Mercedes-Benz has built a reputation for creating premium vehicles over the course of the company’s history. For the price-conscious consumer, though, they’ll want to know whether or not they’re going to feel the benefit of paying out these higher initial costs. Will this work out better for you over the course of ownership?
Fuel Efficiency
Seeking a vehicle with a respectable fuel economy should be one of your major priorities for any car purchase. WhatCar recently ran a study on the most economical executive cars. While the Mercedes C300 Hybrid fell more than 20 mpg short of its official fuel economy (78.5 mpg), it still ranked second with 57.8mpg just behind the top-ranking Lexus IS 300h’s 59.6mpg.
However, this wasn’t the only vehicle from the Stuttgart-based company to make the list, with the Mercedes-Benz C200 Bluetec AMG (55.0 mpg) and Mercedes-Benz E300 Hybrid (54.6mpg) also making an appearance. It’s worth noting, though, that the BMW 5-Series (54.5 mpg) can almost equal the E300 Hybrid with the diesel-only engine. It also costs nearly £10,000 less upfront, though the lower CO2 emissions of the Mercedes-Benz may make it cheaper to run for company car drivers. Although if fuel costs are no issue you can always go for a Mercedes AMG GT?
Resale Value
While the cost of fuel is likely to be one of your largest day-to-day expenses, it’s the cost of depreciation that hit your wallet the most in the long term. Put simply, depreciation is the difference between a car’s value when you buy it and when you come to sell it. This drop in value varies between makes and models, but you can typically expect it to fall between 15-35% in the first year and between 50-60% after three years of typical use.
Luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz are still seen as desirable, though, and on used markets like Ridgeway.co.uk, they typically feature on the lower end of the depreciation scale. In a 2014 study by Glass, Mercedes-Benz was ranked 12th overall, with an annual average depreciation of 20.60%. This was ahead of competing brands like BMW (21.50%), Lexus (22.10%), and Jaguar (23.20%), but behind first place MINI (16.40%) as well as rival company Audi (19.50%).
Mercedes-Benz fares favorably to the competitors in their class range, but at the moment they aren’t the market leader. Compared to others, they often lack behind in certain key areas. When you consider the fact that they’re known for charging a premium over even other luxury manufacturers like BMW, your money may be better spent elsewhere.
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