Listen, y’all are ruthless out here so let me just caveat this by saying I know VERY LITTLE when it comes to the nuanced details of leasing. If you have a point of view on this that you can share without the snark, please do. If you intend on belittling me because my expertise wanes when it comes to MF and residual value, please move on.
Here’s the deal. I have an NX300h I’m currently leasing - still have about 14 months on the lease. Got this car before I knew I was pregnant with another child and now it feels awfully cramped. At the very least I need a 6th seat option for when I’m shuttling kids around to activities. I literally only pay $400/month for the NX and it’s really tough to give that up in this market but I’m done uninstalling and installing an infant car seat 4x a week.
The Lexus has quite a bit of equity in it - roughly $8K if I sell to Carvana and $7K if I sell to a broker. Broker has offered me a deal for a Volvo XC90 Plus ($64K msrp) - if I hand over my car to them, $654 down and $654 a month (10k/36).
Alternatively, I could opt for a demo GLB (2022/3K miles) with a third row option (only little kids would be back there - I know it’s tight) for $3k down, $637 a month. NOTE: this deal does NOT include equity from the Lexus as this wasn’t through a broker. That means I could still sell to Carvana for the $8K return.
If you enjoy the ‘behavior’ of the DCT in the Mercedes, I’d go for the Volvo. The space and the comfort will easily surpass the badge of the GLB, and you’ll be thrilled with the cargo room.
Just don’t drive an Ultimate with the ‘good seats’ first, and you’ll be happy.
Look at all broker deals in your area and what the best deal may be independent of the 7K. Also have you checked swapalease or other lease assumption websites? An xc90 is not a GLB. A good lease is 1% msrp / month before taxes and fees with 0 down except taxes fees and 1st month payment. Have you checked out the Nissan Deals such at the pathfinder for potentially lower cost?
Personally I check the IIHS ratings for a vehicle before any lease or when someone asks me what I think of a car especially since you mentioned the young kids.
Can’t tell if this is snark. Yes, we’ve tried moving the seat back. The issue mostly is with my older daughter’s activities, we often have 3 kids in the car, so I constantly have to remove the infant car seat and reinstall it. Maddening first world problem.
We don’t know what your tax rate is, but assuming it’s not completely egregious, the deal the broker offered you doesn’t seem that great.
Its essentially $654 a month with $7.5k down factoring in your trade. $8.5k down if you consider the money from the 3rd party you’re leaving on the table.
