I wasn't sure about getting a people carrier, but when we had our third child something had to change. We looked around but all the real people carriers just seemed so huge and lumbering. We do a lot of London driving and it's just not practical to have anything all that big. The Mercedes A Class caught our eye because it turned out to be actually shorter overall than our previous car, and made so much smarter use of space.
The three seats in the back are a great size for the kids, and the lovely tall boot means we can get the two buggies and endless kids stuff in there, plus shopping, and occasionally the odd thing for mum and dad as well! I'm sure the Mercedes A150 Classic SE will do us proud as the kids get older too, if it keeps going as happily as it has done for the past five years.
As far as any actual problems are concerned, all we've had is the tiniest little patch of rust coming up on one of the rear wheel arches, I think the left but it was a while since I noticed it, and haven't caught sight of it since. There's also a very slight squeal of the tyres in our local Tesco car park, but it doesn't happen anywhere else so maybe it's just that surface.
The A150 Classic SE is ever so practical all in all, for example the glove box is a really nice big size, and it's air conditioned in there too so your drinks stay nice and cool. There are other clever little touches in the Mercedes A Class like you can change the height of the steering wheel up and down which is really handy for us.
We don't often need to flip the back seats down, but it's been a life saver on a couple of occasions, and it really makes it into a little van back there. I mean the boot is pretty big as it is, but you can get a sofa or a small bed in the back with the seats flipped forwards.
I'll start by saying nice things, I might as well because if you can find one that hasn't had all these problems (there might have been some fluke reliable ones) then I can well imagine the Mercedes A Class being a lovely little car to drive.
Firstly it's a really clever shape, really really clever. I honestly don't know why more cars aren't put together like this. Making the car taller in order to shove the engine in more tightly and basically make the bonnet disappear is really clever, makes it so easy to manoeuvre and park. The boot is a great size too, and so easy to access given the height. The height of it also means it's dead easy to see all around (although beware slightly odd blind spots on account of the window layout at the back). All in all a very clever little machine with huge potential.
Actually maybe all this means that the newer versions of the Mercedes A Class are worth looking into. I couldn't bring myself do so though, we've just had too many problems.
For a few years I thought our problems were just ours and that we had a dodgy one. But I came across more and more disappointed Mercedes A Class owners over the years with more or less the same sorts of stories. It begins with some seemingly minor electrical problems, like the lock doesn't behave properly or some warning lights come on and off for no apparent reason.
Then more serious things start to happen. For us it was an ECU failure, followed by the turbo a year later, both of which were very expensive. Since then the suspension has failed in the back and we've continued to have the little electrical fault surprises.
We were frankly treated quite badly by the dealer when we asked about the warranty to repair things. Since it was almost at the end of the warranty period they seemed to be trying to combine stalling tactics with simply denying the warranty covered anything. They're well practised at this, and in the end they managed to avoid most of what they probably should have been paying to have fixed.
All in all we're feeling really let down and disappointed with our A170 CDi Classic, and with Mercedes generally.
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.
Mercedes' from the late 90s have an awful reputation for being poorly made and unreliable. And while I do own a Mercedes A Class, I didn't realise this before I bought it.
I wish I'd of listened to a few of my friends at the time, because I seriously dropped the ball on this one. It's not a terrible car but it just has a lot of faults that add up to seriously annoy you.
It is one of the worst handling cars i've ever driven. It just rolls about and it actually feels dangerous sometimes. Inside, it doesn't feel like a Mercedes at all. If anything it feels like a Kia.
I'd only ever recommend this car to people who are half blind or just want an awful car. It's that bad.
Mercedes is a great label and the Mercedes A140 is a great looking A-Class which is typical of the range. I will be honest, I bought it as a matter of gaining prestige and in this respect it has not let me down.
In other areas, though, I have to admit that it has let me down quite badly. You would think for German car with such a great reputation, it would simply be more reliable. But the car just seems to be badly built. The plastic components inside the Mercedes A140 have been known to break off in my hand. I have also had engine problems whereby the car simply slows down. I have read that other people also experience this.
It is a grand looking car but for the price, the running costs, and the astronomical repair costs I really would expect something more reliable. Therefore if you are considering buying a Mercedes A-Class A140 I would urge you to reconsider.
The Mercedes A-class is a great little versatile car for a small family. It feels safer as you sit higher up than a normal car. As it is small it is great for city driving and getting into tight spaces and is also economical. The rear seats can be removed if necessary so that you can cart things about. There is a lot more space in the Merceded A-Class than in other cars of a similar size.
I would thoroughly recommend it.