Mercedes A Class/ Audi A3

golddigger_3

Hi

I am looking at buying either a Mercedes A Class or Audi A3 not brand new - my budget is about £8k.
I am defintiely after a diesel either Automatic or Semi-automatic as I can drive anywhere from 250 up to 1000 miles a week, both motorway and around town for my job. I have to park about 10 times a day (on appintments) so need something small enough to get in and out of sometimes tight spots and big enough to cope with the mileage.
Has anyone got any opinions on either of these cars - where the best place to buy one is (local paper/ dealership/ auction), have you had one? Are there any bad things with either of them (reputation of bits falling off or a bad year for certain parts etc.) Is there another similar type of car I should be looking at?

I am buying this cash - thanks to martin and getting my bank charges back :T


any advice would be appreciated.

ps I am having to change my car as my old ROver isn't long for this world and Im a travelling sales rep.

thanks

Claudie

I have the A Class and really love it.

Ours is the 190 Auto Elegance with all the bits and pieces inc leather seats and parking sensors and is a fab drive - a bit thirsty but reliable and a great drive. My DH says the suspension makes for a bumpy ride but I have never noticed - I really love it. When we bought ours the showroom had two - a basic model and one with all the gadgets and whistles for £600 more; not moneysaving I spose but worth the extra imho

dnc1781

Reviews:
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/owners-reviews/
http://www.peachorlemon.co.uk/
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm

Buying:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/

balsingh

I'd go for the A3 as it is well buillt, classy, and has some excellent diesel engines. For doing a lot of miles, I recommend the A3 1.9Tdi 130bhp. It has all the power you need and a 6 speed box to give great economy on the motorway cruise.

The Merc A class has had mixed reviews and I am told servicing and repairs can be pricey due to the difficult access to the engine.

choccybikkie_2

Hi, we had a 99 plate 't' reg Mercedes A class a couple of years ago and it had to be the worst car we've ever had!we only had it for 10 months and the drive shaft went, gear box duff and the steering was awful. It felt so unsafe to drive-it always felt like it was going to roll when we drove round the roundabout. Also I definatly wouldn't reccomend for someone who does a lot of motorway driving, if you dared go above 50mph the whloe thing shook so bad it had the steering wheel giving off vibrations that made your hands numb!! Maybe we had a duff one but i wouldn't touch one ever again.

vikingaero

golddigger wrote: »

Hi

I am looking at buying either a Mercedes A Class or Audi A3 not brand new - my budget is about £8k.
I am defintiely after a diesel either Automatic or Semi-automatic as I can drive anywhere from 250 up to 1000 miles a week, both motorway and around town for my job. I have to park about 10 times a day (on appintments) so need something small enough to get in and out of sometimes tight spots and big enough to cope with the mileage.
Has anyone got any opinions on either of these cars - where the best place to buy one is (local paper/ dealership/ auction), have you had one? Are there any bad things with either of them (reputation of bits falling off or a bad year for certain parts etc.) Is there another similar type of car I should be looking at?

I am buying this cash - thanks to martin and getting my bank charges back :T


any advice would be appreciated.

ps I am having to change my car as my old ROver isn't long for this world and Im a travelling sales rep.

thanks

Definitely not the A Class. My dad has owned Mercs for 35+ years and his A Class is the worst car he has ever owned.

Where do I start?

(1) Servicing and parts are very expensive. ie just the door mirror glass is £54 because it's electric and heated

(2) You're tied into the service network if you want MobiloLife - their 30 year free recovery programme.

(3) Starter motors fail and its a £600 subframe out job

(4) Rear coils break their welds and Merc have replaced some under warranty if you service through them. Otherwise it's a MOT failure.

(5) Ride is poor - something to consider if you're a road warrior and spend all day in the car.

(6) Steering lacks self centering and will grate if you have to park a lot.

(7) Most independents don't have access to the tech computer to carry out resets on things that fail.

What's good about it?

(1) Size/space ratio

(2) MPV driving position

(3) Erm that's it!

My dads car had a auto gearbox failure. Merc wanted £6k for a new gearbox and Honest John in the Daily Telegraph recommended a company called King Automatics who fixed it for £1,300 - go figure! Currently my dads car needs a new air mass meter.............

golddigger_3

Thanks all - been looking at your comments and read the reviews on the websites kindly supplied by dnc1781. Have decided that the A3 seems to be the better choice.
Just need to wait for the money to come now (should be about 4 weeks according to bank's solicitors) and go test drive some new ones. Have seen afew for sale at about £8.5k for the spec I need, so need to shave some money off that or save £500 from somewhere. (do some extra hours at work I think).

Thanks all - your great!

Unknown1234_2

I love my Mercedes A class.

Its perfect for getting me to work and back.

Really spacious but I can park in any spaces.

Major Service was £160.00 inc VAT

mr_accountant

personally i would go for a Honda civic, better built and far more reliable then the other two.

If you only want to choose from the above two, I‘d go for the a3, its not going to be cheap if you have a problem, but it should be fairly reliable.

A class- avoid, this was mercs first go at a ‘cheap’ (although its expensive compared to rivals) car and it was a disaster- very unreliable and horrible rip off dealers too.

movilogo

The older version of Merc A class was a failed R&D project and had some serious problems (including stability problem at high speeds).

Newer versions are ok. But since you're going to buy old, better not buy Merc A class anyway.

PS: No offence meant for any Merc A owner.