Stuck with EQS One-Pay Lease — What’s the Best Exit?

Ask the Hackrs
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Hi everyone!

I’m looking for some advice from the LH community on what to do with my lease. I picked up a 2024 EQS 450+ on a one-pay deal, but due to a change in my work situation I’m barely using the car anymore.

Car / Lease Details:

  • Year/Make/Model: 2024 Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ Sedan (demo unit)
  • MSRP: $115K (window sticker attached)
  • Lease Structure: One-pay lease — $9,999 total (equivalent to $389/mo + FL Tax)
  • Term: 24 months
  • Miles: 7,500 per year
  • Current Odometer: 8,300 miles
  • Time Remaining: 16 months left
  • Allowance Remaining: ~900 miles per month
  • Residual / Payoff (per contract): ~$69,000 at lease-end

Since Mercedes leases can’t be transferred, I’m trying to figure out the best way to move on from it. A few ideas I’ve thought about:

  • See if CarMax, Carvana, or another dealer would buy it out directly, although I’ll likely be underwater.
  • Or just holding until the lease ends

If anyone has experience dealing with MB Financial or a similar situation, I’d love to hear your thoughts and recommendations.

Thanks so much for the help!

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On an EQS this is going to be your only option, just drive it until lease end and give the keys back. Yes you can sell it to any dealer but you’re going to be thousands underwater, there’s no “likely” about it.

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How did you generate the image of the window sticker?

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That’s tough. Maybe allow a family member to use it and have them pay you monthly.

I’d assume CarMax would offer around 60k it’s worth having it appraised. My gut is letting it sit and collect dust might be better than taking a loss selling to CarMax or carvana. Granted you would save insurance costs.

Good luck.

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The amount of money you’d lose by trying to get out of this early is way more than what it’s going to cost to just keep it until lease end. Enjoy your Mercedes!

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Being “stuck” in a Mercedes isn’t a bad place to be.

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Wow that’s really cool - I didn’t realize CarEdge had that functionality. Visor.vin can go get rekt @Bumboola

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I wonder if there are like Turo sub-contractors who will rent the car for you?

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Looks good on paper, but the liability in this scenario is huge… Thank you!

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Good way to destroy relationships

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Very rare hit for car edge - it’s almost always incorrect or incomplete. I’ve seen it generate some absurd stuff like two custom colors on the same car or conflicting packages, etc.

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It got my EQS by VIN pretty well. Behold the MANUFAKTUR (all caps for the trademark) Selenite Grey. It missed the “magno”.

Although it doesn’t mention anything about the taco bell farts, spilled coffee, and massive amount of sunscreen my kids spilled in the back.

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Edit: oh shit you’re right CarEdge sucks when it comes to the MSRP. This is really bad… it’s only useful to show the options.

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Sonic didn’t get the memo that MANUFAKTUR needs to be capitalized for the trademark.

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That’s correct. As a matter of fact, the MRSP on the sticker I posted is ~2K lower than the actual one…

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Oh ok so this CarEdge thing may not be as good as I thought. Visor.vin goes back to being #1.

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In no small part b/c that could be a violation of your lease contract.

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Ride it out would be the least expensive option IMO. Your one-pay is already a sunk cost, so it’s your registration and insurance at this point.

With MBFS today, once you’re on, you’re really in for the full ride.

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Maybe. Depends on the family.
My nephew for example would take me up on this instantly. He has bad credit but a great driving record. So he has crappy expenses payments.

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Keep it as a weekend car. What did change with your work situation? Commute is too long or EQS is too nice to park?

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Yeah, I’m leaning toward keeping it as a weekend car. My work situation shifted a bit, the commute got longer, so I wanted something smaller and easier to live with every day.