I always like browsing autotrader/craiglist for car deals. Let's see what everyone else can find out there.

I'll start:

2007 BMW M5 $57,900 (Originally $95,000+) = $37,100 savings

2007 BMW M6 $58,988 (Originally $100,00+) = $41,012 savings

2006 Mercedes CL65 $59,658 (Originally $179600) = $119,942 savings

2005 Maesarati Gran Sport $ $49950 (Originally $98,872) = $48,922 savings

2005 Mercedes E55 $36,500 (Originally $78,000+) = $41,500 savings

and of course...

2008 Honda S2000 CR $25,995 (Originally $36,300+) = $10,305 savings

 

Any good deals under 10k?

 

wow that benz would leave you roughly $50k upside down after 2 years. not sure if someone who would spend $180k on a car really cares but still. makes leasing actually look attractive.

 

That E55 is a BANGING deal! I wish I had a spare 36k.

 

Mercedes S and BMW 7 depreciate like bricks. Banging deals in the long run but the cost of ownership always puts people off.

 

That Maser is beautiful. Imagine driving a Ferrari-derived V8 for less than $50k.

 

working at a car dealership its insane what we can get cars at cost or at auction... I had a chance to get a 2002 mint M5, but I couldn't come up with the extra money if I sold my car on the side... My boss was going to sell it for me at $15.5. Car only had 35k miles on it, book price was at 24-26k...

 

This is a great idea for an ongoing thread, but these are all used cars. And so many factors will affect the value of a used car that meaningful comparisons on deals are difficult to make. And this information is not very useful to most car shoppers because when you are talking about used cars like this, it's an offer that only one person who happens to be in that particular location could take advantage of.

I think it would make more sense to have a thread about some of the incredible deals available on NEW cars today - deals that can be duplicated by more than one buyer.

For example, recently 2008 Subaru STi's have been available nationwide with discounts approaching $10,000 off MSRP and 0% financing for 63 mo through Subaru. Or 2008 Mustang GTs can be had for under $20,000 in some locales.

Andrew

 

Expected depreciation is calculated in the lease payment. Sure, lessors have gotten killed w/ the recent economy and flood of off-lease cars to dispose of, but they're raising their residuals in response.

Aside from sudden market turns, if you want a high depreciation new vehicle, you'll pay for it whether you buy or lease. Leasing companies aren't charities!

 

Don't you mean lowering residuals? Raising residuals lowers monthly lease payments.

Anytime the residual is higher than the market price at the end of the lease term, the consumer makes out at the expense of the leasing company.

Leasing can be a winning proposition if the leasing company gets its math wrong. I'm pretty sure MB's leasing arm could not have dreamed that used car pricing of its AMG models would have been so weak.

With actual 49% residuals back in 2006, I can imagine someone who took out a 3-year lease on a CL65 breathing a huge sigh of relief that they decided to lease instead of buy. Payments against that lease would have been about $92k compared to depreciation of $120k going by the asking price of the example above. That's almost $30k in savings. Furthermore, the buyer would have paid the full tax bill against the full $180k price, while the lessee only paid tax on the $92k portion.