Hi folks
Following some really excellent advice on this site, I investigated the possibility of buying my company car out of the lease. It's a Mercedes E320CDI Avantgarde in silver, with grey leather and CD autochanger but otherwise standard. It's on a 53 plate (November) and will have done 85,000 miles by the time I take ownership in August (80,000 now). I've tended to drive it quite hard and I've gone through a reasonable number of tyres and brake pads, however it has been regularly serviced by my local MB dealer.
The fleet company are offering it to me for £16,300.
Questions:
- Is this a good deal?
- Anything I should begin to worry about at this age/mileage?
It's a lovely car, I've had no problems with it and, being a Mercedes, surely it's good for many miles yet?!
Thanks!
Steve
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If you were trading this car in, to get another car from the same dealer, the values in Glass are:-
Part-exchange Price:
Excellent condition:
£16400
Average condition:
£14700
Below average condition:
£13000
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This price is a tad steep for an ex-fleet car with highish mileage, I guess the Fleet Company have become well-wise to the buyback desires of their customers and no longer offer particularly good deals like the ones we used to get 4 or 5 years ago. HOWEVER if youve looked after the car and know its entire life history, it may still be well worth it to you. Have you tried to haggle with them ? I was in the same situation a few years ago with one lease company. They were actually using the Parkers online price guide to come up with the price on the car, but I offered them £1000 less on the basis that it would cost them money to dispose of the car at a lower price to a trader or at auction and it worked !
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I tried haggling and I got from £16,600 to £16,300!!! Not a big jump. I thought I had read Glass's Guide correctly (in the newsagents - maybe I should buy one!) and that a trade in nearer £19k was right. Certainly if I was to go to my local MB garage to buy a similar model they would be quoting me low twenties. I'm not sure what more I get by paying for a used car off the forecourt when the car I have has been serviced regularly?
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> I guess the Fleet Company have become well-wise to the buyback desires of their customers
Agreed.
My last company car before opting out was a 2000 W Vectra 2.5 GSi Estate. A cracking, reliable, huge fun machine, but when I asked the leasco what they would want for it a few weeks before the 36 month lease expired they quoted silly money. Steep even by forecourt standards and probably a few grand more than what it fetched at auction. They wouldn't budge, either.
In the end though the price became irrelevant because I wanted to buy it as my wife's first car since passing her UK test (Czech licence held for many years) but nobody would insure her. It's no longer listed on the DVLA website, so it either has a cherished plate or someone's enjoyment of it was short lived.
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Merc dealers are not renowned for being generous and I would imagine the trade-in value would be particularly terrible because of the mileage. The dealer would presumeably have to pass the car on, or auction it - someone looking in a Merc dealer for a used E Class would shy away from a high miler.
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SteveMK - by the way, if you do keep it, try getting a quote for MB's new ServicePlus. I don't know if there are start mileage limitations, but it covers cars up to 6yrs old and seems pretty competitive compared to usual main dealer costs, and appears to include repairs too.
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That's a really good point. I expect my mileage to drop dramatically now, so I should get back to average mileage within a couple of years.
So, the other part of my question was whether there is anything I should be looking out for? Is this a silly way to spend £16k? Is something about to go wrong?
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So if you've driven it from new, you know its history which makes it more valuable (to you). Have the various recalls/upgardes been done? Check out the forums on www.MBClub.co.uk for more advice.
As the happy driver of an E320CDI Avantgarde Estate, I can well understand why you want to keep it.
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Why not go into a few MB dealerships over the next few months and see what they will offer as a part exchange against a new one. This will show you if the fleet price of £16300 is fair.
If the trade in values are close to what you can buy it for the go ahead. The wider the gap, the more you must decide whether it is worth it to you.
Also I presume it is on a fully maintained contract, if so make sure things like brakes, tyres etc have been replaced and any small dings have been repaired. No point in you haveing to payout shortly after ownership.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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