6th Oct 2002, 17:55

I can't argue, my 1999 V reg CDI has had 3 sets of anti roll bar links, a steering column both rear suspension trailing arms (one nearly fell off!) and a brake cylinder all in less than 3yrs all of the above caused the first MoT to be failed and it cost me over £1140 to get it through. Before you buy one of these ask an A Class owner they all experience the same problems.

Geoff

Romford.

25th Feb 2003, 08:06

I have an A-160 Avantgarde Auto... I just want to share my problems with you guys...

1) 4 steering columns (two went in a space of 2 weeks!)

2) a cat was required after just 14k miles

3) an airbag sensor required (£250 in fitting)

4) constant noises from steering... Dealer doesn't know what to do!

5) Alarm problems

6) Overall a nice car to look at... but not nice to drive/own.

I spent 22k on my one... as it has all the options in the UK Dealer book.

Skc.

1st Apr 2003, 18:06

2nd April 2003.

I love my A160 Classic automatic. It is so economical and a joy to drive, up there above the traffic. BUT the warranty has expired and I am not confident enough to "go it alone". I have had major ongoing trouble with the gears. Last year my Merc dealership had the car for EIGHT weeks straight getting advice from interstate and Germany re the transmission. The gears have never been smooth and, even now, despite being assured that there is nothing wrong, the car still behaves erratically - never when it is in the workshop, of course! I'm not prepared to take the risk of having to foot the bill for a new computerised part. If Mercedes would offer an extended warranty I would consider a new one, but no, so back to Toyota.

Vee.

31st Jan 2006, 15:54

A Class 170CDI Automatic. Good car for three years, but now has the notorious steering column failure at 49000 miles. Cost to repair quoted by Merc dealer as over £700!!! I believe this failure is connected with the right-hand drive layout, where the steering column has to have a universal joint which fails, causing erratic steering response.

I am insisting that this is a warranty repair because of design or manufacture defect. Has anyone else had the same problem, please?

1st Jun 2006, 02:10

My wife drives a A140 classic, year 2002.

I also find very uneven tyre wear on the offside front, tyres need replacement every year for MOT (12000 miles/year!)

The car just developed a steering column knock at 32000 miles, needs replacement at £700 adn MB will not pay for anything.

We are unhappy with the poor reliability of the car, my wife is disappointed that given the price, a Benz will not proove better than lesser car makers.

10th Jun 2007, 16:53

I am amazed with so many complaints about this car. I have rented two of them -an A-170cdi, and a A-140 large- and I own other two, both are from 1999 and I have never had a single problem. I have one A-160 Elegance with 60,000kms and AKS system and it is as good as new, and another one -a A-160 Classic Plus- with 160,000kms which is also in perfect running conditions. It works as well as first day. I haven't changed on any of them anything, but light bulbs and brake discs at 100,000kms, which I consider as normal -I had to changed my BMW's 325i F1 SMG 2005 model the disks at 25,000kms. I find the A Class to be extremely reliable, durable, well built and trouble free, the same I cannot say about the BMW I have also since new. Also, I might add that my A-160 with 160,000kms has seen some abuse -something my other two cars have not-, because it is used by several drivers, my son, my wife and me, and we never pampered it, we have even forgot once to do the service at the required time.

Cheers and best wishes to you all with you're a-Class Mercedes.

5th Sep 2007, 05:34

What a dreadful experience owning a Mercedes has been! Had an A-Class 190 Elegance with full options since new in 2002. Only got 50k on the clock and driven by my mother in law in local roads of Herts. Despite being looked after with Merc FSH the auto gearbox recently "disintegrated" (quote from dealer). Merc carried out an investigation and decided that - owing to the age of the car and the fact that it's out of warranty- they will reduce the £6000 repair bill by a paltry £1000! They told me I had simply been "unlucky" with my purchase! To add insult to injury Mercedes have offered to PX my car with a new Merc .... but then they valued my car at £300!! If anyone has any useful suggestions they'd be much appreciated!

22nd Feb 2008, 08:08

We have a W reg Merc A Class Elegance and I must say if we had read reviews before we bought the car 4 years ago, we would probably have bought a Toyota instead! Just as the car came out of warranty our automatic gear box went entirely. We had to pay £4000 to have it replaced. Mercedes Benz customer service was non-existent. After much stress and wrangling they finally agreed to knock 50% off the cost of the part. Since then we seem to have had endless tyre changes and shocks replaced. We are now facing a large bill for the steering column and the power steering pump has also failed. Seriously now considering cutting our losses and buying a Toyota! H&R.

3rd Apr 2008, 09:52

Oh my goodness gracious me! I bought a Mercedes A Class 99T 80000miles on the 9th of Feb 2008 for £2900 with 1 year warranty.

I wish I had seen this page before buying. I bought it because I have a Toyota Corolla 1998 with a slipping clutch that will cost £350 for a new one. I thought it was a waste spending on an old car so decided to put Toyota up for sale and bought an A class.

Fortunately, I didn't receive any offers high enough for baby Toyota so kept selling. Two weeks to the date after buying Merc, semi auto clutch failed. Towed by RAC to warranty place who took it back to MErc. Cost £1167 for a new semi auto clutch of which warranty company paid £500, dealer paid half of the rest - leaving me with some £350 to pay - all the while along, I drove the reliable 'old' Toyota!

Got car back and works fine but it also has funny noise coming from steering wheel (possibly column) also the alarm doesn't work. If you lock the doors and remain in car, no matter how much you rock the car from inside or out, it remains silent - the worst that happens is indicators come on - no horn sound..! In fact, horn simply doesn't work without ignition started...!?

Terrible car. We are selling it. Will be happy to pick up even £2500 for it, repair Toyota and save the rest in an ISA. If you are thinking about buying one...Don't BUY ONE.

Unless its got some crazy lenghtened warranty that covers EVERYTHING because you just don't know what will go wrong with this rubbish car. The only good thing is it looks nice and ladies seem to love it... apart from that... trust me get something else..!