which car..mercedes A class 1.4, fiat punto 1.2, citroen c2 help...

ACID

help i have to look for any of the three cars above..
a-class space wise is good and relaibile as it is a mercedes?
punto low isnurance, very nice lookin car, nippy 1.2
citroen noi dea but the car looks good
looking for this car for my sister...

the car has to be low insurance group
which i bleive all to be above.,
and the cost is failrly reasonable on all

the plate im looking or is about 2002-03

pleasse help

im not looking for any other car as its taken a long time to break it down to just these 3

help will be appreciated..
any certain checks to be caried out will also be good tips..

dnc1781

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

vikingaero

Avoid the A Class. My dad has one and it's the worst car and worst Merc he's had for over 30 years. Horrifically expensive to service and very expensive parts. For example a replacement door mirror glass is £55; a new starter motor is £600+ because the front subframe has to be dropped -on a normal car it's £100 for a motor and an hours labour; and a new air mass meter is £1,000. If it's an automatic then the valve body and gearbox ECU will die at around 80-100k. Merc will tell you that it needs a new gearbox @ £4,500. We got our repaired at a specialist for £1,300.

When the AA man came out to check out the starter motor he referred to his computer and some other patrolmen had put comments like: "Ha! ha ha ha! You'll never find it! Don't even think about repairing it - just tow it!"

If you do buy one then check the rear coil springs as they break from the weld and are a MOT failure. Sometimes Merc will replace them free.

Dave_Brooker

ACID wrote: »

help i have to look for any of the three cars above..
a-class space wise is good and relaibile as it is a mercedes?
punto low isnurance, very nice lookin car, nippy 1.2
citroen noi dea but the car looks good
looking for this car for my sister...

the car has to be low insurance group
which i bleive all to be above.,
and the cost is failrly reasonable on all

the plate im looking or is about 2002-03

pleasse help

im not looking for any other car as its taken a long time to break it down to just these 3

help will be appreciated..
any certain checks to be caried out will also be good tips..

Facelift A140 manuals with aircon are the ones to go for.

Great little cars.

Dave_Brooker

vikingaero wrote: »

Avoid the A Class. My dad has one and it's the worst car and worst Merc he's had for over 30 years. Horrifically expensive to service and very expensive parts. For example a replacement door mirror glass is £55; a new starter motor is £600+ because the front subframe has to be dropped -on a normal car it's £100 for a motor and an hours labour

http://www.eurocarparts.com/default.asp

Sell Bosch starter motors for £155.26...

vikingaero

Dave_Brooker wrote: »

http://www.eurocarparts.com/default.asp

Sell Bosch starter motors for £155.26...

It's not the price of the starter motor Dave. It's the labour to drop the subframe. I suppose you're mechanically minded and can do it yourself?!:rolleyes:

Dave_Brooker

vikingaero wrote: »

It's not the price of the starter motor Dave. It's the labour to drop the subframe. I suppose you're mechanically minded and can do it yourself?!:rolleyes:

@£35 an hour it would still only cost £140...

momisa

If you go to...

http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-comparison.aspx

you should be able to enter the details of all 3 cars and read the reviews, running costs etc.

HTH

anewman

A toyota yaris would probably be the same sort of size as the 3 you identify, and also cheap on insurance. Good market for them though so may be comparatively pricey on the used market.

highguyuk

I'd be looking towards the Citroen from those 3 ...

balsingh

An unusual grouping ... the A class is in a different league to the others. Its bigger, more expensive etc. On a 2002/3 car, the A class will probbaly be 2-3 times as expensive as the others.

From a cost point of view, I'd go for the Punto. However, the A class is likely to be the better car (even though its not great).