Mercedes locks faster accleration behind $1,200 paywall.

[merc lover]

They can do this but they don't seem capable of supplying us vintage MB owners with necessary parts.......

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/mercedes-locks-faster-acceleration-behind-a-1-200-annual-paywall/ar-AA14sA01?OCID=ansmsnnews11

[engatwork]

More money in the pay to play deal, not so much supplying parts to old cars.

[merc lover]

I was visiting a car dealership recently; on the floor sat a very expensive german car priced at $98K. I repeated a Carol Shelby quote to the Sales Representative who was attempting to sell me the car:

"We've never believed the money was in selling CARS; we always believed the REAL money was in selling car PARTS". I then said, if a consumer were to purchase each individual part in this particular $98K german car, they would easily spend in excess of $400K! The sales rep looked at me like I was crazy then walked off.......

Take a look at how many bricks and mortar stores and web sites are devoted soley to selling CAR PARTS. A car parts store (whether bricks and mortar or internet based) has only about 1/5 the operating cost of a car dealership. I don't know what the profit margin is on car parts but I imagine it is high.

Kinda like Laser Printers; when Laser Printers first were introduced, those in the know banked on the fact that Laser Printers REQUIRE printer cartridges to operate........

[savas]

I read about this today as well. It's a bit disappointing but not shocking. Everyone and their mother is trying to figure out ways to get you to subscribe to something. It's kind of the evolution of the payment plan. Many people buy a car with 5 years of payments then when they get close to paying it off they buy another car and the process starts again.


My 300E is what got me off that train and luckily it was the first car I bought out of college (on payments of course). I drove it for exactly 20 years and in that time had saved up enough to pay cash for my next car and everyone after that. Once you break the cycle once, it's all downhill after that.

[P.C.]

For 2024, Mercedes-Benz will enable the brake pedal of their new S-Class sedans for just $125 a month, which seems like a screaming deal to me...

[INSIDIOUS]

Originally Posted by P.C.

For 2024, Mercedes-Benz will enable the brake pedal of their new S-Class sedans for just $125 a month, which seems like a screaming deal to me...

only if you don't pay

[Paulwho]

This has been done for years, think MBRACE, On Star they all require subscription.

[chasinthesun]

If it has a computer , you know theirs a tech getting into your pocket book helping pay his floors salary.

[P.C.]

Originally Posted by Paulwho

This has been done for years, think MBRACE, On Star they all require subscription.

All those subscriber services require investments in equipment and personnel to sustain their operations, making the concept of imposing fees for their services seem reasonable, but a monthly fee to unlock software already installed in a vehicle which one paid an already significant sum of money to buy? Ripoff…

[merc lover]

there IS a reason they are known as the "stealership".

[bruno_is_here]

Damn. Pay-to-play for a performance car feature is worse than what BMW is doing with their heated seat subscription.

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by P.C.

All those subscriber services require investments in equipment and personnel to sustain their operations, making the concept of imposing fees for their services seem reasonable, but a monthly fee to unlock software already installed in a vehicle which one paid an already significant sum of money to buy? Ripoff…

I'm not liking it at all. I'm not in the ranks of them buying new Benzes. But it seems like some sort of boycott would be appropriate.

[Idle]

I'm at the age where I have to get real about what I buy.

I was looking at a Porsche 914-6 or Bring A Trailer. The bid was up to $60,000. The performance of this car is zero to sixty in 8.7 seconds.

I am leaning more towards a 2009 Pontiac GXP with a zero to sixty time of 4.5. The GXP offers a better sound system, A/C, heated seats, Brembo brakes, HID lights, etc. And a price tag of $40,000.

Also: No subscription fees!

[INSIDIOUS]

Originally Posted by Idle

I'm at the age where I have to get real about what I buy.

I was looking at a Porsche 914-6 or Bring A Trailer. The bid was up to $60,000. The performance of this car is zero to sixty in 8.7 seconds.

LOL that is like 70's trans am

I am leaning more towards a 2009 Pontiac GXP with a zero to sixty time of 4.5. The GXP offers a better sound system, A/C, heated seats, Brembo brakes, HID lights, etc. And a price tag of $40,000.

Also: No subscription fees!