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Originally Posted by neodoc  As many of you know, I have ordered a CL 63, which should be in production in August...or so I'm told. I'm looking at a possible late September, early October delivery date, so I'm now thinking about $$$$. I already lease my GL 450 PE, which helps me out every year with good ol' Uncle Sam, but I never keep a car more than 3 or 4 years, so I was contemplating leasing the CL also. Since I can't deduct both leases come tax time, I'd deduct the higher of the two, or simply use a HELOC to buy the CL and trade it (not sell it) in about 3 years. Excluding all the particulars that make everyone's financial situation unique, how much sense does each of these approaches make? I would still be looking at about $2500 a month either way, so monthly payments aren't the deciding factor. Any thoughts?
Joe |
Generally speaking, I would say that the residual MB will give you on the CL will be greater than the trade-in/selling value of the CL in three years. So if you buy the CL, you will pay for more of its depreciation.
The only factor counter-acting this will be the spread between your HELOC interest rate and the lease interest rate (money factor). If the HELOC rate is significantly lower, the difference in interest you'll save may be lower than the difference in depreciation.