What Does Our Long-Term Mercedes-Benz C-Class Come With?
Cars.com has been buying long-term test cars for a few years, but the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class we’ve been driving for the last few months is our first long-term luxury car.
Related: What Mileage Does the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Get After 3,000 miles?
Knowing that luxury, whether it’s a five-star hotel or fashionable restaurant, often comes through in the details, we tallied up all the little things that came with our C-Class, both from the dealership where we bought the car and Mercedes itself.
The Dealer
We felt like we got a pretty good deal on our C-Class, negotiating more than $7,200 (about 14 percent) off the list price, but after the familiar back-and-forth price negotiation was over, the sales staff were as nice as could be; the two editors who completed the purchase each received a rose bouquet to boot.
Our dealer also provided a comprehensive and helpful delivery walkthrough. Many of the ones provided with previous car purchases were superficial explanations of vehicle features, but the Mercedes dealer had a staff member dedicated to this task and it showed.
The pampering didn’t end there, though, as we later received a surprise gift from our dealer: a black fleece blanket with a stitched Mercedes-Benz logo. It’s not the first thing I would have expected to get from a luxury-car dealership, but it was a cold winter, and the C-Class doesn’t have heated rear seats.
The Car
While our C-Class came with the increasingly common first-aid kit and familiar cargo net, it also had safety and convenience amenities we don’t usually see.
We weren’t sure what we were going to find inside the two neon-green pouches in the C-Class’ trunk, but unzipping them revealed a safety vest in the same shade. It’s a thoughtful gesture and sensible fashion wear for changing a tire, but I can’t imagine many C-Class owners will do that. Plus, run-flat tires are the order of the day, so a spare tire wasn’t even included with our car.
The C-Class also has a neat plastic crate that collapses when not needed. The best use we’ve found for it so far is holding a jug of washer fluid, which would otherwise roll around the trunk. The crate doesn’t have any special finish to better grip the carpeted cargo floor, but with washer fluid weighing it down it stays in one spot.
In-car technology quickly becomes dated compared with newer consumer electronics, but even as the C-Class’ technology becomes less cutting-edge it should still be useful. Our car’s optional Multimedia Package includes three years of map updates for the navigation system and three years of traffic and weather information. There’s also a six-month trial of Mercedes’ mbrace emergency communication system, which includes things like automatic collision notification and the ability to search for your C-Class using a smartphone app.
Will these extras make the difference for a luxury-car shopper weighing the C-Class against one of its competitors? Probably not, as other luxury brands are busily wooing buyers, too. They do, however, give you the feeling that Mercedes cares more about its customers than the average mainstream brand. Perhaps that’s enough for some car buyers to make the jump to an entry-luxury car.
Patrick Olsen, Kelsey Mays and Joe Bruzek contributed.
