Want more power? How about up to 80 more horses, shaving up to one second off your zero-to-60 time? For Mercedes-Benz EQE and EQS customers, they can simply download the performance upgrade–for a fee, of course.
Customers have the option to pay for it monthly, annually or for a one-time fee.
The good news is that the upgrade doesn’t require a …
Monthly, no. Nothing would irritate me more than paying $90 each month to maintain the same level of performance I've come to expect from my car.
But weirdly enough, I would pay the "one time fee" of $2950 once, and then sell the car in less than two years when I got distracted by a different one and would never ever think twice about $790 I lost.
In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :
I hear you on the monthly or even yearly subscription. I don't think I'd like that reminder, as you pointed out.
And I'm not a very experienced wrencher, but am I crazy for thinking that $2000 isn't too bad for a nearly automatic 60 horsepower to get added to my car?
I'd be more interested in a short term rental. Like for a week or 48h, because I have an autox :)
Colin Wood said:In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :
I hear you on the monthly or even yearly subscription. I don't think I'd like that reminder, as you pointed out.
And I'm not a very experienced wrencher, but am I crazy for thinking that $2000 isn't too bad for a nearly automatic 60 horsepower to get added to my car?
That's exactly what I was thinking.
Short of a $5k turbo kit, I couldn't hope to ever add 60hp to my RX-8 for that much money.
But then again, I think Mazda kinda threw everything they had at the Renesis when they developed it. Mercedes leaving fat on the table and then charging for it... That's kinda lame.
In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :
I suspect the extra cost covers the increased warranty costs from the increased chance of a failure. You get more power by shaving the margins. The GM 525 hp crate motor is like that, I think.
Kinda like the Polestar reflash you can get, more power and a warranty for a one-time cost. Or the Tesla power boost.
Monthly? No Way. A $90 a month subscription on my current daily driver Speed3 would have cost me over $15,000 at this point.
It looks like they also offer this upgraded tune(?) for under $3k which seems reasonable enough for something OEM from Mercedes. As long as the "life of vehicle" purchase is transferable to the next owner, I don't have any issue with this.
CrashDummy said:Monthly? No Way. A $90 a month subscription on my current daily driver Speed3 would have cost me over $15,000 at this point.
It looks like they also offer this upgraded tune(?) for under $3k which seems reasonable enough for something OEM from Mercedes. As long as the "life of vehicle" purchase is transferable to the next owner, I don't have any issue with this.
Agreed, I usually keep cars for long enough that I'd much rather pay once up front than every month. And yes, it needs to be transferrable.
How about $90 extra per month for a Mercedes that doesn't look like a 2015 Civic?
I might go for a fixed fee calculated based on how often I demanded/used in excess of the basic output of the base engine. That way I would have the extra on call but would mentally 'blame' myself for using it and wouldn't resent paying as it had been my decision.
If I never used it, it wouldn't cost me anything, but I would get charged depending on how much I did use it, right up to the maximum charge per month. Kind if like having a NOx bottle on board - it is a capability that only costs you if you actually use it.
Otherwise having paid the whole fee up front would make one want to get the most for their money and they might drive like speed mad moron.
PS - when did we get so politically correct that when you type 'moron' and that is what you mean, the software asks you to change it to "person with cognitive or intellectual disabilities"
Companies used to roll out new or better features to compete with one another for our business. Now they hold back new features and use them to dream up inventive new ways of extracting more money. Stories like this do nothing to buy my brand loyalty.
In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :
Look at it this way: It used to be you had one chance to buy the higher performance model. Once it left the showroom floor, that was gone. Now you can upgrade later.
The subscription thing is a little dumb, but if you're leasing a car it may end up being less expensive.
Maybe $90 a year would be a doable "subscription"
My car should not have DLC, and I still say that despite owning a car that has DLC.
No, I am not interested in this feature nor in supporting this business model. The existence of such a thing really makes me want to move to Mars, if I'm honest.
Keith Tanner said:In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :
Look at it this way: It used to be you had one chance to buy the higher performance model. Once it left the showroom floor, that was gone. Now you can upgrade later.
The subscription thing is a little dumb, but if you're leasing a car it may end up being less expensive.
It costs them pennies to make the software change but they are using their exclusive access to the computer of the vehicle you paid good money to own to make more money off you well into the future. If you made a conscious choice to return your property to a shop for a hot cam and headers you own every part of that transaction, but with software you will pay them every month long after they did the thing. (software upgrade.) They are charging you because they can, which seems like plain greed to me.
Since all these new-fangled cars transmit all of your data all the time, how about if I get charged for the extra power only when I use it?
In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :
See my previous comment about increased warranty costs. GM charges more for the 525 hp LS crate than the 480 not because of the cost of the camshaft (the only physical difference) but because there's a higher likelihood you'll end up using the two year warranty. It makes sense that Mercedes (and Polestar, and Tesla, and anyone else who offers factory-backed reflashes) would want to cover the probable increase in warranty costs.
Also, there is a one-time payment option if you want.
I'm not saying I'm a fan of subscription-based stuff in cars, but I do understand that there are more costs involved than the cost of the electrons to make a software change.
I do contracts for software as a service and this is a typical of those models. You get a perpetual license and after several years lo and behold the manufacturer says they are sunsetting and discontinuing support . Lucky for you they will get you an updated software on a subscription basis. The whole software as a service model tends to be predatory.
I'd most certainly want to see the fine print on that contract and would never buy it monthy becuase I know full well that it won't be supported past the 7 year mark.
I'd be very suspicious about it being supported for the life of the car again I want to see the contract.
As someone from the business and finance side of an organization I have no issue with companies making a profit but these models on automobiles strike me as completely predatory.
volvoclearinghouse said:How about $90 extra per month for a Mercedes that doesn't look like a 2015 Civic?
It took me a minute to realize this wasn't two Civics, you're not wrong
No. The whole idea of car functionality as a subscription is a horrible idea. Don't let it get started. I feel the need to quote G. K. Chesterton here: "It is often essential to resist a tyranny before it exists. It is no answer to say, with a distant optimism, that the scheme is only in the air. A blow from a hatchet can only be parried while it is in the air."
Subscriptions are for magazines, and newspapers.
Automotive options, accessories, features - they come with the car, or they don't. I own the car, I decide what to add, take away, or modify. You want to tell me what I can change on MY car? You make the f*cking payments, then.
In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :
DLC isn't that bad. Micro transactions though....
Why not just pay a hacker?
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:Why not just pay a hacker?
Because they don't offer a driveline warranty if something breaks....?
You'll need to log in to post.
