Let me begin my first post by thanking the creators of this wonderful website, as well as the community, who have prepared me for leasing my first car!
I went to a local MB dealer in the Seattle,WA area to check out the C300. I spent several hours working with a very nice salesman, test driving, fiddling with options etc. Had a pleasant experience overall (other than some light nudging on how MSDs aren’t really worth it). I have some numbers to share and get feedback on.
Option 1:
Make & Model: 2019 MB C300 4Matic
Packages & Options : Premium Package, Multimedia Package & many other options
MSRP: $56,455
Sale Price: $50,245 (-11%)
Rebates & Incentives: None available
Term: 36 Month
Mileage: 10k/year
Residual: $33,458 (59.2% off MSRP)
Cap Reduction: $0
Initial Quoted Money Factor : 0.00147
Money Factor (w 10 MSDs) : 0.00077
Negotiated Money Factor (w/ 10 MSDs and if I have Tier 1 credit) : 0.00037
Cash Due at Signing: $1500
Monthly Payment (w/tax) according to dealer : $571
Monthly Payment (w/tax) according to LeaseHackr Calculator: $584
LeaseHackr Score : 8.6 years
Option 2:
Make & Model: 2018 MB C300 4Matic Loaner
Packages & Options : Blindspot, Smartphone integration
MSRP: $45770
Sale Price: $38,777 (-15.3%)
Mileage: 5,563 miles
Rebates & Incentives: None available
Term: 36 Month
Mileage: 10k/year
Residual: $25726 (56.2% off MSRP)
Cap Reduction: $0
Initial Quoted Money Factor : 0.00147
Money Factor (w 10 MSDs) : 0.00077
Negotiated Money Factor (w/ 10 MSDs and if I have Tier 1 credit) : 0.00037
Cash Due at Signing: $1424
Monthly Payment (w/tax) according to dealer : $460
Monthly Payment (w/tax) according to LeaseHackr Calculator: $460
LeaseHackr Score : 8.8 years
Questions:
Am I on the right track? Are there other things I should be looking out for?
Should I be trying to maximize my MSDs?
What numbers quoted can I try to negotiate on?
For Option 1: Any idea on why dealer monthly payment is different than the LeaseHackr calculator?
I feel like there is no real benefit to go with Option 2. Dollar for Dollar, the deals are almost the same and the 2019 is nicer. Is this the right interpretation of these numbers?
Tagging @wonkru, @28firefighter, since your posts have helped me a lot going into the dealership with an idea of what to expect. Your thoughts on this offer?
Thank you very much for reading. Happy Thanksgiving!
If the loaner has all the features you want it’s obviously less money- as long as the prior drivers kept it nice. I’ve been in so many loaners that have had seemingly permanent aftershave baked into the seatbelts, I’ve had to cover the belts with a plastic bag to keep the stuff off my lapel.
But the discount on the loaner is not in LH record territory. 7k off of 45k on a loaner. Previous posters here have had deals in the high 2s to low 3s for loaners with msrp in that range. If you can wait a month those deals may open up again.
11% on a new 2019 is good but again not a record. And no incentives? Are you sure? Fleet (are you united airlines elite?) National incentives?
Maximize MSDs until you reach a MF close to 0.00 or you reach the MBZ limit (10?) which it seems you’ve done
No, I’m not sure. I asked about Fleet incentives on the Loaner (specifically Costco) and was told Fleet incentives don’t apply to loaners. For the 2019 they said the discount the dealership is giving is more than the the Costco discount so I didn’t inquire further. On Costco, for the 2018 there is currently a 1250$ Manufacturer to Dealer discount, and for the 2019 its $1000.
I can only see a $600 off first payment national discount on mbusa.com, advertised as their winter event. Maybe I don’t know how to read it right …
Had no idea there was such a huge price difference! The 2nd option you listed seems amazing. Having never done this before, I assume I will get temporary registration to drive the car from OR to WA? And then pay sales tax to WA when I register the car here? I wonder what happens to monthly payments … Can you tell me more?
I leased my last 3 BMWs from Portland. The process has been streamlined already since they deal with a lot of Washingtonians. They take care of everything for you-the paperwork,car registration,etc. As for the taxes,you pay tax on your monthly payment,e.g. if your lease payment is $300,the payment including tax will be $330.
Just reach out to dealers,let them know that you are from Washington and they will walk you through the process.
Good luck!
And keep us posted
P.S.
The car from MB of Portland has a higher MSRP of 48575 vs 42895 for the one from MB of Wilsonville.
Hence the difference in monthly payments.
The dealer you’re working with won’t negotiate sale price much more and are notorious for marking up the MF. Perfectly nice folks, but it is what it is type of deal.
Your best bet if you just gotta have it from that dealer is wait until they lower the price. Usually 90 days on the lot is when you start seeing the big discounts. Otherwise, recommend one of the Portland area dealers - way more competitive.
Yes I read on one of your posts about this dealer, and realised price is firm going in. It was closest to me so figured why not get some initial numbers. I don’t have to get from this dealership, though they did put a lot of time working with me.
Have you had better experience with other MB dealerships in the area? I guess I can just email all of them and see what comes back. But is there one you would recommend that I actually drive to and try to negotiate with?
Also, are there resources on what a good Seattle area MB Residual & MF should be? There are some good threads on BMW (e.g. by @BMW_Dave) where information is very transparent and gives you something to Target when negotiating with dealers.
I recommend negotiating everything by email and not going in until you have a deal. Seattle MB dealers are generally very expensive. Minimal discount. Look on Edmunds for the base MF and residual. That should be your target.
Deals can be had but there is no “go-to” - you have to watch like a hawk for the deals and jump. It took me months of waiting and false starts to nab my deals.
There is A LOT of money floating around Seattle and plenty of folks willing to just open their checkbooks. Combined with only a few dealers in all of western Washington and it makes the dealers unmotivated to do the deals we like.
Unfortunately, aside from the second option being potentially expired, it might only be available to Oregon residents:
“Available to Tier I & II Oregon Resident customers at Mercedes-Benz of Wilsonville through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services through October 31, 2018 while inventory is still available.”
Also looking for a C300 in the Seattle/Bellevue area and I can confirm, pretty much all dealerships around here aren’t really interested in negotiating… they have plenty of people that are willing to pay them whatever they ask.
Yes I called them today and they confirmed out of state residents can purchase, just add the tax for home state. So $300 offer would be approx $330 for most Seattle area residents.
Thanks. Same here, I was in touch with them and got the same info. Are you going with them?
I’m curious to know what the additional paperwork process for being out of state would involve or if they would take care of it all. I’m just waiting back from them for further details.
So can we only purchase or do the lease? I’m from the seattle area too and MB fife salesperson was super nice but wanted to rip me off SO BAD. (like 5k down and 1000 bucks monthly payment for a GLE LOL)
