The lady of the house likes the 2004 E320 4 matic well enough but thought it felt heavy, and found the seats too hard, seating position awkward without a pillow, and the pedal difficult to push. I'll sell the car and pocket the cash.

Best deal on a cheap lease with a car I could stand was the ILX. Opted for the technology package as it makes it feel like a real luxury car. MSRP was almost $33,000 with he add ons. Dealer selling price $29686. Edmunds says their invoice is $30438, current lease incentives $1250 dealer cash. So like most new cars not much money being made. I couldn't stay in business with those margins and their overhead has got to be 100 times over mine. $2500 down including first payment and a $300 payment for 35 months, with 12,000 miles a year cap. Residual $18000 if I want to buy it when I'm done. Includes all maintenance, car washes, airport shuttle service, free bottled water or soda any time I want to stop by, and a breakfast/lunch depending on the time of day and a loaner car while its in service.

Never had any kind of car credit before. Apparently even with my 715 credit score, which is low because of my lack of open credit, it took some doing to get me the tier 1 rate they had quoted. The only reason they said yes was because my debt to income would still be very low, and I'm well established.

The ILX is a very attractive car inside and out. With the tech package the interior feels very high quality. It was strange as I sat the in more expensive, but longer in the tooth model line TSX and the interior was much cheaper looking. The ILX is built in Indiana on the Honda Civic platform, but with a sportier suspension, longer nose and more peppy engines.

Loan interest is something like .00410%. with the lease. Fees reasonable. Insurance on the ILX is only marginally higher. The Acura wins on a spreadsheet.

2004 Mercedes E320 4 matic with 60k:
Current mileage: 60k
Gas mileage: 16/22
Fuel Cost/yr: $1900
Depreciation/yr:$2000
Maintenance/yr: $1200

So after 3 years and 36k, I'll have spent $10,200 cost to drive and $6000 in depreciation. The car is worth $15000 now and I estimate about $9000 in 3 years. I feel like that's being pretty conservative with my maintenance and depreciation figures since it will be a 12 year old car with almost 100k by this time. Once transfer case or SBC pump and we can double that figure.

Total: $15300.... $9000 remaining value of the car.

2013 Acura ILX
If I sell the Mercedes for $15,000 now, use the $2500 to put down on the Acura, I have a $300 payment, $0 in maintenance. Depreciation, taxes, and fees figured in the payment. 24/35 MPG. $1200 a year in fuel. Most people are reporting better fuel economy than EPA estimates, unlike Subaru and Hyundai.

Total: $14,400....$12500 more in the bank for 3 years collecting interest.

It will cost more to tag the ILX, but I don't think it will be more than $150 a year difference.

Plus the lady is very happy and I look like a sugar daddy super hero. I get all the perks and the luxury high-line service, and a no stress. I also get to shave a few hundred a year off my own fuel costs if I use this car when I go to Kansas City or Houston once a month for the car auction.

A C class or a 3 series lease would cost a lot more to run than the 04 E320.

How do you guys like that fuzzy math?

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but for $14400, you won't own the car outright unless you buy it for another 18 grand.

You're talking about loan interest and a lease in the same breath. Which is it?

If you're going to lease a car, Acura would have to be at the top of the heap in resale, residual, or whatever they call it.

There's a car guy on the radio on Saturday mornings 5.70 AM KLIF, and does a TV car review once a week here in DFW name of Ed Wallace. He's an expert in the car field and has been leasing Acuras for a couple decades or so. So, Acuras must be a good bet financially versus anything else he could lease. Although he strikes me as a guy that probably throws a lot of money away, he's not going to throw any more away than he needs to when it comes to leasing out of his own pocket.

The rate at which the money is borrowed for the lease is basically 0%, but they make some money on the fees. Its all factored in the payment.

If I sell the E320 now I can get $15,000; in 3 years its worth $9000 at most.

After the $2500 down, the lease payment which factors everything is only slightly more than maintenance and depreciation on the E320 with a best case scenario. Put fuel savings in there and the ILX is cheaper. Plus I'm sitting on $12500 more cash for 3 years.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Of course, this cuts both ways -- it's difficult to make the cash earn any interest, no-thanks to Bearded Bennie's policies that made the cheap lease possible in the first place.

When I was working at a GM/BMW dealer in 06-07 were offering 0% financing for 60 months when the fed was charging 5%.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

I've been debating whether to put it away or to put it into one or two more cars for the dealership. You're right, my mutual fund performance has been pretty sad.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Well, there's no interest because inflation is flat. No inflation==no interest. Bernanke does not make the economy what it is. He's doing the best he can with what was dealt to him. As far as I'm concerned, he's doing a great job. Anybody with brains for timing/expansion, is borrowing, borrowing big, and for very long maturities while money is basically free.

Its always nice to not have an obligation to pay monthly especially when self employed.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Assuming you're drinking the Kool-Aid that inflation is flat. Look at food/gas/stock prices since 2008 -- basically, a healthy AND NECESSARY correction was almost completely undone. And now they're attempting to re-inflate housing. All well and good for me. I already own a place, am closing on another rental property shortly well below market. But what about your average late-20 or 30-something that already has trouble qualifying for a mortgage? Again, a necessary correction that's being undone for the benefit of idiots who made bad investments or over-leveraged.

And with labor force participation at all-time lows (63.3%, has actually dropped since 2009), I don't see the average American as having been helped. Inflation from his programs will hit eventually. Then we can start calling him Birkenau Ben, since remember what happened the last time hyperinflation hit an technological, highly militarized society? It wasn't pretty.

I think you've biased the results in favor of the Acura because that is the vehicle you want to purchase.

Firstly, the fuel comparisons are a bit biased. Equivalent comparison (9500 miles at $4.00) puts the M/B spot on your estimate of $1900. but the Acura comes in at $1288. (using the average of city and highway fuel economy that you posted).

Secondly, the comparison should simply be the cost of ownership over three years. The Acura comes in at $17,164 when the down payment is figured together with the accurate fuel economy number posted above.

Thirdly, you state that the lease payment for the Acura is $300. Where's the sales tax? In NY, that $300 would turn into $325 in a NY minute.

Finally, the insurance costs for the Acura are definitely going to be more than the M/B. They're not figured in.

If you want the Acura, go and buy it, but it will cost slightly more than the M/B. The fuel economy benefit is significant, however, and it has really affected the results. If you drive more than 9500 miles, the Acura really shows a benefit............driving less will allow the M/B to excel.

The comparison does show how the costs for a lease can get quite close to the costs of keeping a 4-10 year old vehicle when maintenance and fuel economy are figured. I'm a bit surprised that the M/B can only get 19 mpg on average.

If you're planning on buying out the lease, you're going to pay for the car either way. You're just buying time and a period of lower payments (enabling you to have 2 cars in this case) at the cost of the lease contract. If you don't care about equity you can just go into another lease which is nice too.

BTW you can lease an EVO GSR for $259/mo right now, I was very tempted....

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Unless the buyout is dramatically lower than the real-world retail price of the vehicle, I would just lease again. Hondas/Acuras are good lease candidates because of strong resale value projections.

If the warden likes the ILX then go for it. Nobody regrets buying a Honda. That said, I don't see how the ILX is remotely comparable to a w211. The ILX is a tarted up and rebadged Honda Civic. I find rather difficult to fathom spending $30K for a car built on that platform.

I'm with Jim. Honda's have proven to be solid and reliable cars, but the Acura's have appeared to me in the same light as Jim sees them.

My Dad retired in '83 and bought, refurbished and sold an untold number of Honda's after his retirement, so I've been exposed to them for a long time. When the Acura came out I was surprised and at the same time impressed with their marketing and interchangibility savvy.

Honda's and Acura's are nice, but they're not MB's.

My $0.02,

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

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