I’m new to lease world. And this is the lease term the first dealer offered. I wasn’t sure what should I look for then, only paid attention to monthly payment number…Now I learned something reading these forums and articles. Any negotiation advice thank you!
2018 Mercedes-Benz GLS 450
MSRP: $78,320 plus destination fee $995, total $79,315
Selling Price: ??? don’t know
Months: 48
Annual Mileage: 7,500
MF: ?? don’t know
Residual: 49%
RV: $38,071
Cap cost reduction: $0
Adjusted Cap cost: ??
Monthly Payment : $1,028
State: Michigan
Sales Tax Rate: 6%
Security deposit: $11,000 ($10,000 (trade in value of old car) plus out of pocket $1,124 used as security deposit)
Welcome to the forum. You’ll quickly learn that the goal of a great deal is the magical 1%–meaning the monthly payment pre-tax is </= 1% of MSRP. So for this unit, you’d like to shoot for a monthly pre-tax payment of $783 or lower. As you can see, that’s a long way from this quote.
You need to know the selling price and money factor to make an educated deal. You’re also seemingly conflating a cap-cost reduction (down payment) with a security deposit.
One rule of thumb: put nothing down on a lease as cap reduction. It’s money that’s risked if car is stolen or totaled. If you’re trading something in, have them cut you a check for the trade in value. The only thing one should put down is license, dealer fee(s), and maybe tax depending what state you’re in.
You need a lot more data, but for god’s sake, don’t sign that deal. It’s terrible. Terrible.
In my mind, which could be wrong, it’s 36 months/12k miles, as that’s what most people tend to need. But I could be wrong.
Also worth noting to OP that 4 year leases open you up for a lot more incidentals like tires needing replaced (easily over a grand on the big Benz) and brake pads needing replaced (guess what–probably another grand at the MB garage) and more major servicing (cubic dollars at the MB garage)
It might be helpful to do a quick search on the forum for others who have posted about the GLS450. Some of the posts are older but it could provide a good benchmark for what you should be aiming for. It looks like $750-$800 MAX but you’d need more details first.
