Buying older A-class - what to look out for

[Khamen]

I ran a 2002 A160 auto for a couple years (it was Paolo Di Canio's wife's old car apparently!) and never had any issues with it, although it was only 5 years old when I got rid of it. My main issue was that it was pretty grim for motorway driving with a bit of a strangely firm-yet-wallowy ride and a lot of cabin noise at an indicated 80mph.

K

 

[c55]

Your post makes very interesting reading and I congratulate you on how you manage to maintain your A class yourself. HOWEVER implicit in your post details are a willingness to don a boiler suit and get "down and dirty" with your A class plus an ability to strip and repair a complex vehicle electrical component. I would put it to you these are not necessarily abilities possessed by many A CLASS owners and many would rely on taking their car to their local garage or dare I mention it their local MB dealer. Now if they are lucky they will have a resourceful and knowledgeable mechanic who will be able to do as you suggest--- at a price --- but they may well have the experience of--- the fault 25= replace modules X through Y approach so prevalent now. Indeed at present labour rates plus VAT module replacement [ with a warranty] may be the cheaper option to strip and repair? I think the warnings about the high cost of running an old A class are based more on the more common scenario I have outlined rather than your very resourceful and knowledgeable approach.

Actually Graeme I totally agree with your advice. It’s not economically viable to run one of these cars as you correctly point out! Sometimes it’s very easy to forget that not everyone is willing, able or even wants to get to grips with their MBs mechanically. I guess as I’m neither an engineer nor a mechanic. I do tend to view my cars purely from a hobbyist perspective and so rather enjoy the unique challenges they present. However your assessment is correct and should be heeded!