2005 A-170 questions

[Guest dax]

Hi,

am considering a 2005 A-170 for a first car. wad attracts me is the quality and driving experience of a merc for roughly the price of a 2-3yr old jap car.

however, i am worried about the reliability of the a-class after doing some research. a mercedes mechanic family friend has advised against the a-class bcoz the servicing/repairs are very expensive and bcoz of spare parts unavailable, all servicing/repairs must be done at c&c.

can i ask roughly how much is the annual servicing cost (assuming 2x per year)?

and is it true that the transmission is unreliable and has to be overhauled after approx 5 yrs?

thanks.

[Guest Cklasse]

I do not know anything about the W169 (that is the 2005 A170 model) but I owned the W168 from 2000 to 2004. I am sure Mercedes-Benz has ironed out any problem for the W169 after churning out the W168 from 1998 to 2004. It's not true that only C&C can service the A-class because I had done mine elsewhere. The unique slant engine of the A-class may limit the number of workshops that are capable of working on it (and I think your mechanic friend does not know how to).

As for spares availability only at C&C, I do not know, but I do know that I had bought parts from shop other than C&C before.

Btw, as far as servicing charges in C&C are concerned, the higher your car's alphabet is, generally the price follows. So an A is cheaper than a S.

One thing you need to accept is don't expect the A-class to ride like the E-class in terms of comfort, soundproofing and "respect" from other road users or the bell boy at the hotel driveway. Whatever it is, I still miss my A-class (the W168 is even shorter than the W169).

[Guest dax]

hi cklasse,

thanks for the quick response. i have always thought/known mercedes to make very reliable cars. which is why im attracted to the 5 yr old a-class at that particular price point rather than a 2-3yr old jap hatchback. i was just worried that the reduced 'respect' was due to mechanical problems/reliability issues with the a-class.

your endorsement is reassuring. could u share why u enjoyed your w168 so much? was it the driving experience? or some other factors like the aesthetics/fuelefficiency(decent i hear)??

could you recommend a reliable mechanic that can service the a-class? thank you.

[Guest Toddy]

Have been driving a 2005 A-class since new, i have got no problems getting my parts from stockie other then C & C. If you are talking about normal servicing at outside workshop like engine oil, oil filter and auto gear oil, the servicing cost is not much different from a 1600cc Jap car.