My Take: The E-Class Mercs are excellent candidates for “Lease To Buy”. They feature a low residual value and a low money factor, meaning most of your payments will be going towards the car, not the interest rate. If you want low upfront payments, reasonable monthly payments and an option to not buy the car at lease end, this car just might be for you. There is a whopping $6000 in dealer cash available and 0.9% financing for up to 66 months for the E350. What’s even cooler is that you can combine both of them. For leasing, there’s $4000 lease cash available from MBF (Remember that for Mercs, you want to go with the 48-month leases for the lowest possible payments) Personally, I really like the E-Class since it’s luxurious, spacious and one of the better luxury family sedans out there.
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| At Invoice | At MSRP | |||||
| Make/Model | Invoice | MSRP | 24-month | 36-month | 24-month | 36-month |
| 2009 Mercedes E350 Luxury | $50,351 | $54,075 | $1051 | $765 | $1209 | $870 |
NOTE: Estimates assuming the following conditions:
- Inception fees (1st month payment, DMV, doc fee, bank fee, tire tax and possible security deposit) will be paid at signing.
- Local Taxes not included.
- 24-month/15k and 36-month/15k terms.
- All cars are stock, without any options.
2009 Mercedes E-Class
2009 Mercedes E350 Luxury
24-month | 15k miles | residual 49% | .00075 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 43% | .00018 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 38% | .00018 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 29% | .00395 base money factor
2009 Mercedes E350 Luxury 4matic
24-month | 15k miles | residual 49% | .00090 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 43% | .00030 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 39% | .00030 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 30% | .00395 base money factor
2009 Mercedes E350 Sport
24-month | 15k miles | residual 49% | .00075 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 43% | .00018 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 38% | .00018 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 29% | .00395 base money factor
2009 Mercedes E350 Sport 4matic
24-month | 15k miles | residual 49% | .00090 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 43% | .00030 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 39% | .00030 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 30% | .00395 base money factor
2009 Mercedes E550
24-month | 15k miles | residual 42% | .00075 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 37% | .00018 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 36% | .00018 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 29% | .00395 base money factor
DO NOT LEASE
2009 Mercedes E320 BlueTec
24-month | 15k miles | residual 51% | .00350 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 47% | .00285 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 44% | .00285 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 35% | .00395 base money factor
2009 Mercedes E550 4matic
24-month | 15k miles | residual 42% | .00430 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 38% | .00395 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 36% | .00395 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 28% | .00395 base money factor
2009 Mercedes E63 AMG
24-month | 15k miles | residual 46% | .00225 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 43% | .00225 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 39% | .00225 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 31% | .00395 base money factor
2009 Mercedes E350 4matic Wagon
24-month | 15k miles | residual 43% | .00430 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 38% | .00395 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 37% | .00395 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 29% | .00395 base money factor
2009 Mercedes E63 4matic Wagon
24-month | 15k miles | residual 43% | .00430 base money factor
36-month | 15k miles | residual 37% | .00395 base money factor
48-month | 15k miles | residual 34% | .00395 base money factor
60-month | 15k miles | residual 29% | .00395 base money factor
My Take: I would strongly caution lessees to stay away from the RX350 this month because the numbers don’t look very good. The GS looks ok, but the residual values are too low. It could be a good “lease to buy” candidate, but the money factor would have to be slightly lower. Without incentives, I would recommend most people simply pass on both the GS and RX this month.
My Take: The money factor isn’t very strong on the Maxima this month but the residual is still fairly high so it isn’t too bad. There is $750 dealer cash, so be sure to factor that into your negotiations. Still, LESSEE BEWARE! The payments are not very cheap so be sure to check out other comparable cars such as the V6 models of the Accord/Camry and maybe even the G37 and the Acura TL.
My Take: There is around $3000 dealer cash available on the FX35 this month, so factor that into your negotiations. The rates are practically unchanged, so it isn’t any better than last months. Now, couple of things for you California residents. Our sales tax goes up April as I mentioned in a previous post, but our car registrations will ALSO go up (double) beginning May 19th. To top things off, we’re rasing our gasoline tax by another 12 cents. So yeah, think long and hard as to what car and when you plan to lease your next ride. We’re talking hundreds of dollars in savings if you pick the right one.
My Take: Good New! The TSX payments dropped a little due to the lower money factor. Also, don’t forget the $750 dealer cash available on this car. The TL also got a money factor reduction, but also get dinged on the residual (1-2% on the 36+ month terms). Basically the 24-month lease got cheaper, but the 36-month ones are a few dollars more. Nothing astronomical, but worth noting. You do get $1000 dealer cash on the TL, so be sure to factor that into your negotiations.
My Take: No real incentives here on the A6, so you’ll have to rely on your might negotiation skills to get the deal you want. In my opinion, the A6 is more of a “lease to buy” candidate due to the low residual/low money factor combination. As I mentioned in the CL/CLK/CLS post, when most of your payments go towards the depreciation of a vehicle instead of the interest, you probably want to consider buying the car out at the end of your lease. You don’t have to, but it’s just a suggestion if you would like a “break” from lease payments.