Buying an ex-lease MB

[sandra-b]

Hi there I'm looking at a rather nice looking used SL350 that's just over a year old and has ~9k on the clock.

The previous keeper was one of the salespeople at the MB Retail Group dealership where the car is for sale. Apparently they all get a good offer on 1 year leases for cars and then sell them off at the end of the first year.

Does anyone have experience buying used where the previous owner was the dealership themselves? I can't figure out if this car has been thrashed to bits by a flashy salesman, or lovingly cared for knowing that the reputation of the dealership is on the line when it comes to selling the car on after its first year

 

[davm666]

Not purchased one but an old neighbour worked for McLaren and they got the same great 1 year lease deals.

There were pretty punitive charges on hand back if it didn't meet the criteria so he always looked after his.

 

[davm666]

On another note I've purchased 2 hire cars previously (admitidly not MB) and they never missed a beat in the 2 and 4 years I had them.

 

[AMGeed]

I bought a lease E280 as my first Mercedes. Checking the service history it had always been serviced on time at a MB dealer and never missed a beat in the 5 years I owned it.

 

[Dryce]

I wouldn't worry about it.

A lot of AUC cars at a year old are ex-hire cars and generally they don't seem to do too badly. You have to put a lot of work into thrashing these larger automatic MBs.

I would take a look at the car to look for any covered scuffs and dings on the body and alloys - that would possbly show it had been treated casually. And I'd look at the rear tyres and compare them with the fronts - if it looks like they're worn but original then that would give a fair indication of the treatment on the road - if they're new then that would imply they've been replaced.

 

[Peter DLM]

Most of the nearly new cars are ex-management cars so I wouldn't worry about it. My two SL350s and 3 Smarts were also on these staff schemes. Most get changed as soon as they reach 7,000 miles, some are on 12 month leases.

 

[sandra-b]

Thanks everyone! Some great information here and I hope future mbclub members will find this thread useful also.

(Separately I think I should be more positive about people instead of assuming the worst: namely that MB sales staff + a cushy 1 year lease SL350 implies they won't look after the car very well