A class- Costs over 3 Years

[hawk20]

Those interested in both running a new car and in having pretty low running costs, may be interested in figures derived from my brother’s A160cdi Classic SE 3 door manual. I have converted all costs to today’s prices including fuel.

In 30,000 miles he has had two services done by the MB dealer, which cost a total of £460 or 1.5 pence per mile.

He did 30k miles on the original set of tyres. A new set cost £59 each from Micheldever or 0.8 pence per mile. He is still on the original pads and discs and the mechanic says there is plenty left.

VED today for CO2 emissions of only128 gms/km is £115 p.a. or 1.15 pence per mile.

Fuel (diesel at today’s price of 125.9p per mile) is a big item despite the govt combined fuel economy figure being 57.6 mpg. In fact my brother has averaged a remarkable figure of just over 60 mpg but at today’s prices that is still 9.55 pence per mile.

So total running costs for 30,000 miles over 3 years at current prices are: -
Tyres (4 @ £59) = £236
Services (2 @£230) = £460
Insurance (3yrs @ £260) = £780
VED (3yrs ‘ £115) = £345
Fuel (500 gals @ £5.73p/gallon) =£2,864

Converting to pence per mile we get for 10k miles p.a.: -
Tyres = 0.79p
Services = 1.53p
Insurance = 2.60
VED = 1.15p
Fuel = 9.55p
Total Running costs = 15.62p per mile.

DEPRECIATION: - New list price is around £15k but DrivetheDeal and some dealers will do it for £13,811. After 3 years and 30,000 miles, my brother has just been offered £7,250 as a part ex price (in line with Glass’s Guide). That is a tad over 52% of the new price which is pretty good going nowadays. The residuals are good if you buy diesel and stay away from the toy cupboard.

My brother has decided to keep the car another year or two as it has been completely fault free so far. But if he did part-ex now the depreciation would be around £2,200 per year, which on his lowish mileage of 10k per year would be 21.87p per mile –easily the biggest of all costs, as is normal when buying new cars.
Total costs including depreciation work out at 37.5 pence per mile. Pretty good for anyone buying new and keeping for three years and doing only 10k miles per year.

 

[Ratz]

Having had our A-Class(180CDi Auto) for a few months now I am pleased to report that it has been fault free also. I have been extremely impressed with the economy, averaging 51mpg for largely urban driving. I wasn't exactly excited about owning an A-Class as we bought it primarily for practical reasons, but it has really grown on me and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

 

[R129mine]

that is amazing value, i did the same for a second hand saab i owned and i remember it costing a lot more than that per mile, i will do the same sums for my r129 after 3 years (only had it for 8 months now) to see how much that is costing me, but love the drive and i don't do many miles per year

 

[television]

I do not want to know about my SL,, Oh its going to rain today again

 

[Godot]

Ratz, we too have an A180cdi auto, absolutely delighted with it.

Had it for just over the year. Bought second hand from a non MB dealer, with 5,500 miles showing for it's first owner. We are just 40 miles shy of it reaching it's first 10,000 miles.

First service due in about another 5,500 miles! Still sounding & responding wonderfully!

 

[Rory]

DEPRECIATION: - New list price is around £15k but DrivetheDeal and some dealers will do it for £13,811. After 3 years and 30,000 miles, my brother has just been offered £7,250 as a part ex price (in line with Glass’s Guide). That is a tad over 52% of the new price which is pretty good going nowadays. The residuals are good if you buy diesel and stay away from the toy cupboard.

I love the way you play with the figures.

It's 52% of the discounted current list price. But that's not a measure of depreciation that anyone else uses! What did your brother pay for the car?

Anyway, Is it reasonable to assess depreciation based on a p/x valuation?

 

[jadefox]

I love the way you play with the figures.

It's 52% of the discounted current list price. But that's not a measure of depreciation that anyone else uses! What did your brother pay for the car?

Anyway, Is it reasonable to assess depreciation based on a p/x valuation?

I guess if he actually paid 13,811 and has been offered 7,250 then that is a pretty fair way of working out the cost per my for this vehicle!

Also in many ways the discounted initial price and the trade-in value may even out the against the RRP and a Private sale?

 

[Dieselman]

I love the way you play with the figures.

It's 52% of the discounted current list price. But that's not a measure of depreciation that anyone else uses! What did your brother pay for the car?

Anyway, Is it reasonable to assess depreciation based on a p/x valuation?

But it is an accurate relection of the loss on the vehicle.

One buyer may pay list price, one achieve a discount therefore the depreciation rates will be different.

This is an actual example.

Following your logic would mean that every buyer would have to use the New List Price for their car, even if purchased second hand.

 

[hawk20]

I love the way you play with the figures.

It's 52% of the discounted current list price. But that's not a measure of depreciation that anyone else uses! What did your brother pay for the car?

Anyway, Is it reasonable to assess depreciation based on a p/x valuation?

Not playing with them. Just reporting them as fairly as I can.

You could get less depreciation, of course, by selling privately. But for those who like to avoid hassle and part ex as I do, the figure I gave is the relevant one.

Why do you say nobody uses depreciation off the current discounted list price? Perfectly sensible way to do it. It shows what you would actually need to pay today to buy one. All the other costs are in terms of today's prices too. I could have used past prices, like fuel at prices from 2 or 3 years ago (to show what my brother actually paid). But that would be no guide to a purchase today.

Ditto with depreciation. You can take it from what was paid 3 years ago (historic cost depreciation) if you wish, or from today's price (replacement cost accounting). The latter gives a more realistic view of what it costs in today's money, which I thought would be more useful for others.

 

[jaymanek]

The new A class is a fantastic car all around...

 

[Jukie]

The new A class is a fantastic car all around...

Jay (or anyone else! ),

In your opinion, how does the the new 'A' compare with the facelift version of the previous 'A' incarnation?

TIA

 

[A210AMG]

Jukie


We have a A210 Evo of the older facelifted version and while it is nice and cheap to run the interior is NOT as nice as the new ones. Blind folded and sat in the car you would probably think you are in a C-class or E class only higher up in the new A class.

Saying that with £2200 depreciation on out A210 we could almost aford to give it away after three years

Hawk, 60mpg is superb. I thought my wife does well getting 40mpg out of her A210 (petrol) so reckon she would see 60 or more out of a new one.

I agree the new one is much nice no question however when I started looking at one with some toys the price gets the wrong side of 20K quite easily and that does sound a lot for the smallest merc?

Your right keeping it to a std model as it comes is probably best, but its SO tempting just to add this and just to add that and ooh that would be nice....


They also stopped making any sort of AMG version of the new one, closest was the A200 Turbo and I 'think' they have stopped that now.


Who ever would buy your brothers cars at say £8K would be having the best buy I guess?


Good report and thanks. I know your a liitle Biased but they are nice.

 

[Godot]

Jay (or anyone else! ),

In your opinion, how does the the new 'A' compare with the facelift version of the previous 'A' incarnation?

TIA

This time it FEELS & LOOKS (well, at least on the inside) like a Mercedes :bannana::bannana:

 

[Ade B]

Did the figures include the costs of any loans?

After Hawk's earlier posts on PCP deals I looked at a new A class as possible replacement for the CE, the only trouble is, without the leather and gadgets it loses a lot of appeal and becomes a bit ordinary.

With the extras, the costs don't look quite so attractive.


Ade

 

[Rory]

the only trouble is, without the leather and gadgets it loses a lot of appeal and becomes a bit ordinary.

With the extras, the costs don't look quite so attractive.


Ade

That's why I didn't follow up on hawk20's reply to me - it just seemed pointless.

I mean, come on, we're all a *little* bit interested in cars, it really doesn't matter how much or little it costs, why would anyone desire to run a "A160cdi Classic SE 3 door manual".

If you want something cheap I could post the figures for my daughter's Mitsubishi Colt CZ1. They can be bought new for £6000. If it depreciates 100% then it's still only lost £6000.

 

[A210AMG]

I agree Ade

Cheap running costs are on the more basic model at sensible money, start ticking some box's and Mercedes little car sone becomes a lot and then you have to think......

There are some cracking deals though 1 year old or less so you get a much better spec with lots of goodies..

 

[Ratz]

Our A180 Elegance Auto cost us £14k from a Merc dealer at 5 months old and 3700 miles, approx. £5k saving from new list price. As you say a new A-Class with some extras is up to £24k+ before you know it and for that my money would go elsewhere.

 

[A210AMG]

This looks nice for the money?

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...l=A+CLASS&min_pr=500&max_pr=17000&max_mileage=


Its manual but on an A class I don't think thats as big an issue as any other Merc? (although I would prefer auto)

 

[hawk20]

That's why I didn't follow up on hawk20's reply to me - it just seemed pointless.

I mean, come on, we're all a *little* bit interested in cars, it really doesn't matter how much or little it costs, why would anyone desire to run a "A160cdi Classic SE 3 door manual".

If you want something cheap I could post the figures for my daughter's Mitsubishi Colt CZ1. They can be bought new for £6000. If it depreciates 100% then it's still only lost £6000.

Your question is so pompous and so patronising. People desire to own an A160cdi Classic SE 3 door manual because it is a fine car with as much room as an E class (something no other small car can offer), best in class safety, real quality and comfort and fabulous economy in an age when not everyone has an unlimited budget.

My brother did not want "something cheap". He wanted Mercedes quality, comfort and safety and practicality and he got it. You may want a Colt. He doesn't and I cannot get in one.

 

[hawk20]

A210AMG: - They still make the A200 Turbo (same 0-62 as an S320cdi )

As several have said you can easily go over £20k for an A class. But you can for a Golf. And a Mercedes was never meant to be a cheap car was it? Mercedes and BMW are the two top luxury cars nowadays and just as the E class and the 5 series are quite expensive for large saloons, so the BMW 1 series and the A class are pretty expensive by the standards of smaller cars.

However, as Autocar found in the head to head test, the BMW really is a small car with little legroom in the front and hardly any in the back, and a small boot. Whereas the A class, remarkably, offers the space of an E class in a car the size of a Golf. Both are similar prices. No other small car offers such legroom front and rear as an A class, and being long-legged I need that. It is also top of the class on safety according to NCAP and I think that important too.

Yes, as several have mentioned, if you go into the toy cupboard you can drive the price quite high. But that is true on all models. It is easy to forget that many extras cost the same whether you add them to one model or to another. So, leather adds about the same to an A as it does to a C or an E. So does COMAND, and electric folding mirrors and parktronic, etc, etc.

Coming from an S class, I wanted not to miss the main useful Mercedes features. So I chose the Avantgarde version of the A class. I wanted air conditioning, auto headlamps, rain-sensitive wipers, a good radio, folding mirrors, parktronic, adjustable lumbar support, steering column adjustable for rake and reach, and the phone plumbed in, and so on, and found I could have all that for around the £20k mark and could get a pretty good discount too.

I liked the Artico and cloth seats so did not need leather. I used a Garmin for our 3,000 mile motoring holiday, found it really good, so I did not need COMAND.

And an E class to a similar spec would have cost in the mid thirties. So, yes, it is quite a pricey luxury small car –but that is just what I wanted.

My brother on the other hand was happy with the Classic SE spec and a smaller engine. So he got what he wanted too, and for at least £5k less. Pay your penny and take your choice.