Quote:
Originally Posted by Germanauto
My father was telling me exactly this. A couple weeks ago my brother, who is just a year out of college, leased a C300 for like $300/mo. He said that at one time Mercedes Benz was the most esteemed car on the road, and when you saw one you knew there was an accomplished Physician, Lawyer, business executive, etc. behind the wheel. Nowadays kids can lease them for less than a Honda. We are certainly happy for my brother, but it really made us reflect on how far Mercedes Benz has fallen. It certainly hasn't affected their image amongst consumers; if anything they are more popular than ever. However for those of who know, we know.
Mercs are still nice cars, certainly a cut above most brands. But the quality is clearly not what it used to be. As you said, there's cheap feeling materials in the cabin, squeaks and creaks on brand new cars (my brother's included), garbage MB-tex.
I could rant about BMW's fall from grace all day, but I've done so enough on this forum.
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I am far younger so I can't recall those days, but were the market realities any different? I'd imagine they had to be to covet that perception?
Today, lease rates allow people to rent more car than they could afford. So they can punch above their weight for the brand allure and many do. But car leasing isn't new and has been around since the 70s and probably longer in the US...
How was used car prices for luxury makes back then? Is used car prices were fractions of their new car MSRP (which I imagine they were) you'd still have people in older BMW or MB cars that were unable to afford them at full price new.
Where I am going is there has always been a disconnect from reality on that front. If you're very affluent you still tend to get moved around in a Mercedes as the car your driver has, but that doesn't mean your car isn't being picked up for fractions less used.
BMW and MB low cost offerings are the same they've always been. Designed to get you into the brand so you can climb up later. Meaning you start with that CLA once you graduate college and get your decent job and hopefully a few years later you're in a C class and eventually moving up to an E class. They have no real choice but to do this as mainstream cars include more luxury features buyers wonder why they should go for a MB or a BMW when they can get similar safety features and luxury in their Toyota while retaining reliability and lower TCO.
