New A180 CDI

[marcos]

I just need people to put my mind at ease and tell me that buying my wife a brand new A180 CDI yesterday was a good idea.
I managed to get about 3K of list so I reckon I did ok but it's still a lot of money. And it's got upgraded alloys that she can hit kerbs with

I'm not sure spending that sort of money for a second car was particularly wise but the way I look at it the Ford C-Max was going to cost just under 16k and I got this for 18k. It's got to be worth it hasn't it

 

[Tan]

The A will hold its value better than the Ford and its a nice safe and practical car.

 

[pammy]

Simple comparison - Mercedes - Ford. I think you have your answer

 

[mobeyone]

But.. are fords more reliable than mb now?

I willl go now!

 

[Flash]

Ford are offering good discounts on their cars and are easy to haggle (did you shop around and try hard enough cos I know that Thames Valley Ford would sell it for less than £16000 if you play the salesman at his own game - I would say that today's modern new Ford is more reliable than MB and am impressed with some of their new cars. For example, my sister has a high well speced Fiesta and (touch the wood) the car has not had a single fault or need anythin doing to it apart from the oil change service and the car drives really well and is alot of a car for the money that was paid for it brand new - I drove a new Focus and was impressed with the car... maintenanance/servicing costs would be less for the Focus compared to the Merc (as a second car I would have gone for the Focus which would be better spec than the MB and am confident that I would be able to negotiate a good discount. The new VW Golfs are a rip off too in price just like the A Class...

 

[ddentrec]

It's got to be worth it hasn't it

You bought into an expensive brand. You will now pay for that brand.

M-B will get you with the service and parts costs: The 2 year B-service is known to be the killer: some are lucky, others are not. I am looking at £1100 for a 2 year-old C-Class.

Keep the car for 3 years and then decide if it was worth it: for the C-Max the combined service costs (excl non-service parts) will be around £575 incl; for the Merc is will about £875. Ford front brake discs + Pads: £125 fitted. Merc A-Class: £320 fitted.

Good luck.

 

[marcos]

You bought into an expensive brand. You will now pay for that brand.

M-B will get you with the service and parts costs: The 2 year B-service is known to be the killer: some are lucky, others are not. I am looking at £1100 for a 2 year-old C-Class.

Keep the car for 3 years and then decide if it was worth it: for the C-Max the combined service costs (excl non-service parts) will be around £575 incl; for the Merc is will about £875. Ford front brake discs + Pads: £125 fitted. Merc A-Class: £320 fitted.

Good luck.

I know servicing costs will be higher, I've owned Mercedes cars for 8 yrs now but the difference is the feel.
Sit in the C-Max and it's very pleasant then sit in the A-Class and it's like a different world. Everything feels good, solid and makes you feel good. The new A-Class has everything the old MB models seemed to have, well put together and solid feeling.
The other thing that put me off the C-Max is my freinds brother works for Ford's and reckons the C-Max is just a test mule for the current Focus. Apparently they have had loads of problems with them.

 

[Flash]

The other thing that put me off the C-Max is my freinds brother works for Ford's and reckons the C-Max is just a test mule for the current Focus. Apparently they have had loads of problems with them.

New A Class has its fair share of problems too as being a new model... My friend Richard who is a techncian at a Stealer has advsie dthat teher is already a technical bulletin for this car for a number of faults... This particular Stealership has already had to refund 4 customers/been requested to do so by them for faults occuring within the first 30 days of purchase...

 

[marcos]

New A Class has its fair share of problems too as being a new model... My friend Richard who is a techncian at a Stealer has advsie dthat teher is already a technical bulletin for this car for a number of faults... This particular Stealership has already had to refund 4 customers/been requested to do so by them for faults occuring within the first 30 days of purchase...

Now your just trying to make me feel bad

 

[Flash]

Now your just trying to make me feel bad

Sorry mate... - I was out with few of the techies on Saturday nite for a few drinks and we were talking about the the new A Class.... I'm sure Focus must have its fair share of faults/defects too as ur insider has pointed out...

Vito is even worse apparenlty...

 

[fuzzer]

a class is cool , don't worry.

safest place for your wife to be sitting for that money is behind the wheel of an a class...

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Now your just trying to make me feel bad

I wouldn't worry matey.

You know the score, you've had an MB for a while, and know what to expect from your local dealer(s), so there shouldn't be too many surprises.

MBs aren't cheap to run. Although that's to be expected. My gut feel though is that the extra running cost will be more than offset by depreciation in comparison to the Ford, and IMHO depreciation is the biggest cost of car ownership. On balance I reckon the true cost of the MB will be lower during it's time with you.

Finally mate, you bought the car that both you and the wife are happiest with. If it costs a few hundred pounds in service cost across the first three years then I imagine it will be worth it to be driving the car you really wanted.

Enjoy it matey, and stop worrying!!

PS I'm in the pre-signature 'shall I or shan't I' on a C-class so I feel what you're going through post-signature. Will need to you to remind me to enjoy it and stop worrying in a few days too!!

 

[Flash]

PS I'm in the pre-signature 'shall I or shan't I' on a C-class so I feel what you're going through post-signature. Will need to you to remind me to enjoy it and stop worrying in a few days too!!

I lost count number of times my W203 (C Class) had to go in for warranty work/eletrical faults before being written off - I would be carfeul and approach with caution too - C Class has number of techncial bulletins (especially pre 2003...) - avoid Harman Karmon upgraded sound system - there are issues with sat nav too on the new models I have been told...

 

[marcos]

I lost count number of times my W203 (C Class) had to go in for warranty work/eletrical faults before being written off - I would be carfeul and approach with caution too - C Class has number of techncial bulletins (especially pre 2003...) - avoid Harman Karmon upgraded sound system - there are issues with sat nav too on the new models I have been told...

Your just trying to ruin everyone's day

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I lost count number of times my W203 (C Class) had to go in for warranty work/eletrical faults before being written off - I would be carfeul and approach with caution too - C Class has number of techncial bulletins (especially pre 2003...) - avoid Harman Karmon upgraded sound system - there are issues with sat nav too on the new models I have been told...

Arrrggghhh!! It's an 03 facelift so maybe it will be better!!??

 

[Shude]

IMHO depreciation is the biggest cost of car ownership.

Stuff humble opinions that's a fact in 99% of car transactions!

 

[Flash]

Arrrggghhh!! It's an 03 facelift so maybe it will be better!!??

Just watch out for Sat Nav issues on the face lift, Harmon Karmon sound system has issues with crackles in speakers and swicthes itself off at random and headunit plays up (non harman karmon should be fine) - Interior is known to rattle and squeak too which there are fixes for under the tech bulletins but of course MB are keeping it all hush hush...

Most of the major glicthes were fixed on 2003/onward cars - anything before 2003 had BAS/ESP errors (wiring harness had to be modified as a fix) and suspension components failed etc. and replacement parts were modified. My car was a 2003 and there were annoying little rattles/squeaks and front seats started to squeak before it was written off when going over bumps (the stealer said that my car was actually one of the quitest ones they had driven in comparsion to others when I complained about this...) - the main issues I had were eletrical glitches and errors... but they eventually got fixed but was very time consuming...

Good luck with ur purchase...

 

[Flash]

Your just trying to ruin everyone's day

Marcos - my intention was not to ruin anyones days - I was just trying to be honest with inside info I have come across from sum ppl at a Stealership. I thought that the forum was abot sharing knowledge/views and opinions but in future I will be careful what I post so I dont want upset anyone and I apologise in advancee if i did. Anyway, I dont even have a car at the moment and cannot even make a choice what to get now to replace the W203 with due to problems/defects with a number of cars and poor Stealership services from a number of brands such as Audi and VW in addition to MB...

Exterior styling on the new A CLass in nice though and it is a pretty car to look at... U did well to negotiate a £3000 discount of ths particular model... Enjoy ur car and dont let ppl like me spoil it for u.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Good luck with ur purchase...

Dealer called me this morning - the cost to change is £1100 over my target, so I'm letting them sweat a little, before I make a decision. There's a private sale (02) and a non-franchise dealer (03) also available with pretty much the same mileage, so there are a couple of options

 

[marcos]

Marcos - my intention was not to ruin anyones days - I was just trying to be honest with inside info I have come across from sum ppl at a Stealership. I thought that the forum was abot sharing knowledge/views and opinions but in future I will be careful what I post so I dont want upset anyone and I apologise in advancee if i did. Anyway, I dont even have a car at the moment and cannot even make a choice what to get now to replace the W203 with due to problems/defects with a number of cars and poor Stealership services from a number of brands such as Audi and VW in addition to MB...

Exterior styling on the new A CLass in nice though and it is a pretty car to look at... U did well to negotiate a £3000 discount of ths particular model... Enjoy ur car and dont let ppl like me spoil it for u.

I know mate. I was only joking