Knocking or vibrating noise, very irritating, noticed after 6/7 months. Anti roll bar link rod ends were the problem.
Official dealer looked at the car twice, but failed to diagnose the problem during its warranty period in first year (import car).
Took car to independent garage and fault was picked up straight away. Part costs only £24.00 + labour = £70, but have lost confidence in local MB dealership as the fault should have been picked up, unless they did not want to help because it was an import.
South Wales.
Overall, pleased with the car.
Bought as a shopping trolley which is what it's good for.
Also, snazzy looks make the car stand out from the rest.
I imported my Mercedes A170 CDI in May 2000 from Holland, saving about £5000 on the list price at that time.
I have the Avantgarde model and deleted the sunroof for the airconditioning, and had CD player.
As of March 2003, I have completed 41 k miles. My only problem has been an irritating problem with the anti-roll bar link rods noticed at 35K miles. I had them changed at an independent garage at total cost of £70.
I am getting approximately 55 miles to a gallon, and more on a long run if kept to a steady 60 mph.
My biggest criticism is the body work. I have standard black paint which tends to pick up scratches like nobody's business and they don't seem to polish out. No other real problems, and overall a superb versatile reliable car at present, especially for the £13,400 (which includes VAT) that I paid! Cheap Mercedes motoring..
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