Mercedes-Benz R-Class Lease Questions

kyfdx · September 2005

Ask your R-Class lease questions here!!

canes04 · September 2005

Here's what I got on a R class lease....please let me know what you think could be better

MSRP61,740.00
mileage = 10k
TERM = 39 mos
residual = 38,896 63%
money factor = .00367 (8%)
reduction (gap) $895
monthly payment $1041.03 + tax
location = suburban Philadelphia

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2005

Hi canes04. You never mentioned the selling price of the vehicle 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 vehicle 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 work up a sample lease payment on the R-Class that you are interested in for you if you let me know what its selling price is. I also need to know exactly which model you are interested in getting.

I can tell you that the money factor that you were quoted looks slightly high. Assuming that you qualify for Mercedes-Benz Credit's Tier 1 credit tier and pay a security deposit, your factor for this car should be more around .00325.

Car_man
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alex15 · September 2005

My local dealer told me that there will be no discount on MSRP for the new R-model for the first few months; and the best money factor will be 3.45
NY suburbs

CarMan@Edmunds · October 2005

Thanks for the information alex15. I agree, Mercedes dealers will likely try to hold onto full grosses on the R-Class for as long as they can. However, according to several dealers who I have spoken with the public's reception of the R-Class has been lukewarm at best. I have a feeling that this model will not sell very well and that in a few months dealers will be discounting them. I would not be surprised if Mercedes will have to introduce lease support on them as well. Again, this is just an educated guess though. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Car_man
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5total · November 2005

I just saw this lease offer on the mercedes web site. Can I get your opinion.

FYI - dont they have to disclose money factor in the fine print. I dont see it.

http://www.mbusa.com/brand/models/R350.jsp

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2005

You're right, 5total. Manufacturers do not usually disclose the money factor that was used to arrive at an advertised lease payment in its fine print. The R-Class advertised lease that you are referring to is a pretty good deal. It is certainly a lot better than the deal that you would have been able to negotiate on this truck several weeks ago. It has been selling so poorly that Mercedes-Benz was forced to introduce a special lease program on it. This program provides a special lease money factor of .00230 and waives the first month's lease payment on any R-Class lease this month. Having said all of this, I would not be surprised if you were able to negotiate a better selling price than the one that this lease is based upon. Most manufacturer advertised lease payments leave a little meat on the bone so to speak. If you are able to negotiate a lower capitalized cost, it would lower this truck's lease payment a little bit.

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5total · November 2005

Thanks. I think I will end up with this car before the end of the year, but I am going to wait as long as possible. The advertized lease only give you 10k miles. I think i would have them up it to 12k or even 15k.
I dont see any reason to be in a hurry at this point.

Thanks again

bose · November 2005

Does anyone know if the current offer on the R class will be extended beyond Nov 30 or if a better one is waiting on the sidelines? (additonal miles, etc)

chirp · November 2005

I would try to work up a lease deal that suits your use of this vehicle with the dealer and see what they can come up with based on pricing discounts. Since they are slow to move and no one seems to know what MB has up it's sleeve next with moving these off the lots, I would speculate the answer to your question is yes(current deal will continue or get better).

bose · November 2005

All:

Getting a used (1 month old, 1300 miles) R350 at invoice at the same lease deal as being offered through their winter sale. Car has Premium pkg, Heated front seats, second row console and after market parktronic. (Sticker, 56,705, invoice 52,791, lease payment including tax $630, 39 month lease 10k per year)What do you think? Better this or pay the $500 over invoice that most seem to be able to negotiate on a new car? Your comments appreciated

CarMan@Edmunds · December 2005

You're welcome, 5total. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Car_man
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5total · December 2005

Do you have any good advise on how to calculate a good single pay 39 month lease.

Here is what I know
R-Class
61,000
15k miles
39 months

I am asking for the money factor now. Other than that what else do I need.

I was told that the single pay would basicly covers the amount of the tax I would pay. In other words, I should just offer the dealer the payment "AMOUNT" X 39 months for the car and save the tax amount. Tax in my state is 7.5%

For this car the Dealer wants a single pay of 30,500. I think I can do better. Especailly since others have written that they were able to get their cars for 500 over invoice before a 2,000 deal incentive. That would take a car to 1,500 below invoice. The above car would then be around 56k. They seem to be motivated.

So many number, So little time. Can I get your thoughts

Thanks

CarMan@Edmunds · January 2006

Hello 5total. Mercedes-Benz Credit provides consumers who pay for their entire lease in advance with a .00110 reduction in their vehicle's money factor. MBC's current buy rate lease money factor for this truck is .00230. So, if you were to do a One Pay lease, the money factor that would be used to calculate the interest portion of your payment should be .00120.

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5total · January 2006

Just an FYI.... they do reduce the money factor bu .00110 but there book tells them not to go below .00150. They missed that fine print. My money factor was .00120 and I was ask go come back into the dealer to re sign. They had to reduce the price more so that they could use the correct money factor of .00150. I really dont think they made a lot of money on this deal. I got the car for roughly 1,500 under invoice.

butchymomma · January 2006

Looking at R350 with sticker of $58,000. What can I expect with current lease offer in effect til Jan 31st? They want almost $4000 down with payments of $599 plus tax based on $54K MSRP. With these cars not moving very fast can I do better than the advertised lease?

5total · January 2006

There is a 2k dealer incentive out there. I hope you know that. So I basicly got my R350 for 1500 under Invoice (not MSRP, but invoice). I knew nothing about a lease so I went to leaseguide.com and purchased there kit. I spent time going over the formula for a good lease payment. But the bottom is you still have to start at price. Don't let the dealer distract you with other numbers. Price is king...decided on the price. The invoice numbers were right on from edmunds. They tried to stick me with a 600 advertizing fee. The manager said "all cars have this fee and there is nothing we could do about that". Well I told them I wasnt paying and I did not pay it. I think if you do what I did an target 1500 under invoice should work. Now that you have the price use the formulas in the lease giude to calculate your lease payment and residual. Know how this is done. When I went in the manager had no idea of how a lease was actually calculated. In the end, he sold me the car for 1500 under. Their money factor was very good. Again, leaseguide.com will explain all these terms. It was WELL worth the 20-30 dollar cost.

Good luck

rstokes · January 2006

Does anyone have a suggestion of buying an off lease R 350?

jccssc888 · February 2006

Hi Car_man,
Thank you for your help on my previous purchases/leases. Your info has been really helpful to me to get the best deal out there. I am now interested in the MB R350 with premium pkg, preferably with lighting pkg too. I saw from Edmunds.com incentive info that MB has special lease rate for $499 39-months with 10M miles per year. Can you tell me what's the money factor should I be looking at if I want 15M miles per year? I'll probably take the plunge if the deal is as good as it sounds. Thanks!

lprice · March 2006

We would be interested in renting an R 350 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
We would like to have a premium package at the least but don't want to spend too much and know that adding all those frills makes the price sky-rocket.
We are therefore flexible on color and options (but require navigation) if there is a price incentive.
We would only like a 24 month lease and 12K.
Can you tell me if there are any deals out there that I should be aware of either from MB or any particular dealers.
I got the impression from this website that it was not a popular model and sales were slow. How can I use this to my advantage?
How do I get a dealer's test-drive model which I assume has a lower sticker price?
Would appreciate any info.
Thanks,
L Price

raj904 · March 2006

I am considering leasing a 2006 R350 with
premium package
lighting package
comfort package
airmatic suspension
trim package
The MSRP is 63735, and the dealer says that if I put down the extra $9000, then I too can have the lease for $499 for 39 months. Is this too good to be true? and does anybody know what the money factor is(if they are giving a discount, I am willing to pay for the lease up front).

Any help will be greatly appreciated,
Raj904

akin · March 2006

Do you really think that is a good deal? Let me understand this:

$499/month X 39 months = $19,500
plus you need to put down $9,000

For a grand total cost of $28,500 or monthly cost of $730.

And that cost does not include tax or anything. Do you really think that is a good deal?

raj904 · March 2006

It does sound good, because the residual value is about 27K-28K. Thus, If I leased it and then exercised the buy option, I would save almost 8K off the MSRP, which I can tell I cannot get from the dealer. I have one more question. In a deal like this, what is negotiable? the payment per month is fixed, but is anything else? do the dealers negotiate on the resale value?

pinerivergal · March 2006

From much perusing of these boards, I've also gathered that these cars are not selling well. One local dealer was willing to go with the $499 month with $3995 down as on MB website. By the time I added in 12K/yr instead of 10K, it was up to $517/mo payment. OK not bad... But the car didn't have anything except Parktronic on it. White with beige. I already have a beige interior and was hoping for black. Only other car was 65K Saks edition... too much. The other local dealer didn't even respond to my emails (this was the one I test drove with).

I live in FL. Co-workers bought 2 MB from dealer in Ohio (one's a relative) getting great deals. A E350 sport and a CLK 350. He got me my R350. This is my deal:
$3000 down, includes 1st month payment. MSRP of 56305, getting the car for 8500 less, basically the $5000 dealer incentive discounted from invoice price of 52719. I got everything I wanted: Parktronic & Premium, Pewter with black. Bonus of heated seats, not needed much in FL, but I still use them in my C240 on winter days. Got the paperwork by Fed EX and payments were 518, including tax. Oh yeah, that includes 12K/year for 39 months. I'm very happy.

So, go for the 499 but don't put down the 8000.

CarMan@Edmunds · March 2006

HI jccssc888. Dealers are having a hard time giving the R-Class away right now. This works to your advantage as a consumer because Mercedes-Benz has been forced to provide quite a bit of support on it and dealers aren't making much on them. If you were to lease a 2006 R350 through Mercedes-Benz Credit right now for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00285 and 60%, respectively. The best part about the incentives that are currently available on this model is that Mercedes has $5,000 dealer cash on it. Make sure to use this month to reduce the capitalized cost of the model that you are interested in.

Car_man
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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2006

Hey L Price. The most important thing to keep in mind when negotiating a lease on the R350 is that Mercedes-Benz is currently providing $5,000 dealer cash on it. Make sure to take this cash into account when negotiating the capitalized cost of the model that you want. As far as its lease program goes, if you were to lease one through Mercedes-Benz Credit right now for 24 months with 12,000 miles per year, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00310 and 72%, respectively.

The impression that you got about this being a slow selling model is absolutely correct. You can use this to your advantage by negotiating a low selling price. The selling prices of leased vehicles are negotiable, just as if you were paying cash for or financing them. I suspect that you should be able to get an R350 right now for a little over invoice minus the $5,000 dealer cash.

Car_man
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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2006

Hi Raj904. It definitely is not a good idea to make a $9,000 down payment on the lease that you are considering. 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 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 R350 would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $9,000 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

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chucky380 · March 2006

Hi,

thoughts on the R-class 500. dealer would give 4% back on top of 5000 rebate from MB. Looking at 39 months with 15,000. what should i use for money factor and residual factor. Initially they offered me $608 a month.. thoughts on 1.9% financing? Thanks

aau007 · March 2006

I read the postings here for a while before getting my r350 lease today. I learned so much information here and guess I will share mine with others for reference:

R350 with MSRP of 58415
36 months, 12k miles per year
$659 including tax per month (8.25% sales tax)
1st month only as total drive off

zaheer · March 2006

I have been looking at the R350 as well since the $499 deal came out. I assume that you did not have a trade-in and included the DMV fees in the Gross Cap Cost. I don't have all the information so I am making some assumptions, but by plugging in your numbers in the Lease Formula, I came up with the following:

Assumed Gross Cap Cost (including DMV) - $52,065
Your Residual Should Be - $36,217.30 (62% for 12k miles per year)
Money Factor - 0.00191
Depreciation - $440.21 per month
Rental Charge - $168.62
Total - $608.83
With Tax - $659.06

If your total drive-off was $659, this is quite a good deal since the dealer does not seem to have bumped up the Money Factor from the Ad car. Most of the dealers that I have spoken to in the Bay Area want a Money Factor of .00285 which adds an additional $75 per month to the payment. This violates the terms of the Ad. The Ad car (on www.mbusa.com)has a Residual of 63% (10k miles per year) and a Money Factor of 0.00191. Note that this is a National Ad and does not state that a limited number of cars are available at this price. Theoretically, Mercedes must honor the terms of the Ad even if the car has a few more options. Be careful with dealers that bump up the Money Factor on cars that have more options. I have not been able to find a car with just the Premium Package. I'd like to hear what others experiences are regarding this deal.

Zaheer

zaheer · March 2006

According to my calculations, the Money Factor is 0.00191 on the Offer through mbusa.com. The residuals on this car based on mileage per year are the following:

10k miles - 63%
12k miles - 62%
15k miles - 60%

Dealers may try to lower the residuals so that they can get a better return from MB Credit.

I would use the 0.00191 MF and the $5,000 Cash-to-Dealer when making a deal. This is what Mercedes is advertising until March 31st.

Zaheer

aau007 · March 2006

My MF is 285 which comes right off the ad special. Another dealer wanted to mark it up to 310 and I did not go for it. The dealer gave me an awesome price on the vehicle to bring the monthly payment down to 659. msrp is 58415, MF is 285, term is 36 months 12k mi. per year, sale price of vehicle is roughly 48115. Yes, residual is 62%.

aau007 · March 2006

BTW, when I did a reverse calculation from the AD, the MF is 285, which correspond to what the dealer gave me.

zaheer · March 2006

I stand corrected. The Money Factor in the ad is 285. I assumed incorrectly that the Gross Cap Cost provided by Mercedes included the $2,700 Cap Reduction. Apparently, they are offering the car at a much lower price than I thought! You can reduce the MF, increase the Residual, or reduce the Gross Cap Cost to get a lower monthly payment.

I finally found a dealer who was willing to apply the same terms as the ad. I am picking up my R350 tomorrow. Will let you know what kind of deal I get.

aau007 · March 2006

I have realized that some dealers in S. Cal. are willing to even absorb the 2700 cap reduction, wholely or a big part of it. I moved a step further though. My numbers show that the dealer sold the r350 at under $10k below msrp with "other credits". No trade in either.

zaheer · March 2006

Here is my final deal through Mercedes of Oakland, CA:

Color: Alpine Rain / Black
Options: Premium Package, Comfort Package, Trim Package (includes Leather Seats), Sirius, 3-Zone Climate Control, Heated Front Seats
MSRP: $60,455
Sales Price: $49,852
Net Cap Cost: $50,816.31 (includes Acquisition Fee + Doc Fees)
Residual: 62% ($37,482.10 for 12k miles / year)
Term: 39 months
Money Factor: 285
Depreciation: $341.90 / month
Rental Charge: $251.65 / month
Total With Tax @ 8.75%: $645.49 / month
Drive-off: $1,040 (1st month's payment + DMV)

I have a relative working for Daimler-Chrysler so the price includes an employee discount. Was this a good deal ?

mishmash1 · March 2006

Zaheer,

This seems like a terrific offer! I wouldn't mind one myself. However, I unfortunately don't work for Chrysler. Can you tell me the employee discount so I can add it back in? thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds · April 2006

Hi chucky380. If you were to lease a 2006 Mercedes-Benz R500 through Mercedes-Benz Finance right now for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00285 and 59%, respectively.

Mercedes' 1.9% financing offer for this model is a good deal. The only problem with it is that it is only available for terms up to 3 years. If you want to finance for 4 years, the rate increases to 3.9%. For 5 years it jumps to 4.9%. Financing such an expensive vehicle for 3 years is going to give you one heck of a large monthly payment.

Car_man
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euyesaka · April 2006

I missed the 3/31 special so would like feedback from anyone who is looking at lease deals now. I got indications from a MB dealer in SD County as follows -

R350 White/Macadamia with Premium pkg
39 mo. lease
15k and 18k mileage options
$0 down and $3k down

here is what I got -
MSRP = $56,760
Invoice = $53,441
Sales Price = $49,000 (rough)
15K miles @ $0 down = $725.23 + tax
15k miles @ $3k down = $639.74 + tax
18k miles @ $0 down = $770.44 + tax
18k miles @ $3k down = $684.90 + tax
Money factor on 18k miles was .00315; don't yet have MF on 15k miles

Any getting better deals post-3/31?
Thanks, EU

zaheer · April 2006

The employee discount was approximately $1,800 from invoice. Here is the breakdown:

MSRP - $60,455
Invoice - $56,604
After employee discount - $54,804
Final price after all discounts - $49,852

Some dealers were willing to discount the R350 by $6,500 - $8,500 off MSRP until March 31st. I don't know where things stand now.

A few tips from my experience:
1. Talk with the Fleet Manager only, even when you go to test drive the car. Avoiding the Sales staff will save you their commission and the hassle of going back and forth. The Fleet Manager can make quick decisions.
2. Negotiate price and terms on the phone at home with the Lease Formula in front of you. This removes you from the pressure at the dealership and having to decide solely based on monthly payment (which can be manipulated in several ways).
3. Make sure you understand how Money Factor, Residual, and Cap Reduction can affect payments. Your goal is to only have the 1st month's payment as drive-off.

Hope this helps.

mishmash1 · April 2006

Thanks Zaheer,

Your info was very helpful. I just negotiated a lease based on your deal and found it to be very helpful. I wasn't able to get $9000 off msrp as you did but I did come close. I will get you and others the details after I take delivery. Thanks again.

euyesaka · April 2006

Hi - am wondering if anyone on this board has done a lease deal since the March special expired. I'm trying to get San Diego County dealers to come as close as possible to the terms of the March deal. Would appreciate any feedback that you can offer. I've only seen two R-class cars in the road since I've been shopping. Are dealers having a hard time moving this model?

a6_to_m35 · April 2006

Just drove the R350. My lease offer was as follows:

MSRP: 60830
Selling: 52027
27 months
15k miles
70% residual
MF: .00285
MV Fees: $400
Incept+1st month: $1370
Cash down: $1100
Taxes up front: $1053
Total up front: $3915
Lease: $575.61

I know that I can roll my taxes and up front fees into the lease--and it would be aprox. $705 with only MV fees and 1st month up front.

I am getting the car at invoice minus the $5k cash, and the standard MB money factor. This is the MB deal for the month of April. Can I do better?

mishmash1 · April 2006

Ok this was my Northeast April deal. Picked up the car last week. The lease promotion went from 39 mos. to 27 mos. with the same MF and dealer cash. Below is A6 to M35 next to mine. Neither is as good as Zaheer because of the family discount but our lease is 12 mos. shorter. I chose as little cash up front as possible as per Zaheer above. BOTH are great values!!!

MSRP: 60830/$64420 (Both are almost $9000 off sticker)
Selling: 52027/$55800 ($58200 w/$2400 taxes/fees)
27 months/27 mos.
15k miles/12k mi (about $.14 mi for xtra miles using res.)
70% residual/72% res
MF: .00285/.00285
MV Fees: $400/$200
Incept+1st month: $1370/$925 inception in payments
Cash down: $1100/$0
Taxes up front: $1053/$0
Total up front: $3915/$925
Lease: $575.61/$736 :confuse:

There are other fees:disposition(lease end $600)

and possible missing maintenance book fee of $500 if lost :mad: . I love the car and the deal even more!!! Go buy one today!!

mishmash1 · April 2006

Check my post. You appear to have a great deal. Less $$ up front the better....see Zaheer's earlier post. Overall your deal was just like mine after much searching and negotiating

a6_to_m35 · April 2006

These are great deals--but I have some new information.

Dealers have a 5.5% holdback equalling roughly $3500 on these cars. I expect that one can make a deal that could go significantly under invoice BEFORE the $5k in the trunk!

Just a thought...

mishmash1 · April 2006

a6,

Too late but thanks for the info. I didn't come across any hold back info prior to my purchase. That puts it at $8500 off invoice... WOW. I paid about $8500 off sticker!!!

I know some dealers are very hesitant to give up the holdback but you never know. Good luck to the others.
mash

paunch · April 2006

Hi. I'm in the market for a lease on an R350. I noticed the lease deal listed on the incentives page and it looks like the following:

MSRP: $54175 (premium package)
Selling: ????
Term: 27 mon
Mileage: 10K
Cap Reduction: $1100
Lease: $499/mon

Now, assuming a MF of 0.00285 I'm trying to back-out the selling price. I didn't see on this board the residual for 10K miles and 27 months. I did see that the residual for 12K and 27 months was 72%. Assuming that the residual for 10K is 74% (just a guess) then, according to my lease formula, the selling price is about $7K under MSRP. Assuming that this is correct, it seems like you can do even better than $499 a month, assuming that you can get more like $9-10K off MSRP considering the $5K rebate in April and some part of the dealer holdback that would allow you to get well under invoice.

I'm sure I'm missing something here since this doesn't seem quite right. Can someone help me with the numbers?

Thanks.

zaheer · April 2006

Hi Mishmash1,

I checked your numbers against the terms of my lease and they are quite good. The only thing I would caution you about is the length of your lease. It is hard to walk away from a 27-month lease. You will have to pay the DMV fees for 3 years and they will charge you a Disposition fee if you return the car. When you amortize the total cost over 27 months, it will be a bit expensive. What I have done in the past with MB Financial is to negotiate an extension of the lease at a lower payment before the original lease expires. They have even given me extensions for 2 years (one year at a time) at the Depreciation price only on an S-Class. Your monthly depreciation is $309.11 so you can start from there when you negotiate. If the car holds its value well, another option you have is to sell it at a profit to make up for some of your investment. You can also negotiate the lease buyout price with MB Financial.

I love the R-350 so far (had it for about 4 weeks). Have not had any technical problems so far. The roominess and interior comfort is unmatched.

Zaheer

zaheer · April 2006

Hi Paunch,
Here is the breakdown on your numbers:

MSRP - $54,175
Selling Price - $47,975 ($6,200 below MSRP)
Cap Reduction - $1,100
Residual - 74% (assumed based on 10k miles / yr)
Money Factor - .00285
Monthly Depreciation - $251.31
Monthly Rental Charge - $ 247.85
Total Monthly Payment - $499.16 + tax

I think that you can do better than this deal. With a $9,000 discount, 0 Cap Reduction, your payment will be $431.36 + tax. Drive-off should be 1st month payment + DMV + Lease inception only.

From my experience, it is almost impossible to find an R-350 that matches the advertised price of $54,175. Most of them are fully loaded with options that have MSRPs around $60K.

Zaheer

paunch · April 2006

Zaheer,

Thanks for the information. BTW, these forums rock!! With all of this information, it really puts power in the hands of the consumer. Anyway, it seems like there are some pretty awesome deals for the R350 and I really like this vehicle. Unfortunately, it is for my wife and she's now, not so hot on the R350. Well, I'll keep working on her.

Thanks again.

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