str8ridin

I've never leased a car before, so I can't speak well enough about it, but my impression of people who lease "performance" vehicles like the E55 drive the snot out of it because it is essentially "rented". It seems like leasing dilutes the responsibility and accountability of the owner from the car whereas people who "own" tend to demonstrate more ownership of the car.

Is that a correct assumption? Or just 1/2 correct?

Would you buy a E55 that was a lease return?

jpohl402

I don't think it's correct. I would absolutely buy a lease return of any vehicle.

E55AMGGG04

Well i just bought a 2004 E55 with 19,300k miles a few months ago but i searched many places b4 i bought this particular one. I wanted in white so bad but it had 5% tints and 20 inch rims already on it so my assumption is maybe this car was driven hard. I found my E55 with very light tints and perfect condition and very low mileage so i would say it's not a bad idea to but a car that has been leased.

tommy25000

+ one... At the DEALER auctions where many car dealers get their used vehicle the off lease ones bring more money... They are normally in the best shape!

machz990

I tend to agree with you. I've leased vehicles before and the last year of the lease I'm kinda in the letdown mode. Skip the wax, don't change the tires, stretch the oil changes, etc. are a few of the things I've been guilty of. I'm very particular of the appearance of my vehicles but I think it's also human nature when you know you are parting ways. It's quite different with vehicles I own. I give them a lot of TLC almost to the point of being obsessive.

sack5000

Sorry guys. A leased car is driven hard and put up wet. Once the lease is up, some effort is made to clean the car up a bit and then cringe at the turn in inspection. Why would a leasee make any effort to care for a car that is as you say "rented"? Just watch what you buy and look for signs of wear. A leased AMG is certainly pushed to the limits.

When auction results are posted here the cars are rated as poor fair and good. I don't recall many auction cars being rated "good",

At a minimum, get one with low, low miles and you will do the best.

tommy25000

How do you figure... If you know you are only keeping a car until 20k miles, leased or not, you know you are not going to have to deal with the problems it may have due to abuse? I drive my cars pretty hard... I never lease and I never keep them more than 9 months. I think this is one that could go either way... I would say above all else make sure you don;t get one that was driven by a women. curb rash, key scratches, bumping into cars when parking... the list goes on ughhh

enzom

Whenever something happened to a car that I leased, I would always say "F* it, it's a lease".

I bring my leased cars in for oil changes when required. I bring my owned cars in for oil changes every few months. There is no question that I take care of my owned cars better than any of my leased cars. Why? Because I view the car ultimately as "borrowed", and if anything breaks, it will be under warranty. If something breaks when it has 40,000 miles, so what? It won't be my problem anyway.

I am not saying that leased cars are driven like rental cars, but to think that there is no difference in the way a leased car is treated vs. an owned car is probably naive. Now my leased cars were in very good shape when returned, but my owned cars have always been perfect when traded in.

BlackHammer

Totally depends on the owner...

I lease most of my new cars and do all the scheduled maintenance and take very good care of them.

TK

MRAMG1

I agree 1000%

I have two friend that lease the latest/greastest sports cars, NSX, P cars, BMW's, and of course AMG's. They routinely take them to open track events, and one of them has been run in the Cannonball series. So in a word YES leased cars get beaten to death, IMHO.

See yeah

komp55

I'm in the camp that agrees there's a greater chance a rented car (i.e., a leased car) has been rode hard and put up wet. All you have to do is read this board to see the thrashing that some of the leased cars take. Or remember how you personally flogged the last rental car you were in

There's only one way to go when getting into a previously leased car - make sure it has a MB CPO certification and then pay to extend the length if you're buying the car and plan to keep it.

ProV1

i've heard of many instances, ppl never doing maintenance or never doing an oil change for 40k miles on their leased cars....!