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 2015-12-23, 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

  • Redbook suggests value of $14,900-17,900: http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/used/details/2004-mercedes-benz-clk500-elegance-auto/SPOT-ITM-254494

Valuations

I got some valuation on three cars via Glass's Guide, PDF here: http://www.mycarprice.com.au/Certificate.aspx?trns=GCV0028782&email=1

• CLK500 - good value if it's in good shape
  • Below Average: $19,000
  • Average: $22,000
  • Above Average: $27,200
• C200 Avantgarde 2006 - they're asking a lot, but it **is** riced up
  • Below Average: $9,900
  • Average: $11,300
  • Above Average: $15,100
• C200 Elegance 2007 (new W204 series) - seems like quite good value, and low mileage
  • Personal Buy Sell: $23,600

Adan's advice

Had a chat with Adan from Maag & Stucki, he mentioned a few things:

• The W204 is a solid, sensible choice for the money
• CLK350 has a history of some more complex problems, which could be costlier to fix
• The CLK500 that I sent him would be a better choice before the CLK350

Riced up components

Waving my hands, how much do I think the extras are worth? Assuming I wanted to do it myself after buying.

• Fat wheels: $2000
• Better entertainment/navigation unit: $500-1000
• Sporty transmission etc: ?

B-class

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

This 2010 model just dropped $1000 to $17,950, probably closer to fair value for it.

• 104,000km on it, but it should have some decent go in it.

• Redbook suggests a price more like $18,900-21,400: http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/used/details/2010-mercedes-benz-b200-turbo-auto-my10/SPOT-ITM-253428

Colours

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

Honda Civic

Generations:

• 8th gen: 2005-2011 (FD sedan, FN hatch)
• 9th gen: 2011-2015 (FB chassis)
• 10th gen: 2015-current (FC chassis)

Current trim levels are:

• VTi (15" wheels)
• VTi-S (chrome handles, auto wipers+lights, climate control, keyless entry+start, leather wheel, more speakers, 16" wheels)
• VTi-L (folding mirrors, foglights, leather seat trim, reverse sensors)
• Sport (bigger engine, paddle shifters, LED mirror blinkers, sunroof, power seats, satnav, 17" wheels)

8th gen is probably best, 9th-gen is apparently very ho-hum. 10th-gen is practically brand new.

Kat likes the 10th-gen look.

Examples: (these are all VTi-S)

• http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Honda-Civic-2013/OAG-AD-12225112/

• http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Honda-Civic-2013/SSE-AD-3788974/

• http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Honda-Civic-2014/SSE-AD-3756838/

Alfa Romeo Giulietta

• Cheap to buy, pretty cheap to own, close to a Swift Sport, not as cheap as an i30

• Alfa have had a very long standing history of atrocious reliability. Like really bad, everyone will tell you to run a mile. It's been a long time coming, but reliability seems okay over the last 4-5 years (anecdotally), but not quite up there with other brands.

Running costs

Assuming driving 10,000km/yr, for 5 years:

• $3,000 petrol
• $1,584 rego
• $2,529 CTP
• $5,256 comprehensive insurance with GIO
• $7,500 servicing? (wild guess)

Background

• 2012 Feb to 2012 Aug: Dealer demo
• 2012 Aug to 2015 Dec: Business (company car?)
• 2015 Dec to present: On market for sale

Find out

• Background check lists it as a sedan, it's a hatchback
• Check the VIN and engine numbers
• Discrepancy in weight figures, check document quotes 1259kg Tare, carsales shows 1284kg Tare
• Service history?
• Single owner?
• What's the driveaway price?
• How many keys?
• Full manuals and paperwork?
• Any remaining warranty?

Notes

• Will come with mandatory 3 month warranty, the usual Form 4
• What trim level is this exactly?

Servicing costs

A place in Victoria, should be representative enough:

http://www.alfamen.com.au/service-schedules/alfa-giulietta/

In 5yrs I can expect to hit four services by the book, which would be $1,250. Double that because we're pessimistic.

Potential sore spots

• MultiAir issues (turbocharger)

• Creaky interior bits