A cycling team in Spain has filmed the brand-new 2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class while either making a promo spot or shooting some picture for print material. The video was taken on Jan 26 by bike team OGOTT, as they were cycling from El Golfo to Playa Blanca when they stumbled upon the brand new Mercedes-Benz A-Class. As you can see in the video, it’s a very clear shot of A-Class, revealing all the front and side details. We are very surprised that it looks almost identical to the prototype, even the beautiful and futuristic grill was kept.

Concept A-Class

If you own a luxury car like a Mercedes-Benz, it makes sense to compare car insurance, not just for the potential savings but also for the features of the product you are buying. In the same way that you looked at the feature offerings of the luxury car you bought, so should you look at more than just the basic coverage your insurer may be offering you. Most companies will start with the minimum coverage you need and go from there. Since our sample vehicle is a Mercedes, which is a luxury car, you need to make sure that your insurance covers more than simple repairs. Most luxury cars nowadays have premium features that are quite expensive to repair, so make sure that your insurance covers this. On the other hand, just because your drive an expensive car doesn’t mean that it’s a magnet for car thieves. In a survey of cars most often chosen by car thieves, the Mercedes E-Class actually ranked very low on the list. Insurance companies keep updated lists of the most stolen vehicles. Higher insurance premiums reflect the risks insurance companies perceive with these vehicles. With the knowledge of which cars are high-risk models, make sure that a car insurance comparison takes factors like these into account.

In doing car insurance comparisons, you need to be also aware that the age group a person belongs in is a significant factor when preparing a quote. Teenagers and high performance cars are a red flag, as are entry-level cars like Civics and Corollas being driven by newbie drivers. In a car insurance comparison to illustrate the risks insurance companies place on young drivers, the difference in premiums between a teen driving a Civic and a 40-year old driving a Corvette was only two hundred dollars. When shopping for insurance coverage, a good reference would be to look at that national averages for a particular model. Just note that these averages are based on a 40-year old driver with a clean driving record.

In addition to your basic coverage, you should also take a look at the options the insurance company may be offering. This is where a car insurance comparison will highlight the small but possibly important things that will save you from aggravation when you need to file a claim. One company’s quote may include roadside assistance and car rentals while another company’s leaves one out. The insurance coverage you need for a Mercedes should cover repairs that are not warranted. And bear in mind in driving a luxury car like a Mercedes, a costly premium is not a given. Car insurance comparisons will give you a good idea on the best deal for you and your Mercedes.

Running a car is not cheap – from insurance to tax, repairs, petrol, not to mention the air fresheners – it all adds up. However, you do not have to succumb to your overdraft at the end of every month due to the demands of your car – there are many ways that you can make back some of the money it costs you to run your car.

Renting out

There are websites in existence that match the demand to the supply, i.e. those who have a car to rent with those who need to rent a car. For instance, if your car sits on your drive at the weekend, or perhaps you work part-time during the week, there may be a few days where you and your four wheels can earn some money. As long as you have insurance and MOT, it’s a simple process.

Advertise

Advertising is most businesses’ favourite word. If you have no shame in plastering your windows in advertising, this is a great way to make money. How much you earn depends on how much of your car you don’t mind being used for the advertising, but be sure to check with your car insurance company about advertisements on the bodywork of your car.

Car Insurance

Assuming that you have car insurance, one way to save money is to switch from pay monthly car insurance to annual insurance, in order to save money.

Become a courier

Another option is to actually get paid for driving. If there’s a long distance journey that you sometimes make, for instance for work or to visit relatives, you can be sure that there’s someone that needs to get something delivered somewhere along the way.
Again, there are websites available that offer a place for supply to meet demand – it’s a simple process and as well as making money, you’re helping the environment by saving the o-zone one less car journey.

Car share

If you live nearby or en-route to colleagues, you can save money on petrol by sharing lifts to work and back. Not only will this save you petrol money, as well as the environment, but it will probably lighten your spirits more than that desolate Monday morning journey on your own. Sharing a daily commute could save you hundreds of pounds – even if you live near no one you work with, there’ll always be parents nearby on the same school run!

Deliver

Many take-away restaurants require drivers in order to deliver their food, so if you can afford to have one night a week doing something a bit different – pop into your local pizza takeaway and start inquiring.

Car boot sales

The main requirement for a car boot sale is having a car, so take advantage of it!

With the economy not improving and a weak US dollar (US $1 = $1.03 CAD), lots of Canadians are crossing the border to buy in the US and save money. Those in Vancouver, for example, go to Washington State just to shop. And yes, that may include shopping for a new Mercedes-Benz.

There are several reasons to shop for cars or get service in Washington rather than in and around Vancouver. The first one is its convenience. Mercedes-Benz of Lynnwood‘s location is only a 2-hour drive from Vancouver, thus it is not really a long-drive, considering you will be saving few hundred or even thousands of dollars. This brings us to the second reason – savings. Here is an example of the price difference: A 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 model is priced at $29,881 with 22,476 miles at MB of Lynnwood, while in Canada, the same car with 24,874 miles costs CAD $33,800. On top of that, the US model has more standard equipment, plus it also saves customers almost $4,000.

While comparison shopping between Mercedes-Benz of Lynnwood in the US and the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Vancouver, Canada, we found a significant price difference in the services department.

Nov 28^th 2011 (US $1 = $1.03 CAD). * with $50 coupon available at the Mercedes-Benz of Lynnwood website

As one can see above, Mercedes-Benz of Lynnwood offers significantly different and more affordable prices for the same services as compared to their Canadian counterpart.

This of course is not the only reason why Canadians are driving down to Lynnwood for their service or when buying new cars. The dealership provides additional amenities and features for people waiting for their car to be serviced, one of them is a shuttle that can take them to the nearby Alderwood Mall, where customers can shop, dine and spend the few hours to not only enjoy their stay, but also the cheaper department store prices. Once they are done shopping, a shuttle picks them up again and takes them back to the dealership. We spoke with Jeff Casey, the Assistant Service Manager at Mercedes-Benz of Lynnwood and he told us that “The reasonable prices, great services, professionally trained mechanics, and shopping malls are just a few of many more reason why we get four or five customers each week from Canada”

It literally pays to cross border and shop for cars or service, however, before you do anything, make sure that you look at a few things.

1. Check whether the vehicle you want is allowed to be imported, to find out check with Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV).
2. Ensure all the paperwork you need have copies, and of course, the original ones should also be kept.
3. Your Mercedes-Benz should also pass the Canadian standards, in fact, when a customer already crossed from the US to Canada, they will have to send a form to RIV and wait for them to send back another form, which contains what needs to be done to the car so that it meets the country’s standard.

This might sound a lot of work, but as long as you find a reputable dealer, these things will be taken care of. Mercedes-Benz of Lynnwood for one, are experts in this process and ensures that all paperwork meets the Canadian rules.

We apologize for any confusion or fear that we might have caused some visitors.

It is rumored that the baby-CLS (some are even calling it the 4-door coupe version of the C-Class) will be built on the same architecture as the next-gen B-Class. Front-wheel drive will be available for the standard version, whereas the AMG version will get a all-wheel drive system.

Not much is known about the drive system, but if rumors are correct, it could come in a 1.6 and 2.0 liter engine, with 150 and 207 horsepower respectively.

We’re not exactly sure if this is a prototype version of the car being built for internal use, or if Mercedes-Benz is prepping it for the IAA in Frankfurt this September. Either way, we can certainly confirm that these spy shot, taken at the Mercedes-Benz plan in Hungary, look very much like the all-new CLS, but with smaller dimensions, hence the baby-CLS.

Thanks to Visionhu from MBWorld.org for the tip

Held this year from July 14th to 18th, the Mercedes-Benz Presents Designer was LUXE by Lisa Vogel. Here’s model Melissa Britos driving the all-new 2012 SLK to work at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim.