Friday, May 14, 2010

Mercedes Benz A160- A Post Script...

As a follow up to the above review it is fairly amusing that I find myself back in an A160 for our family...we bought a 1998 Manual Auto Clutch from the local car wreckers for $2500 (about £1000)... the clutch 'slips" in 2nd gear (It has a brand new clutch from the local Benz dealer) has had a replacement gear box and the hydraulic auto clutch unit has been replaced. BAS and ESP lights appear intermittently.. the rear wiper likes to have a go when the car is started and ignition is turned off.. all in all it has had around $5000 of work done and still has these quirks.. no-one from Mercedes Benz can help! Oh and the power steering didn't work as the circuit board regulating the pump was fried from being wet... the bottom of the pump where the circuitry is is a few inches above the ground in a none too waterproof box...My darling husband bypassed the circuitry and wired the power through the ignition rather than the alternator so the pump would run full bore when the ignition is on, but not all the time- the Benz specs have it running off the alternator which would seriously endanger your (expensive and brand new in our car!) battery. A new pump would have been another $500 at least.
Unless you are prepared to put up with some "personality" and trawling through the www.aclassinfo.co.uk site (thanks Bert!)so you can do your own odd repairs (as in strange repairs.. not odd as in infrequent!)I would leave these little cars alone but I have to say the interior room, high seating position, safety and fuel economy are keeping us happy with it for now... especially as we got it so cheap!Oh and I am finding the "fun shift" more fun now so my driving must be improving!
WE were in a an accident the other day when an old guy turned sharp right across three lanes of traffic to try to enter the exit of a carpark. We were in the third lane and unable to stop. His Toyota Yaris' rear drivers side wheel was caught by the passenger side of our front bumper. The A160 bumper needs a bit of repair, the support needs pulling out but that is all, unfortunately the other guy's Yaris was undriveable. These Baby Benzes are super strong in a crash!