04 A160L vs 04 Opel Meriva

[Kelpie]

1. These cars are relatively uncommon on the road.

 

2. Price aside, which is a better choice as a 04 vehicle? Taking consideration, after sales services, performance, features, fuel consumption and space into consideration.

 

Thank you for your comments.

 

Regards,

[Felipe]

i dunno much about both cars but u may wana add the fiat idea to yr consideration. price shud be close to the meriva.

[Vit4wd]

No offence, but to me, A-Class does not carry any weight.

 

You might as well get a Honda Jazz & fit on the Merc logo

[Eacs]

I am driving a meriva now. Space wise kool. Overall not too bad.Servicing think cheaper. Why no get a new one?

 

Think the A class is more of a stauts kind of thing. No offence.Think the look wise is much more beta than the meriva.

 

End of the day, you budget,your ride.

[Kelpie]

An 04 Meriva is only 50K. Many mentioned that Meriva is underpowered and has problem parking at slope, are these true?

 

Regards,

[Genie47]

I went to an Opel specialized mechanic to service my Aveo. He was aghast to know that GMDAT parts which are part for part exactly the same as Opel's are way cheaper and the build quality better noting from the water pump I brought over to him.

 

He was impressed by the holographic genuine stickers, plastic wrapped oil filters (that costs so much lesser) and timing belt's manufactured quality.

 

He noted that the price of Opel parts are mostly expensive because they are made in UK while GMDAT's is from Korea.

 

If your warranty runs out and need to go to cheaper third party servicing, consider telling them to get Chevy parts!

[Kelpie]

I see, both are GM product. So maintenance would seemingly be cheaper in the long run.

 

Regards,

[Sweeney]

Read that Meriva is 1.3tonnes.... parking at slope could be due to the clutchless manual.

 

I drive a Fiat Idea- comes in at 1.1tonnes with a 1.4L duologic (aka clutchless manual). I have the same problem (ie rollback) with slopes as it is manual...

[Kelpie]

I see. So this will be a common problem for all clutchless manual cars.

 

Regards,

[Vit4wd]

As I said before, you cannot go wrong if you stick with Jap makes.

 

But if you must buy conti - best to buy brand new and keep 10 yrs to minimise loss , and you also know the car's condition from day 1.

Edited January 10, 2006 by Vit4wd

[Sweeney]

"you cannot go wrong if you stick with Jap makes"

 

Agree... buying a conti is not about $ and cts. There is just some 'aura' about conti that is beyond plain economics... For the $$ I shelled out for my conti... i could drive around in a Wish, yet I have no wish to be seen in a Wish...

[Sweeney]

" I see. So this will be a common problem for all clutchless manual cars. "

 

Not so much a 'problem' as a 'characteristic'. But the drawback is more than compensated by the control over the engine with the clutchless manual. A push up or down brings a LOT of difference when the car is not clueless about which gear to be in, esp. in situations where you are heading e.g. uphill, in a bend, overtaking etc.

 

I also have the option of going Auto when in jams, so dual convenience. Price to pay is the complexity and the (fingers crossed) potential problems.

[Normal_aspirated]

if u want trouble-free MTA or SeleSpeed or lookalikes..........go for good old manual tranny with clutch pedal. Cannot hv best of both worlds, a lazy left feet and a heavy right foot.

Edited January 11, 2006 by Normal_aspirated

[Cklasse]

A Jazz cannot come close to a A-class, not to mention you cannot even compare them. Period.

[Kelpie]

Agreed. The build quality is just very different. The interior space is more in A-Class than in Jazz.

 

Regards,