Which is better buy?

[Kelpie]

1. Please vote based on your preception on which is the best.

 

1. Further details on these sub 2L cars extracted from magazines:

a) Alfa Romeo GT 2.0 JTS, 1970cc, price $145.8K, 165bhp, top speed:216km/h, 0-100: 8.7

b) Audi 2.0A, price $141K, 1984cc, 130bhp, top speed: 223km/h, 0-100: 10.2

c) BMW 3.20i, price $155.8K, 1995cc, 150bhp, top speed: 215km/h, 0-100: 9.7

d) Mercedes-Benz C200, $148.8K, 1796cc, 163bhp, top speed: 220km/h, 0-100: 9.4

e) Saab 9-3 Vector, $144.8K, 1998cc, 175bhp, top speed: 215km/h, 0-100: 9.7

f) Volvo S60 2.0T, $134.5K, 1984cc, 180bhp, top speed: 210km/h, 0-100: 9.5

 

2. It seems like Volvo has the cheapest dollar for every bhp. Price wise, BMW 3.20i is the most expensive and Volvo being the cheapest. Audi has the lowest bhp, 130bhp is not impressive at all, easily beaten by many smaller cars.

 

3. Which would be a safest bet, in term of long term maintenance and reliability(can drive 10 years kind)? Which has the highest agent servicing fees? which made is more well supported by outside workshops? How about depreciation, which one is worse and best?

 

4. Which is more suited as a family car (rear cabin should be spacious enough for 3. should not have big centre trunk on the rear cabin floor) but sometimes need that extra surge to run on NSH.

 

5. Hopefully, these cars are not worse off than a Civic 2.0SI in term of performance.

 

Thank you very much.

 

Regards,

[Kardachia]

I think the BMW320i has its list price down to $139800. Check sgcarmart. Now, it's the 3rd expensive...

Edited April 30, 2007 by Kardachia

[Magfocus]

Thats just the list price. It quite alot cheaper actually..

[Kardachia]

yes...you're right. With the rebates, it should be around $125K. I called to ask for the terms and conditions and the Se told me no terms and conditions. He said if take in-house loan even more rebates. Is that possible? No terms and conditions?

[Espire]

The most reliable i feel would have to be the Mercedes, followed by BMW in singapore context.

As for the other brands, not that its not good... but i feel maybe singapore workshop lacked the technical expertise on them. Every car is a different story.

 

Its not hard to see a COE Merc or BMW zipping away on our roads. The car body has proved to be rigid enuff to withstand the environment here in singapore.

 

Nonetheless, conti spare parts are very expensive..it can easily cost at least 2-3 times the price of an asian make.

[Shox87]

hey dude would ur c class be the current model or the latest 2007 c class?if its the 2007 C class,its gotta be it man.

[Miles]

answer to yr questions,

 

LT maintenance and reliability -- all are general reliable in conti context.

most expensive to service by authorize agent will have to be - Volvo, SAAB and BMW imo.

Most supported by outside workshop - Merc

Depreciation - i think all about the same... depending on OMV/Price ratio.

 

Most suited as family car -- Merc C200. Then 320i. The rest are about the same.

 

Performance as in 0-100 or NSH performance?

[Route88]

Alfa Romeo GT 2.0 JTS got my vote

[Magfocus]

It should be even less than $125 actually. Possible to bargain for less..

[Kardachia]

  Quote

It should be even less than $125 actually. Possible to bargain for less..

 

Care to elaborate on the possibilities....

Edited April 30, 2007 by Kardachia

[Nazaki]

I doubt AR GT can sit 3 ppl at the back.. In fact.. I doubt the leg room is enough for 1 either. haha.

 

I said in a Brera at the back seat.. and I must say.. Its worst than sitting behind a tuscani. >.<~!

 

I think the 159 would be a better choice than a GT..

Edited April 30, 2007 by Nazaki

[Nazaki]

In terms of performance.. Actually the Civic 2.0Si owns all of ur choices.. Including the GT 2.0.

 

 

U wan performance, I guess u shld get a Volvo S60 T5. Read at sgcarmart its at $156,500. but I'm sure it shld be below 150k.

 

Other than that.. The facelifted C200 would be my pick.

 

BMW 320i.. I've quite a few ppl in my office driving this model, don't really like it, not spacious, expensive and dull. The console is so empty! I think only 323i and above have the iDrive thingy right? Most of my friends regret buying this, they dun really feel that its like A BMW.

 

AF GT.. Don't own any, but I have a few friends who drives the 157 & 147.. If u love the car, u must love the maintaince as well.

 

Audi 2.0A, no friends driving this so no comment.

 

Saab 9-3 Vector , No friends driving this either, but I like Saab's design. Maintaince wise, I guess u can ask Saabatooth abt Saab, he's a saab driver.

 

Volvo S60, No friends driving the 2.0T version, but I've friends who owns the S40 2.4, T5, S60 T5, S80 2.5T.. The T5 model is great! Can easily smoke most cars.

Edited April 30, 2007 by Nazaki

[Nero159]

Alfa maintenance is no different than any other conti. I owned 2 156s for 7 yrs and the maintenance is the usual oil and filter changes (about S$200 each time at 10K km interval, though manual says 20K km) plus a timing belt change at 60K km (about S$700). Now I have the 159 which should be cheaper to maintain than the 156 (oil change interval 15K km (actually manual says 30K km) and no timing belt to change; not to mention the 5-yr/100K km warranty). I did some $$$ on modding them though... haha.

Edited April 30, 2007 by Nero159

[Toledo]

actually i considered all the cars b4 i finally settled for s60..

 

AR - lovely car with great handling but the aircon vent so small - can die of heat stroke. overpriced.

BM- great handling but back room small. not too moddable cos NA. if slightly cheaper i may go 4 it.

merc - liked it but wife dun. too bad.

saab - not bad looking, moddable, fast enough. but some interior parts not up to conti std. almost got the car but bec of build quality din go 4 it. had 5 yr foc servicing package.

A4 - cool german car. but overpriced.

s60 - balanced package. enough room, highly moddable, safe and comes wif 3 yrs foc servicing. cheapest of the lot @113k. my ride is now modded to 210 bhp + 340 Nm....and it is onli at initial stage 1. at a cost of $1.6k onli. best oomph for the buck.

[Nero159]

The new 159 and Brera have aircon vents that are at least as good as any other cars; my aircon fan speed seldom need to go beyond 25% (in full auto mode where you set the desired temperature and the aircon does the rest) to keep the cabin cool. Overpriced? Not if you bargain; I got mine for more than S$10K less than a 320i.

Edited April 30, 2007 by Nero159

[Toledo]

hi nero

 

i was looking at the 156 then...... i still remember the test drive.....the aircon was at full blast but somehow the cabin wasnt cooled evenly. cooling was very localised (thxs to the cool looking but useless vents).. and i had a looong test drive in the afternoon heat...

 

gd to hear that AR has progressed... and i'm sure the handling is even better !

[Chemz]

i voted for the merc c200, because of the following reasons:

 

-as much as i'm a bmw fan, i didn't vote for the bm320 because of its absence of a st-6 engine. if we were talkin about the older variant with 2.2l st6 engine, then i'd take the bmw.

-in terms of reliability and maintenance & service, merc is my pick, followed by bmw. volvo has quite a fair share of electronic problems which are yet to be resolved and put into the grave permanently, even for a model like the s60.

-audi's far front engine layout doesnt quite appeal to me due to its handling and it's cvt tranny is a big nono for me. its exterior modeling is very nice though

 

-i did not consider saab and alfa altogether because of prestige reasons. these 2 makes are very driver oriented, not so comfort/luxury wise.

[Nero159]

Agreed; the 156 aircon vents are way too small (I know 'cos I owned 2 before). The 159 is a vast improvement, especially the chassis which is ultra stiff, giving it very good ride and handling. Some Alfistis don't like it as it feels very BMW. You should go for a test drive to taste the difference!