Mercedes A Class - comments B4 I buy, Please?

zzzLazyDaisy

Do you own or have experience of driving a Mercedes A class (baby merc)?

I am disabled and looking for an automatic with cruise control and high seating position. The baby merc fits the bill, but it is pricey, even second hand, so I don't want to make an expensive mistake. This car is probably going to have to come to the grave with me :rolleyes:

I am concerned coz I've read mixed reports about reliability.

The one I'm looking at is a March 2002 petrol 160 elegance LWB, if that makes any difference?

Thanks in advance. This is a great site, and you guys are wonderful!!! :beer:

Party_Animal

Follow Sasha's link on the other active thread for a new car to Member's Motoring Club. Click on Honest John. There's a road test for the Merc A Class.
Sorry I'm not good at links.

hibitdat

Had the use of an A Class for a couple of months (belongs to a friend) and I'm not impressed. Its an A160 with a feeble petrol engine that doesn't like working hard - which it must be to get any performance. My friend has had quite a few problems with it and it really doesn't feel like a real Merc (unlike the latest model) - its more Megane than Mercedes (infact thats unfair, the new Megane is better finished!) Consider this for an alternative: The Seat Altea https://www.seat.co.uk looks a lot like the newest A Class, is better to drive (I own one! And from roadtests), has the chassis of the very latest Audi A3, can be had with the DSG gearbox, and costs a whole lot less. Although the Altea hasn't been out all that long, there are a few great deals around and the 1.6 can be had for much less than the equivalent A Class. And no, I don't work for Seat! (I'm and IT Consultant!)

Nigel1

Sorry to muddy the waters but my partner bought a second hand A160 about a year ago and it's been absolutely fine. I drive many different types of small and medium cars and it's definitely one of the better ones. Being relatively high up, you feel it a bit more if you take corners fast - be warned!

mr_accountant

If i had this much money to spend on a car, the a class would be near the bottom of the list. Remember Mercedes are not in the business of building 'cheap' cars; they are good at exec/luxury end of the market. To put salt in the wound there not even that cheap.

I remember sitting in one a few years ago and found the dash must have been designed by plastics r us, so cheap is the interior feeling. It’s already very dated. As yours is an elegance maybe its slightly better inside but i doubt it.

It’s also had loads of reliability problems and cheap parts installed. It’s your choice at the end of the day but i think you can do a lot better. To put it bluntly you are paying for a badge with the a class, nothing else.

Try the following link for review on the a class, they may help you decide


http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=/carbycar/index.htm

http://www.carsurvey.org/model_Mercedes-Benz_A-Class.html

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/user_reviews/readReviews.aspx?manu_name=Mercedes-Benz&manufacturer_name=5509&model_id=526&fueltype=&months=&spare1=&spare2=

Robert5988

Another car that fits the bill is the Toyota Yaris Verso. Easiest car to access, automatic versions available, Toyota reliability. Comes consistently at/near the top of owner satisfaction surveys.

You could probably get a new one from a Internet site for close to the price of the 2002 160 Elegance Auto LWB.

Aletank

https://www.mbclub.co.uk