Thinking about purchasing an MB?

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tele1962

New Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
24
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
Car
2015 Ford Focus 1.1 Eco Boost Titanium
Newbie question, but feel I need as much advice as possible before even thinking about taking the plunge, so here goes.

I currently own a 2015 Ford Focus 1.1 Ecoboost Titanium but always promised myself something much nicer, the MB A Class seems to fit the bill. It would need to be automatic around a 2017 plate.
Would I be doing the right thing upgrading, there are so many things that need doing around the house, but I keep telling myself I have worked hard all my life why not.
Seen this one the other day can't afford it yet but gives you an idea what I am looking for.


Thanks for any advice.
 
Anyone else with any help please?
 
Just a very generic word of advice re buying an Approved Used car form a Mercedes-Benz dealer...:

 
Regardless of what car you decide to get I think you need to consider if is financially viable.

I would expect the A class to be more expensive (compared to your Ford) to keep on the road in terms of maintenance costs in general. Are you ok with that?
 
Just a bit of personal advice, it's not a good idea to buy a car if you have other commitments that require priority. I did that once and couldn't enjoy the car, it felt like more of a burden than an experience that should be filled with joy and excitement. I ended up selling it and committing to the priorities at hand, felt much better :)
 
Just a very generic word of advice re buying an Approved Used car form a Mercedes-Benz dealer...:


The car he is looking at is at MB Sunderland which is my local dealer, I've got nothing but good things to say about Sunderland, myself and other family members have bought a selection of new and used cars from them over the years and never had any issues. I can also recommend a very good salesman there that we all deal with as a family. I think the problem with 'approved used' is not the scheme itself but how each individual dealer upholds the standards regarding car preparation and how Mercedes UK deals with them if they don't. One should go in with their eyes open when buying any car from any dealer, I'd be extremely surprised if the OP had a bad experience with Sunderland.
 
A post about a good MB dealership. Whatever next! Be careful though, as the usual suspects will try to get you banned!
 
Just a bit of personal advice, it's not a good idea to buy a car if you have other commitments that require priority. I did that once and couldn't enjoy the car, it felt like more of a burden than an experience that should be filled with joy and excitement. I ended up selling it and committing to the priorities at hand, felt much better
Regardless of what car you decide to get I think you need to consider if is financially viable.

I would expect the A class to be more expensive (compared to your Ford) to keep on the road in terms of maintenance costs in general. Are you ok with that?
Is there any sort of comparison as to how much more in the way of maintenance etc it would be?
 
It's big chunk of money for me.😟
Not everyone on here is loaded to the gills with money and driving round in expensive cars. I spent the most ever on a car last year, on an E350 CDI. £7k!!!

Which is twice as much as I spent on my previous Merc, a C320 V6 petrol in 2012 (had a brief, expensive and terrible experience with an Insignia for a couple of years inbetween).

The E-class is 9 years old, but condition wise it could be half it's age. With the E class (and above) I was attracted to it because I found it quite easy to find an example that had 1 or 2 owners, full Merc service history and kept in a garage out of the weather for most of its life.

I love Merc ownership, but/and this might not be a popular or common position on the forum, I'm also not wealthy and have other priorities that mean I won't be putting big money on a car.

I'd say stretch for something like a house (that is unlikely to depreciate), but don't stretch yourself for a car that will lose money day in day out.

W3lcome to the forum and good luck with your search.
 
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I can't directly compare going from a Focus to an A Class but i went from a Mondeo Mk4 Titanium X to my E250 so i can comment on that! The Merc is a "nicer" car in terms of being cosseted as a driver and the inside is much nicer. It feels better made. List price is £15k more than my old Mondeo when both new so you'd expect it i guess. However the running costs are really quite different in my experience. Apart from normal service items like brakes and tyres the Mondeo cost me just over £1000 in repairs - it was manual and needed a dual mass flywheel. That was in over 120k miles of ownership. So far the Merc has cost me over £3k in repairs in less than 30k miles of ownership. That's suspension, engine and trans mounts, water pump. I still prefer it to the Mondeo - but those costs were unexpected if i'm honest so it's as well to be aware the A class might be more costly to run than the Focus.
 
Is there any sort of comparison as to how much more in the way of maintenance etc it would be?
If you want to use a Main Dealer for servicing, then a ServiceCare Plan could allow you to pay for routine servicing for a fixed monthly amount - probably in the region of £40/mth. On top of that you would need to budget for the periodic replacement of wear parts (brake pads, brake discs, tyres, etc.).

The Focus may not have the badge appeal of a Mercedes-Benz, but it is an extremely competent platform. The A-Class interior is somewhat nicer (subjectively) but dynamically the Focus is hard to beat. I suggest you try out an A-Class before setting your heart on one to make sure you're getting what you hope for.
 
My son has a 15 plate A class.
It's nice but not E class and above nice.
I would think it will be slightly nicer than a Ford focus but not the massive gulf folk imagine.

I've had numerous mercedes and currently run a nice C class premium plus cabrio, just bought a 16 year old Audi A8 for cheap money and I'd rather drive/be in that.

I like comfort over the driving experience though.
 
The Focus may not have the badge appeal of a Mercedes-Benz, but it is an extremely competent platform. The A-Class interior is somewhat nicer (subjectively) but dynamically the Focus is hard to beat. I suggest you try out an A-Class before setting your heart on one to make sure you're getting what you hope for.
^ This.
Ford have long been making exceptionally good cars and the Focus is no exception.
As above, have a test drive of an A class before committing to a car that isn't that much of a step up.
 
have a test drive of an A class before committing to a car that isn't that much of a step up.
If the OP was in the market for a W177 A-Class I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it over a Focus (funds permitting) as it's a much nicer place to be and it drives very well, but from a driving dynamics perspective my view is that the Focus has a W176 licked.
 
I suppose the other thing to bear in mind is that owners have complained about the apparent poor build quality (seemingly depending on where it was built) of the A Class, with continual rattles and such from the interior. This may not bother you, but as AMGeed suggests, you need to test drive at least one to get the feel. I loved the Focus I had for 3 years, nothing ever went wrong with it!
 

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