The A class. Is it a sensible run around?

[hamishg]

Dear All,

I need to get my wife a cheap little run around for the school run/shopping etc. and was considering an A class. They seem to fit the bill perfectly from a size and economy point of view and I saw an A210 which I thought looked rather smart for a cheap car.
According to Honest John, Parkers and various other reviews though, its not supposed to be particularly reliable and has fairly high maintenance costs. Does anyone have any experience of them? Are there particular models that are better than others or should they be avoided altogether?

I would prefer not to spend more than around £4k as its only going to wrecked by children and her driving.
Thoughts would be appreciated,

Many thanks,

Hamish

[jith]

hamishg said:

Dear All,

I need to get my wife a cheap little run around for the school run/shopping etc. and was considering an A class. They seem to fit the bill perfectly from a size and economy point of view and I saw an A210 which I thought looked rather smart for a cheap car.
According to Honest John, Parkers and various other reviews though, its not supposed to be particularly reliable and has fairly high maintenance costs. Does anyone have any experience of them? Are there particular models that are better than others or should they be avoided altogether?

I would prefer not to spend more than around £4k as its only going to wrecked by children and her driving.
Thoughts would be appreciated,

Many thanks,

Hamish

Hamish, put a new xenon headlamp in one last year. £565+VAT thanks! You be the judge.

J

[TISPKJ]

I have an A210, had it 4 years maybe, prior to that we had a A140 all secondhand.
Parents had a 160, 170, 190, and new shape 150 all new.
Dont remember parents ever having a problem of the breaking down kind.
My A140 I had for 3-4 years did loads of miles in it, replaced discs pads and a broken rear coil spring, one day decided to throw up a fault where it just wouldnt get above tickover, spent 250 on a recon ecu (after mercedes diagnostic machine told us thats whats needed) made no odds so ended up replacing the fuel pump and it sorted it, also replaced an alternator as bearing was screaching, upgraded to the 210 so offloaded to mother in law and damn things been perfect for 3 years or more.

A210, loves a drink and I am going to change it mainly for that reason for a super mini or something that does 50mpg, I recon with my misses to lazy to walk to the end of the road we get maybe 25mpg at best early 30's on Bordeaux run, old 140 would get near early 30's and 40+ on a run.
a210 has had a reoccuring anoying electrical issue where by 2 lights come up on dash (normally when wet) and car wont go above 30mph, I turn off ignition and start again or slip into neutral and start again then slide in gear, other than that I love it and it is a very quick little car.

To answer your question yes, cracking little family car, I would go for a diesel for mpg and am told to avoid the semi auto things, our 140 was manual 210 a lwb auto.

Serviced myself so cant comment on costs but assume at 4k it wont go to mercedes at 120 an hour

[hamishg]

Thank you both for the responses, very useful information. Astonished that a headlamp for a little car can cost that much!

[r129sl]

What difference does the size of a car make to the cost of its headlamp?

I've had a few as loan cars and really like them. They're very practical. They must be good because popular opinion is that they are not. I'd be inclined to go for a smaller engined version.

[TISPKJ]

If it was a brand new car then maybe you would go for a new headlamp at that money.
For a 4k runaround you would be looking on ebay or euro car parts or similar.

[Deva Link]

hamishg said:

Astonished that a headlamp for a little car can cost that much!

Ah, but it's a Mercedes headlamp.

I've got a C Class but see older A Class issues crop up on the forums. I was reluctant to comment as a lot of the negative stuff comes from people who've never had one, but I would say that it seems that because of the way the car is built they can be ludicrously expensive to repair.

There's a quite well known website about them which I think relates to the model you're looking at: http://www.aclassinfo.co.uk/mypage.1.htm

[jith]

r129sl said:

What difference does the size of a car make to the cost of its headlamp?

I've had a few as loan cars and really like them. They're very practical. They must be good because popular opinion is that they are not. I'd be inclined to go for a smaller engined version.

Now don't be naughty r129. The implication is that most people will be attracted to small cars for the economy and low running costs. My workshop experience has shown the reverse.

That kind of cost for a headlight on a small car is outrageous. Yes, they are great to drive and comfortable, but cheap to run they are not. If you go for a semi auto version, a major transmission failure will write the car off if it is any more than 4 years old.

You could be lucky, but if you're not it's an expensive lesson.

J

[r129sl]

jith said:

Now don't be naughty r129.

Sorry. I'd just given my tuppenny worth in the w221 wheel change post.

[50volt]

I've got A140 Classic Manual. Bought it brand new 12 years ago. Only done 42,500 miles now. So far (crossed fingers, touch wood etc).....

Two new rear springs (one broke) - common problem
One new front spring
One new rear trailing arm - common problem
One new set of front brake pads
One pair of new front tyres
One new multifunction control stalk (wipers,flasher,indicator) - common problem
One tiny bulb in instrument binnacle
One rear light bulb
Two new Batteries

Always does 35-37mpg round town, had 47-48 going 550 miles to SW France.

Still has original exhaust system.

Group 5 insurance, cheap road tax

[r129sl]

50volt said:

I've got A140 Classic Manual. Bought it brand new 12 years ago. Only done 42,500 miles now. So far (crossed fingers, touch wood etc).....

Two new rear springs (one broke) - common problem
One new front spring
One new rear trailing arm - common problem
One new set of front brake pads
One pair of new front tyres
One new multifunction control stalk (wipers,flasher,indicator) - common problem
One tiny bulb in instrument binnacle
One rear light bulb
Two new Batteries

Always does 35-37mpg round town, had 47-48 going 550 miles to SW France.

Still has original exhaust system.

Group 5 insurance, cheap road tax

Not a very long list for 12 years. Only the combination switch, the three springs and the rear arm might give cause for complaint, the rest are all service items. As I say, I like them.

[chazola]

It's probably fine as a decent small run-around, I had an A-class loaner when my 124 was in for a new windscreen at the dealer a few years ago, I thought it was awful tbh. Bad quality interior, hard to park, boring to drive with bad driving position- and nothing apart from the star on the steering wheel gave me any idea I was in a Mercedes as opposed to any other mass-market car. The only admiring glances it got was from grandads. I couldn't wait to hand it back.

Edited by chazola on Saturday 12th May 08:52

[rb5er]

They sre terrible cars. So many better cars out there.

[50volt]

chazola said:

It's probably fine as a decent small run-around, I had an A-class loaner when my 124 was in for a new windscreen at the dealer a few years ago, I thought it was awful tbh. Bad quality interior, hard to park, boring to drive with bad driving position- and nothing apart from the star on the steering wheel gave me any idea I was in a Mercedes as opposed to any other mass-market car. The only admiring glances it got was from grandads. I couldn't wait to hand it back.

Granted, its never gonna give you a trouser tent when you drive it. Just saying that overall I'm quite pleased with it and it has a fair few qualities that I may find hard to replace. Its done me well through the years with kids. Now I think I need something less practical. I do tend to agree that the later Fiestas/Corsas etc are probably nicer to drive. But I still think that MOST of the A-Class is better quality.

Edited by chazola on Saturday 12th May 08:52

[911Thrasher]

Getiing a Merc for the sake of a Merc in my opinion: my dad has a B class in Brittany and Paris, so i have driven it quite a few miles in both countryside lanes and downtown.

Horrible car really, it doesnt float like a proper Merc, the quality is quite bad(to the level of a french car: hard plastics, bad ergonomy), the noise level is quite high once travelling at 50mph and above.

And according to my dad running cost quite high: not the most reliable run about we have had. Big disappointment really.

Truth: it's way far from a S class...domot expect small luxury car, but def the running costs of one.

In that size, i would get a VW Golf, Audi A3, BMW 1

[Harris_I]

2 months ago, I would have agreed with pretty much everything 911thrasher is saying. Horrible to drive, bouncy ride, gutless engine - what's the point?

Until my father spun his on the M40 in the rain last month with 3 passengers on board. Mounted the verge and hit the barrier at speed. The car was a wreck but all four occupants walked away, a little the worse for wear, but alive. That clever engine position may have been a primary factor in how well preserved the passenger cell was.

Incredibly tough car - I have reluctantly changed my views on them.

[r129sl]

911Thrasher said:

...
Truth: it's way far from a S class...domot expect small luxury car...

In that size, i would get a VW Golf, Audi A3, BMW 1

Dumb Britain. It is not meant to be a little S-Class or even a small luxury car. It is meant to be an highly functional compact car.

Harris_I said:

...with 3 passengers on board....

Who will be a lot less comfortable in any competitor. The A-Class has much more passenger space than a VW Golf, Audi A3, BMW 1 but takes up a lot less road. The Golf is great. The A3 is a Golf with make-up. The BMW 1er is a nice personal sports hatch. As well as the ageing Mercs, I have two Golfs and no A-Classes.

Edited by r129sl on Sunday 13th May 09:09

[Olf]

We've had both an A and a B class. Graduated to the B on second child. Some of the criticism I can sympathise with, the B is quite noisy, some of the materials are not as good as they could be (broke both speaker covers, cheep plastic mesh). But overall if you want a VERY SAFE town car with enormous internal space for the car size, that has a very good driving position, is generally well made and comfortable then they are definitely worth a look.

I seriously think an A class has the same usable internal space as a three series and the B as a 5 series. That's the clever bit about these motors.