My C200 drove through a big puddle on Renown Rd in North Rocks, flooding the engine and requiring a tow truck. GIO assessed the damage and declared it a write off. As a result, I'm now looking for another car.

Criteria

The criteria are much the same again:

• Auto transmission, Kat needs to drive it
• Hatchback or wagon is nice, if it's not fugly
• Features like bluetooth and satnav would be nice
• Cruise control and the like is mandatory
• Parking distance sensors are 95% mandatory
• Not expecting to drive heavily, maybe 100km every week or two, plus the odd long holiday/photoshoot trip
• Higher running costs are okay with me

The insurance payout is $14,269, meaning I've got a budget of about $15-20k. I'm willing to stretch to the higher end if it has the nice things that I wanted to add anyway.

Examples of some things I would've paid to add to the C200 as aftermarket:

• Fat wheels
• Bluetooth/newer entertainment system
• USB ports up the wazoo
• Fold-down wing mirrors to aid parallel parking (good view of gutter)
• Flappy paddle gears, because I'm a bad person

Really good features

I loved a great many things about my C200, and it turns out that many of the features that I took for granted in my 10yo car **aren't standard** nowadays on lesser vehicles.

• Speed limiter for effortless driving at the speed limit
• Climate control, vs. abstract fan speeds
• Vanity mirrors
• Automatic headlights
• Automatic wipers
• Heated mirrors, not as important here but nice

What's new and shiny

We went and had a squiz at some dealerships, there's some nice offerings these days. A new car is mostly out of my budget, but a newish model that's a couple of years old will probably have most of the nice modern tech.

• Mazda3 is still a bloody solid car, but the SP25 class is where it's at.
  • Trims are SP25, SP25 GT, SP25 Astina. Only the Astina has leather seats
  • The cheapest GT/Astina with less than 100,000km on the clock is $27k
  • Cheapest base-level SP25 is $16k
  • They have all the bells and whistles, at least in recent incarnations
• Hyundai i30 is better than it has any right to be, it's a solid competitor to the Mazda3
  • Get a 2nd gen model, they're 2011 or 2012 onwards. GD model code, vs the older FD
  • The Estate/Tourer is apparently pretty good
  • Trim level names changed between generations:
    • Active
    • Elite / SR / Active X: add alloys, auto headlights, auto wipers, satnav
    • Premium / SR Premium: adds 17" alloys, leather, folding mirrors, fold-flat rear seats, reverse camera
  • Can be had for about $16-17k
• Suzuki Swift is not bad, but I would say only in the Swift Sport incarnation
  • Tight, lively to drive, well styled
  • Still says "I'm a student" to me

  • They just knocked $930 off this one, now asking $18,945 with 20,000km on the clock: http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/_/OAG-AD-12154782

  • Good power-to-weight ratio, modern 7-speed CVT transmission, premium 98 petrol but fairly frugal
• Toyota: neither of us are in love with the Corolla
• Subaru: haven't looked at, an Impreza is probably the competitor in this class

Mercs

I've taken a good sample from Carsales and whittled down to a few good examples.

• A 2-door coupe with very low mileage, 2006 model, $17,900 asking price. The fitout is on the bland side (small wheels, no hood ornament), but 50,000km on the clock should be worth a couple grand in saved servicing costs.

  • http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/_/SSE-AD-583625

  • Sporty steering wheel and pedals, sporty Merc rims of normal 16" size
• A sported-up sedan with 100,000km on the clock, 2006 model, $17,950 negotiable.

  • http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/_/SSE-AD-3779782

  • Flappy paddle gears, sport everything, classic W203 body shape, nice hood ornament even though it's labelled as Avantgarde
• Sporty sedan, 2007 model, 79,000km, new W204 body shape, $19,990 negotiable for moving overseas

  • http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/_/SSE-AD-3490780

  • Very fat AMG wheels, no hood ornament, interior plastics might be a bit worn
• A few years older 2-door coupe, a beast of a thing, CLK500, $19,500 with no mention of negotiability, listing hasn't been touched since 2015-15-23, suggesting they might take a hit on price

  • http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/_/SSE-AD-2826100

  • Sports wheels and suspension
  • Airbags only for front row (not sure if they were available for back row)
  • Leather trim and woodgrain everywhere (wood looks very light in colour), electric seats, has satnav?
  • Claims to be Elegance trim, but has no hood ornament

How about that B-class? Apparently they're pretty practical, but not that pretty. Eg. http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Mercedes-Benz-B180-2010/SSE-AD-3343388/?Cr=3

Kat would prefer a white car: http://www.carsales.com.au/cars/results?cpw=1&sortby=~Price&limit=12&q=%28%28%28%28%28%28%28Service%3D%5BCarsales%5D%26SiloType%3D%5BPrivate+seller+cars%5D%29%26Postcode%3Dpoi%5B2000x50km%5D%29%26Price%3Drange%5B0..20000%5D%29%26Colour%3D%5BWhite%5D%29%26Make%3D%5BMercedes-Benz%5D%29%26%28%28%28BodyStyle%3D%5BSedan%5D%7CBodyStyle%3D%5BCoupe%5D%29%7CBodyStyle%3D%5BHatch%5D%29%7CBodyStyle%3D%5BConvertible%5D%29%29%26Year%3Drange%5B2004..%5D%29