My lease end is nearing and I'd like an idea of what my car is worth. I've got a 2015 with an original MSRP of $126K and about 15,000 miles. I'm in Florida.

I am planning on trying to negotiate my purchase price. I'm hoping it is less than the residual value.

Thank you!

 

Quick ebay check shows them at high 70s-low80s, what's your residual?

Gotta figure the car would wholesale at 70k, but they will happily CPO it and sell it retail for 85ish, so I don't see them having to negotiate too hard with you.

 

That is a pretty steep markup for CPO. What benefits of CPO that makes it to much higher?

 

Hi ormond, I used to be a car broker and still have access to the auction reports from Manheim. I looked your 2015 up and I'm sorry to say that the average auction price is about 65k. These cars have are depreciating at a quick pace right now in the past few months. I bought a 2014 in August, and it has already depreciated 5k in just 2 months from what the wholesale number was just 2 months ago.

Yours has good miles, so I think your probably looking at around 67k right now on a wholesale number.

I hope that helps, and let me know if I can be of any other help.

 

MB37, when these cars are CPO'd, they are supposedly rigorously inspected, and any faults or problems are fixed. Mercedes also has certain standards for a CPO car that includes a good brake pads/rotors, certain tire tread, paintwork history, etc. The CPO inspection is extensive. The car also comes with an additional year and unlimited miles added to your already 4yr warranty. This has a great value. BTW, the CPO warranty adds $1650 to the cost of the car at purchase. This does not include all the costs to get to CPO standards. This is why CPO cars are typically more expensive, but they tend to be nicer cars.

 

I wasn't comparing CPO to non-CPO, I was comparing wholesale to retail, that's why there was a big spread.

CPO is a great deal in most cases, cheaper than an extended warranty and better coverage, although not as full as the factory warranty, some trim and cosmetic issues that original warranty would cover, CPO will not.

 

Really depends on the options on the car. I see lots of S550's with no options selling very high on the used car market.

 

Not sure if your car is a 4matic or not but here are actual auction transactions for 2015 S550 non 4matic. These numbers do no differentiate between different MSRP's and equipment. These are just actual transactions. With that said there can be no way to tell exactly what your car is worth since your car could have had a $10,000 higher or Lower MSRP than some of these cars sold for. Good luck

11/04/16 Manheim Palm Beach Lease $59,550 24,334 Below Black 8GT A Yes
11/04/16 Manheim Orlando Lease $69,550 10,394 Avg Silver 8GT A Yes
11/03/16 Manheim Tampa Regular $64,800 24,012 Avg Silver 8GT A Yes
11/03/16 Manheim Riverside Factory $71,000 9,208 Above Black 8GT A Yes
11/03/16 Manheim Riverside Factory $64,500 16,392 Avg 8GT A Yes
11/02/16 Manheim Palm Beach Regular $71,000 10,919 Above Gray 8G A Yes
11/02/16 Manheim Palm Beach Lease $67,700 19,798 Avg 8GT A Yes
10/27/16 Manheim Riverside Lease $69,800 16,673 Avg 8GT A Yes
10/27/16 Manheim Palm Beach Lease $61,250 15,892 Avg Black 8G A Yes
10/27/16 Manheim Ny Metro Skyline Lease $58,000 14,070 Below Silver 8GT A Yes
10/26/16 Manheim San Antonio Regular $71,500 3,665 Above Black 8G A Yes
10/25/16 Manheim Riverside Factory $72,700 4,871 Above Black 8GT A Yes
10/25/16 Manheim Riverside Factory $71,650 6,103 Above Black 8GT A Yes
10/25/16 Manheim Orlando Lease $66,500 36,714 Avg White 8GT A Yes
10/25/16 Manheim Orlando Lease $63,500 12,748 Avg Silver 8GT A Yes
10/24/16 Manheim Orlando Lease $69,450 15,733 Avg 8GT A Yes
10/24/16 Manheim Atlanta Lease $57,850 31,277 Below Black 8GT A Yes
10/22/16 Manheim Dallas-Fort Worth Lease $65,200 28,964 Avg Silver 8GT A Yes
10/21/16 Manheim Riverside Lease $66,450 31,832 Avg Black 8GT A Yes
10/21/16 Manheim Pennsylvania Regular $66,500 25,160 Avg White 8GT A Yes
10/20/16 Manheim Tampa Regular $52,000 6,001 Below White NON N No
10/20/16 Manheim Riverside Factory $65,500 9,984 Avg 8GT A Yes
10/20/16 Manheim Riverside Regular $64,500 38,292 Avg 8GT A Yes
10/20/16 Manheim Riverside Factory $64,500 5,331 Avg Silver 8GT A Yes
10/20/16 Manheim Riverside Factory $63,500 16,065 Avg 8GT A Yes
10/20/16 Manheim Riverside Lease $56,500 24,289 Below Black 8GT A Yes
10/19/16 Manheim Palm Beach Lease $59,850 32,863 Below 8G A Yes
10/19/16 Manheim Digital Marketplace Lease $59,500 24,834 Below 8G A Yes
10/18/16 Manheim Orlando Regular $72,000 8,244 Above Black 8GT A Yes
10/18/16 Manheim Orlando Lease $65,000 17,897 Avg Black 8G A Yes
10/14/16 Manheim Palm Beach Lease $73,500 15,601 Above Black 8G A Yes
10/14/16 Manheim Dallas-Fort Worth Lease $73,300 7,744 Above Blue 8GT A Yes
10/13/16 Manheim Southern California Regular $68,500 7,634 Avg Black 8G A Yes
10/13/16 Manheim Pennsylvania Regular $58,750 46,464 Below Gray 8GT A Yes
10/13/16 Manheim Digital Marketplace Lease $60,900 24,544 Avg 8G A Yes
10/12/16 Manheim San Francisco Bay Factory $74,900 6,087 Above Silver 8GT A Yes
10/12/16 Manheim Orlando Lease $53,100 74,009 Below Black 8G A Yes
10/12/16 Manheim Nevada Lease $65,450 22,546 Avg 8GT A Yes
10/11/16 Manheim Nevada Lease $62,450 46,569 Avg Silver 8G A Yes


© 2016 Manheim. All rights reserved.

 

I am curious about this as well. My lease is up in about 6 months. I have a 4 matic black s550. I only have about 5500 miles (I drive my other car more) but by the time the lease it up it might be 7k miles. I think returning the car is crazy there HAS to be positive equity in this car...

I might take it to Carmax to see what they will give me. I am not sure I will lease another S550 right after this one is up. The problem is Florida is that the banks won't give the pay off. Is the residual really the pay off at that time?

 

Residual is pay off for the lease. You can ask a mercedes dealer to land ,buy it from mbfs, the car at his dealership and sell it to you for a used price that a lot of times is around wholesale.

 

Yeah they aren't the most upstanding?! They want the car for themselves. I am going to roll it in to carmax and see what they say. I think Carmax as a licensed dealer can get a legitimate buy out or payoff prior to the lease end. I have to imagine I have overpaid given that I have less than 1 years miles allotted and I have the car for 2 and half years

 

I have never leased, don't you get a guaranteed buyout price at the end of the lease?
I always thought this is the disadvantage of a lease, you have to return the car in 3 years with the mileage allowed by your lease in the condition they say in the lease. It is THEIR car.
1 More miles then surcharge = dealer win!
2 Less miles then dealer gets a beauty to sell. = dealer win!
3. They can give you a "deal" to get another one but this is really taking some margin from the new deal to make the old deal/trade look good. = dealer win!
My relatives who lease always plan to buy out the car at the end of lease because they don't put on any miles and the car will be so nice BUT they never do. They want a new one.
That's the lease dilemma, you have to predict how you are going to FEEL in 3-4 years.
There is no right or wrong way to feel!

 

I can only be certain that in 24 to 36 months I want a new car. Purchasing a car (and paying the taxes on the entire vehicle) doesn't make sense at that rate.

 

Different jurisdictions may do it differently but you should only pay the difference tax cost if you trade in a fully paid car. If you sell privately in theory there is additional value in the car. But that said that tax really bites on a new one

 

I look at it the other way:
1) I specify then control the miles to ensure I always win on miles.
2) Less miles = car more valuable, I can sell to 3rd party, Carmax or dealer for profit. Alternatively, drive it the extra miles since I control that.
3) I control condition to ensure I always win on condition at return.
4) I can refuse any "deal" I don't like so that I win.
5) If the residual calculation is wrong and much higher than forecast, I have overpaid for the car but can get that back by selling to 3rd party, Carmax or dealer for the higher value.
6) If the residual estimate is wrong in the other direction and the car is worth less, the dealer loses.
7) I only pay sales tax (in most places) on the lease payments, saving 60% or so of tax on the residual. Government loses.