Buy/Lease E500/CLS500

1894 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by BillT, Apr 3, 2005

Plato

Discussion Starter · Feb 1, 2005

Hi Guys,
I have 2001 C320 Sport and thinking of upgrade.
Dealer offered new 2005 E500 bl/charc with Premium package, keyless go, rear seat package and trunk closer for about 61500 before sales tax + 2500 for a new phone system (phone included).

LEASE OPTION $818/mo with $0 down. 39 mo lease. About $35000 purchase price at lease end.
I drive about 10000 mi/yr

BUY OPTION $976/mo @ 6% for 60months $18000 downpayment.

Also I really prefer CLS i even put deposit in summer. Price with premium package and phone is about $74000 before sales tax.

I dont know exactly what it costs to lease but i would imagine about $900 month/39 mo $0 down

BUY OPTION $1076 month for 60 months with $23000 down.

I would appreciate any input on lease/buy which one you would pick and how quickly you think CLS and E500 will depreciate.

I already lost about $9000 in a year on c320 i bought it a year ago for 27000(before tax) and now dealer offers for it 18000. So I'm thinking that get $13000 equity back from c320 and lease E500/CLS with $0 down may be not a bad option.

Thanks a lot,
Plato

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JG in SB

· #5 · Feb 2, 2005

sosh - 2/1/2005 5:39 PM

In my estimation the only reason to lease over purchase/finance is if the vehicle is a legit business expense and can be written off.

I agree with sosh. Besides the write-off, alot of people lease because that is their only option to "own" a car that they otherwise could not afford. If you are in a position to buy (which is what it sounds like), and you either don't plan on taking a write-off for the lease or can't legitimately qualify to take the write-off, then you should purchase.

I don't know a single person who was happy with the way things turned out at the end of their lease (with the exception of the "write-off" category folks). They all seem to go over the allowed mileage or have something else happen that ends up making the lease option far less attractive than the buy option in hindsight.

Also, at least for me, it would be AGONIZING to have to write out a $35,000.00 check for what is at that point, a three year old car, at the end of the lease that you are talking about.

That's my humble opinion.

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