what are my odds here?

[Anonymous]

hi guys

my scores are EX: 710 TU: 747 EQ: 734. My utilization is under 10%. The only negative i have is one 30 day late. 

My annual income is 237k. I'm self employed, but i am able to verify income via bank statements and tax returns. 

I've never had a car loan, or any major loan(that reports to credit bureau) for that matter. my credit file just has a 4 credit cards with good payment history. i have borrowed and repaid hundreds of thousands for my business, but none of that shows up on my personal credit reports. lol... 

I would like to lease a mercedes benz s560 in the near future. this is a 130-150k car. 

What are my chances of being able to get a lease on this? Is it just out of the question? Can this be solved with a higher downpayment? I would really love some detailed insight on this. 

I've pretty much always purchased things with cash, bacause i don't like "personal" debt. However i really like this car and it would make no sense to buy it cash. 

I've also considered maybe financing a much cheaper (30-50k) car just to "get in the game". That's not something i really want to do though. 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Mercedes can finance people with acores in the 500s. You'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

really...am i overthinking? 

I've been told that it looks very bad that i've never had a car loan + the fact that i'm looking to get a 100k+ car lol

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Most banks will finance a sole applicant for about 50% of their yearly income depending on their credit. Normally, a first time car buyer could have issues, but you have an established credit history, and I'm sure you have financial documents from your business. Also, there is nothing a larger down payment can't overcome.

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

Also, not too long ago, someone on here posted about getting a GL AMG leased with a sub-600 score. Personaly, I think their money would have been better spent on fixing their credit, but whatever.

[Anonymous]

With a lease you’re borrowing against the depreciation (guessing is +/- 50k in 3 years) of the car not the entire amount (130k-150k) of the car. Hence, you would have to determine what a similar model vehicle of approximately 36 months (3 year old car) present cost/price is. I suspect you’d be in the +$1000-$2000 per month range on a 36 month lease. My numbers are merely based on my own car leases (MB’s, BMW’s, Porsche’s, etc) throughout the years and are merely approximations. 

Your lack of prior car loans/leases may be a small hiccup but should not preclude you from obtaining the vehicle you seek as long as MB or financial institution can do the IV and you meet their criteria. A sizable down payment (OTD costs) may be a prerequisite for such a lease with limited auto history. 

[Anonymous]

thanks for the insight...what's a sizeable down payment?

[Anonymous]

With your income and actual score I doubt you will have a problem . Also never give any down payment on a lease , just my 2 cents . Head over to leasehackr you’ll find everything you need to know about leasing .

[Anonymous]

I suspect somewhere in the neighborhood of 5k-7k +/- which would include taxes (paid in full, title, license, etc). I concur with the other poster that you should get into a lease with as little money down as possible, but the reality is that you “pay to play”. Opinions will undoubtedly differ on that matter which may be subject to a different discussion. 

PS. Should you proceed with the lease I’d appreciate you posting some details as to how it went. No specifics, but merely ranges will suffice. They may prove helpful to future member inquiries on similar situations. 

[iced]

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@Anonymous wrote:

hi guys

I've pretty much always purchased things with cash, bacause i don't like "personal" debt. However i really like this car and it would make no sense to buy it cash. 

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I'd like to hear your rationalization for this statement, especially since it contradicts with your previous (and wise) statement.

If the APR they offer is less than what you can earn leaving the cash invested, finance it. Otherwise, pay cash for it. 

Leasing is just paying the automaker offsetting depreciation while you borrow their asset for a while. Unless you plan on dumping the car at lease end, you'll almost always come out the loser when leasing.