Our BMW lease is up mid-January. I’d like to get a new lease the end of December, as I think the deals will be better than in mid-January.
We were looking at yet another 3 Series because of all of the incentives: $5000 lease cash/loyalty, $500 USAA, $250 credit for returning with low mileage, no disposition fee, grandfathered into MSDs because we have them on the current vehicle. As we all well know, the 3 Series is about as long in the tooth as you can get. But my husband (the driver) doesn’t care much…he only commutes, and wants an inexpensive lease. I’m thinking we could be at around $330/month with $0 DAS for a sticker of around $40k.
As cheap as that may be, I keep thinking that the C300 would be a much better car. But I don’t know where to begin with MB, as I’ve only leased BMW’s. If we were open to a 2018 loaner, how would I go about finding it? If we wanted a 2019, I think we’d be at about $100/mo more than the BMW, right?
I also don’t know what to look for in a MB lease. MSD’s? Conquest? USAA or corporate discounts?
You can find Mercedes loaners (or BMW loaners for that matter) on dealer websites. Sometimes they have a specific section devoted to loaners, other times it’s lumped under used cars. Chances are, if the car has fewer than 10,000 miles and is model year 2018 or newer, it’s a Mercedes-Benz loaner you can lease. You can also use the same search criteria on Autotrader.
Also, you might want to reach out to @BMW_Dave (view his profile) to see if he can help. He’s in Southern California as well.
Funny that I am tempted to go the other direction. I had a C300 for 7 months and did not like it compared to Genesis, how cramped, loud when pushed and small (for me) it was.
As you listed them, you have your stars aligned, just get another BMW 3-4-5 line ? for him.
I am already in touch with @BMW_Dave. We were looking at month-end on Friday, but I wanted to wait until December month end since the lease isn’t up until mid-January. If we stick with BMW, I will definitely work with Dave.
My husband can’t be bothered with what to drive For him, price would be the most important factor. He just has a short commute (we could probably do a 7500 mi lease if it made financial sense)…and I drive double his miles. He’d be happy in the 3 Series. And I’m guessing we won’t get close to the same payment on a MB unless we get a loaner, but I wanted to ask you experts for a reality-check on this.
C300 loaners with similar equipment have been posted for <$330 here before. From what I’ve read though they are not easy to find and to discount in so cal. If hubby ambivalent consider the proximity of the dealer, ease of service, free car washes, loaner availability etc. That’s worth a lot to some.
If you want to lower your long term costs and aren’t all that picky about what you’re driving, get a CamCord with a 8yr OEM extended warranty and drive it for 7.5
Plus the Toyota safety suite or Honda Sensing will make it safer than a barebones Bmw or MB with nothing
The C300 comes w/ a form of basic forward collision warning and braking. No standard lane assist, distronic, or blind spot monitoring, though.
The Camry LE has more safety equipment standard, but it still doesn’t have one w/ blind spot warning (and good luck finding one, at least in SoCal… They’re very uncommon right now, strangely enough).
The BMW (esp the 320i) really comes w/ virtually nothing (although it does have blind spot). The wagon actually comes w/ the Driver’s Assistance package standard (which probably explains the higher cost).
Lexus IS might be a descent choice, although some have said here that they eat tires prematurely. Even buying a certified one might be a good deal, if you drive very little, and are very reliable. Maintenance can sometimes be done at Toyota dealers for some savings. That’s been discussed on the Lexus forums.
