Anyone had one of these! They seem a nice little hatchback, but are there any specific problems to beware of! I'm a little suspicious of possible repair costs with European vehicles.
intrade,
Sep 13, 8:10pm
i done a bit research the biggest issue is the airflow meter some have the whole intake as part of that , airflow meter do fail its not if but when for every car and they are over a grand nz i think i seen em for close to 500 euro ex germany for some A class
ceebee2,
Sep 13, 10:30pm
I have a colleague Auto Tech in the European servicing Dept and he says they have auto problems as well.couldn't be specific.
Jazz might be able to throw some light on it here.excuse the pun!
rpvr,
Sep 13, 11:22pm
Thanks for the advice - I must admit the temptation to look more closely didn't last too long. I think I'll stick with Japanese.
fiatracer,
Sep 14, 1:05am
biggest issue is that it's a Merc from the early '00s, when quality plummetted. Auto trans are a common failure [I sold one - a really high spec one which had receipts for a box replacement at 40,000km!]. occupancy sensors etc give issues too. I'd steer well clear.
brapbrappy,
Sep 14, 1:06am
Mainly B series cars
phillip.weston,
Sep 14, 2:14am
transmissions and starter motors fail - stay away I would say!
phillip.weston,
Sep 14, 3:34am
She did you both a favour :P
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 14, 3:50am
Coming from a Mercedes fan. "piece of poo". I think the OP is gone but if you havn't don't judge European cars based on the A series Mercedes, either in terms of service costs or to drive.
rpvr,
Sep 14, 6:33am
Not gone, I always look back in! No, I won't judge all by this one, just think that the chance of buying a lemon from Japan is probably quite a bit less.
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 14, 9:15am
Realistically the whole Japan/Euro thing is just nonsense. For starters "Europe" is a whole bunch of countries. The trouble is in NZ with basically the entire used car industry revolving around used Japanese imports its easy to fall for the wives tales and exaggerated half truths.
Cars are cars, some manufacturers are a little better than others but all have had their good and bad vehicles. Realistically the vast majority of modern cars are pretty reliable, milage/condition/service history and type of use usually has far more effect on reliability than the badge on the front. Yet many people pay very little attention to those factors and instead try and find some magical badge to guarantee reliability.
Anyhow, if you want maximum bang for buck you can capitalise on the anti Euro nonsense in NZ and buy a really decent car for very little. If you want to post your budget and what sort of thing you are after I would be happy to make some suggestions. There are a lot of really good European cars that fly under the radar in NZ and go for a song.
craigs_workshop,
Sep 14, 11:52am
its not nonsense when its true
fiatracer,
Sep 14, 8:15pm
Very true. But from a consumer / car enthusiast perspective there's a key difference - how they drive. Generally, Japanese cars feel much the same as each other, and generally Euro cars feel quite different to that, and quite different to each other. eg: a BMW doesn't feel like a Jag doesn't feel like a Renault.
Some love how Japanese cars feel, and are put off by how Euros feel different. Some love that difference.
rpvr,
Sep 15, 9:59am
I have a little Toyota Starlet which I use as a work car for doing road inspections on contract. Bought it when it had done 120,000k, has now done 264,000k and has only cost me for brake overhauls, oil and filter changes, a transmission flush and a flexi joint in the exhaust system, and a few tyres. I like how that feels. Would any euro have matched that! I very much doubt it.
franc123,
Sep 15, 12:25pm
Will probably go down in history as the vehicle that met nobody's expectations, not Daimler Benzes, their customers, their dealers, and the motoring press (especially one Swedish motoring hack).It was aimed at a market which didn't really exist, was ludicrously expensive for what it was, too mechanically complicated, had some annoying design features and wasn't even nice to drive or gave the impression of quality. Safety levels for that size of vehicle was the only good point, there is bugger all other reasons to buy one.
texastwo,
Sep 15, 8:34pm
Was it the A series one that "fell over" when being tested by motoring scribes!
therafter1,
Sep 15, 8:39pm
From memory, yes.
therafter1,
Sep 15, 8:40pm
Awful bloody things, to put a headlight bulb into them you have to go in thru the inner guard !
therafter1,
Sep 15, 8:41pm
And also from memory it was at normal highway speed !
intrade,
Sep 15, 8:45pm
You know why the A class fell over ! its because mercedes anounced in the mid 90s to have fulecell-cars on the market by 2004 they made the A class and drove it with the fuelcell mid 90s in the usa and there likes for testing. The floor under the seating is empty for the fuelcell and hydrogen tanks so the seating is higher up but with the petrol engine and empty floor space it was top heavy , not having the hydrogen and fuelcell equipment it was designed for , and fell over in elch-test. in the gallerie the mk1 A-class fuelcell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_F-Cell
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