Which COE car should I buy?

[Brass]

23 hours ago, yellowshaun said:

So that moves me to the next 2 non Attrage/accent on the list:

https://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info.php?ID=926799&DL=2163

https://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info.php?ID=930395&DL=2978

Both serviced by agent so can try to verify the mileage?

Both are expensive for French cars. 

I would rather take the Fluence.

At least Fluence shares an engine with the NV200.

Or otherwise the Malibu before this page seems much more abuse resistant and less of a headache than the PSA cars, and has almost the same depre 😲 for a D segment.

Edited November 18, 2020 by Brass

[keechiu]

hi all. Appreciate all the replies. Very informative and insightful. I purchased a C180 Merc Avantgarde renewed COE 10 years for $65k. awaiting STA inspection. paid $2k deposit. agreement was that if it comes back Grade B then will proceed on the purchase. If Grade C, then deposit will be refunded. 

[Ct3833]

17 minutes ago, keechiu said:

hi all. Appreciate all the replies. Very informative and insightful. I purchased a C180 Merc Avantgarde renewed COE 10 years for $65k. awaiting STA inspection. paid $2k deposit. agreement was that if it comes back Grade B then will proceed on the purchase. If Grade C, then deposit will be refunded. 

Good to know you have crossed the bridge. Just go check bulbs and wires of the  lights of the front "eye browse" , the bulbs are hot which may degrade  the thin wiring. If possible replace the bulbs to lower rating good quality LED bulbs. Otherwise it is a nice car, though a little cramp at the rear. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by Ct3833

[keechiu]

On 12/12/2020 at 12:43 PM, Ct3833 said:

Good to know you have crossed the bridge. Just go check bulbs and wires of the  lights of the front "eye browse" , the bulbs are hot which may degrade  the thin wiring. If possible replace the bulbs to lower rating good quality LED bulbs. Otherwise it is a nice car, though a little cramp at the rear. 

I will be posting a very detailed and factual account sometime next week or the week after of my buying experience, the mistakes i made and i hope my post will help many other first time car buyers. stay tuned. 

[Optramagnum]

On 12/12/2020 at 12:25 PM, keechiu said:

hi all. Appreciate all the replies. Very informative and insightful. I purchased a C180 Merc Avantgarde renewed COE 10 years for $65k. awaiting STA inspection. paid $2k deposit. agreement was that if it comes back Grade B then will proceed on the purchase. If Grade C, then deposit will be refunded. 

Let us know the outcome. Wish you all the best and enjoy your new ride. 

[Tohto]

On 12/12/2020 at 12:43 PM, Ct3833 said:

Good to know you have crossed the bridge. Just go check bulbs and wires of the  lights of the front "eye browse" , the bulbs are hot which may degrade  the thin wiring. If possible replace the bulbs to lower rating good quality LED bulbs. Otherwise it is a nice car, though a little cramp at the rear. 

So the one you bought is the C180k or the C180 CGI?

Both are still using the older 5 speed auto.

[Ct3833]

52 minutes ago, Tohto said:

So the one you bought is the C180k or the C180 CGI?

Both are still using the older 5 speed auto.

Mine was C180k, sold it in 2017.

[Mkl22]

10 hours ago, Optramagnum said:

Let us know the outcome. Wish you all the best and enjoy your new ride. 

I won’t place too much hope on inspection by inspection centre people. I rather trust my own eyes and feel. 

[Tohto]

36 minutes ago, Mkl22 said:

I won’t place too much hope on inspection by inspection centre people. I rather trust my own eyes and feel. 

Or your own trustable workshop.

[Ct3833]

1 hour ago, Mkl22 said:

I won’t place too much hope on inspection by inspection centre people. I rather trust my own eyes and feel. 

I have never sent a car to inspection center before too, but maybe just luck, moving forward, maybe i will exercise both  inspection center and my own eyes😀.  But the existing 2 COE cars should last me for  a few years to come. 

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Ct3833

[Jamesc]

Use scan tool to tell all the faults on the car.

[Naimed]

On 12/12/2020 at 12:25 PM, keechiu said:

hi all. Appreciate all the replies. Very informative and insightful. I purchased a C180 Merc Avantgarde renewed COE 10 years for $65k. awaiting STA inspection. paid $2k deposit. agreement was that if it comes back Grade B then will proceed on the purchase. If Grade C, then deposit will be refunded. 

There are a few 1-owner (low to average mileage) C180K in the market. Hope you got one of those. If this unit comes back with a C grade, perhaps you can reconsider the C200k. If you have multiple drivers/passengers, the electronic memory seats are very handy. Power wise, I don't think C180k and C200k are that much different in Singapore's city driving. 

STA's inspection is quite superficial - checks for the usual leaks, body/paint damages, wear and tear...etc and I don't think they have Xentry tool to scan for existing or old fault codes. FYI.

[RogerNg_185295]

40 minutes ago, Naimed said:

There are a few 1-owner (low to average mileage) C180K in the market. Hope you got one of those. If this unit comes back with a C grade, perhaps you can reconsider the C200k. If you have multiple drivers/passengers, the electronic memory seats are very handy. Power wise, I don't think C180k and C200k are that much different in Singapore's city driving. 

STA's inspection is quite superficial - checks for the usual leaks, body/paint damages, wear and tear...etc and I don't think they have Xentry tool to scan for existing or old fault codes. FYI.

If that's the case , go to a good workshop instead of STA

[Vinceng]

On 11/8/2020 at 8:38 PM, keechiu said:

hi all. I'm looking to buy a COE car. my budget is $40 to $45

.@Victor68 @MarkHotchner @Qaz20 @bearbearbear @No_worries @Hamburger @Blueray @Samlimlp @Rickster @CloudWan @Passion @M3ngl4ng @inlinesix @Bjory @Fatfatpanda @littlecar @kobayashiGT

What made you decide to exceed your budget by $20K?

[keechiu]

This is the much awaited post on my purchase journey of the Mercedes Benz w204 C180k, avantgarde 2010 model, 5 previous owners, 120,000km mileage. I would like to thank many of you who have given me advice on the threads and also via private messaging. 

Background

I've been researching on buying cars for about 2 years on fb, carousell, sgcarmart, ucars and other forums before I started browsing mycarforum in October 2020. The plan was to buy a 5 year renewed COE car such as Lancer EX or Civic 1.6/1.8. Budget was $35k to $40k. I met 2 dealers from 2 different dealerships. Spoke to both for about 2-3 hours each. Both told me not to buy Lancer EX or Civic 1.6/1.8 because both were known to be problematic cars. I was told by both to either buy a 5 year COE vios or cerato instead. Both also told me to consider increasing my budget cos it made financial sense to get 10 year COE car instead of a 5 year COE and also to consider looking at continental cars. Only one went further and  suggested a COE mercedes cos its a reliable machine. After the meetup with these dealers, I didn't think much about buying a car and entered a 'cooling period'.

Carousell 

Late one night few weeks later I saw a merc c180 listing on carousell. i liked the listing so i msged the dealer. he was prompt and detailed in his replies. I met him a few days later and saw the car. He gave me a tour of the car and answered my queries satisfactorily. We went back to his office and we discussed the important details such as price, warranty, what the previous owner had done for the car with proof of receipts etc, next steps if I do go ahead with the purchase of the car etc. 

Why did I pay the deposit for the car?   

I) the dealer had good reviews on his carousell account. I was comfortable with him and my intuition told me to trust him. He also did not charge admin fee. He provided a 6 months warranty. As you read on, you will see that he is indeed a reliable dealer who kept his word. 

2) the previous owner had sent his car to Elite Car Ventures for servicing and repair/replacement works. I saw the company's logo on the receipt when the dealer showed me proof of works done by the previous owner. I was somewhat pleased because I knew about Elite Car Ventures about a year ago on fb and they had about 300++ positive reviews.

3) After the dealer had explained to me the breakdown etc, I asked for 15 minutes to go out and make a few calls. I called my wife to update her on what had transpired so far. I then called a friend who has been buying continental cars all his life and messaged 3 strangers on carousell who had bought mercedes from other dealers who replied me immediately. All of them said to proceed with the deal however they asked me if can get a further discount given that there were already 5 previous owners and that the  mileage was 120,000km.

4) the dealer gave me a good discount off the listed selling price.

5) his insurance quote was also the lowest among the other companies.

Mistakes I made

1) I viewed the car in the basement carpark of the building which was dimly lit and did not drive out of the premises for a test drive. I only drove a few rounds in the carpark itself.

2) I did not negotiate for an in-car camera and android headunit to be included in the sale price of the car

3) I did not arrange for the car to be sent to a workshop for a pre-purchase inspection.  

Terms of the purchase agreement

1) $2000 to be paid upfront as deposit.

2) The deposit will be returned if the STA report comes back with anything other than Grade B. 

Problems with the car

1) on the day that I collected the car while driving back, the engine light came on. I contacted the dealer and he asked me to send to his preferred workshop. Turns out the valve compressor was dirty and they cleaned it up. The engine light still came on few days later and the dealer replaced the valve compressor at no cost to me. 

2) the in-car camera which I purchased from the dealer is an iroad x5. It doesn't have a screen so I wouldn't know if its recording or not. A couple of times, the camera prompted that there was no memory card inside but actually there was already one inside. 

https://i.i-sgcm.com/products/items/1/2019/10/13507_1.jpg

Repairs

Based on the STA report, there were 4 minor problems with the car so naturally I got a quote from Elite Car Ventures for the repairs since the previous owner also sent the car to them. They gave me a reasonable quote so I decided to engage them for the repair works. They also charge $118 for each servicing so I will go to them too.

If I could do it all over again, what are the steps I should have taken? (first time buyers, please take note of the following).

1) view the car in a place where there is natural light/daytime and drive out onto the main road, expressway etc.

2) negotiate with the dealer to have an in-car camera with a screen to be installed instead of iroad cameras which doesn't have a screen.

3) if possible, negotiate with the dealer to throw in an android headunit. 

4) car to be sent to a workshop for pre-purchase inspection so that I know I won't be buying a lemon. Elite Car Ventures charges $50 for this inspection and with 300++ positive google reviews, I don't think it's bad idea to get them to do the pre-purchase inspection.

Future plans for the car. (if anyone got good lobang, please let me know).

1) change to c63 bodykit. either paint or wrap the car

2) paint the brake calipers ( wondering if there is a need to change the brake kits. any advice?) 

3) install fibre optic and ambient lighting

4) replace stock speakers with something better

5) install android headunit 

Conclusion

I was fortunate that the dealer is a reliable person who did not sell me a lemon or ditch me when the engine light came on. However it could have turned out for the worse had it been some crappy dealer that we often read horror experiences about in forums, on fb, word of mouth etc. But I too made mistakes as mentioned above so if it did turn out for the worse then I also should shoulder part of the blame. I hope that my post will assist future first time buyers to not imitate what I've done. The ramifications can be quite devastating emotionally and of course financially. 

[keechiu]

5 hours ago, awhtc said:

What is missing in your story is whether the COE car has 5 or 10 year COE. 

My experience that makes my COE Vios feel new again at a budget of around $1,700 with highest impact on top.

1. A fresh coat of paint that also helps to remove minor dents: $800+

2. Repair of seats and door panels leather: $200+

3. New head unit and reverse camera: $300+

4. A smart dash front+back camera with screen: $200+

5. A new set of carpet: $50+

I spent another $4k+ over next 2 years to change of wear and tear mechanical parts (e.g. engine mountings and wheel bearings) and full servicing (e.g. spark plugs and air-con compressor oil).  For Mercedes, it should cost a lot more.  You need to save up for these additional expensive repairs as ageing parts eventually will need replacement.

 i purchased a 10 year renewed COE w204 c180k at a good price. Happy with the purchase. Will now move into the modification phase. 

[Naimed]

12 hours ago, keechiu said:

 

Future plans for the car. (if anyone got good lobang, please let me know).

1) change to c63 bodykit. either paint or wrap the car

2) paint the brake calipers ( wondering if there is a need to change the brake kits. any advice?) 

3) install fibre optic and ambient lighting

4) replace stock speakers with something better

5) install android headunit 

1) Most probably wont pass annual inspection with wide body-kits for w204 these days.

2) IMO, waste money on painting. Can opt to change to original 4-pot AMG BBK but need to upsize rims to 18". One of the better items to upgrade if you tailgate a lot on Lane 1.

3) OK, if wife or Small 3 likes it.

4) Many direct replacement in the market, if you don't intend to change other items.

5) Currently at 12.3" (~$1k). Makes you meddle a lot with the screen, busier than driving.

[Naimed]

2 hours ago, keechiu said:

 i purchased a 10 year renewed COE w204 c180k at a good price. Happy with the purchase. Will now move into the modification phase. 

I will still advocate going to another workshop to have a Xentry scan. Just to make sure there is no other pending issues after fixing "at dealer's workshop". You can do this during your next servicing or mod.