I haven’t seen this exact question posed. I am in the market for a MB E class, 5 series, or Caddy CTS. I have always purchased cars new, but given the step up in price for these luxury vehicles, my budget only allows me to spend money either leasing or buying a late model CPO. I have never leased cars, but recently I came to the realization that I only keep my purchased cars for 5-6 years. Consequently, I began thinking I should consider leasing. Given my circumstances, what say the best and brightest lease hackers? I can pick up 2016 CPO versions of these cars with around 30k miles for roughly 40% off new MSRP. Generally, the CPO warranty will cover me until 2020 to 2021, depending on the manufacturer program. Another factor that made me think leasing my be the way to go is that of my concern of getting a flooded Houston car (I live in Texas) that was hidden and “certified” as a CPO. I have read this can happen.
If you can do without that new car smell, then you can (probably) save some money, perhaps lots of money as the depreciation in the first year or two can be steep. Dealer CPO cars tend to be (not always) the best of the bunch in terms of used car quality.
Having said that, used cars aren’t perfect and may have minor issues. Perhaps the interior has some minor blemishes or stains etc. Some people can tolerate small issues others can’t and perhaps should not buy used cars.
Also the CPO warranty is probably not as good as a bumper-to-bumper new car warranty. The CPO warranty may just cover the powertrain. So if something like a power window or the air conditioning goes out that repair may be on you. And as you probably know, Mercedes repairs don’t come cheap.
I have owned many used cars and truly believe that you can indeed save some money by owning them. What the heck give it a try and see if it works for you. If not then next time go back to buying new.
