Been to look at an A class.. advice sought.

[gaz_l]

At title, I have been car shopping today.

Saw an A class on Pistonheads (details below) which looked appealing and having spoken to the seller, decided to have a look at it. Right in the middle of London, so we took the train up as I'm no fan of driving in the centre of town.

We duly arrive and my heart sinks.. it's proper grubby, inside and out. Why buy a car with beige leather and then treat it like a skip? And even if you do, why not clean it before a prospective buyer arrives to view? He had a good two hours notice that we were on our way, I'd have been all over it like a rash to make sure it was presentable. He didn't even de-clutter the car. But the seller didn't seem that bothered, I guess he is one of those people who views a car as just another appliance.

So, I look it over, it's clean enough under the bonnet and starts on the button. Plenty of small scratches/stone chips on the bodywork but no major dings, bit of kerbing on the alloys but nothing a refurb wouldn't sort out. There is a problem with the central locking.. the driver's door doesn't open/close with a single clunk, there is a rapid-fire machine gun noise and the door either ends up open or closed at random. Seller says "yeah, it does that sometimes in cold weather". It's 8 degrees, hardly arctic.

Took it for quick trip around the block and to be fair it drove OK. Machine gun noise again at 5mph as the central locking tries and fails to lock the door. It also changed up very quickly from 1st to 2nd and then seemed to change better but that may just be a characteristic of the CVT box - I'm not really familiar with them. Do they have the "learning" capabilities of other Mercedes autos? It may just have adapted to the owners' driving style and need a good thrash to reset it.

The engine seemed quite torquey and it wasn't too agricultral, a bit of vibration at standstill but that smoothed out when underway. Driving through the speed bump laden borough of Camden was hardly the place to test its performance, but it didn't seem short of breath and 140 BHP should be enough in an A class..

The car is optioned up to the eyeballs, which first attracted me to it - I reckon it was an easy £25K new. But having met the owner with his apparently indifferent attitude to care and maintenance (it's had one oil change since he bought it 20K ago, carried out at a local garage because, I quote, "I'm not paying Mercedes dealer rates"), all of a sudden I'm not really feeling the love.

I could take a punt on it, assuming I get my negotiating boots on and lower the price (which it's clearly not worth IMO), but how much remedial work am I letting myself in for? The Assyst says that the next service due is a D, which sounds expensive, what does that mean in A class terms?

It'll need a thorough professional valet to get it cosmetically up to scratch, at least two wheels refurbed, a visit to the dealers for a D service for my peace of mind (Mrs Gaz will be driving the car and she is worth a lot more than money) and the central locking issue sorting. That could be nothing more than a dud actuator, but it could also go a lot deeper and get a lot more expensive very quickly. It'll also need a visit from Chips Away or a similar enterprise to get the paintwork tidied up. Then it'll be the car I want.. although as a private sale I'm still without warranty in the event of something expensive going Pete Tong . Am I mad?

Thanks for taking the trouble to read this, and as they say at the bottom of exam papers (or did in my day), discuss..

Cheers,

Gaz

Almost forgot the car..

Mercedes : Mercedes A200 CDi Elegance SE Auto

 

[JOB-BLACK-RAT]

Hello Gaz,

Just as you said it looks good in the photo's. I know you said it looked tatty today but still thinking on it as its spec'd up etc.

I just think that if it did'nt 'feel' right, the motor OR the seller, give it a miss. That little voice is normally right.

 

[Chrishazle]

Based on my single experience of the A class - a rental I drove from Doncaster to Hastings some years ago - my advice would be "seek psychiatric help". I wouldn't touch an A class with a barge pole!

 

[davidjpowell]

Walk walk walk. I've done this i'll make it right, how bad can it be, and paid the price.

Bouncing door lock will mean that a 20p spring has snapped. You can't replace it, have to replace the lock itself.

 

[trapperjohn]

Hi Gaz,

Too many alarm bells. Lovely colour but used as a skip!! Dopey Dora selling a car and cannot even be ars ed to at least clean the inside, a little. Oh no, wrong attitude from the seller.

There must be plenty more fish in the sea.

With your length of time on the forum you know this is not a "good un" Wait until your gut say "buy it" before it says "possible pass"

Buy now - pay later is not your style.

Good Luck in your search.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I mean this in the nicest possible way- if you buy this car, you will regret it. In a big way.
He didn't even clean it for you coming!

 

[Rory]

Do the CVT's need an oil change?

Sound like it won't have had any of the 4year interval stuff done (fuel filter etc) so with CVT and brake fluid etc it could need £600+ of servicing (more at dealer rates if you wanted to try to get Mobilo re-instated).

If it's had nothing else done then it could well be be close to needing pads and disk all round too.

Having said that, aren't these later A Class's supposed to be relatively bullet proof?

I don't know what the value of the these is - how much would an immaculate one be?

 

[Markedes]

I am only new to Mercedes, but from what you have written, i would carry on the search. My grandad always told me " Cheap no good, Good no cheap " very wise words when car searching.

 

[jaymanek]

The central locking is just the lock, about £60-80 for the part and an hour or so labour.

CVt boxes are a bit funny, not like a normal auto...always feels like they change too soon but of course they arent changing at all really.

If you buy the car, id budget £800-1000 to have it all sorted, i.e. a proper service carried out, a proper valet and the wheels refurbed.

High spec A class's are pretty difficult to find... I was after one for my mum and gave up and got a B class instead.

 

[Tan]

Regards the warranty, you can buy the Mercedes Approved one, isn't cheap but will cover most things and give you the peace of mind.

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Considering the spec and colour combination that you want is quite rare, I would have an inspection carried out and so long as you take a good warranty it could be an ok buy.

 

[grober]

You've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

 

[Smatt]

Looks like a nice car, but from the sounds of it it would be a bit of a punt which may or may not pay off

 

[Deleted member 37751]

My grandad always told me " Cheap no good, Good no cheap "

Very good mantra ^^
On this forum you will always get a very strict view on what looks good and what doesn't from members. Everything you have said has rang alarm bells to me.
The fact that he is so laid back about maintainence and cleaning the car to show for a sale is very worrying and in my experience only ends in tears.
As a rule of thumb when buying a motor, I have a thing about tyres. If the tyres are a premium brand, I would take it as, to an extent, the car will have been looked after. If I see four different chinese brands , I am more inclined to walk away.
Good luck in whatever you decide

 

[wemorgan]

50:50 or call a friend?

Options are nice , but to me they don't define a car ie. how useful are heated leather seats when you're broken down on the hard shoulder?

Are the low mileages backed up by the old MoT and single service it's had? I guess with that service record it would be easy to clock before the first MoT.

On the plus side the car is still young and it is a Mercedes and not a Renault, so should withstand the current owner's abuse.

If it was me, I'd walk away and settle with a lower spec car but has had more TLC.

Good luck.

 

[reflexboy]

Plenty of others about----Personally, I wouldn't walk-I'd RUN

 

[npuk]

A single service since 2005! I wouldnt consider it. As above really plenty of others about.

If possible try and buy a later car. If you cant then be sure to check the bottom of the doors, and tailgate for rust at the seams. Mercedes will repair it but without a full MBSH I dont know. Later cars are not affected as the door seams were changed. http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/964780-post4.html

 

[Tan]

Just noticed the lack of service history, that would scupper the chances of having a good warranty I think.

 

[nick mercedes]

I could take a punt on it, assuming I get my negotiating boots on and lower the price (which it's clearly not worth IMO), but how much remedial work am I letting myself in for? The Assyst says that the next service due is a D, which sounds expensive, what does that mean in A class terms?

Seems like a nice little car with good spec.

There's not much point ever asking the forum what they think of a car because whatever it is it will always get panned.

That said £7.5k for an almost 6 year old A-Class seems like strong money.

How much are new ones?

 

[A140driver]

That car appears to have a superb spec, and it's the sort of spec I'd want if I were in the market for one, but even as an A-class fan, I'd not be keen on buying one which has never seen a dealer or specialist, and hasn't seen much servicing at all. Seems a shame that a car with such a great spec has been so poorly kept, but I wouldn't bother with this example. Athough unusual, there are others about, and I'm sure you'll find a better one.
It is possible that it's a genuinely good car beneath the dirt but unless I had a lot of spare cash I'd rather not take the chance.