First time car buying / leasing experience. I found a car that’s exactly spec’d as I was looking FOR. I am at the beginning of the process of research, but had few questions:
Since it is listed “new”, but has almost 6k miles I assume it’s a loaner. Wondering, if there could potentially be any other reason, because I haven’t seen a fully loaded AMG Cabriolet to be a typical loaner model.
I assume RV is weighted down by a lot of options and rarer body type (E.g. When compared to a base model sedan). Is that a fair rationale?
Given the mileage, this changes what one can ask for in terms of selling price. Found C300 sedan loaners ~15.25% off of MSRP regionally. Would assuming a similar rate be reasonable given that it is a very different type of car.
2021 Mercedes-Benz AMG C 43 Cabriolet C-Class
Location: NC
Mileage: 5,836 mi
MSRP: $77,765
Sales Price: $73,877
DAS: $3,175
It’s going to be hard to find comps for that model.
For sale now, or were these deals that were closed in previous months?
I don’t put a lot of thought into the why, as it isn’t negotiable, and it’s one of a few levers the manufacturer can pull to arrive at a price (along with the MF and incentives).
The RV also often isn’t a great predictor of what the car will actually be worth at the end of the lease.
So you’re off to a good start, doing your homework and asking the right questions, however let me fix a few of your inputs (fellow NC resident and current AMG lessee, FYI):
Even in normal times 15% discount comps on a C300 sedan definitely does not mean you can expect the same discount on a C43 Cab. There are few if any C43 Coupe and Cab comps out there.
These are not normal times, 15% on a pretty rare C43 Cab is so far out there the dealer probably won’t even call you back.
On a MB, your Acquisition Fee will be marked up to $1095, in NC tax is only 3%, and good luck finding a MB dealer in NC with only $400 doc fee ($700 is more realistic) and govt fees will be around $150-$250.
I fixed your calculator with the above and input a 5% discount as a starting point, however in this market it’s anyone’s guess. They’re probably going for close to sticker for a new one, so a few % on a loaner is all you’re going to get most likely, if that.
Deals currently available, get the quotes late this week.
But I actually missed they’re 2020 models vs 2021. I tried getting the MF off of Edmunds but ppl say there are no official lease programs anymore so no MF / residual value quotes. Assume the dealer has some other bank financing it rather than MBFS?
Actually just received the invoice for it showing a higher MSRP than the website LISTED. Used the invoice MSRP without destination fees for the calculations.
Used the same MF as the C43 cab as a placeholder. Still not a “good score” though, assuming based on low residual (comes directly from dealer) :
Appreciate your insights, especially given your experience going above and beyond with fixing the calculator.
If you don’t mind me asking, which dealership have you worked with? Read that MB doesn’t lease well in America, so i am assuming what can be considered “good” is different in the MB universe plus the added factor of the shortage. Do you remember your leasescore and when you got it? Looking at other C43 bodies and it seems to be consistently MSRP or if that slightly below.
Probably. That would explain the horrifying residual. I don’t the convertible was ever going to be a “good” lease, but a residual that low probably cannot be overcome…
I mean this with all respect, this is painful to read. This is the worst time in history to lease, you are shopping for something that leases like a Tanya Harding knee-massage in the best of times, and you’re stepping over hundreds to pickup dimes.
PLEASE hire a broker or find a dealer here (ship it across the US if you need to) to get you the best possible deal if this is the car you must have, now, at the worst possible time to buy or lease one.
You need one with your the lowest MSRP you will accept (recognizing that MSRP and good lease are not always correlated, your C43 can’t be stuffed with extra options you don’t need) because while you are only paying the depreciation (and rent and tax), you are getting no dealer discount. You need to understand what levers to pull to make this tolerable (vs this hardest of hard passes).
If you sign any variation of this lease on this car, not only will it be a poor value, you are going to have a negative impression of leasing forever.
Pick a different car, or hire an expert to get you a deal that doesn’t feel like a mugging. Or take $1000 out of your bank and hand it to a stranger if that will relieve the pressure. Walk away from this.
Tried getting a broker, because of the times and this being the first time. Talked to three different ones and all of them were only able to quote at MSRP for C43s. I definitely understand that it’s not time for a good deal, never claimed it would be. Trying to figure out what a realistic deal is for the next 3 years until things return to more normal times.
Don’t do that. Placeholder values, particularly when they aren’t anywhere in the realm of related (as a 21 sedan mf through mbfs wouldn’t have any relationship at all to a 3rd party bank 2020 convertible mf) just means your calculator isn’t even worth looking at. Garbage in gives garbage out. You can’t randomly substitute critical details and then try to glean any information from the calculator output.
Hard to say b/c I don’t think there are many comparables. MSRP may be reasonable, in which case you might as well go w/ a new 2021 rather than on one that has lost lease support (since MF and RV might be much worse from an outside bank).
I’m also under the impression that you are mixing variables from diff years and models. That renders any calculations completely useless.
