MSRP 36,200
Selling price 31,500
Sales tax: CA (9%)
4278.40 due at signing -1st month, registration & 3600 security deposit
monthly payment: 305 + tax; 335 including tax
doesnt seem like it…
Well it meets the 1% rule and if you love the car just enjoy it.
It’s one of the better deals I’ve seen for one of these… Do you maybe qualify for any corporate fleet incentives? Or maybe pickup the American Express platinum Mercedes Benz card for another $1k off your car.
Much better (IMO) sedans are leasing for much less than 1% of MSRP…in this market, sedans should be subject to a 0.75% “rule of thumb”
OP, since this car seems to get trashed by every single review, one has to ask: how much have you test driven the car? Over not-so-smooth roads? Over extended distances?
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.75%? I am not sure man but if he likes that specific car i would not consider it a bad deal. .75% would make it a front page of deal not sure if it is rule of thumb. However, if he haa not picked the car i would suggest the person look at q50 for more car for the money.
Agree on the Q50…a deal was posted couple days ago where one can get the 3.0T for 300/month + tax (with MSD and driveoffs)…that’s a whole lot more car than the CLA
Wow, thank you all so much for your responses! (P.S. I am a “she” - haha).
@max_g: I live in LA so I wouldn’t be driving over not-so-smooth roads or extended distances often (mostly will be sitting in horrible LA traffic, haha). BUT I do see value in your point, along with @NY13’s opinion. While I’ve leased a car before (a MB C250), but did not know of all these other discounts available. My company does not have a “corporate fleet program” so I wouldn’t qualify for that discount unfortunately.
I will look into the Q50! 
What are your thoughts on the X3?
Sorry to gender identify you :). Well the X3 is a nice car but i did not like it much when i test drove it. The q50 is a really nice car in my opinion. Search forum for q50 to get an idea.
Haha, no worries! Wow, everyone on this site is SO nice. 
Thank you, I definitely will look into the Q50!
Especially the people from NY. I know LA traffic as i travel there for work and q50 would be a great car to spend countless hours in traffic
To use the M-B Fleet Employee Program, you only need your company to have a CAN (Corp Acct No.) with Mercedes. My previous company did not have any fleet or company cars, but using the CAN via FEP, I was able to get a discount on leasing an M-B. If not, it’s not a biggie, since the current FEP discounts are only $500 on CLA and C-class sedans.
Speaking of which, check out the recent post on a C-class lease in this forum. It was only $40/m more than your CLA deal using max MSD and autopay. Either that, a demo BMW, or a Q50 would be your best bets IMO.
@Ed_Churchward knows the X3 market well and @ng0 recently got one (though programs change month to month).
PS: My bad.
Haha, no worries!
Ah, I see - wow, great to know! I guess I could check with my HR manager about the CAN?
Yes, I saw the post of the C-class lease. I have never driven a BMW (well, not my own anyway), so I have been curious to learn more about the car. A friend of mine works at a BMW dealership in OC so I am currently talking to him about an X3. He hasn’t given me a price yet - basically told me that whatever quote I get, he will beat it. What is a demo BMW? (Sorry, I am a total noob to this!)
I will check out @Ed_Churchwardand @ng0’s posts. Thank you again both @max_g and @NY13!
Yeah someone in HR/Benefits should know.
“Exec” or “demo” is an umbrella term for cars that were used by BMW HQ execs, their corporate fleet, or dealership management, and media/press/events cars. “Loaner” refers to loaner cars in service departments that are loaned out to customers when their cars come in for service.
We were all noobs once.
Correction- the current FEP discounts are 2000 for 2017 C class and 2300 for 2016 C class. For CLA it is 1000 and 1800 respectively.
Thank you. The link I posted had different amounts for FEP discounts. Upon second reading, those are for 2015. Geez, you’d think they could have updated it since then…
Thank you @max_g for being so patient and helpful! (I think I’ve said “thank you” in all my posts, haha - sorry! I just really am that thankful to learn!).
I received a quote on a NEW 2017 INFINITI Q50 2.0T PREMIUM RWD:
39 months/10K
MSRP: $42,135
Invoice: $ 39,687
Internet Price: $ 31,800
Savings: $ 10,335
$259 plus tax is $281.96
Quick question - in general, when you’re negotiating via e-mail, do you mention the MSDs? Are dealers less inclined to accept an offer like that via e-mail? I only ask because the e-mail communications have ceased with three different people after I mention the MSDs and not wanting a down payment.
Just wondering if I’m going about this the wrong way?
No need to apologize…for saying thank you, 
Different people have differing opinions on when to bring up MSD. I bring it up right off the bat. Others wait till they are sitting with the Finance guy to sign lease papers.
I would write “$0 cap cost reduction” in the emails just to be clear.
Haha!! 
Ah, that makes sense. Sorry to be a pest, but can you translate what that would mean in human-speak (I would like to know for my own knowledge.)
The salesperson responded with,
" I went ahead and told my GSM if we can do what you requested… Looks like we can’t set up security deposits if there’s no money in the down payment.
Your first months payment would already be in the down payment. Your monthly payment right now is : 281.96 including tax.
This is 39 months, 10k miles a year. The residual is 46% / 19,382.10"
I’ve read on numerous threads on this site that I should not put money down - correct?
I could be wrong here but I think it’s better to mention MSD before you seal the deal. Some dealers do mark up the MF to make profits (e.g., BMW FS allows that). So, potentially, if you mention MSD upfront, the sale person would likely assume you did your homework and know the standard MF, and hence, may present a higher selling price to compensate the “loss” from not marking up the MF. I personally prefer to get a lower selling price and calling out the MF if it’s marked up. Of course, not all dealers mark up their MF.