Advice Please, re choice of Diesel Motors

[Godot]

Any of you decent folk out there, can give a drop of advice re choosing the better prospect out of two vehicles I am considering getting.

Both are new type A Class

1 is a 3 door Elegance 180cdi auto, with electric sun roof, very comfy & does it well on a test drive, only 1 year old with 5,000 miles, Dune Gold..local to us.
It is on a reputable used car lot, with full history etc.

Second one, I can't get out of my mind, but have not seen in the metal...yet.

3 door 180cdi Avanantgard Auto, Sports Package, lowered suspension by 10 mm, Command & telephone pre wiring & all leather, but with 19,500 miles & 2 years old. The Sports Pack (with the large 7 spoked wheels) The Command system & Black Leather seats & Comet grey. a great distance from where we live, but could be worth the trip. It is with a Main Dealer

I have never had a deisel car before & only ever driven old vans in the dim past. But greatly fancy the diesels,

My boy racer days have long vanished, tempted by all the extras on the Avantgard, but concerned that 19,500 miles is not so good & that a sport suspension & those wheels will rattle my old bones too much. ( either will be only driven on the "c" setting to facilitate a stately progress along the highways & byways.

Your experience & advice will be most welcome, as I try & sort this deisel doubting. The mem Sah'b has left the choice completely to me, as she don't drive & is as good as a Sat Nav !:-?

 

[Godot]

Forgot to mention, both are in the region of £14,000...ish

 

[Blobcat]

Whilst the Avantgarde may look better you may find the wheel/suspension setup soon becomes quite tyring. You will have 2 yrs warranty from MB on the Elegance but only 1 on the Avantgarde. The new A class hardly get a mention on this site so that to me is a pretty decent recommendation of their reliability. Either that or non of the owners are on the internet...
I would try and find an Avantgarde close to you that you can test drive to see if you could live with it. My father had the previous A class Avantgarde (A160) eventually he found the suspension and wheels too much for him as he didn't enjoy the ride at all.

 

[hawk20]

Whilst the Avantgarde may look better you may find the wheel/suspension setup soon becomes quite tyring. You will have 2 yrs warranty from MB on the Elegance but only 1 on the Avantgarde. The new A class hardly get a mention on this site so that to me is a pretty decent recommendation of their reliability. Either that or non of the owners are on the internet...
I would try and find an Avantgarde close to you that you can test drive to see if you could live with it. My father had the previous A class Avantgarde (A160) eventually he found the suspension and wheels too much for him as he didn't enjoy the ride at all.

Sound advice. I have driven the avantgarde and the ride is harsh. A bit Audi like. The normal set up is truly amazing for ride comfort compared with the previous mode. My brother bought a year old A160cdi Classic SE. It rides beautifully, has not gone wrong at all in his year of ownership, and delivers 65 mpg on a run. Yes really, tankful to tankful 65 mpg on regular trips from Bournemouth to the Wirral and back (260 miles each way).

By the way, the miles done don't matter a jot. Remember diesels typically last three times as long as petrol engines. I'd want full MBSH and the best ones tend to be with Merc dealers. Good search engine on the MB website. If you want new you can get 12.5% off from Drive the Deal. No dealer can match it.

 

[Godot]

Both, thank you, for the advice & information. I did think the Elegance was the better option for both of us, but the problem has been solved.

The Avantgard model has gone off the dealers website, assumed sold...so now, thankfully out of our minds!

 

[dava]

Have you looked here?
http://www.directmercedes.co.uk/sea...tion=&slTransmission=&slMileageMax=&x=74&y=18

Not always but sometimes when dealers cant move cars they sell them to theses guys who then sell them at a bit less than main dealers.

 

[Godot]

Indeed I have dava, but many thanks for the reply. I am constantly checking that site & all the others, just in case.

However, fingers firmly crossed that the 5,000 miler (Elegance 3 door) will be coming my way!