I live in DC and take my E300 to a local independent vs the dealer for the service A/B. He’s located out in Alexandria and is excellent. It’s a fraction of the cost of the dealer and works on some pretty high end cars so it’s fun to kill time stolling his parking lot. PM me if you want the name.
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Can the services not be performed at independent mechanic shops which are about half the price of what dealership charges? For luxury cars the service price at dealership can go higher to about 3 times of what one would pay at independent dealer.
And then one question regarding the tires - Does the tires on new leased car do not have any tread wear warranty. New replacement tires mostly come with about 40-50K tread warranty and therefore asking this question.
Don’t make hasty generalizations, to suggest every luxury car is cheaper to get serviced somewhere other than the dealer is uniformed and lazy. Do as many people do and call around with what service(s) you’re looking to have done, you may find yourself surprised as I did that the dealer’s shop was cheaper than an independent shop.
As long as you can substantiate the required maintenance was done you can get the car serviced anywhere you want.
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You got a so-so deal and you do recognize that, you do pay excessive maintenance fees and you recognize that as well, you get screwed with no lube on taxes and that is recognized as well. Taking these three off you’d be probably at even between the two options.
I leased a CPO of Toyota before, will not make that mistake again - not worth the few $ of difference in my opinion.
You also forget the added value of most leases and your main issue - known cost upfront. If you lease a car with proper bumper to bumper warranty and maintenance plan the only potential risk lays in tires and glass which allows you to do some financial planning for the next 2 or 3 years.
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I’ve found it substantially cheaper going to an independent versus the dealer on most things, obviously the complexity of what is being performed would be a factor, but on basic stuff, a dealer is almost universally more.
Brakes and rotors on a GLE I needed replaced bc it was grinding:
MB - $1,1xx
Autozone parts - $190
Independent mechanic - $165
Brake Sensor from MB - $17
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I agree with what OP is saying: the headline 375 + tax per month (around 1% rule or better), turns into $600 per month if you start adding up inception, maintenance, lease turn-in/over miles fees and the dreaded property taxes. The property taxes are even more ridiculous since the cars tend to be taxed at full MSRP/valuation (regardless of whether you got it for 30% off as a loaner) with a high residual. And if you look at leasing exotic fire-sales leases like i8 etcs, I am sure the insurance is a significant cost as well …
I get that and for most things beyond fluid changes it’s probably a true statement. My point however is that it’s probably a good idea to call around before making assumptions and as always YMMV.
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Depreciation is very unpredictable anymore with each generation of cars getting more standard equipment and even though I personally drive what would be considered to be “unleasable” miles (20K+/yr) I find that the actual cost mitigation on a lease even having to replace wear items outstrips my cost to own using that metric. — to that end, the Mrs drives considerably less miles so I just swap vehicles weekly to even things out…
Next time go with a brand that has basic maintenance included and perhaps add a maintenance package for any miles and items above what’s included.
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I mean to be honest you are getting destroyed on the services, I would have just gotten the basic stuff done at a dealership i.e oil change, tire rotation, and for anything extra on the service A,B,C I would have found a local german mechanic and bought as much as I can.
Here’s where you lost me though, you are leasing the car, nowhere does it say on the contract you need to do service A,B,C, etc. etc. you aren’t doing yourself any favors with the service it’s a pure profit scheme for German dealerships.
Only german car we have ever had all services done by the book and everything at the dealer is our 2004 e55 amg, which as of today has 62k miles. Special car and special circumstances. Unless you buy the car and plan to own it for its entire life I wouldn’t follow the schedule A,B,C plan, especially not for a lease
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I believe one of the stipulations on a lease is to follow the factory recommended services … Of course, nobody really checks when you turn in, but if they did, they could ding you on that and make you pay for the service under excessive wear and tear.
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that’s true, even then most of the stuff on these schedule A,B,C packages can be done by an independent German mechanic at a fraction of the cost. It cost roughly $200 for an oil change tire rotation, air filter, etc. etc. at my dealer It’s jacked up on purpose to make extra profit.
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User name does not check out. From what I recall, the maintenance for KITT 2000 was included in the lease but they did get dinged at lease return for after-market modification on the Trans-am…
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I had a MB GLS for about 12 months. Yeah that dealer service isn’t cheap. I also had to replace tires before 30k. More then I wanted to spend but if ya play big boy games you have to pay the big boy prices. Can definitely see how these extra would creep up if not properly budgeted.
family has had a plethora of them, after the first one you learn what to have done at the dealer and what not to have done there.
For example engine/trans mounts went bad on the e55, we had the independenct mechanic do it, alternator and secondary battery failed so the mechanic recommended having mb diagnose it and have it done there due to certain tools they have. (didn’t know what exactly failed but cars electronic systems were not working properly.)
Also not a fan of their cheap stock tires!
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Can his voice often be heard on WTOP?
Here’s what i’ll add to this post:
- you learned a lesson early in life
- leasing isn’t for everyone
- don’t lease more car than you can afford. All kittens become cats, even within the lease term (unless you do 24 months and pull ahead). My leased WRX ate 2 rims and 10 tires
- There is no MB I would buy vs lease, no drugs or alcohol to change my mind there
- when I lived in VA I drove Subarus and Mazdas because of the car tax
Now you’ll know better for next time.
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Now that is horseshit! If you drive a car you have to have an accident, if play with matches you have to cause a wildfire, if you have a 
it is the biggest one around kind of horseshit. Going luxury or shiny doesn’t need to mean throwing money out of the window.
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Not trying to be rude but OP is complaining about a LUXURY vehicle over a few thousand dollars, and already owns an m3?
If money is an issue, luxury vehicles are indeed a “luxury”. If you can’t afford it and then some, then you shouldn’t get one.
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Bought two used G500’s and drove both for almost three years. Sold one for purchase price and the other for 5k more. Some anecdotal fuel for the fire.
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10 tires? were you drag racing it lmao? those are fun cars, jdm cars like the eclipse gsx, supra, gtr, sti, are some of the most fun cars to beat on, partially cause all the parts are so damn cheap and their powertrains are bulletproof.
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With AWD when you blow a tire you have to match tread depth: either shave down or replace 2/4. Rims got sliced when I went over a set of train tracks in Alexandria, VA and punctured their corresponding tires. 0 tires were lost to Autocross, 10 died from poorly maintained roads in the DMV.
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