Went and had a look at it with the wife this weekend. The car interior is quite nice, and good to see that Mercedes is starting to offer more standard kit, although the styling won't be to everyone's taste (really don't like the way the screen looks like a slapped on iPad), and the black gloss material they use inside looks like it's going to be a scratch magnet. The exterior isn't bad, although it really does need the AMG line additions to give it a bit of aggression.

However, was totally put off by the rude salesman who had the "Oh its a Mercedes. It should sell itself so I'll treat you like crap yet you'll still want to buy it because of the three pointed star". Even my wife said to me afterwards that there's no way she wants to go back to that dealership.

 

No luxury car is really worth the money when compared to mainstream car like an Accord or Camry. People that buy an S-Class don't think, "wait, I could buy 5 nice Accords instead".

Premium products, no matter what you are talking about, increase in price exponentially for various reasons. You can't make dollar to dollar comparisons. Just like the old argument about telling time. A Timex does it just as well as a Rolex. So why does a Rolex cost the same as a 1000 Timex's?

Why do Bugatti Veyron Supersports sell out when they cost as much as 50+ Accords? In real terms of materials and everything else, the 50 Accords is worth far more than one Veyron but due to the Accords mass volume production and automated assembly vs the Veyrons rare parts and specialized assembly and ultra expensive engineering going into low volumes, in the end it inflates cost. And there's always buyers out there ready to pay.

When it comes to hard value, it's hard to beat the mainstream mid-size sedan class. There's a reason it is the volume leader.

 

Yes, it's a lot luxury dealerships that will treat you that way. I was treated that way at a Lexus and BMW dealership which drove me to a Mercedes dealership. The salesman just threw me the keys and said take her for a spend. I knew that day I was going to buy a car from the dealership.

It's nothing like good customer service.

 

Treatment at ALL dealerships can vary. We recently shopped Audi, BMW and MB at multiple dealerships and didn't have what you'd call a bad experience at any of them. As it turned out the MB stores were about the best and the others were good too. We didn't buy a MB but not because of the dealership experience.

 

I don't know if I actually agree with 100% The volume leaders like the Camry or Accord sell well because they are affortable. Most of the population cannot afford an S class.

 

My point wasn't to say that these volume leaders are such for any particular reason. Whether it's because they're in the sweet spot of size and value or because they're within the buyer's budget. I just added a small point as to one of the reasons why these sell like hot cakes. Absolute, middle class value.

I was just talking about why luxury cars and exotics cost so much more than mainstream cars when a material comparison doesn't add up to the price difference. One new car cannot be 50 times better than another new car in terms of all measurable qualities. Yet one can cost 50 or even 75 times more than the other. And yet, the market accepts 6 or even 7 figure price tags on autos and they all sell. The cars are worth it to the buyer. Of course it's also relative to the fortune of the buyer. A billionaire buying a $1 million car is like me buying a cab ride in NYC.

 

C-class has all the features I wanted in a car but put off by $60k sticker shock after adding all the options I wanted. No way I'm paying this much.

 

awesome car got bigger, lost weight, c400 with v6 twin turbo. airmatic option.

 

You forgot more luxurious too. MBZ is sure setting some new standards in different classes. S and C appear to be at the top of their games. E could use some work.

 

The competition doesn't care about those standards, because they're achieved by simply jacking up the price, and only MB can command those prices.

 

A tlx starts at 30k, this starts at 40k. This is clearly a far superior product worth the price. MSRP means little with Germans offering their highest incentives ever to try to win sales crowns.

The fact of the matter is Mercedes won't have issues selling it. My only concern is it's now built in Alabama and initial quality likely will suffer until they sort things out.

 

You make some good points. And, not only that, but some very nice cars are on the market from 25-35K.....often rivaling those costing much more. Too many times, people empty their bank accounts buying an expensive logo when they could have a car probably almost as good for far less. Audi, Acura, Buick, Kia, Hyundai, Chrysler, and Chevrolet all make some excellent products in this class.

Of course, it is also true that it is hard to beat the quietness, refinement, and ride-comfort of a Lexus LS460 or Mercedes S550 at any price, short of a 300K Rolls or Bentley. The LS and S-class are indeed expensive, but, to a large extent, with those two cars, you get what you pay for.

 

Well the competition better equalize or elevate because with that mentality you'll always be playing second fiddle

 

I wonder about this too. The current-gen ML and GL rolled off the Alabama line without any plant-specific issues though so I'm optimistic. Long gone are the days of the W163 ML where the production quality between the plants was worlds apart.

 

If they could charge that much it's not difficult to do, even outdo MB. But they're not going to.