My girlfriend has 2 vehicles. She has a 2022 Tesla Model Y w/11k miles that she bought after all her co-workers bought one and peer pressured her into buying one and 2017 Mercedes GLC 300 w/37k miles. She bought the Tesla with expecting to sell the Mercedes after she got comfortable with charging a car, but its been sitting most of the last 2 years, because she forgets to plug the car in often and gets caught out driving it with no range, having to be rescued multiple times for running out of battery unable to reach a charger in time. She has kept the Mercedes so she has a “backup” if she forgets to charge the tesla….solely because she is scared to forget to charge her tesla and get stranded again.
She spends $1356/month on finance on the Tesla
She spends $238/month on Insurance for the Tesla
She spends $181/month on Insurance for the Mercedes which is paid off.
I have been talking to her and trying to convince her to sell both and get a single hybrid or plug in hybrid, because she really likes the way the tesla drives with the instant torque… I mentioned she should just lease a car, because she averages about 6,000 miles a year… The vehicle I found that may fit her better and returns her to her favorite brand of vehicles is the Mercedes GLE 450e plug in hybrid, but wanted to get some advice from the masses. She wants to stay with an SUV and prefers Mercedes over all brands.
There is a lot of GLE 450e in my area after doing some searching. Just within 50 miles there are 19 of them on the market. I have never leased a car and neither has she, I understand the basic concepts of leasing as I’ve thought about it in the past. I just feel it makes financial sense to get her out of what she has now, down to 1 vehicle for less than what she is paying now monthly. I also feel like leasing fits her lifestyle, because she averages about 6k miles driving a year and she has bought quite a few vehicles in the past 10 years.
Purchase History:
2022 Tesla Model Y
2019 Mercedes GLB (wrecked it, so went back to her 2017 because her mother stop driving)
2017 Mercedes GLC (gave it to her mother after she bought the 2019)
2014 Mercedes CLA (traded it in because she wanted a SUV)
2009 Mercedes CLA (had mechanical issues with it, traded it in)
GLEs don’t really have good lease programs right now. Generally Mercedes ICE cars don’t. But GLE is pretty bad, stock is piling up so I’m sure the programs will eventually get better.
GLE450e is probably the worst of the non AMG GLE models to lease.
Sell both and buy/finance a GLC. It’s much newer than the GLE, which has been around for a while. And a much better value than the GLE450e. About as quick.
Why would you push her towards another plug in vehicle? When she forgets to plug in the GLE450e she will be bailed out by the gas engine (instead of a second car) and then it will be slow and poor MPG.
Also, how underwater is she on her tesla? At that payment I would guess she owes quite a bit more than the trade in/private party value is.
No, my point related to him talking about her loving the instant torque on the tesla (I should have been more clear in my response). The GLE450e is plenty quick for most people when you have both engines working together.
Would it be fair to say that, when the battery runs out, the car is no more efficient than a “regular” hybrid and possibly even less efficient (thus negating the benefit of the plug-in part of the hybrid)?
It’s a 48V mild hybrid that can add up to 148 lb/ft of torque and is only off by 0.3 seconds vs the GLE450e.
Beyond that any discussion of torque is really pointless for someone who never appreciated the Tesla’s torque enough to “remember” to plug it in.
The 2025 GLC adds a plug and more watts but again that’s moot.
The battery essentially never runs out, much like the battery on a normal hybrid doesnt run out. Yes, you’ll takr an efficiency hit over a normal hybrid since you have extra battery weight, but you don’t have the power loss a lot of people think happens.
