Mercedes shuts down its vehicle subscription service two years after launch

[Polycount]

In brief: Subscription services are certainly popular, but they aren't necessarily a recipe for success in every industry. This is something Mercedes has learned the hard way: the company's luxury vehicle subscription service, known as the "Mercedes-Benz Collection," is reportedly heading for the chopping block this summer.

The service, which was revealed in April of 2018, offered customers the ability to drive and swap between a variety of high-end Mercedes vehicles for about $1,100 per month (not including the $495 activation fee, due on delivery of your first vehicle).

Higher tier plans granted you access to better vehicles, but even the cheapest plan included insurance, maintenance, and emergency assistance as core features. Throughout its two-year lifespan, Collection was only ever available in two cities: Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Unfortunately for Mercedes, whether it was Collection's high price tag or limited nationwide availability, the service simply didn't take off like the company may have hoped. As a result, Mercedes is shutting it down indefinitely after two years of "just OK" performance, according to Automotive News.

Despite Collection's lack of success, Mercedes doesn't view it as a total failure. Instead, the company considers Collection a learning experience that might help it appeal to different types of customers in the future. For example, roughly "80 percent" of Collection subscribers were 10 years younger than the average Mercedes customer.

This suggests that Collection's flexible approach to mobility could work in the future, if it was marketed and tailored toward a younger audience. Only time will tell whether or not Mercedes will give the concept another shot, of course.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/85808-mercedes-shuts-down-vehicle-subscription-service-two-years.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I was leasing an S550 for $1500 a month.

The price on those leases is normally between $1200 and $1700 depending on down payment.

$1500 a month isn’t bad at all if you are normally leasing their $80,000+ cars.

But I see most leases only wanting the S class, S Coupe, GLS, GLE or other upper level cars.

That gets really expensive really fast.

Cadillac also tried this with “BOOK”. They wanted $1500 a month but the reality is, none of their cars except the Escalade and CTSV are worth it.

A more realistic deal would be to let you borrow a sports car in summer and return it for an SUV in winter.

I’d love to do that with FCA:

Jeep Trackhawk for winter, Hellcat for summer.

 

[Uncle Al]

I looked into it and while it was very tempting I just could not justify the expense against the company. There are several other programs with different car companies that have been pretty successful. Frankly I thought the Mercedes program, at that price, would have been more successful. Of course there "just OK" might be remarkable for others, but who knows ......

 

[Dimitrios]

I was leasing an S550 for $1500 a month.

The price on those leases is normally between $1200 and $1700 depending on down payment.

$1500 a month isn’t bad at all if you are normally leasing their $80,000+ cars.

But I see most leases only wanting the S class, S Coupe, GLS, GLE or other upper level cars.

That gets really expensive really fast.

Cadillac also tried this with “BOOK”. They wanted $1500 a month but the reality is, none of their cars except the Escalade and CTSV are worth it.

A more realistic deal would be to let you borrow a sports car in summer and return it for an SUV in winter.

I’d love to do that with FCA:

Jeep Trackhawk for winter, Hellcat for summer.

I totally agree. Well said.

 

[scavengerspc]

Cadillac also tried this with “BOOK”. They wanted $1500 a month but the reality is, none of their cars except the Escalade and CTSV are worth it.

I have a 2019 CTS-V and I think that was the program I originally was asking about when I went to the dealer. But man I have to say that so much they told me just made no sense or was contradicted by others I would talk to at the dealer. I don't think it was a scam but nobody seemed up on all the terms so I just bought mine the old fashion way. I had bought a work pickup earlier that year and was in no mood to piss around to be honest.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I have a 2019 CTS-V and I think that was the program I originally was asking about when I went to the dealer. But man I have to say that so much they told me just made no sense or was contradicted by others I would talk to at the dealer. I don't think it was a scam but nobody seemed up on all the terms so I just bought mine the old fashion way. I had bought a work pickup earlier that year and was in no mood to piss around to be honest.

I haven't heard much about Book in a long time. They may have given up on the idea. People spending this kind of money aren't trying to borrow "used cars".

Coronavirus has also hurt the car financing market so bad that GM is basically giving away cars near 0% interest.

Why do a $1500 a month lease when I can get two cars for that price?

The sweetener is that Cadillac gives you their own insurance to cover the leases tho. Mercedes would be very expensive too do the same - especially considering the repair costs.