Hello. I am leasing a 2020 Mercedes Benz GLB250 that is 20 months in on a 36 month lease. I plan to sell it in the next couple of months to take advantage of the used car prices. I just read that Mercedes Benz Financial Services started to restrict 3rd party lease buyout. A couple of questions:
Does this mean I can still sell it without penalty in the next few months to any Mercedes Benz dealership? Does this count as a lease return wherein I have to pay disposition fee, etc.? Or it’s just straight up selling the car and pocket the equity (if applicable)?
Do they usually low ball you compared to a 3rd party dealership?
Yes, you can sell it to an MB dealer. Some will low ball you a lot, some probably not a ton. It does not count as a lease return.
You can also reach out to dealer networks that can process it through one of their MB stores. Autonation, for example, will often do that.
You’re also in CA, where there is a way to purchase and resell without taking the sales tax liability, should you get a significantly higher offer through a 3rd party dealer.
California, and only California, has a tax clause that allows you to purchase the vehicle out and file for a refund of the sales tax paid if you immediately resell the vehicle.
So I just have to go to Autonation and just input my car details and get a certified offer? Do they usually offer more than MB dealerships not part of Autonation?
It opens up a larger group. May be a better offer, may not, but adds some flexibility.
What I’d do is find the nearest autonation MB dealer to you and when you go to autonation.com to fill out the appraisal form, put the zip code of that MB dealer in instead of yours. Their site auto redirects the inquiry to the nearest autonation dealer. Some are happy to process it through a sister store, some not so much.
