Really? Hmm did not know that. That makes buying an older Mercedes seem a lot more attractive, if you can get one with the CPO. That said I'm sure the maintenance requirements are expensive.
Mercedes Ended Lease Early--No Catches
- Thread starter CarbonSteel
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the most expensive car you can ever own is a cheap used luxury car. i don't care what warranties they offer. they're junk and have been since the 90s.
I think you mean a cheap used european luxury car. Parts and service for my Navigator doesn't cost any more than for an F-150.
But it hasn't been back to the shop anyway, I fixed the transmission leaks myself and while I was at it replaced the filter. Otherwise it's just been oil changes and new tires, which I got at Walmart. Found a special for $40 off each on some Yokohamas so pulled the trigger. But anyway.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I don’t mean it as a dig on you. They know they’re gonna make out really good on that deal. You were the sucker, for them.
If it works out good for you then that’s awesome.
A member on here has a lease on an Elantra he posted about the other day. The difference between the lease buyout and what Carvana would give him is over $10k.
Given the choice between a Lexus and a Mercedes, I'm probably going with the Lexus.... unless it's something like a C63 AMG !
The CPO warranty takes over where the factory warranty expires. There was recently a thread on here about a guy who did just that. I think he bought it with one year left on the factory warranty so he basically got a car with a 4 year unlimited miles warranty and was doing about 30k a year. It comes with a one year CPO warranty but you can get two extra years for around 2-3k depending on the model, there are dealers in the Mercedes forums which will discount the extended and CPO warranties. Another way around some of the maintenance is to get the service packages, they included required services like spark plugs and transmission fluid changes which are extra in addition to the basic services. Standard service is about $300 a year for service A and about $500-$600 for service B, they alternate. Service A is basically a glorified oil change where they check a bunch of stuff.
They gotten better of late, my 2008 E-350 has been pretty decent but has had more repairs than my 2011 E-350 which is a newer platform. The latest platform seems even more reliable, no major complaints out there. Both of mine have been out of warranty for 5-7 years. Deprecation is pretty massive on a luxury car due to this sentiment. I have Bixenons on both cars and they used to list for $1500 a headlamp, never had any problems with mine and as time goes on, the prices drop and you can get junkyard ones if needed or just replace the broken part like ballast or motors instead of getting the entire assembly. A 4 year old car is probably at 1/2 of list price but I like to get them more at 5-6 years when they're at 1/3 or less of list price. My 2008 listed for 65k and I paid 18.5k for it when it had under 50k miles at 6 years old. With crazy car prices, it's still worth almost 9k retail, maybe slightly more as mine has 8k worth of options where most only had 3-4k. Only real crazy expense has been flat tires, replacement tires (they only last 30-40k for a set) and replacing/fixing cracked/bent rims.
The reason a Lexus is considered more reliable is because they have fewer options. Car I mentioned earlier is loaded with the pano roof, keyless go, real leather, active curve illumination with bixenon headlamps and washers, parktronic, power trunk closer and folding rear seats. The folding rear seats were like an extra $500 option, not only do they fold down, but the seat cushions fold forward or can be removed so the backs fold down flat. I'd rather have the options and enjoy them before they break. With the exception of the door handles/keyless go, they haven't really broken yet.Given the choice between a Lexus and a Mercedes, I'm probably going with the Lexus.... unless it's something like a C63 AMG !
One of the major issues with the older C63 prior to 2011 was that the head bolts were weak leading to blown head gaskets and needing a 25k AMG engine, even used ones aren't that cheap. Those 6.3L engines had a bunch of other issues too.
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I did a cursory look at Carvana and Vroom before handing the keys to MB. Vroom does not buy lease vehicles and Carvana was a few hundred dollars over pay-off so the choice I made was the best. The image below is current, but it was about the same a week or so ago.
My Jeep on the other hand was a "cash-cow" with both Carvana and Vroom, but that was never a consideration for me.
My Jeep on the other hand was a "cash-cow" with both Carvana and Vroom, but that was never a consideration for me.
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You mean a $90-$100k motor.
Sorry, I should have clarified - if I were "given" either car as a choice
. I mean, I would buy a Lexus but I don't think I'd ever buy an M-B and even if given one, at the first expensive repair, it would be gone.
I work at BMW and own several. Even I wouldn’t touch an AMG with someone else’s credit card.Sorry, I should have clarified - if I were "given" either car as a choice
MBFS really inflates the residual on their leases to get the monthly payments lower, so there likely wasn't much the OP missed out on.
Had a similar experience, but it was years ago in 2014. I worked out a deal with the Subaru dealership to take in my leased 2012 Subaru Legacy 6 months early, over miles and with worn tires / brakes. The deal was they take my Legacy as-is with no additional cost to me and I'll buy/finance that new 2014 Crosstrek on the lot. Done.
While Mercedes tend to have high prices, they're not that high. AMG models are in the 90-100k range so the engine can't cost that much.
Haven't had many expensive repairs over 1k. The top two expensive repairs were the intake manifold which was about $800 and the front springs/struts. They don't making quick struts so by the time you buy the springs and struts and the other bits like strut mount, bellows, cover and bumper stop, the whole job with parts and labor was about $800.Sorry, I should have clarified - if I were "given" either car as a choice
I'm tempted by them, but they're about double the price of a used base model car and then they of course have expensive stuff that goes all the time like airmatic. The brakes can also be expensive. I think parts for brakes and rotors on my E350 is a tad over $300, you can easily spend 2k on factory brakes on an E63, but I think you can use C63 brake parts so it's a little cheaper. The real difference is that traffic is so bad here that it doesn't matter how fast you can go if you're stuck in traffic all the time.
It is very simple math.
The reason the dealer called you is:
Residual + 7 months payment = X
Current retail value = X + $4,000 (at least)
Actually, it can.
The dealer group I used to work for had a MB dealer. Heard several AMG horror stories. Best was one customer who bought a used AMG ML in Montreal, driving back to Ottawa (about 200 km away) and the engine seized en route. Price tag to replace was just north of $100k, or more than double what he paid for the vehicle. He abandoned it at the dealer.
Was an expensive drive home.
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Not following this. I did not pay the 7 months and MB did not get it so how is that being added into your equation?
I think the issue will be is M-B doesn't make many "extra" AMG motors, driving the price up not to mention delivery time to get the replacement.
The dealer took your car.
The dealer paid the 7 months of payments to the finance company.
The dealer paid the residual price “buy out price” to the finance company.
Finance company sends title to dealer.
Dealer sells used car to next customer.
