Expiring Lease; Now What?

[oilerlord]

Has anyone checked out the new Ioniq EV? So far, it's the most efficient EV on the road and is rated at 124 EPA miles. From what I've seen online, it looks like a nice package and reasonably priced too. I think it's only being offered in California so far.

GM seems to be doing well with Volts, not so much with the new Bolt. To me, the Bolt screams "economy". Damn those seats are uncomfortable.

 

[JeffRay]

Contrary to prior reports, MB-Manhattan is still hawking the B250e. Got an offer in the mail today, yes, good old USPS. The offer is a pull ahead offer:

1. $2000 credit towards 2017 B250e.

2. MBFS to waive $595 disposition fee. Cancel last four months lease payments.

3. Negotiate purchase of lease of 2017 B250e.

4. Current offer is $4K down and $299 per month on mbusa.com website.

5. Offer expires end of July. Letter dated July 17th.

6. Non-transferrable.

I think I will see what the deal is.

 

[Dracula]

Interesting - let us know how this works out.

I am also curious where does the $2000 credit come from - the dealer or MB. You should be able to negotiate $7-8K off the MSRP for this vehicle, so it would be great if the credit applies on top of that.

On the other hand, since I recall that you do not have many miles on your vehicle, canceling a few lease payments does not make give you any advantage. In fact, you would end up forfeiting the pro-rated downpayment on the 2014 lease, if you made one.

 

[JeffRay]

Drac,

The fine print reads $2,000 Mercedes-Benz Summer Event Bonus toward a 2017 Mercedes-Benz B 250e is a factory-to-dealer incentive. Incentive results in an agreed upon vehicle value of $40,740 ($42,740 MSRP less $2,000 incentive). Offer for new vehicle listed expires July 31, 2017. See dealer for details.

I had made an appointment to roll in today but postponed it to Monday.

 

[JeffRay]

Went to see my long time salesperson today.

1. They will honor the lease roll-forward deal.
2. There are only 10 B Class in the system right now.
3. All the cars cost more than the Summer Deal advertised on mbusa.com
4. A loaded one drives monthly up by over $100 bucks. $4K+ downpayment.

So I have to think about getting one now or waiting a few months and potentially going down to two cars.

 

[JeffRay]

Went in to look at a Chevy Bolt, it of 200+ mile range. Nice looking exterior, smaller than our 250e. I saw the LT one which did not inspire me with its fabric seats. The look was fine, I sort of like the newish panel in the middle. No cup holders or anything for the back BUT the upscale Premiere has leather seats and heated front and rear seats. Narrower than the 250e but just fine for 4 of us. Shorter than ours so less leg room up front and smaller boot.

Salesman priced it for me but as price was low 40s, no sale today. Still leaning to reupping for 2017 250e now or waiting for November and extending.

 

[Dracula]

I am not sure I understand how can there be just 10 vehicles in the system. MB is selling the B-Class at a pace of 50-60 per month, and just one dealer in CA has 13 units in stock: https://www.mblaguna.com/new-vehicles/#action=im_ajax_call&perform=get_results&_post_id=4&model%5B%5D=B-Class&page=1&show_all_filters=false. They would ship them anywhere in the country.

Sometimes there are good deals on the Bolt, suggest checking the Chevy Bolt forum. While I like the B-Class, the Bolt seems a more modern car with better equipment- heated steering wheel, heated back seats, not to mention the touch screen. And double battery size. MB is still in the 20th century with their COMAND system.

 

[JeffRay]

Drac,

Good work on your part. I believe as the Manhattan dealership is an arm of MBUSA, he was accessing the inventory on the dock unsold to dealers. While I can do a new lease with a CA dealer, I would wait until my lease is ending.

The Bolt is something I am considering since I never put money down on a Tesla 3.

 

[JeffRay]

After a little flurry of looking around, decided to wait till MB wants to unload their inventory in the face of onset of Tesla 3 and other 200+ range electrics. My lease expires at the end of November and in the case of no deal, will just do put some mileage on my other cars. Will go look at Ford electric when I get some time.

 

[zcraze]

JeffRay,

Doesn't look like MB will make the B250e anymore.

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/mercedes-benz-axe-electric-b-class-hatch/

 

[JeffRay]

Z, I am a little curious how they can do that without a replacement in hand given whatever the compliance rules are. If they have a replacement, I am all theirs. If not, see other thread for the not so great choices available to me in November/December.

 

[wtzouris]

Jeff! Hi I am in the same boat, after 2 years 8 months and 30,000 miles driven, I have to consider the replacement for my beloved B-Class ED... Mercedes is just not committed to EVs, so I can't do it again. I was hopeful that I could extend my lease by 6 months but Mercedes Benz Financial says absolutely not. No way unless I have another M-B on order. The usual extension is 3 months if you have an order in the system. My buyout is $23k and the car will most likely go to auction and sell for $14k. I know a guy who buys cars at auction and he could specifically look for my VIN and buy it for me. But ultimately I wanted the B250e to be 44-50 kWh by now instead of 36 kWh and have a DCFC option for me to continue. I get these jobs that are 90 miles round trip and I have to find L2 chargers and leave an hour early to charge halfway! No more. Honestly the 90-150 mile (winter-summer) range of the new 2017 i3 REX will be good enough for me 99% of the time, my wife with use the REX motor, I will seek out DCFC. 150 miles is perfect weather, no Cooling or Heat, low speeds.
Over at BMW, the product keeps improving!!! I'm ordering a BMW i3 REX 94Ah in October for December delivery from Chris Chang of BMW of Bloomfield (NJ). They are BMW i3 people and know how to make a good deal. I'm getting a loaded 2017 car MSRP $56k and the newest thing is you can "code" your car with an OBD to WiFi adaptor and your iPhone -- no more using laptop.. You can tweak the parameters of the car -- when the REX engine, kicks in, etc. The newest i3 has a moonroof, leather seats, and ACC stop and go which should be cool for bumper to bumper FDR and West Side Highway traffic. I'll keep you posted on my exact deal as I get closer to October. I drive a lot so I need 15k miles a year this time, hoping for under $400 a month, $2500 down.

 

[WantOne]

Alright. Finally I can give updates on my lease.

My family like this car a lot to a point where we want to keep this and new B class isn’t really that much better. We worked with Mercedes Benz of Beaverton to actually get about 2.5k less than payoff. If this helps our forum friends, PM me for contacts.

In addition to that, I also worked with Tafel Motors to get ELW For 1,750, 3 year/75k option.

We will enjoy this car for a while!

 

[JeffRay]

WantOne,

You are the first I know to successfully negotiate a discount to the payoff. I think you and that there are a lot of cars coming off lease helped. Congrats and thanks for posting.

 

[evnewbie]

My '15 B-ED lease is up next month and I also tried to extend lease but MB declined with similar response to wtzouris. It's been a great experience overall with my first EV and there is no going back ICE cars for me. However, the limited range and no DC fast charging are no longer suitable for me. Too bad MB does not have any good EV options now. I had reserved a Tesla Model 3 a couple years ago but my reservation was recently delayed to Apr-Jun this year so I wasn't sure it was worth the wait. Unfortunately there is no test drive for the Model 3 yet and I didn't want to just wait for something I wasn't sure about especially given some of the early info I have seen. So, I rented one for a long test drive with my family. The 300 mile range is real and it has amazing torque and quickness (even better than the Tesla Model S and Model X that I have test driven) so B-ED is really no match in this respect. The interior is also large enough to accommodate 4 adults for long drives without serious discomfort. However, the Model 3 has some real quirks due to the use of only one touch screen tablet for control of almost everything in the car but ultimately I think most issues can be addressed via software UI improvement that Tesla delivers on a regular basis via OTA updates. Another annoyance is the lack of a key fob and only smartphone app via bluetooth and key card via NFC can be used to lock/start/unlock the car. The fit and finish and interior content is decent for the class but no match for my B-ED which has the upgraded leather and typical nice MB touches like easy power seat adjustments. Overall, my conclusion is that the Tesla Model 3 definitely needs some improvement but still worth waiting for. So, I will most likely move on to a Tesla Model 3. I do plan to check out the upcoming MB EQ line in a few years.

 

[cossie1600]

I am gonna turn mine back in, but I am honestly having a tough time with a replacement. I tried to give Mercedes a shot due to the early termination and turn in fee waiver, but I thought the C350e was crap and it really wasn't worth the money. It was more like a hybrid with a plug than EV with gas backup. The two dealers chased after me hard, but I told them the car simply wasn't worth it and I was'nt going to buy the car without a double digit % discount.

 

[GGV]

I am on the same boat, lease is expiring in less than 3 month. It hard to find good successor for about the same money(I am in WA)
So, options I consider:
1. Keep B250 (need to negotiate purchase price, tough)
2. Chevy Bolt Premier -overpriced to my viewpoint
3. Kia Soul EV+ 2018 - might be good, lease price is good
4. Honda Clarity - I am not really like sedans, I like high seats

I have some hope for Hyundai Kona Electric but it won't be available till fall

 

[JeffRay]

GGV,

Having been in your shoes, it came down to whether to buy out lease or lease a new one. So hard to figure out until I realized that leasing a 2017 for 24 months cost me less money than buying my 2014. I assumed little to no resale value to keep my math simpler. I know, unfair. Wow, I just went to cargurus.com and they only found 10 2017s left nationwide. A couple of months ago, they listed 60+.

My goal was to bridge to the next generation of long legged electrics as none of the current crop met my value threshold. They were either too expensive or not as nice.

 

[GGV]

I was told (by dealership salesperson) that new b250s must be sold before April 1.
Resale value is concern to me but I don't think it's 0. Average KBB price for my car is ~18.5K and buy-out ~20.5K.

 

[GlennD]

I was told (by dealership salesperson) that new b250s must be sold before April 1.
Resale value is concern to me but I don't think it's 0. Average KBB price for my car is ~18.5K and buy-out ~20.5K.

And what happens to unsold inventory. I really doubt that Mercedes will accept a return.

I love my 2017 B but I realize it is an unwanted odd duck in the lineup. It really only exists for CARB credit. It really does not matter to Mercedes that I love my car.

I really hope that if Tesla goes belly up they buy back the cars since support would be a problem.