Mercedes-Benz Collection — An Honest to Goodness Subscription Service

The best or nothing. What does that sentence mean to you? Well, if you’re a Mercedes-Benz Collection member, it means you have access to all of the best. If you’re not, well then, I guess you have nothing. (Sometimes I wonder if the Mercedes-Benz tagline a bit too elitist, but that’s for another blog post). Either that, or you own your Mercedes-Benz rather than subscribe to it.

As many of their peers did, Mercedes-Benz chose 2018 to launch a pilot of their car subscription service. The service, called Mercedes-Benz Collection, is available in limited locations and is similar in scope to Porsche’s Passport and BMW’s Access.

One of the initial pilot locations, Nashville, TN is also the site of Access by BMW’s pilot as well. There are many parallels between the two performance brands subscription services as you’ll see.

Click here to compare Mercedes-Benz Collection and Access by BMW.

Today, let’s break down Mercedes-Benz Collection. Let’s address what cars are available, how frequently you can change cars, what limits there are, and more. Let’s dive in.

How does Mercedes-Benz Collection work?

In the world of car subscriptions, there are a few different approaches. Some (cough cough), Volvo are offering glorified lease programs. Others, like Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and BMW are offering a more traditional subscription service.

Mercedes-Benz Collection strives to offer its members convenience, luxury, and flexibility. With no mileage limits, pricing tiers for different types of cars, and unlimited “flips” (switching vehicles), Mercedes-Benz Collection is one of the most traditional subscription services in the auto industry.

Mercedes-Benz is also offering one of the simplest subscription services in the auto industry. There are no frills. You simply sign up, drive cars, and switch when you’re ready. Unlike some of their competition, Mercedes does not enforce a mileage limit or cap the number of cars you can drive. The service is truly quite simple.

To get started you create an account through their app. Be prepared to enter a credit card, take a photo of your driver’s license and provide personal information. You must be 21 or older to apply, and note that Mercedes will check your driving and credit history. If either have some blemishes don’t be surprised if you aren’t approved.

What cars are available in Mercedes-Benz Collection?

Mercedes-Benz Collection offers tiers of the service. They also offer different cars based off of geographic location. At its core though, Mercedes-Benz Collection offers three tiers, each coming with a different portfolio of cars. There are three tiers:

• Signature;
• Reserve;
• Premier.

Here are the cars that come with each plan:

How much does Mercedes-Benz Collection cost?

Now that you know there are some fancy cars available via Mercedes-Benz Collection you must be curious how much it costs. I don’t blame you, driving around the Premier portfolio of cars can’t be cheap (and don’t worry, it isn’t).

With any tier of service, there is a one-time an activation fee of $495.

Mercedes-Benz Collection’s three tiers break down as such:

• Signature — $1,095 /mo
• Reserve — $1,595 /mo
• Premier — $2,995 /mo

The minimum commitment is one month with the service. If after 30 days you decide that you don’t want to continue your subscription you can cancel or pause it. This flexibility mimics most traditional subscription services but is hard to come by with other car subscription services (for example Care by Volvo is a two year commitment).

What does Mercedes-Benz Collection include?

Included in your monthly subscription is more than just your portfolio of cars. Mercedes-Benz Collection provides a variety of benefits beyond the car you are driving. For example, being a Mercedes-Benz Collection member includes:

• $1,000,000 liability coverage;
• $2,000 medical payments to offset any out-of-pocket or deductible costs;
• $1,000 member deductible;
• Free service, maintenance, and roadside assistance;
• Unlimited vehicle “flips”;
• No mileage restrictions;

Unlike some of their competitors, Mercedes-Benz has kept their subscription service surprisingly simple. There are no gimmicks, hidden fees, or extra perks. For your monthly subscription fee you get access to a great portfolio of cars with insurance, and no restrictions.

Where can you get Mercedes-Benz Collection?

As with most automakers turned subscription service providers, Mercedes-Benz Collection isn’t yet available throughout the entire United States, rather, their pilot is only available in limited geographic areas.

To access Mercedes-Benz Collection you need to be located in either Nashville, TN or Philadelphia, PA.

Nashville has access to the Signature and Reserve tiers, while Philadelphia has access to the Reserve and Premier

Mercedes-Benz Collection vs. Access by BMW

These two performance brands both decided to pilot their subscription services in Nashville, TN and that allows us to make some really interesting side-by-side comparisons.

It’s important to note that Mercedes-Benz Collection’s Premier tier is not available in Nashville (but that is too expensive for most of us anyway), however their Signature and Reserve tiers are. For BMW you have access to all three levels of service, Icon, Legend, and M.

Let’s compare Reserve and Legend: