Buying an A-Class

[hitt]

A friend is considering purchasing an 1.9 A-Class Avantgarde for his wfe.

I was hoping to get a good overview of the highs and lows of ownership.
Price range is set at £5k - £8k.

Any advice you can provide would be greatly valued

 

[Geoff]

Main advice would be to make sure you get the long wheelbase version. In addition to overcoming the well publicised rollover problems, it also gives you a truly amazing amount of leg room in the back !! My wife recently got a 54 plate A class, and the space in the back is miles ahead of my C class.

1.9 is probably a good bet, as I think that the 1.4 petrol engine is a bit underpowered for the size of the car.

 

[AJTHOMAS]

Some folk moan about excess play developing in the steering column and the expense to replace.

Not something I've found in >50k miles in our A160 but worth checking.

Rock steering wheel side to side while parked with engine off. Clunking noise from under the dash and the universal joint is on the way...

The rear seats rattle, fact of life for tip-n-tumble seats in an MPV.

Ride is harsh, mostly due to stiffer setup post elk-test made worse with 'sporty' springs fitted to the Avantgarde range.

The facelift version (2000/2001) added a few cosmetic nicities but still didn't bring the car up to the standards of the C-Max and Honda FRV.

I'll not be replacing our A-Class with another but enjoying the ride in the mean time.