MERCEDES-BENZ A CLASS A140 Classic 5dr Auto (1998)

Suspension trouble, other failures, generally disappointed

We had the impression that a Merc would be a safe investment, and more to the point a nice safe vehicle to be transporting our little boy round in. I suppose our Mercedes A Class is as safe as it's ever been, but the reliability has been poor. We've had two separate problems with the suspension front and back, two big problems with the brakes.

There have also been electrical problems here and there. We'd sell it except we'd be making such a loss after all the repairs we've done, so we're in that grim situation of being stuck with a car that's basically going to die slowly and cost us who knows how much in further repairs. We're taking a gamble that it's less than we'd lose selling up, but who knows.

When it's not having its latest tantrum, our Mercedes A140 Classic is a decent car to be using, if only I could get over how annoyed I feel at it all the time. It is easy to park and generally move around, and the driving position is good, nice and high up.

It's best suited to city driving, as the suspension isn't up to much in the rough (hence failing twice, although we don't drive in rough conditions often). The auto gearbox hasn't failed, yet! That works nicely.

For a Mercedes I suppose the A140 Classic is cheap on insurance, I mean compared to the rest of their range. But then it's their budget car really, and from what we've been through the insurance saving doesn't offset the repair losses, so that's not much to be happy about.

One little trick I'd suggest is trying to stay under 65 miles an hour as I've found that drives up the miles per gallon quite a lot, and seriously you don't lose much time unless you're doing a really long drive.