cte430

As I stated in another thread, I have started the process of working on the wife for an E55. Once I wear her down, should I expect to have to pay MSRP? or are the 55's being discounted?

E55 KEV

I would not pay MSRP. Any dealer that has a 2004 E55 on his lot probably has had it for a while. Most E55's come in with an owner already attached to it. Send emails or call every dealer in a reasonalbe driving distance. If they have one in stock they should be willing to deal.

Kens-E55

If you don't plan alot of miles give "Lease-By-Tel" a call.
#(877)989-1500 -- I leased my E55 with 0 down and $1245/month for 48 mos. "flex-lease" (meaning I can get out after 36 months). It is a great way to get into a great car with little money out of our pockets. I thought it was too good to be true but now I'm driving an '04. BTW - They delivered my exact car I wanted directly to my doorstep!! It is a legit company dealing in high-end cars.

Kens-E55

amg55

Ken is right about leasing options. I got the same flex lease program, 48 mos/zero down, and was quoted monthly rates below $1135 by two different brokers.

colinforte

Hey amg55, your profile says you have burl wood (not black maple)? Did not know that was an option, was it special order. Also, was your flex lease from the same company that Ken mentioned.

Dr Chill

Just felt like joining in with my neighbors. 1091/mo 48 mo flex. So far no one has done better, but then again, that was before the price increase for 2004.

jkrutch

Prior to starting my own biz 10 years ago, I was in the auto biz. I was very pro-lease and still am in most situations...higher-end, ltd. production cars are the exception. I bought my 1st '04 E55...I traded it in 5 months later when my ordered car arrived. I lost a whopping $480 in 5 months!!! Cars that hold value very well are sometimes poor choices for a lease. You end up spending a lot more money.

I leased my 1st 911 Turbo. I got a great deal @ $1722 a month..or so I thought. Although the payment was inexpensive (relative to the price of the car), I would have come out much better on a purchase. My current buyout on my lease is 97k...which is relatively close to a retail price on the car currently. Had I put the same dollars into a purchase, I would have had around $6,000 in equity at this point. Luckily, I found someone to assume my lease since my '04 Turbo arrives in a few weeks.

On my new E55, my current payment is around $1,550. At the interst rate of 3.65%, I am quickly building equity...something I could never accomplish on a lease in a short time frame. IMO the E55 is a better car for purchase over lease.

cte430

I bought the car, did not lease. I should get it this week

Tiberius

Wow! that was fast.

I ordered mine several months ago and still hasnt arrived.

Did you buy from a dealer on LI?

W210

Absolutely agree. I bought one of the first R230 SLs at MSRP back in 2002 March, drove it for 15 months and traded it back to the dealer for a 2004 E55 losing a whopping $2,000.

If the driver tend to get to get into lots of accidents, a walk away lease is a good way to protect you from the accelerated depreciation due to the costly repairs. On the spouse's previous Volvo, I'm glad we leased as the repair bill on the car was over $15,000 in 4 years. We would have had a tough time trading it in or selling it.

cte430

Fast, but the wait is still killing me! Yes, I got it from Competition Imports on the Island. When I went in I told him what color/options I wanted, he checked netstar and there was one on the water that met my specs that was not spoken for. Guess I got lucky. Hopefully i'm driving this week.

amg55

Not always, though.
Several factors must be considered, not the least of which is the fact that the limited production market is very quirky. You can hit a home run or strike out.

Examples: a new SL55 the first year in production has held its value extremely well, for many reasons,
But an '01 or '02 E55 was a terrible investment if you bought new.
Also factor in that the E55 market is much smaller than the M5 market, and this is true for most of the AMG cars. Sport tuned cars without a manual transmission appeal to a smaller niche than BMW's M cars, Porsches, etc. Look how small the market is for a used S55, for example.

In addition to those factors, some people will take the extra cash not spent on a purchased car and get far better returns than they would putting it into a depreciating asset like a car.

Everyone's situation is different, and the merit of lease vs. but for each AMG model is different.


BTW colinforte, the burl wood is a standing (no fee) option for the E55. Just ask the dealer about it when ordering.

Brav

My $.02 --

I leased my 03.5 M3, and sold it within a few months. I took a hit, but then I figured out how much I would have lost if I had bought it, and I would have lost an additional $3K+ in sales tax, plus the additional 300 a month in payment I would have made over 6 mos. I would say a lease is better for a quick turnover, so long as there are no prepay penalties, and your finance rate is reasonably low. MB has a high lease factor, so I don't know how it would work out. But when you pay off a lease, you do not pay any future finace charge, only the future "rent"