W169 - A Class - Wing mirrors

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Bill_33

Active Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
249
Location
Hampshire
Car
A160,(W169) previously 300TE - 300CE, E280TE
I know, I know, I should have checked

We have bought a really nice W169 A Classe - to use maybe 6 times a year and kept at a small flat that we have.

When I got it how I could not fold the mirrors - and could not get it in the garage - (we have a garage built in the 70's and it is less than 8ft 4" wide - that's the interior - the wooden posts for the garage door reduce the entrance).

Internet came to the rescue and I read that if you give them a sharpe knock the mirrors will collapse - if I do this it will just go in. Spoke to Mr MBZ dealer and he felt (in their usual arrogance!), that non folding mirrors were normal - but "we can fit electric folding mirrors for you Sir" at a cost of almost £1,000

Question: how many times can I risk these "sharpe knocks" to collapse the mirrors, (which the MBZ dealer said was NOT recommended), or is there a cost effective solution.
 
I don't think they can be folded.

Does it document any details in the owners manual?
 
Yes this was a bizarre decision by MB (to have non-folding mirrors on standard cars). My first decision when ordering my 2nd A Class was to order electric folding mirrors which are very cheap as a factory option.

As you say, the non folding mirrors will fold given a sharp knock (happened to me a couple of times thanks to clumsy people in supermarket car parks) and they went back ok. But I agree that its not an ongoing solution.
 
Yes, it does seem a bit odd.

My other half still has her W168 and those mirrors fold easily (not electrically), but they don't fold on her W169. I eventually found that they can be folded, but it felt so stiff that I wouldn't want to do it. It appears to have been designed not to be foldable, but to 'collapse' if hit with some force, allowing it to be clipped back.

It takes some effort and just doesn't feel like a long term solution.
 
I think that it is design incompetence on the part of MBZ

are there any other £15,000 cars that do not have (manual) folding mirrors as standard equipment?

are there ANY cars without manual folding mirrors, maybe a TATA or similar?

It is just one of those small details that make you wonder about the thinking within the MBZ design dept.

I have had quite a few Mercs ....... from a 1990 300TE to the later Merc Estates .... I stopped buying them about 8 years ago when I felt that they were just not good value for money anymore.

I like the used A Class, (a 59 plate A160), that we have just bought, it ticks many of the boxes that we need for a small car to use at our "holiday" home ......... but this non folding mirror "thing" just P1zzes me off........ and I would not have bought the car had I known ...... as I said in my opening post ....... just my (stupid) mistake ....... but in this day and age, I ask you ...... non folding mirrors, how can that be justified....... I should have bought the Skoda Fabia that was our second choice
 
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i have the same problem, can mercedes modify them???

Has anyone actually had them modified???
 
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i have the same problem, can mercedes modify them???

Has anyone actually had them modified???

As said earlier - the only answer is retro fitted electric folding mirrors. MB will do this - but for £1,000.
 
My dealer seems to ignore me after i ask, they initially say yes ofcourse we can, but electric would mean taking the whole dash off which is a lot of work, but manual folding mirrors should be fine, ... but i have to keep chasing them for a quote, its been over a month and i havent heard ....stuck up ****holes...

As said earlier - the only answer is retro fitted electric folding mirrors. MB will do this - but for £1,000.
 
also i can't believe my car value has dropped by half in a year.... is it worth keeping??
 
and i have just found out that its bull**** they cannot fit retro mirrors on this model, so we are stuck with em.
 
Really? Who told you, MB? I would talk to Comand Online, they specialise in retrofits. Anything can be done with the correct parts and a little bit of coding :)
 
Really? Who told you, MB? I would talk to Comand Online, they specialise in retrofits. Anything can be done with the correct parts and a little bit of coding :)

I think this is right. MB dealer even prepared a quote for me on my 1st A Class.
 
Yes its was an MB dealer in North London, ..thnx for link i will check it out
 

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