Hi there. Newbie and recent lurker here. I recently just leased my first vehicle (cx5) and was curious to know if there were any leasing experiences that stood out in particular.
As in which car right from the first test drive to maintenance and right until turn in was a delight and made you want to keep leasing.
Or is it irrelevant as soon as you get the right monthly you needed ?
Thanks
This question is so subjective. You’re going to get 20 different answers from 20 different people. Some people care about the “kiss ass” effect you get from some brands after the sale…others don’t. Someone will get burnt at a GMC dealership, while someone else will think GMC provides the best buying experience they’ve ever had.
I am firmly in the second camp. In fact, if the salesman is smiling when I am signing the papers, I am doing something wrong. I prefer that they despise me, which means I am getting a good deal 
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If you want the very best lease experience go in and pay full price !
Everyone will be so nice to you !
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Ursus says he pays more for full service rather than a quick in and out with the lowest payment but he prefers the latter as all he wants is the best deal.
to be honest, the process with Mercedes is pretty easy, especially if your leasing another car from them.
they don’t contract out a lease end inspection to a third party, nor do they surprise you with any bills later on. when you turn in your car at a dealership, someone does the inspection on the spot and lets you know if any issues. since they have a vested interest in getting you in another car, they can overlook certain imperfections.
Agree with Mikem. I’ve had a BMW for the last 3 leases. The first time I leased one (8 years ago) was an all day negotiation.
The next two were easy. Turn-in was easy since they were putting me into another BMW. No extra fees or hassles.
Negotiations for the new lease started 2 or 3 months before turn in and did 99% of it via email/phone.
So for my last 2 leases… Came into BMW, turned in my old car, signed some paperwork & left with the new one in about 1 1/2 hours.
Thanks for all the responses. They’re pretty helpful but my main reason for starting the thread was to see if chasing the best deal turned out to be not worth it in the end. Because the really insane deals available are on only a couple of vehicles ( encores) and sometimes I hear people salivating on the deal only to find months later that the car wasn’t what they expected even if it were practically free which is why I wanted to know about people who got that insane deal. Drove the car practically worry free and loved it enough to look for the bargain all over again
Having dealers kiss my ass isn’t exactly what I meant by an enjoyable lease experience… unless of course that’s what I would’ve been seeking for of course in which case I’m not really going there for a car then am I .
I would pay more to a reliable, reputable, and experienced dealership/sales person. You pay for what you get, some people have the right to charge a premium if they have the resources and connections to do it. I know 2 top producers in my brand that both produce similar units on a consistent basis, one you can’t reach on the phone if you tried but he might get you $20 less on your payment, and the other takes care of issues head on by himself no matter if you bought from him yesterday or in 2 years down the road.
When i had my ford lease, it was really good. They have a “red carpet” lease return program. Basically you can get away with alot of things from minor scratches and dents. Return process was super easy(didn’t have to pay acq fee)
I had a ford focus electric so i had 0 maint because its electric. Basically drove it for 3 years without having to go to the dealer once(lucky to be honest)
Hmmm maybe you had a different experience then I but Mercedes scheduled my AutoVin inspection before lease end. They are in fact a third party.