In short, yes, owning a Mercedes is expensive. Modern-day car purchase prices tend to rise to eye-watering levels due to the ever-expanding lists of costs associated with buying a new car. Taxes, insurance costs, warranty packages, and fuel costs all make today’s car market hefty on the wallet. Especially if you consider buying a Mercedes.
Buying a new Mercedes
Buying a car with a 3-pointed star on the hood can be extremely exciting. Whether you use your Mercedes for a cross-continental road trip, or just drive it around town to get your groceries, there are many great options to choose from.
The benefits of buying a brand-new Mercedes are plenty. You get to choose everything you want on your fresh new ride. You get to choose the color, the trim, all the packages you want, a more comfort-oriented approach, or a fancy new AMG model if you feel a bit energetic.
While in process of choosing a new Mercedes, you should also take into account different ways of acquiring a new Benz. You may choose to buy one outright, or opt for financing or leasing if you are on a budget and don’t feel the need to spend it all at once.
Buying a used Mercedes
If you think that spending large sums of your hard-earned cash on a depreciating asset is financially irresponsible, then you should consider buying a used Mercedes. Rest assured; a used Mercedes is not always trouble-free. But you can safely avoid the trouble by investing time and effort before you squander your hard-earned dollars.
You should always consider buying used. By doing so, you safely dodge that colossal depreciation hit by piloting a new car across the showroom floor. If maintained as intended by the dealer, your used Mercedes can serve you a long time and offer many more careless miles on the cross-continental trip or the grocery runs.
Costs associated with owning a Mercedes
Options from new
It is very well known that prominent German luxury car brands tend to charge hefty amounts for an adequately equipped car. So much so that sometimes they don’t even offer general equipment, which is standard on many budget-friendly brands nowadays.
It is highly advisable to keep track of your budget when specing your new Mercedes because it might end up way more than what your wallet can handle.
Maintenance costs
Dealer backed maintenance repairs on a prepaid basis are an option. They may save you some money on dealer provided services, but many independent repair shops might be able to sort you out for even less than that.
You should also keep in mind that a prepaid maintenance agreement does not cover any repairs outside the maintenance agreement.
The benefits of a regular maintenance history book can do wonders for you when you start thinking about selling the car. It is much more sustainable to spend a fixed amount of money for regular maintenance costs than it is to hope that the inevitable costs of the next breakdown will not push you into a financial disaster.
Insurance
Car insurance prices are dependent on many different factors. Whether your car is new or just 3 years old makes a huge difference in insurance costs. It is also important to note that your insurance costs will also depend on your personal circumstances. Things like your age will affect the cost of the premium you’ll pay.
Insurance costs vary quite substantially based on the model in question. Mercedes AMG products with thirsty V8’s and convertible tops are more expensive than small SUVs such as a GLA 250. A new S class will always cost more to insure than an A-class, and this applies throughout the range based on the class.
More performance-oriented AMG models usually cost a lot more to insure. Some specifics such as power, roadster tops, or hardtop variants differ in insurance costs significantly. More premium offerings by Mercedes offer a lot more equipment, which in turn makes it more expensive to insure since that very same equipment is prone to breaking,
Fuel prices
Fuel prices depend on many different factors, including engine power, weight, and the way the car is being propelled down the road. Many different gadgets inside the car such as the AC might increase the fuel bills.
The main factor is of course: the engine. One of the party pieces of a Mercedes AMG model is most certainly its powertrain. AMG engines are made in Affalterbach, with a one-man one engine philosophy. While AMG engines are amazing in every way as far as performance is considered, they are not necessarily as much when it comes to fuel.
Four-cylinder AMG models tend to use a lot less fuel than a thirsty V8s, but they still use more fuel than your Average CLA 250. One can argue that fuel costs are not something an AMG owner is thinking about. After all, when you drive an AMG, it’s about the smiles per miles, not the miles per gallon.
FAQs about Mercedes
Is owning a Mercedes more expensive than owning a BMW or an Audi?
As of late, Audi seems to be the brand suffering the highest bills for repairs. Costs of insurance depend on different factors, and they seem fairly similar for a comparable in class rival. As the miles on the odometer start to pile up, the same goes for the number of owners a car had, components tend to break.
But, in general, Audi is the worst, BMW comes second, and Mercedes takes the costs victory. But, judging by the reliability across specific segments, Audi seems to be cheaper to fix than a Mercedes or a BMW when it comes to more affordable models. That’s partially due to Audi using many parts from the Volkswagen A.G. parts bin.
On the other hand, more costly Mercedes models are cheaper to fix than a comparable Audi in class rival. While this serves as a fairly truthful indicator, many factors affect an overall car reliability score.
What should I do to keep my Mercedes ownership as cheap as possible?
You might consider servicing your Mercedes every 12 months for a major service, or 6 months for an interim service to follow the manufacturer’s recommended intervals.
Doing this will keep the strain of any unwanted repair costs that might be associated with not following the manufacturer’s recommendations. Plus, it will come in handy when it’s time to sell the car.
You should also consider your driving style. If you usually do longer trips on highways, a diesel engine will burn through a lot less fuel. On the other hand, smaller cylinder petrol-powered engines are more suitable for city driving as far as fuel costs are considered.
You should also investigate different insurance policies as different factors might lower your premium costs. For example, where you park your car can affect your premium prices. If you park it outside, having an alarm will make your coverage more affordable.
Are Mercedes ownership costs worth buying a Mercedes?
In short, yes. There aren’t many other brands that offer a more premium driving experience than a Mercedes. Even though they do cost a lot to maintain and keeping them in a satisfactory condition is stressful at times, a properly maintained Mercedes should last you a long time.
On the other hand, if you think that cars are just point A to point B workhorses then you probably aren’t even interested in buying a Mercedes, and in that case, it’s not worth it.
It all boils down to your personal preferences and your estimated expenses. Mercedes cars do come with a higher price tag for almost everything when compared to a more affordable brand. But not many other brands offer the stately experience a Benz does.
