Mercedes-Benz Makes S-Class Buyers Happy With Up To $2,500 In Perks

Mercedes-Benz
2014 Mercedes-Benz S550 Interior

Once upon a time you got a free toaster for opening an account at your local bank, but Mercedes-Benz has upped the ante with up to $2,500 in perks for buyers of its S-class vehicles.

It’s all part of Mercedes-Benz US’s efforts to make sure that buyers of its S-class are happy not just with their new cars, but with the service they’re getting from dealerships. They’ve giving dealers up to $2,500 with no questions asked to make things right with buyers.

This isn’t a matter of things going wrong en masse or of problems happening that aren’t covered under warranty, but of making buyers feel like they are being treated right. The MB Select program launched with the redesigned 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class in an effort to improve the company’s reputation.

2014 mercedes benz s550 interior dash
2014 Mercedes-Benz S550 Interior

What exactly can dealers do with the $2,500 they’re being allotted? Well, pretty much anything they want if it will make their customers happy. It could mean fixing a minor problem without waiting for approval so that the customer doesn’t have to wait. Or it could mean buying someone dinner to make up for a less than stellar experience with their vehicle.

The program has been enough of a success that they’ve extended it to include the CLA that was launched back in October. That program offers up to $1,000 to make everything right.

This increased level of customer service won’t come cheap for Mercedes-Benz. The exact amount they’ve spent so far hasn’t been disclosed, but if you figure that they sold 11,794 S-class sedans in the US in 2012, then there’s the potential for it to cost in the millions.

It could be worth the cost if Mercedes-Benz can improve buyers’ perceptions about their vehicles. In the 2013 J.D. Powers and Associates Customer Service index for luxury brands they came in 9th out of 11 brands. The MB Select program is one way they hope to move a bit higher in the rankings next year.

Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.