible. So, since I have a 15k miles/year lease on my 2010 S550V4, I've been really careful to spread the miles I can to my second car, my M5 which I own (no penalty there!). Heck, I've even been logging as many miles as I can on my Dad's C300V4!! Good luck talking to MBF or whatever bank holds the contract.

aeggroup

I don't have to say it and it's kind of illegal, but you can roll it back for about 1K.......

rtx2008

A friend of mine just bought his AMG E class at the end of the lease for $40,000. The residual in the lease was $49,000. They definitely negotiate.

Corsa9000

With your estimation of excess miles you will owe $3,000 to MBFS. You can contact them and pay an additional say $500 with each payment for the next 4 months, to reduce the big impact at lease end. I don't recommend paying more since if you do not get to 60K miles, you have paid for miles you did not use.

Rolling it over to the new lease carries interest charges for the next 3-5 years which is not ideal of course.

Another option is for you to sell the car on your own to another Private Party for $47.5K or more (your residual value), no mileage penalty from MBFS and you will pocket a little money for your next purchase or lease. 2008 S550's are advertised for around $55K or more now. My brother does it routinely with his leased BMW's.

Good luck!

nyca

Not really. Between carfax (they get repair records) and yearly state vehicle inspections, the mileage on your car is tabulated at various times during the year - unless you do all your own maintenance and live in a state with no yearly inspections. Put a false odo reading on a legal document that is lower then a reading tabulated for your car prior to that date, and you are toast.

MBZFAN55

Mercedes Financial is not well known for negotiating any substantial reductions on their leased vehicles. They do however usually offer MB dealers a better acquisition price than they will offer the current lessee. Your best trump card is that you are looking to acquire another Mercedes product, so an aggressive dealer could make things work out for you. Many dealers are pushing hard for sales numbers by 12/31, so you may want to visit a few dealers sooner, rather than later.

K-A

That is the worst advise possible here.

I just gotta say, $47,500 is a hella low Residual value on an S550! I'd think they'd have them usually set at around $55-$65K.

DCubed

Right now MB is paying 3 payments + disposition fee to pull you out of your S class and put you into a new car financed with MBF, you can stop the mileage from piling up on your current lease and get a lower payment, the E350 and E350 Bluetec have some great programs on them right now. Best of luck.

egauster

For a fee, you can sell your car to the dealer now, have them certify it and buy it back from them as a CPO... You will avoid the excess milage fees and as a CPO you can finance through MB Credit at about 4.5% or less with auto payment of your bill and good credit of course. Your warranty will then pick up as a CPO. (1 or 2 more years)...

Talk to the dealer before 12/31, tell them your situation and have them come up with something. They will!