A-class 2001-2004 problem

[vprimush]

Dear all,

I though about buying A160 2002 automatic - 100000 km - recently untill I read the following article in telegraph.co.uk - see below.

Can any of you share your experience?

thanks.


I bought an 03-reg Mercedes A-class 1.4 automatic in 2005. It had 26,000 miles on the clock and has since reached 60,000. At the beginning of this month the car suffered a catastrophic transmission failure while I was driving along the A303, towards Devon. It now sits in Mercedes Exeter. I am advised that repairs will cost about £5,000, which is probably more than the car is worth. Should this sort of incident occur to a so?called prestige car after a relatively short life? Is there any chance of Mercedes making a substantial contribution? Should I just ditch the car or pay for repairs? What alternative automatic car would you recommend for about £7,000?
C.W., Exeter


I'm afraid this is the sort of thing I keep warning readers about. If you have an original A-class, my advice is to sell it before this or something similarly expensive happens. These cars were built by a manufacturer with an excellent reputation, but accountants got hold of the company, went for volume, ditched the quality and continued to sell on the marque's prestige. A 1998-2004 A-class is the worst small car you can buy, but the newer one is much better. There's no easy way out of your problem because most of the cost is extracting and refitting the engine and transmission. Mercedes might offer some help towards the costs, otherwise you'll never buy one again. It's worth asking. The best small auto is the old-model Toyota Yaris 1.3 four-speed. The best current option is the Hyundai i10, but that costs £8,200.

[Boxzoo]

Wow, that's pretty bad! The worst small car you can buy?! I too am looking at buying an 02 or 03 210 Evo, probably automatic. What do current owners think of the Telegraph's opinion? I'm sure for every individual vocal disappointed owner there must be a much larger number of quiet happy owners?

[Rovinghawk]

I have a 2000 A140 Classic. In the 2 years I've had it:

Engine rebuild for sticky valve
New gear selector as the old one was cheap and crappy
New tailgate mechanism for the same reason

Bruce

[Boxzoo]

Originally Posted by Boxzoo

I'm sure for every individual vocal disappointed owner there must be a much larger number of quiet happy owners?

I'm new to this forum. Either it's a rather unused forum or there aren't any quiet satisfied A Class owners!! I'm hoping it's the former.

[cooldog]

I had the identical problem with my 2000 A160 Avant Garde and it cost me a packet for a complete gear box overhaul.Bought the car new and serviced by MB and only 77000 Klms before it needed this costly repair job.MB not interested,they sent it to a transmission repair shop and told me to deal diect with them.Have been an MB owner for more than 30 years and once the three MB s we have are done I will be looking elsewhere.I dont need to be reamed to have the dubious pleasure of driving behind the tri-star.Even the Koreans are turning out more reliable vehicles than the so called superior German factories.

[miroj]

To rebuild the transmission costs 400 pounds in parts. The labour is about 2000 pounds. If the valve body is broken then that would be most of the cost as that is mechanical anf electronic and can not be rebuilt. The valve body costs quite a bit.

[lofty]

It's interesting to see that there are two valve chests on e-bay uk at present w169 w168 both are claimed to be new so why are the repair costs so great. strarting at £199.00
mercedes A class, Cars, Parts Vehicles, Toys Games, Books, Comics Magazines items at low prices on eBay.co.uk