Hey guys, before I get into things. I am only considering getting out of my lease and into a new one because the more research I’ve done on this site, the more I realize how bad my lease deal was when I made it over 3 years ago. I was younger, naive and rushed into the lease without doing the proper research. I want to be able to use the tactics I’ve learned on this site and apply it to get a better deal on my next lease. So thank you in advanced to the community for opening my eyes and excuse me of my stupidity.
Details of my current lease:
2014 C250 Sport with AMG pkg (pano-roof, AMG wheels, etc)
Start date: 4/20/14
Term: 51 months (crazy I know)
Total miles allowed: 63,775
Maturity date: 7/20/18
I’m currently paying $424/mo (had my required service costs rolled into my monthly payments) and have about a year left in my lease. I want to try and get out of my lease early, as long as it makes sense to, but I am worried. My lease Payoff Amount is currently $24k, and my KBB trade in value is roughly between $18-19k. I’ve been reading that you can sell your car to the dealer instead of returning the lease to your advantage. But in my case, I would actually owe money if I sold the car.
What would you guys recommend I do in my situation? Hold out until lease end? Or get out early somehow? I don’t mind leasing another Mercedes if it makes sense to, however I was hoping to go with a different manufacturer if possible.
If the dealer were to offer me a lease-pull ahead offer, should I take it? In that circumstance, would my negotiating power be diminished since the dealership is technically doing me a favor by terminating the lease early?
Also, I’m afraid of lease end penalties and fees. I want to be able to get into a new lease without having to fork up anything (other than what is absolutely mandatory).
you have $5 to $6K in negative equity. Unless you are really unhappy with the car, you will spend less than that for monthly payments for the final year.
If a dealer offers you a “pull-ahead” deal, they are just rolling your neg equity into the new deal. What you want is a MBFS pull-ahead offer, which can be used on top of the best deal you can negotiate from a MB dealer.
Didn’t realize there was a difference between the two. I just thought the “MBFS pull ahead offer” was Mercedes’ way of calling their lease pull ahead program. Are there times in which this is offered to me?
Not unhappy with the car at all. I am just seeing what my options are as I’m nearing the end of my lease. If there was a method of getting into a new lease early without any financial implications, then yeah I would be up for it. But in this case, the consensus is to just wait it out until the end.
MBFS offers the only real pull ahead offer. Dealerships will sometimes lie and say they offer it to you earlier, but they are just buying it out. If there’s equity, they probably won’t tell you. If there’s no equity, they will roll the neg into the new deal.
I’m not too sure when MBFS offers it, but it’s usually 3-6 months before lease end.
Does it matter which MB dealership I go to or do I have to go to the same one I originally leased from? So basically what you are saying is that It would only make sense for me to get out of my lease a little early if I stuck with Mercedes. If i want to get into a car from a different manufacturer, I would have to wait until lease end.
That’s correct. MBFS only offers the pull ahead if you get another MB.
You don’t need to goto the original MB dealer. In fact, by the sounds of this lease, I recommend you don’t. You should negotiate with as many dealers as possible.
Seems like you have a lot to learn. Read all the FAQs and How-To’s on this site.
You should negotiate with as many dealers as possible.