Mercedes A Class

jojo

jojo

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My missus has just decided she wants one of these, has anyone owned or driven one? And is there any Merc forums you can recommend....

:Flush:
 
I don't mind em.

I'd rather have an A2 though. I actually think they're pretty cool.....
 
They are pretty cool, my uncle has one, but would prefer an A2 as well...
 
audi upgrades
Mk1 version was renowned for bad handling & excessive body roll, sometimes toppling over! Mk2 meant to be much better though! Expensive small car though, in agreement the A2 would probably be a much better idea, also seriously consider a Vauxall Meriva, terrific used value, well kitted out & well made in the last 4-5 yrs.
 
The very early mki's famously failed the Elk test but Merc fixed it before releasing the car to the world!

We looked at the mkII version when my son came along. Nice car, not too bad to drive but we ended up getting the B-Class, based on the same floor pan, but much bigger inside. Claire's had hers for almost 2 years with out any major problems, running costs have been pretty reasonable. She covered 16k miles, it needed one service (most of those miles have been local stop start traffic) and I replaced the front tyres as they were getting low at about 15K miles. They are pretty well screwed together.

For a family car they are ideal as the higher seating makes it easy to put a child in and out. The higher driving postion is nice as well.

The whole dealer experience has been pretty good from sales to service and warrenty - the head unit was replaced as it wouldn't hold onto the local radio station (not an issue for me :) ) and an accorn got lodge in the sterring nuckle which they replaced under warrenty as it clicked when you turned the wheel. But a collegued of mine wasn't so impressed with the serivce side so I guess it's down to the individuals.

We did look at the obvious cars in the class as well - ctiroen, ford and vauxhall. But my wife's not keen on any of those (she didn't like the mumsy image)

she liked the Merc so much that we've replaced it with another one. Went for the ML this time round which is proving to be a fanstatic motor.

J.
 
I've just bought my wife a 10 month old A150 elegance. They seem to have depreciated greatly in the 1st year, so I only paid £10k for it with 4k on the clock - it was a demonstrator. It has plenty bells and whistles like auto lights/wipers, phone prep, climate, alloys, colour coded everything and the removable seat option etc, so it lost almost £8k in the 10 months before we bought it. My wife is really happy with it. She's gone from being a car-hater to a car-lover. She loves driving now. It's a great little car to drive, the driving position is quite high, so you get a feeling of "4x4" tallness which makes my wife feel safe. The 150 is definately not nippy, it's under-powered, but is perfect for my wife. It handles well though, feels solid and safe, and has airbags everywhere. It has isofix as standard. I'd recommend it anyday...........for the wife that is.

I used http://www.mercedesclub.co.uk/ for a low-down on the car before we bought one.
 
Used to buy and sell these about a years ago, stay away from the Auto's or the Auto-clutch they are aweful, and dont last, the Longback is also the one you want to go for as the other had no boot space whatsoever.

Also look out for the cars history, some of them are owned by a leese company called Mobility, these are the best catches, because they are low mileage literally been used to take disabled people to the shops and back, maybe one or two long distances but no hard driving, bought one for my gran, and she hasnt had a problem with it since she got it. Reliable. Im not going to get into the performance because it has none, however i would recomend the A140 as its nippy and good on fuel.

If you need any further info, just Pm me, i studied them for a while before i went out and bought a few.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I need to testdrive one first, I was aiming to get an A2, but they are all around 3 years+ old now, and prices seems to have inflated of late for these things. A class would be a mk2 shape, I was gonna go for the auto opion aswell, but shy you have put me off!! lol. Some positive feedbacks in the above though, so thanks for the input, I'm more confident in buying it for her.
 
My parents have the A150 auto. I think it's the Classic.

Pros: Excellent ride comfort.
Quiet and comfortable.
Well equipped, came with cruise control, climate control, onboard computer, multi function steering wheel, parking sensors but alloys are not standard. I suppose it depends on the package.
Steering is light but nicely weighted.
Good interior quality.

Cons: Auto box too slow.
Doesn't feel nippy even for a supermini. In a similar category the current shape Micra 1.4 auto was nippier and more fun to drive.

Driving position is subjective. It feels too high for my liking but does offer good visibility all around.
 
marriedblonde said:
Oh yes and they depreciate the most as well. The 170 is acceptable!
Click to expand...

Good, I'm aiming to buy used anyway, they are seriously expensive brand new, and a saving of like £5k can be had on an 07 plate!

Do you guys think it's a good time to buy a car, or shall I wait a few months, don't really need it until September when the little one starts school. Missus is using the Passat wagon at the mo' and I'm going to replace the Mk2 Golf with this A class.
 
Now's a good a time as any. I doubt much metal is moving off the forecourts right now so you should be able to get a good deal.I can also echo the comments about the mk2 being much the better car; a work colleague used to run a mk1 A170 CDI that was plagued with faults, but even when it was okay the car never seemed to be built that well.
 
I agree with ben, now is the best time to buy as you can strike a very good deal. its a buyers market right now.
 
Supposed to be a recession in 3 months according to Radio 2 yesterday, might be worth while just hanging on a bit...
 
Well there's no sign of it where I am. I take clients out at least once a week and all the restaurants are still busy regardless of the day of the week.

Cars are still being sold, look at the various threads on here, I'm still busy at work with new projects coming through and deals being signed...

I agree with Ben though now is a good a time as any.
 
Dude are you selling the mk2???
 
Thing to bear in mind though is do you need a compact people carrier style vehicle to do a sub 10 sec 0-60 or to just carry your family about town & on small trips in comfort? With the current climate of ever rising fuel prices & the new car tax prices coming along shortly I'd say you'd be better to consider the running costs before ruling out an engine for being too slow.
 
I disagree. I'm guessing the car will be mainly used by his wife but if Jojo is going to use it to ferry the family around as well it's got to be something he is happy driving or he will hate it from day one. In which case I would say it will cost more to sell the car and get a faster replacement.

The ever increasing costs of fuel and tax are surely being thought about now. I seriously doubt Jojo is buying something he can only just afford to run now and would have to stop driving if the price of fuel goes up again, which it obviously will.

J.
 
Jo you can leave the mk2 with me as long as you pay the insurance/road tax/etc

Oh and also, have you had a look at any A2's or anything else, seriously on a seperate note, an uncle of mine recently got a Toyota Auris and they are pretty decent you know...Just to thro a spanner in the works!!
 
marriedblonde said:
I disagree. I'm guessing the car will be mainly used by his wife but if Jojo is going to use it to ferry the family around as well it's got to be something he is happy driving or he will hate it from day one. In which case I would say it will cost more to sell the car and get a faster replacement.

The ever increasing costs of fuel and tax are surely being thought about now. I seriously doubt Jojo is buying something he can only just afford to run now and would have to stop driving if the price of fuel goes up again, which it obviously will.

J.
Click to expand...

I think some people will need to think about the overall cost of running they're vehicle and make compromises accordingly. The days of care free motoring we've enjoyed the past few years are quickly ending I think for those like me that are living to a relatively small disposable income. Im not trying to pass judgement on your finances of course Jojo! If I had my way i'd still have the keys to my A4 3.0 qs, but I took the tough decision that the impending increase in running costs in the coming years made it worth my while changing the car for something more economical to own, I reckon on saving close to £2k in a year! Now obviously the difference between an A160 CDi & A180 CDi wont be enormous, but its still a consideration, does anyone really need the bigger engine just to go faster? Fair enough if you have good reason, but if its purely to be better at the traffic light grand prix on the morning school run for example then the overall running cost savings by opting for the smaller engined car can be put to better use elsewhere in the house hold budget. Its also an environmental thing, smaller engine = lower emissions. Im not a tree hugger as such but if you add up all the small efforts people can make then it could make a massive difference!
 
marriedblonde said:
Funny how your your taking the high ground but haven't mentioned you have a fast, fun toy to play with ;)
Click to expand...

Its not quite high ground, more of a slight mole hill! With regards to the toy (or the motorbike as in my avatar) it is just purely that, a toy, i dont use it as a mode of transport really! Last year I did less that 1000 miles on it, and it wont go that far at the moment given the damage it suffered during my recent accident! It also is a good example of my point, its a only 600cc bike, whereas I could quite easily of changed it for a 750cc or 1000cc bike, but amongst the reasons not to were the fact it would cost more to run a larger capacity bike! Another point being that despite is being capable of 160'odd mph, on a cruise I can see over 50mpg and on a blast on a private road (ahem!) it'll still get me in the 40's mpg. Now a 1000cc bike might see me capable of 180mph, but not sure I really need that little extra speed!!!
 
Running costs are not an issue for me in general, obviously, better mpg and lower running costs is a bonus, I have a million cars the last time I checked, haven't you heard? :)

No seriously, the A160/180/200 are all based on the 2.0CDI unit in different states of tune, but the B160 I test drove was shockingly slow, my missus nearly killed us both pulling out a junction ***! 0-60 in 15 secs out the box, and we took it out for a testdrive 3 up, we had this ****** truck up our ar5e beeping it's horn cos we couldn't get to 50mph it was well embarrassing.... then to top it off, the salesperson told my wife to pull over at the next layby so we could swop seats, to which I replied 'This truck is going to beep us again' and it did! LOL :Flush:
 
i like them, id go for the long wheel base version. The back seats are cool they move forwards and back. altho havent seen/been in any quick ones. I expect the AMG one to be pretty good
 
I don't think the mk2 comes in SWB/LWB, just 3 and 5 door, tried an A170 Auto today, it's not bad, some performance at last, it was a nice car, but it's had bodywork done on at least 3 of the panels, so I walked away.

Also took a BMW 1-Series for a test drive today, which is rather nice to drive.
 
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