I just got back from a very stressful visit to my Socal dealership, looking to lease a 2019 C300 nicely optioned. The only problem I am having is my negative equity. I was able to get a deal that I am happy with until I found out about the negative equity in my current 2013 C250.
I was able to negotiate a 2019 C300 MSRP -
$44,965 well optioned. $1,500 signed/drive off and $445/mo (including tax) 48 months/10k miles. Which I think is pretty good until I came across my negative equity… I need advice as too what I can do. Currently my C250 is according to Carmax worth $7,500 my Mercedes Benz dealership is offering to give me $8,250 for it but they said my negative equity would bring my monthly payment to $488/mo + Tax = $534/mo.
I hate the fact that I have about $3,900 in negative equity and truly upset, the manager is urging me to take the deal he is giving me because according to him it’s a smoking deal for a 2019 C300. He said he is actually helping me by signing me to the lease and he would honor a Mercedes early pull out at 3 1/2 years aka 43 months. So that I can kill the high payment and get rid of my negative equity.
I would like to have your opinions, I have about 1 more year of extended warranty on my C250. But the whole negative equity is truly freighting since I do not know if it will get worse or not.
Thank you so much for all of your opinions and advise! I’m just not sure if this is all a good idea or some sort of trap. $534/mo is pretty intense on a 44k C300 but I understand it’s due to the negative equity… Thank you!
Just wait until your loan is paid off on the C250 and you won’t have any worries on the negative equity. Of course the manager wants you to jump on that “deal” …
I’m a little confused, on the early pull out at 43 months…are you saying you have 43 months of payments on the c250?
No, I owe about 11,900 on the C250. According to them it’s worth 8k now. So the way they said it would work is that I sign up for the 2019 C300 48 months/$534mo and then he would cut me off early at 43 months early termination on the 2019 lease so that it would eat up any negative equity and I could be clean slate by the time this happens… not sure if this all makes any sense since I am new to leasing… I loved the initial deal of $1,500 drive off and 445/mo.
They can’t guarantee getting you out early and not costing you something. Work multiple dealers and look for a 2018 loaner/demo, don’t go longer than 36mo
Keep making payments. Deals on 19s will only get better later in the year and your equity will increase with each payment. Over 500 for a c class is painful and 40+ months makes it even worse. Remember, you are responsible for keeping the car in good working order and the longer you hold on to it the more likely you will need to replace brakes, tires, etc.
Thank you so much, I had initially made the appointment with this specific dealership for a loaded loaner 2018 C300, they wanted $0 down $550/mo for the loaner. I told them no… I want $0 down $350/mo. Then the manager walked in and said to stop and he then proceeded to tell me he can be more agressive on the 2019 C300’s. It was exhausting, I was there from 11am-8:30pm and I drove 1hr 45 to that dealership LOL. I will skip on this non sense deal. I got home with a huge headache from so much pressure.
My C250 has about 1 more year of extended warranty, the only reason I would Like to lease is because I am nervous about keeping the car and it one day decides to give me problems and leasing would favor me since I am an independent contractor own my business. So far it’s been a very nice car and reliable I have 84,000 miles on it now… I still get so many compliments on the car anywhere I go palladium silver metallic AMG styling. Always serviced at the dealership no problems at all.
I will wait it off for now, I just needed everyone’s opinion. I’m upset about the negative equity on the car but it really not that much. I think it will even put the gap soon…
Thank you guys so much! I truly appreciate your response… maybe later this year I would love to aim for a C300 AMG styling line package in brilliant blue. If I can strike a great deal…
Stop going to dealerships to negotiate, do everything online/phone. If your car has 84k on it, it’s time to make a move now on a 2018. Your car is going to drop in value allot, especially the closer you get to a 100k.
Thank you! That’s the problem, I had originally scheduled my appointment at the specific dealership for a 2018 C300 loaner with 6k miles amg styling MSRP of 49k. The previous day the phone rep had told me they have killer offers on loaners for $350/mo so I scheduled to come in the next day. While there I straight up told them what I wanted and to make it happen, they said 0 down $550/mo for the loaner. I said nope, $0 down 350/mo 36months. he then went to the sales manager and they both came back and the manager literally told me to stop… he said he cannot be too aggressive on the loaners and that he can be more aggressive on the 2019 C300’s. I feel this was a bait and switch lol… no kidding… He then said that the loaners are very optioned out and it would be hard to be aggressive… in my mind wouldn’t it be logical to strike a deal on a loaner so that they can push it off of the lot?
So then they proceeded to start asking me for money down on 2019 and it just spiraled from there to the nasty deal mentioned above. I got fed up at one point and literally asked him to make me a deal on the loaner and he literally said NO. He said it will not work for me, he then went back in the computer typed some numbers and the monthly suddenly goes up to $600/mo for the loaner C300. He turns the screen to me and says “see what I mean” I just walked out at that point. 8:30pm… with no deal whatsoever…
If you have one more yr of the extended warranty, can you just drive the car for one more yr, put the $445/mo into paying down your loan, and then sell the car the day b/f the extended warranty expires?
Or drive it 2 more yrs (chancing that something might go wrong) and pay off your loan entirely and then start fresh?
Could be an option, I’m just not familiar with this whole negative equity thing in all honesty. $3,900 is really not a lot. I have plenty of income to overcome that. I did not chose 48 months on the lease either… the sales man and manager kept telling me I need to do 48 months and that 36 months would not work for me this is why I feel they were opportunistic of the whole situation and tried to take advantage of me.
Yeah, the dealer is trying to get you into 48 months because the monthly payments will be lower and more likely satisfy your payment requirements. But you’re just falling for the dealer trick by focusing on the monthly payment. 48 months you’re paying for more depreciation and you’ll be out of warranty the last year (I believe). Like others have said, don’t go for more than 36 months.
You are covered under warranty, so keep driving it and pay as much as you can each month in the meantime. Negative equity only muddies deals. When you have paid enough to break even and sell to vroom/carvana, do that and start fresh.
Thank you, exactly what I thought. My plan is to get rid of the negative equity and close that gap a bit more to break even. Hopefully by November or December I will aim for a C300 Brilliant Blue AMG package etc. I’m sure there will be better deals as from what I know. End of December is the best time to lease. I’ll drive the 13’ C250 for now and let it live for the rest of the warranty period, it’s been a healthy car in all honesty.
Your C250 is a 2013 and has 84,000 miles. That’s about 16,000 a year.
Your proposed lease almost surely doesn’t allow for 16K a year, so check the numbers on a lease that actually meets your mileage requirements. It will be even uglier with that mileage allowance.
Leasing may not make sense for you given your needs, unless you can cut them back pretty far.
On the other hand, the majority of his C250’s depreciation has already occurred. The latter years of a car’s life are where it depreciates the slowest unless you blow it up. So it may make a lot more sense to wait another year or two until he breaks even on it.
Either way, @RL84, it makes no sense to pick up a MY19 C300 when you can grab a MY18 for way cheaper. And please find another dealer cause this one isn’t going to do you any favors.
