C Class leasing price increases

[block59]

Hi guys

I have always loved the C Class but I have noticed the leasing prices have increased tremendously in the last year or so! I know that all cars have increased slightly but my last C class was leased £340 per month incl VAT a few years ago but I am noticing that the same C Class model is around £750 incl VAT now!
I know that other cars in the same league as the C Class such as the 3 Series or A4's have had price increases of around £125 per month but the price increase on the C Class is around £400 extra! Does anybody know what the reasoning behind this is?

 

[BigJase88]

Supply vs demand

Cheap lease deals are gone for the time being

 

[block59]

That's true! However, do you know why the Mercedes deals would increase by £400 per month while BMW 3 series and Audi A4 only increased by £125 per month? The list price to buy the C Class only increased by a similar amount to the 3 Series and A4 didn't it?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

That's true! However, do you know why the Mercedes deals would increase by £400 per month while BMW 3 series and Audi A4 only increased by £125 per month? The list price to buy the C Class only increased by a similar amount to the 3 Series and A4 didn't it?

Maybe the difference between supply and demand is much greater for the C-class and the 3-series or A4.

 

[Benz17]

Would the c class being a newer model be a contributing factor.

 

[liamt]

Yes, this is down to the new 206 model and the fact that there isn't many of them in stock due to chip shortages etc. Specs are very limited at the moment.

 

[GrahamT]

That's true! However, do you know why the Mercedes deals would increase by £400 per month while BMW 3 series and Audi A4 only increased by £125 per month? The list price to buy the C Class only increased by a similar amount to the 3 Series and A4 didn't it?

You should expect to pay more for real class.

 

[block59]

Ah yes that's understandable. In that case, I guess I might be better off buying the car and selling it off after 3 years instead of leasing it, as the overall depreciation costs will probably work out similar to what it has always costed me to lease them in the past.

 

[block59]

My old lease for the c class costed around £14k over 3 years so I wouldn't mind buying a new C class and selling it after 3 years if the depreciation is similar to £14k. I just wasn't too sure on resale values on new cars at the moment as everything seems quite unpredictable.

 

[Smiley]

It is more likely to do with the rise in interest rates. We've had years of close to zero rates so it has made all forms of car lease / PCP / finance super cheap - all of a sudden rates have doubled or tripled.

 

[DanMorgan]

Just leased a C Class for the business - Did you shop around at all? I found that some companies definitely offered lower monthlies!

I went with Better Value Leasing in the end - (Mercedes-Benz Lease Deals (Business & Personal))

 

[block59]

They're coming out around the same price as the leasing comparison sites that I have been looking at. It's around £710 per month incl VAT for a C200 with 3 months upfront. I don't understand how A4's and 3 series/5 series are coming out to £475 per month. The C-Class usually used to be in a similar price range to them before.

£700 over 3 years = £25.5k, I know that the lease cost is usually what the depreciation would have been, are they trying to say that the C-Class would depreciate nearly twice as much as an A4 or 3 series? At this point, I'm wondering if it would be better to just buy the car and sell it after 3 years, I doubt I would lose £25.5k in depreciation doing 8k mileage per year.

 

[markjay]

...I know that the lease cost is usually what the depreciation would have been...

Depreciation, plus interest (and remember that at current inflation is around 10%), plus admin costs, plus profit for the finance provider (it's a business, after all). That been said, the huge discrepancy in lease prices that you described between the C-Class and A4 / 3-Series is indeed odd. Have you compared spec and options?

 

[block59]

Yes the discrepancy in lease prices between the C-Class and other cars is very confusing, I'm considering just purchasing the car and selling it off after 3 years instead of leasing for 3 years.
I appreciate that used car prices won't be as high in 3 years as they are right now as things will have settled down by then, however do you guys have any estimates on approx resale values or approx depreciations after 3 years based on 20k mileage? The C200 that I'm looking at would cost around £45k new. I've usually leased so I'm not up to scratch with resale values. I've tried looking on Autotrader to see the prices of 3 year old cars but I guess those cars were purchased much cheaper in 2019, and the used car market is different at the moment.

 

[BigJase88]

They're coming out around the same price as the leasing comparison sites that I have been looking at. It's around £710 per month incl VAT for a C200 with 3 months upfront. I don't understand how A4's and 3 series/5 series are coming out to £475 per month. The C-Class usually used to be in a similar price range to them before.

£700 over 3 years = £25.5k, I know that the lease cost is usually what the depreciation would have been, are they trying to say that the C-Class would depreciate nearly twice as much as an A4 or 3 series? At this point, I'm wondering if it would be better to just buy the car and sell it after 3 years, I doubt I would lose £25.5k in depreciation doing 8k mileage per year.

That is a crazy figure for a C200. I wouldnt personally pay more than £400 a month. If someones paying £700 for a C200 they got rocks in their head

 

[block59]

Exactly, that's what I've been thinking. That's £26k over 3 years. I'd be much better off buying new for £45k then trying to sell it after 3 years wouldn't I? Surely I wouldn't lose £26k in depreciation after 3 years and 20k mileage. I doubt a £45k C-Class would be worth £19k in 3 years even after the used car market has settled down.

 

[BigJase88]

Exactly, that's what I've been thinking. That's £26k over 3 years. I'd be much better off buying new for £45k then trying to sell it after 3 years wouldn't I? Surely I wouldn't lose £26k in depreciation after 3 years and 20k mileage. I doubt a £45k C-Class would be worth £19k in 3 years even after the used car market has settled down.

I know you want a new one but cars lose so much in the 1st 3 years. Surely be better buying a 3 year old one with 20k miles.

Like it will still be new and drive like new

 

[Aletank]

50% depreciation every 3 years is a normal rough guide
£45k new
£20k on a trade in at 3 years old wouldn't surprise me
£25k for the dealer to retail it at

 

[Benz17]

Not a C Class, bought my W213 2017 plate in August 2019, 1 owner had 9.5k miles, coat 27k, don’t know what cost at knew would have been. Appreciate that was before covid and the used prices surge.

 

[richard]

I wonder if this is also caused by the new Mercedes sales model where no discounts are available because you are always buying from MB UK (the dealer just introduces you) (from 1st Jan).

Ie. I wonder if the lease companies are getting no discounts also.

May help all our residual values - Unlike recent Tesla 3 / Y buyers as Tesla did the opposite and slashed their prices by a huge amount.

Richard