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Let's get it straight here... i've always thought that luxury cars are a money pit any way you slice it even if one is leasing. So, when you see someone driving a Mercedes, BMW or Lexus, regardless of model, you can come to the conclusion that the guy/gal is paying quite a bit for it. Agree with me here? Note, that I did not necessarily say that they could comfortably afford it, just that they pay a lot for it.
Well, was chatting with a friend the other day and he was saying how it wasn't that much more to drive a Mercedes vs driving a Corolla, I thought this was totally ridiculous.
Can you contrast the cost difference between driving a basic Toyota Corolla vs driving the cheapest Mercedes in the cheapest way possible? Leasing + extra cost for premium fuel + extra cost for insurance + much higher maintenance cost + lease overrage charges + origination, disposition and the BS fees that come with a lease etc. etc.
I was thinking it was $350/month for the Corolla vs something like $1000/month total cost of operation including gas for the C230 Merc.
You are comparing a base Corolla to a C-class Benz. You should compare to the A-class instead.
Also, many of the luxury brands include free scheduled maintenance during the lease, something the Corolla probably won't have.
Where are you coming up with the 1000 a month total cost including gas?
The cheapest Merc is the CLA250 at 30,825. With 0 down and factoring in 0% interest for sake of math, a typical 3 year lease with 12,000 miles, you can get one for 389 a month. To buy it, it will cost you just over 500 a month.
The cheapest Corolla will run you 17,625. To buy the Corolla, it will run you just over 300 a month. (again, using 0 down and 0% interest) There is a special for a 24 month lease for 239 a month with 0 down.
The other things to consider is that even the basic Merc will have a boat load more features than the Corolla. The kicker is that the Merc has almost double the horsepower yet gets the same gas mileage.
Let's get it straight here... i've always thought that luxury cars are a money pit any way you slice it even if one is leasing. So, when you see someone driving a Mercedes, BMW or Lexus, regardless of model, you can come to the conclusion that the guy/gal is paying quite a bit for it. Agree with me here? Note, that I did not necessarily say that they could comfortably afford it, just that they pay a lot for it.
No. Lease payments on a BMW were less than the car payments I had on my Mazda3 and about what they are currently on my Prius. Since I got 0% this time, I stretched the payments out for 60 months versus 24 with the Mazda.
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Well, was chatting with a friend the other day and he was saying how it wasn't that much more to drive a Mercedes vs driving a Corolla, I thought this was totally ridiculous.
I don't. It's all how you look at it. Say conventional financing with a 36 mo loan on a well-equiped Corolla and 20% down. Comes out to around $440/mo.
C250 is about $359/mo with the same roughly $4k due at signing.
Yes, insurance, gas, and what not will cost slightly more. Call it a wash.
In my case, it's almost exactly what my Prius payments are for 60 months, similar down payment as well. Big difference is at the end of 5 years, I then own the Prius. I didn't trade in the Mazda which is partly why the payments on the Prius are higher.
Basically, if you can afford to buy any new car, you can afford to lease a luxury car. Difference is the lease locks you into perpetually car payments. I went four years without paying car payments before buying a Prius and certainly could have gone longer. And then I also sold the Mazda3 private party and got about $6k back.
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I was thinking it was $350/month for the Corolla vs something like $1000/month total cost of operation including gas for the C230 Merc.
Uh... how?
That's ridiculously. If you stretched the payments out for 72 months, that leaves maybe $100 for gas, insurance, maintenance, repairs on the Corolla. That's not much. Possible if you just drive to church on Sundays, but unlikely. It certainly wouldn't cost $100/mo for all those incidentals on a Corolla and $650/mo on a C-Class. It might cost double, maybe.
so what would be a monthly budget to drive a cheapest Mercedes, of course I understand these costs could be variable but a rough estimate
$329/mo lease.
Insurance maybe $200, probably less
Gas.. CLA gets about 3 mpg less than a Corolla and uses premium. Figure 20% more.
Maintenance, CLA 2yr/40k is $429, $18/mo (leaves 3 months without, but probably nothing to do there anyway on a 27 month lease). Higher mileage, $629 for 3/30k or about $24/mo.
$329/mo lease.
Insurance maybe $200, probably less
Gas.. CLA gets about 3 mpg less than a Corolla and uses premium. Figure 20% more.
Maintenance, CLA 2yr/40k is $429, $18/mo (leaves 3 months without, but probably nothing to do there anyway on a 27 month lease). Higher mileage, $629 for 3/30k or about $24/mo.
so working with these numbers:
$330 lease cost + $30 tax? = $360
Insurance = $150
Gas (at 1200 miles/month, 25mpg, $4.25/gal (cost in CA)) = $204
Maintenance = $24
downpayment $4k amortized to 36 mos = $111
The little extra is well worth it (if one can afford it, of course) for someone that spends a lot of time in the car and/or loves to drive.
There is no comparison between handling of a MB vs a Toyota, none (for someone that loves driving).
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