A-Class buying - what to look out for..

[coolpot]

hi, have a friend that want to buy a A-class, currently looking at a advantgarde 1.4 petrol 2002 manual, with 40,000 miles on it,

i just wonder if there are anything to look out for. etc. is this one of the better years for them or one of the worse..etc
thanks! steve.

 

[Howard]

If it is a w168 you are looking at , i beleive it is , budget to have the MAS sorted ( £220 ) , as , more likely than not it will have had it. Symptoms are sluggish running at idle , lack of power pulling off and high fuel consumption.

Springs and shocks are other suspect areas. w168s are known for snapping springs.

Rot in the subframe outriggers.

Leaky fuel tanks ( around the neck ) which are expensive to fix , leaky fuel pipes at the back of the engine ( which is not )

Noisy steering racks / pumps. They never fail , but can be annoying.

Rust on the bonnet , lower doors , rear arches ( front ones won't rust as the wings are plastic , as is the bootlid ).

Check the central locking vacuum pump in the boot isn't soaking wet ( it is encased in sponge rubber and a lot of w168's have leaky rear screen washer connections which fills up the spare wheel well and then the sponge soaks it up and kills the pump ) Rear screen washer is an easy fix. Pump is annoying as a new pump has to be coded to the car on a STAR machine , so you can't just get one from a scrappy and bung it in.

Brake light switches ( BAS / ESP lights will be illuminated on the dash ) , an easy £10 fix.

Have a read of this .

http://www.aclassinfo.co.uk/mypage.65.htm

 

[R W]

Coolpot.
I to have been looking at early A class’s. Glad your friend is looking at a manual as all the information & advice I have had is, never to buy an auto, they can cost more to repair than the car is worth. I looked at several 1.4s & the engines had a slight rattle in comparison to the 1.6. Like timing chain rattle & from what I have read there have been a few 1.4s snapped the timing chain causing extensive damage.
The design of the Aclass are not straight forward & access to many items is very restricted & needing the engine lowered or removed. The website Howard has given you is full of excellent information.
I have read so much about them now I have put myself off buying one & now thinking about buying something Japanese instead. But in saying all this, it seems some people have had them & have had years of trouble fee motoring, even with the auto’s. It seems a bit of a lottery or gamble with the A class. I am sure some owners & technical guys will come along & give you more advice than I can give you this is just my two pence worth.

 

[Rinehart]

"A" model description

:neutral:Howard
The info you provided Coolpot regarding the "A" was most informative. Do you by chance have something similar for a 2003 CL 500?
There is no doubt that it too, is rather expensive to repair, particularly the ABC system. I would appreciate any info you could share. Rinehart

 

[Howard]

Hi there,

I'm afraid i don't the only reason i know about the A classes is because i went through all this myself last year when looking for one.

I hate being caught out , so did my homework for months beforehand.

Also , a couple of the things are things i have had to deal with on ours since buying it ( leaky rear washer jet for example and a brake light switch )

Good luck with your search.

@ RW ...

Honestly , the horror stories almost put me off too , but the wife had her heart set on a purple one .

Before we actually owned one , i used to tell people to avoid them at all costs , but now we actually have one , i love it.

Pretty much all of it ( bar the engine ) is easy to work on yourself , Lofty's site is invaluable as well.

OK , some things can be a nightmare ( starter motor change or a clutch for example , both needing engine dropped ) but not much. Even if the engine goes pop , it's not the end of the world to find a replacement for sensible money , and bung your local grease monkeys to pop it in. So many get written off due to failed auto gearboxes and other trivial things , that there is a good supply of secondhand engines / parts ( Ebay or whereever ) cheaply too. They are so versatile , all the seats come out creating a 'van' effectively should you need it.

The one thing i will say is , there are loads out there , don't buy the first one you see. And BUY A MANUAL.

 

[R W]

Howard.
You may be right & I should reconsider an Aclass. I have looked at several in the past 3 weeks & for one reason or another not bought any of them . Maybe I have not found the right car yet that feels 100% correct.
I think I have read & asked lots of questions on forums & people & the results have frightened me off buying one. If I had not researched them I could have bought a car & maybe had years of trouble free motoring & I would have been oblivious to the possible problems like many owners are.
I did find a very nice A160, fresh from Japan with genuine 55k on it. Condition was like new. Problem was it was auto, so I was unable or I should say afraid to buy it. If I had not researched information I would have bought this & possibly had no problems at all with it. We read on forums about the problem cars but there must be lots of owners who have not had problems & not contacted forums regarding problems. We often only hear about the problem cars. This week I have turned my attention to Mazda 323s. I am sure if I searched info on them I would uncover horror stories about these too.

 

[Kyliewww]

You got it in one.... Can't remember any time that I came onto the forum to say that my SRS light stayed off for a whole month, the suspension didn't creak or the locks didn't bounce even though it was really cold and the rear washer pipe stayed on too!!