Mercedes-Benz E-Class Lease Questions

CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, wantmb. Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp.'s current buy rate lease money factor and residual value for a 39 month, 15,000 miles per year lease of a 2006 E350 4Matic Sedan are .00275 and 60%, respectively. No I don't believe that I rolled the acquisition fee into the lease payment that I calculated for you.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi jmjinnj. Is the $68,000 that you mentioned this car's selling price of MSRP. I really need to know both in order to give you an accurate opinion of this deal. Knowing both will show me how much of a discount you are being given and will help me to calculate a lease payment to compare to the one that you were quoted.

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CarMan@Edmunds

You are correct, sbontheh2o. Mercedes-Benz is currently providing a $3,000 bonus on leases of this car through Mercedes-Benz Credit. This incentive is not automatically deducted from your car's price though, you have to ask for it and make sure that it is taken into account. A 39 month, 15,000 miles per year lease of a 2006 E350 Sedan through Mercedes-Benz Credit should have a residual value of 60%. Using this residual, a money factor of .00275, an MSRP of $54,465, and a selling price of $49,008, I estimate that this car should have a 39 month, zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $644.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hello Le. Obviously this car's lease payment will depend upon what sort of price you get it for, but assuming an MSRP of $58,000 and a selling price of $51,000 (which sounds be a little too optimistic to me) I estimate that it should have a 36 month, 15,000 mile per year, zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $686. You actually would be better off leasing it for 39 months because Mercedes-Benz has a special program that lets consumers use its 36 month residual values for 39 month leases, resulting in a lower monthly payment. The payment for an otherwise identical 39 month lease of this car should be around $652.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi cwradio1. You're being given one heck of a discount on this car. I guess that's why the dealer that you are working with is trying to mark up a few other aspects of this deal. Mercedes-Benz Credit's current base lease acquisition fee is only $795, not $995. Plus, they are marking up the buy rate lease money factor of .00275 to .00305. It wouldn't hurt to see if you can get the dealer to use the lower money factor to calculate your car's payment.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi qdmred. Dealer ads are a little different than manufacturer-sponsored ads. Most lease payments that manufacturers feature in their advertisements, like the ones that are featured on Mercedes' web site, usually leave a little meat on the bone so to speak. Dealers would be a little annoyed if Mercedes ran around touting unbelievably skinny deals. Dealer ads are a whole different animal though. It is very possible that a dealership would advertise a very aggressive lease that doesn't have a lot of room left to negotiate in it. This will vary from ad to ad. The only way to know how good a deal is is to take a look at the MSRP and selling price of the vehicle that is being advertised to see how much of a discount is being given.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi merrill4. Given the fact that the lease cash that Mercedes-Benz is currently providing on the E-Class is only available on sedans, I'd say that the selling price that you were quoted for this wagon is reasonable. It is difficult to say for certain with the information that is available in your post, but I suspect that this price is around $1,000 over invoice. One thing that I don't like about this deal is the large down payment that you are making. I always advise consumers against making any sort of down payment when leasing. I do so for two main reasons. The first is if your vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen during your lease, your insurance company pays off the bank that you were leasing it through and your down payment essentially disappears. The second main reason is that down payments on leased vehicles do nothing to reduce their lease-end purchase prices. So your lease-end purchase option price for your E350 Wagon would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $5,000 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

Mercedes-Benz Credit's current buy rate lease money factor and residual value for a 39 month, 15,000 mile per year lease of a 2006 E350 Wagon are .00270 and 56%, respectively. You can use these numbers to calculate exactly how much your payment should be for this car. Let me know if you need any help.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi eclassbuyer. This deal looks good to me. The selling price that you were quoted for this car looks to be right around dealer invoice, including the additional $3,000 discount for the Mercedes-Benz Credit bonus cash that is currently available. Furthermore, the dealer that you are working with is using this car's buy rate lease money factor to calculate its payment. The problem is that using the numbers that you provided, I estimate that this car should have a 39 month, 15,000 miles per year zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $595. $100 a month for tax sounds pretty high (ouch), but if you are in a state that has unfavorable tax laws, such as one that charges you 8% of your car's total price, then it is about right.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi jimdukecenter. I agree, given the fact that Mercedes-Benz is providing a $3,000 bonus for leases of this model through Mercedes-Benz Credit right now, the selling price that you were quoted does seem a little high. you may want to consider comparison shopping with another dealer or two. If there is a decent level of competition for your business in your area, you may be able to get this car for the $2,500 to $3,000 under invoice (including the dealer cash) that other community members have been reporting that they were able to get lately. One other thing, Mercedes-Benz Credit's base lease acquisition fee is currently only $795. It looks as thought the dealer that you are working with is marking it up a little bit. The money factor and residual value that you were quoted look good though.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi macdad. There's no need to apologize, when one community member asks a question lots of others can learn from the answer. The $3,000 incentive that you have seen mentioned is completely paid for by Mercedes-Benz and has nothing to do with the dealer that you get your car from. You should negotiate as good a deal as you can on this car, making sure to take the $3,000 into account. It is not automatically subtracted from your car's price, but since you know about it you should be able to get the dealer that you buy from to give it to you.

As far as this car's lease program goes, if you were to lease a 2006 Mercedes-Benz E350 Sedan through Mercedes-Benz Credit right now for 2 years with 12,000 miles per, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00300 and 72%, respectively. The money factor drops to .00275 for 36 month leases. These numbers assume that you qualify for MBC's top credit tier and pay a security deposit. I believe that there is a .00110 reduction in money factor for pre-paid leases.

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blanch

Hi - seems like a couple of local dealers - Greenwich CT area - are offering a whole list of typically tough to get AMG cars at prices $10K+ below INVOICE! For example - E55 2005 at $68.5K - S55 at $94K. What incentives are out there to allow this to happen? Where is the bottom? Seems strange that two dealers within a few miles of each other all suddently have a large stock of these essentially identical AMGs. Please advise as I getting interested... Thanks! Bob

dugnali

Car_man - Can you look and reply to the Toyota Tundra Lease forum?

Jaynj1

$68250 is MSRP. My dealer is offering 1st month payment+ $200 for registration at signing(Total: $1000 ). Then $799/monthfor 39 month. As per your advice in your replies I told my salesman to roll document fees,Acquisition fees into monthly payments. So I would have to put only 1st month payment. Is this a good deal. I think selling price comes about $61000.BTW 799 includes NJ tax.

thirst

on a 39 month lease with 12k miles? If im getting say around invoice. Thanks for your insight in advance.

u04919

My dealer is offering a lease payment of $675 (tax included) for a E350 with MSRP of $58,500, 39 months 15K miles per year with no money down (except for 1st month and registration), Is this a good deal? Any advise is appreciated. Thanks

carhere

Dear Carman,
Happy New Year!

2006 E350 4Matic,6CD,Xenon light, Head lamp Washer, Sunroof package for MSRP $58,455.00.
27 months 7,500 miles/year. $3,900 money due on sign. Monthly payment is $460+tax, the GCC is $50240.63.
Is this a good deal?

Thank you very much.

birdbird

Hi Car_man,

I understand that the favorable money-factor for Mercedes E350 is not available for January and the special lease offer is gone.

Do you know if they are still offering the 3,000.00 dealer cash during January on this model?

Thanks!

mbowner

According to Edmunds, it looks as though MB is currently offering $2,000 cash back plus 1.9% apr for a 36 month lease on the E350 (this deal is good from 1/7 - 1/31/06).

Is it me, or is this deal much better than the one I got just days ago through the Winter Event (money factor of .00275/6.6% apr and $3,000 cash back on a 27 month lease)?

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2006/mercedesbenz/eclass/100521414/incentives.html

skibumnj

Looks like that is a finance rate, not a lease rate.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi blanch. Mercedes-Benz is throwing a ton of cash at 2005 models to help dealers unload them. In December, it was providing $7,500 dealer cash on 2005 E55 models. I don't believe that this offer continued into the month of January, so I hope that you bought your car last month.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi u04919. You never mentioned the selling price of the car that you are interested in leasing. This is an important number for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing the price of the car that you want to lease you don't know how good a price you are getting it for. The second reason is that one needs the selling price of a vehicle that they want to lease is that it is necessary to calculate its lease payment. I would be more than happy to give you my opinion on this deal if you let me know what its selling price is.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Happy New Year to you as well, carhere. You certainly don't do a whole lot of driving. I wish that I had your commute . In your post, you never mentioned the selling price of the car that you are interested in leasing. This is an important number for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing the price of the car that you want to lease you don't know how good a price you are getting it for. The second reason is that one needs the selling price of a vehicle that they want to lease is that it is necessary to calculate its lease payment. I would be more than happy to give you my opinion of this deal if you let me know what this car's selling price is.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi birdbird. Where did you hear that Mercedes-Benz is no longer providing a special lease money factor on this car? Its lease money factor on the 2006 E350 Sedan is actually lower this month than it was in December, .00250 vs. .00275. Unfortunately, it cut the Mercedes-Benz Credit bonus for this model to $2,000 (it was $3,000 last month).

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CarMan@Edmunds

You are absolutely correct, skibumnj. The 1.9% rate that was just mentioned is only available on retail finance contracts. Mercedes-Benz is providing a special lease money factor of .00250 on this car right now, but that is equivalent to an interest rate of around 6%.

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npc

Hi! Carman,
Happy New Year!
My NJ dealer is offering $693 per month, 15,000 miles on a 27 month lease, out of pocket $3920(which includes 1st month, bank fees, plates, etc.)for a 2006 E350 4MATIC White, Premium package with Panaromic roof and wood/leather steering. MSRP $57,355.00, Selling Price $52,295.00, Is this a good deal?
Please advice.

Thank you very much

carhere

Thank you very much for your reply.Car_man. I don't know how much they want to sell this car, I guess the the Gross Capitalized Cost is $50240.63. The Residual Value is $43,256. What do you think.

dcnative

I am looking at the above car in MD with premium package. I was quoted a msrp of $56775 and the dealer took off $5200. The lease deal on a 39 month lease with 12k miles is $843/month with $0 down. Sounds high??

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi npc. It looks as though you are being offered this car for a little over $1,000 under dealer invoice. This is possible because Mercedes-Benz is providing a $1,000 bonus on E350 Sedans that are leased through Mercedes-Benz Credit right now. After taking this cash into account, it puts us at around $1,000 over invoice which is not a bad price. The lease payment that you were quoted for this car looks reasonable to me as well.

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CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, carhere. Than you for the additional information. OK, so you are interested in leasing a 2006 Mercedes-Benz E350 Sedan with 4Matic that has an MSRP of $58,455 and a capitalized cost of $50,240.63. This is a really low capitalized cost, well below dealer invoice minus the $2,000 bonus for leasing through Mercedes-Benz Credit. This means two things, one you are probably getting a good price on this car and two you are probably making a down payment. I always advise consumers against making any sort of down payment when leasing. I do so for two main reasons. The first is if your vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen during your lease, your insurance company pays off the bank that you were leasing it through and your down payment essentially disappears. The second main reason is that down payments on leased vehicles do nothing to reduce their lease-end purchase prices. So your lease-end purchase option price for your E-Class would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put several thousand dollars down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

Other than the down payment, this deal looks pretty good to me. Both the selling price of this car and its lease payment look good.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hello dcnative. A base 2006 Mercedes-Benz E350 Sedan with 4Matic has a spread of a little over $3,600 between its full MSRP and dealer invoice price. When one take the $2,000 bonus that Mercedes is giving dealers for leases of this car through Mercedes-Benz Credit into account, there is around $5,600 to play with. As a result, the $5,200 discount that you are being given looks very reasonable to me. Using the prices that you were quoted, an MSRP of $56,775 and a selling price of $51,575, I estimate that your payment for a 39 month lease with 12,000 miles per year through Mercedes-Benz Credit should have a zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $650. As you can see, the payment that you were quoted is MUCH higher than this, so something is wrong. Perhaps the dealer that you are working with is marking-up Mercedes- buy rate money factor to add additional hidden back-end profit to your deal. You definitely need to make sure your payment is closer to the $650 range.

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pjl12763

I am looking at E350 with premium and sport packages. I received quotes on 2 cars. One has the 4matic - selling price of $55K (not sure of MSRP), total due at inception of $2k, monthly payment of $777. The other does not have 4matic (but still has premium and sport and also has Sirius and Bi-X headlights), the MSRP is $57,900 , the selling price is $53,300, monthly payment is $764, total due at inception is $2K. Are these good deals?

pjl12763

I forgot to mention that it was 39 month lease, 12000 miles per year.

pjl12763

Is this a good lease?

E350 (pewter)
sport package
premium package
sirius
12000 miles
39 months

MSRP 57615
selling price 52660
monthly $755 (includes PA 6%tax)
$1800 at inception (first month, tags taxes and bank fee)

also, if anyone has the sport package, please advise on how firm the ride is versus the standard package. I love the look but not sure if I will like the ride.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi pjl12763. Mercedes-Benz is currently providing a $2,000 cash bonus on 2006 E350 Sedans that are leased through Mercedes-Benz Credit. Taking this cash into account, it appears to me as though you are getting the second car that you mentioned for around $1,000 over invoice. This is a reasonable price you may want to stop by the following discussion to compare it to the prices that other community members have paid for similar cars recently: "Mercedes Benz E-Class: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". Using the prices that you mentioned in your post, an MSRP of $57,900, and a selling price of $53,300, I estimate that this car should have a 39 month, 12,000 mile per year, zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $683. You never mentioned how long your lease is for or how many miles per year you are allowed to drive, but the combination that I just used is probably the optimal one for this car. As you can see, the payment that I came up with is a little lower than the one that you were quoted. Make sure that the dealer you are working with is using Mercedes-Benz Credit's buy rate lease money factor of .00250 to calculate your car's lease payment.

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richardga73

We have exhausted the 350 lease rates, sedans and wagons. How about the latest rates on e500,e55 residuals, money factor etc. Thanks in advance. I was offered 36 mos. 52% residual 1700 down and around 975 mo.

golfer71

Any one know what the deal is with the March Leases? In December it was $3k back, in Jan/feb it was $2k with a smaller lease factor. Will March be a smaller lease factor and $3k? Anyone know?

tiltup

I just leased a 2006 E500 today and the factor was .00305 and I have not seen it on any web sites however I was able to get $2,000 of trunk money on it. They indicated that there was still money on the E350 as well. The money factor has gone up.

npc

Thanks for your response.
Do you advice making a single lease payment? the saving is good. Are there any potential risks in making a upfront single payments considering if the car is a total or stolen.
Please advice.
Thank you.

joeincolorado

I've never leased before, and while this is after the fact, I thought I'd share the deal I was able to partake in and thank you all for at least letting me know (by reading this and other forums) it was "a good deal." Well at least from everything I have read before or since, it looks like it was a reasonable deal at least...

Specifics: 2006 E350 4matic premium package, Iridium silver paint, destination charge
list: $56965.00 / "purchase:" $49446.49

CCR: $3000.00
Lease term: 27 month
Mileage: 10K/year
Payment (before taxes): $527.01
Residual value: $41014.80

Standard fees - at least for around here - were charged for prep/document handling, etc. That is, other dealerships had similar fees for the same things.

Spoke to several brokers and they all indicated this was a "good deal." Apparently the dealer (based in Westminster, Colorado) was looking to push out some cars for volume. They moved 15+ E350s in 3 days - even some of the staff took the deal I was told. Guess they pretty much plowed all of their incentive cash back into the deal.

I was looking for something short term - 2-3 years and this fit the bill quite nicely. I have no intention of keeping this car - really just waiting to see what diesels make it here in the meantime : )

golfer71

Car_Man,

What do you think about this deal? I'm in Maryland. $832 payment is with $0 down. This is an E350 4matic.

2006 E350 lists for $61185 and the selling price
will be $54900 before taxes and tags. The 39 month
lease with 15000 miles per year with 1st month,
acquisition fee and tags upfront (a total of $1965) is
$832 per month. An addtional $5000 at signing reduces
the payment to $690 (a total of $6823 upfront). The
residual is $35487.30 (58% of the MSRP) and the money
factor is .00285 with approval by MB Financial. All
figures are good through 3/31/2006.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi richardga73. If you haven't leased this car yet, you are in luck. Mercedes just introduced a great special lease on it for a change. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2006 Mercedes-Benz E55 Sedan through Mercedes-Benz Financial right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00125 and 55%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of an E500 Sedan should be .00305 and 53%. The money factor for the E500 Sedan is not as attractive as the one that is available on the E55 Sedan, but the E500 has an additional $3,000 dealer cash available on it right now that you can use to help you negotiate an attractive capitalized cost.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi golfer71. The Mercedes-Benz Financial lease program for the 2006 E-Class varies by trim level. If you let me know exactly which model you are interested in, I can tell you exactly what the March program for it is. As far as cash incentives go, Mercedes is currently providing $3,000 dealer cash on '06 E350 Wagon, E500 Wagon, and E500 Sedan models that may be combined with leases through MB Financial.

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golfer71

I am looking for a E350 4Matic. I want the keyless go option but it is to hard to find without being completely overloaded with all the options. I will probably settle on one that has the premium package and phone kit installed by dealer. What should I realistically be paying for this car? I have heard some folks claiming $8500 being offered without hesitation and others who can't get 4,000 off. I have been offered $6000 off but the payments are extremely high for the value they are giving me. I am asking for 15000 miles. What does that do to the cost? Plus, is it reasonable to have the dealer install the phone for the same amount that they charge for at the factor. Around MD they want another $500 for the phone installed. Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds

You're very welcome, npc. Mercedes-Benz provides a decent savings for consumers who choose to pay for their entire lease in advance. If you have the money to do so, it's not a bad idea. Unlike making a large down payment when leasing, I believe that you would receive a refund for the unused portion of your lease.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi golfer71. You may be able to get a good idea of how much you should pay for the car that you are interested in by visiting the following discussion: "Mercedes Benz E-Class: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". Once you know the MSRP and selling price for the car that you are interested in, let me know and I will be happy to use its actual lease program to estimate its monthly payment for you.

Vehicles that are leased with 15,000 miles per year have residual values that are 2% lower than vehicles that are leased with 12,000 miles per year. The exact impact that change has upon your vehicle's lease payment depends upon its price and how long you lease if for.

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golfer71

I am going to try and get pricing tomorrow. I just wanted to say thanks for your help thus far. Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, golfer71. Talk to you soon.

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golfer71

From MBUSA:

6. Available only to qualified customers by Mercedes-Benz Financial at participating dealers through March 31, 2006. Not everyone will qualify. Advertised 39 month lease payment based on MSRP of $56,275 less the suggested dealer contribution resulting in a total gross capitalized cost of $52,556.25. Dealer contribution may vary and could affect your actual lease payment. Includes destination charge and Premium Package. Excludes title, taxes, registration, license fees, insurance, dealer prep and additional options. Total monthly payments equal $22,971. Cash due at signing includes $2,950 capitalized cost reduction, $795 acquisition fee and first month's lease payment of $589. No security deposit required. Total payments equal $26,716. At lease end, lessee pays for any amounts due under the lease, any official fees and taxes related to the scheduled termination, excess wear and use plus $0.25/mile over 32,500 miles, and $595 vehicle turn-in fee. Purchase option at lease end for $34,327.75 plus taxes ..

Perhaps I am figuring this wrong but with these numbers I get this:
MSRP $56,275
Discount 6.61%
Selling Price $52,556.22
Residual percentage: 61%
Residual Value $34,327.75
Money Factor: .00140

That is the only way I see it totalling their totals. Am I missing something here?

I went to a dealer today. Basically, I have been wanting Keyless Go. Biggest discount I could get was $5,500 from the dealer. Today, he offered me $7,500 off a car on his lot without keyless go. Now keyless go went from a $1,000 option to a $3,000 option. I think I can get the car for $8,000 - $8,500 off MSRP now without keyless go.

The dealer did give me this on one with keyless go, 39 months, 15k a year.
MSRP: $59,535
Selling : $54,035
Residual: 58%
Payment with MD tax (5%) : $838
Nothing down but first and tags.

He did not give me the money factor. I think this is high. Using .00285 I get $790. Am I just getting cheated or am I doing something wrong?

golfer71

Car_Man,

MSRP: $57,465
Price: $49.500
MF: .00285
State Tax: 5%
Miles: 15K
Term : 39
Residual: 58%
Res Value: $33,329.70

Payments: 751.25

I have a program that does this and the only difference I see is that the tax amount they used is on the car selling price and the program tax amount comes in half that.

golfer71

Well, I got a car today.

Here is the deal I just received on a 15,000 mile 39 month lease.

MSRP: $59,935
Selling Price: $53,300
Money Factor: .00235

$0 down.
Walk out the door cost $1800 (fees, reg and includes first month)
Payment: $682 plus tax
Maryland taxes 5% of the selling price of the car which translates into a $762 payment. I think that the taxes are very high but that isn't the dealers call.

Was this a fair deal CarMan?