jta

Hey guys i was wondering if any of you had a merc "B" or "A" class for that matter our quashqi is 3 year old at the end end of the year and i have been looking at new motors, i wouldnt go with the nissan again if my life depended on it and was looking at the merc (was looking at the 63 but my numbers never came up lol) anyhoo seriously anyone have one can give me good and bad points cheers

njkmrs

Had a go in an A class as a courtesy car once .It was only a 1.4 or something with the stop start technology .I have to say it was rather dull and did not impress whatsoever and was only showing 30 ish mpg which I thought was really poor .You sit rather high up as well which felt strange in a small car .
Depends what you want it for I suppose .

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

B-class you should get cheap as they aren't loved really. Later ones better than the first ones.

A-class, not an inspiring drive from what i read. Nicely packaged though and hold their value well. Reliable too. You can get newer or more toys for the same money with another manufacturer of course but there is a reason they don't sink like a stone on resale.

That said, avoid base stuff, as above, it'll be underpowered so won't save fuel as you'll wnat to thrash it everywhere.

5t.

jta

Thanks guys was looking at new the salesperson said there is a brand new shape and model coming out january so thought i might get a bargain ??? may just wait till new one comes out though..

Its a car to use as family car going to the shops, meals, cinema i have a polo estate for the cart lol and the scoob as a toy

SRSport

Will the arrival of the new one push prices of the old shaped one down or will it not really affect it?

Razorwrx1

iTrader: (21)

My mates owns a spraying shop and a customer brought a B class back. Long story but on a friday he gets to bring them home and use them. Lucky sod!

He drove us to Alton towers in it. £30 there and back from Manchester. Good spec. 1.8cdi. He calls it a Roller Boot. Lol

Lovely drive, nice and smooth, quite, comfy. Couldn't fault it really. Not much info for you buddy. Sorry

SRSport

I never used to like them but with the wife passing her test recently we're looking for a nice, reliable, practical, small engined family car and the B class looks good.

Only concern is with the new B class coming out in a few months I don't want to find that the model we buy suddenly looses a lot of its value. We were thinking about getting a '07 B150 with 30,000 miles for around £8000. Just not sure if these are old enough now to not be affected much.

Whats the general rule for used cars with new models coming out? Do they all shift down in price or is it not really something to worry about?

austinwrx

I think Mercedes have such a strange and confusing line up of cars, no one would have a clue a new model has even been launched !!!!

my local merc garage (bradford) always seems to have a good line up of B class for sale.

there is mercedes benz direct too (website) which I think may sort you a better deal than a dealer.

Dave Thornton

Good question, but it depends on so many factors. If the new B Class is a step change improvement on the old, then there are likely to be a number of trade ins and the law of supply and demand will drive prices of the old one down.

There are other factors though. For example, the launch of the Discovery 4 drove down prices of secondhand XC90s as owners switched brands and Volvo didn't facelift or replace the XC90 at the same time.

And then there are factors like lack of confidence in the economy in late 2008 early 2009 meant fewer new cars were registered, so there will be a relative shortfall in 3 year old secondhand cars in the next 6 months as a result, keeping secondhand prices higher.

Depreciation wise, I would imagine a 4 year old B Class to be a sound purchase. The A Class I once had as a courtesy car didn't feel very safe on the motorway.

SRSport

Well I had a 2011 B160 Blue efficiency sport over the weekend. It looked impressive but, oh my word was it a bore to drive. No feel, no power, nothing, washing wide of the mark when hurried around a corner. It was up for around £15000. Consumption was on average 7mpg better than my impreza which for the sacrifice of performance was not worth it to be honest.

It had a nice driving position and was practical, well the perfect shape really which is frustrating. I would love to love this car but I cant. I got back into my £5000 Impreza which instantly felt a better car, even being 5 years older.

Dave Thornton

So the grass wasn't greener after all. It's a shame that so many newer cars are like this.

SRSport

I may look into the B200 turbo which has more than double the power and with the same official MPG as my Impreza. Although the steering wont be different the extra oomph could persuade me and strangely the insurance isn't much different.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Aye, I think getting the bargain basement engine spec and expecting it to have some zip might be a bit optimistic!

5t.

SRSport

Thats not what I was looking for. I wouldnt mind if the small engine gave good economy, what I am disappointed with is that you sacrifice a lot of performance for little mpg gain. There is no point in this, hence looking at the Turbo model.

SRSport

I test drove the opposite end today, the 2.0 turbo. What a difference, it looks gorgeous in black with the 18" AMG alloys and the engine is very capable. Economy was more than acceptable as well averaging 35mpg mixed driving.

Two slight issues though, the front suspension clonked more than it should over speed bumps and the steering wheel very occasionally stuck a bit when turning. Both were flagged up and to be looked at before a sale is agreed, but should these be sorted out Ill be buying it.