Downsize Car Mercedes Personal Lease

bobster316

I have an Mercedes ML350 (59 plate) which i took out new with Mercedes personal lease finance. 6 months after i bought it, i lost my job. I've been struggling to make the monthly payments of approx £550 + fuel, tax etc..
I am struggling with all my finances and any savings i can make will help. Does anyone know what the chances are of returning the car and taking a less expensive mercedes (i.e. c-class) with lower monthly payment and running costs.
Mercedes Finance said I needed to speak with the sales people at Mercedes. Anyone know if anything like this is possible?

DUTR

Perhaps you may, but there maybe a large penalty, I'm just so glad I purchase a car outright. You won't know until you contact the finance company tomorrow.

johnnyreggae

Please don't take this the wrong way but if you are unemployed and struggling to make car payments might you not be better off with either no car or no payments (ie a very cheap car) until you are on your feet again - down-sizing to any new Mercedes on finance is not going to yield a significant saving

motorguy

bobster316 wrote: »

I have an Mercedes ML350 (59 plate) which i took out new with Mercedes personal lease finance. 6 months after i bought it, i lost my job. I've been struggling to make the monthly payments of approx £550 + fuel, tax etc..
I am struggling with all my finances and any savings i can make will help. Does anyone know what the chances are of returning the car and taking a less expensive mercedes (i.e. c-class) with lower monthly payment and running costs.
Mercedes Finance said I needed to speak with the sales people at Mercedes. Anyone know if anything like this is possible?

Is it a true personal lease or a PCP deal with a balloon payment?

oldhand

To be honest I doubt any dealer will let you hand a 350 back (serious money,between £44k up to £52k) after only 6 months into a contract even if you were wanting something smaller.Your 350 will have already taken a serious hit on depreciation which your 6 months payments will I doubt have covered but you have nothing to lose by asking,good luck.

bobster316

Its a pcp deal with a balloon payment, i've had the car since sept 2009, the 3 year deal expires in sept 2012. There's probably not going to be any residual left.

Might just go into the showroom where i bought it from and ask them what they can do if anything.

motorguy

bobster316 wrote: »

Its a pcp deal with a balloon payment, i've had the car since sept 2009, the 3 year deal expires in sept 2012. There's probably not going to be any residual left.

Might just go into the showroom where i bought it from and ask them what they can do if anything.

Check your paperwork, you *may* be able to hand the car back after you've paid a certain percentage of the loan off.

If its of any consolation, i got my dealer to buy back my X5 when it was six months old.

Get the settlement figure from the finance company too.

If you can pm me the details of the car - make, model, miles, colour, i can look up the latest glass's guide figures for you - you can then compare that to your settlement figure and work out your chances of getting out!

The other thing you can do is phone as many mercedes dealers in the area / county / country and ask to speak to the person responsible for buying stock. Give them the details and see what they say.

Likewise, look up places that specialise in prestige 4x4's and ask them the same.

On the plus side, 4x4s reach their peak pricing in January time, so you may well strike lucky.

My final bit of advice would be to get rid of it via the methods above, and dont take out any finance until your personal circumstances are settled.

peter_the_piper

Watch out, if you are able to hand it back, Mercedes have been known to charge extra for ""fictional""damage to the car. Usually they seem to have sent it to auction and you have no chance to check the "faults".