Next Month's Incentive Program?
 

I am committing tomorrow to lease a new E55, which I hope to pick up on Friday...can't help but wonder what May will bring in terms of incentives, but it's unlikely that the leasing incentives will be as strong.

My dealer expects the residuals to most definitely drop (this month was unusual where they kept the residuals the same as last month)...and it will be interesting to see if the exceptionally low lease factor stays the same.

But I suspect the days of getting a $90,000+ car for less than $900 per month will be gone.

I think they might replace the lease incentives with trunk money on outright purchases: I guess it depends on how well the inventories have been cleared out. I still see plenty of these out there...?

You're probably right. I can't imagine the lease deal getting any better. The effective interest rate is only 3% and the residual values for the 27 and 39 month lease are actually identical to the residual values for the 24 and 36 month lease. So, although you can always "create" your own term, adding months to the 27 or 39 month lease (say to 30 or 42 months) actually increases your payment, not decreases.

In addition, I'm not sure how well this tidbit is advertised, but you are allowed to extend your lease by up to 3 months at the exact same payment. So, you can actually turn your 27 month lease into a 30 month lease for a lower payment than just getting an outright 30 month lease.

This is exactly what I plan to do since I live here in New England. Making it 30 months takes me right to the end of October. A perfect time to give the car back, spare myself 6 months of payments and lease another nice summer car come the following April/May.

That's interesting...I am leaning towards 39 months, because 27 sounds so short. But I could also see being at 27, or 30 months, with such a good deal at less that $900/month, and wishing I had more time, because the alternative is then a lot more expensive.

You also have to look at when your lease expires: 27 and 39 months expire in July, which is probably a pretty good time to get another car.

I think MB generally picks up the last 1-2 months of a lease if you roll into another lease, but I could be wrong.