No stumbling into this one…the first couple quotes were 25k-40k for this type of unit from various dealers, price dropped on this particular one and made my numbers possible.
Know the basic math behind leasing and how leases are structured
Become a supporter of this site to get access to monthly programs (residual values, buy rates, and incentives). Captive finance companies control when lease support ends for a particular model
Use various vehicle aggregation sites to find your targets. For demos/loaners, filter for current and previous model year vehicles with miles already on them. You can also find aged inventory on several of these sites.
Survey the selling prices you see and the Marketplace & Signed Deals section on this site for a baseline. Then apply those basic math skills into the Calculator on this site to come up with prospective numbers.
Call, chat, text the dealer that has your target. Pitch your numbers and don’t be an asshole to sales. Shop national. Ask the Hackrs section for deal checks if you can’t feel out what “good” could look like.
Repeat until you get a deal you like or skip all this shit and use a broker. Plenty of great folks here. Search the site for better tutorials than this and and learn other dark arts of hacking
I have a better track record with BMWs than with Benzes. By Feb I’ll start looking for an X7 loaner, coming out of a 750 that I leased at 33% under MSRP 3 years back.