Faults:

New springs (on all corners).

New timing chain.

New alternator.

New start engine.

New power steering pump.

New water pump.

ECU & LHM unit repaired.

General Comments:

Got it from first owner and many things (see faults) had already been replaced, otherwise I would never have bought it. All together the previous owner spent almost 1/3 of the new price on repairs, which I think is rather a lot... On the other hand, the car is 17 years old and has driven more than 280.000 km, so you could expect some things to break down in the meantime.

Now it still drives like new, and both interior and exterior look very good, free of scratches, dents or whatever. The clutch still is the original (first) one and doing fine. So I would think the Mercedes A to be rather good quality, as long as you're willing and able to replace certain things in time. Buying second hand is tricky; only buy one with a full history of maintenance, so you don't risk a costly repair right away.

What I like about the car are the high seating position and good quality seats, the small exterior and the relatively spacious and very flexible interior. The brakes are great and the engine has enough power and is very silent. On the highway the car is surprisingly comfortable and doesn't use that much fuel (1:15-1:17).

What I like less is that the suspension is quite hard, so in city traffic it is not as comfortable as you might expect from a Mercedes. Also in town it is far less economical (1:10-1:12).

Conclusion:

The A Class certainly isn't the best car that Mercedes ever built, it is not the most comfortable nor reliable, but for me the combination of size and practical use are making it a fun car to drive.