Decisions, Decisions

[IBCoupe]

Hi, guys! Still in Berlin. Still working on choosing an apartment and a car. I've fortunately narrowed down my apartment search to one neighborhood (Charlottenburg), but the car search has developed a two-tiered approach, with a total of about three different cars.

Taking NICO's advice, I'm aiming for German cars, to broaden the availability of skilled mechanics. But beyond that, I'm beginning to get stuck.

Approach 1:
2008 Astra 1.8 Caravan

Approach 2:
2005 BMW 320i
2005 Mercedes-Benz C200 Kompressor

The first car was chosen by statistics. The other two would be chosen by heart. What I did was create a spreadsheet of the various cars and their attributes. The attributes that affect the analysis are:

- Year
- Price
- Weight
- Power

The weight and the power are pretty easy to explain: I didn't want a car with any more than 12kg per horsepower, and the lower the better. All three cars handily make the cut.

The year and the price go together into a column I've labeled "€/Life." I estimate (read: blindly pick a number) a fifteen-year lifespan for whatever car I buy, running from the car's first registration. From there, I divide the list price by the years remaining after 2013. That's why the Opel's at the top of the statistical list, and the BMW and the Mercedes are at the bottom.

To illustrate:

The Opel is a 2009, which by my [wild] guess would last until 2024, or 11 years more. Its list price is 6500 €, meaning that if I pay that amount, I'm buying a car for 591 €/year.

On the other hand, the BMW and the Mercedes would only last until 2020 by the same formulation, and that means I'd be buying a car for 1286 € or 1407 €, respectively, per year of its [wild guess] remaining life.

Each of the car has a similar weight-to-power figure, and there's a compromise (in every sense of the word - where the hell would suitcases go?) in a 2008 MINI Cooper 1.6 which spits out a 790 €/year figure.

My Jewish bean-counter side is running hard into my car enthusiast side, guys.

[Bubba1]

May I ask what criteria did you base your last car purchase on? I'm guessing it's not what you're doing here. Since you seem to have your list narrowed down to 3 models, perhaps its time to test drive them to see if they actually fit your needs and are what you want?? But if you insist on crunching numbers, you might also take into consideration differences gas mileage, maintenance intervals, insurance costs, and reliability ratings.

[IBCoupe]

I have the gas mileage on the spreadsheet, too. My last car purchase was that of an impulsive, post-graduation celebration. My A/C was pretty and fun, and I was never terrified at the prospect of having to go up a highway on-ramp.

I'm an adult, now, I think, and I need a car that is reliable, affordable, and is the kind of thing that won't make a customer question the product I'm bringing them if I drive up to their hospital in it. So, hearses are out of the question.

[MinisterofDOOM]

DO NOT BUY THE BENZ. I DESPISE my sister's '02 C230K (same generation as '05). It's a PITA to work on (something I spend a lot of time doing), even basic maintenance stuff is dealer-only, the engineering is nonsense, and it's neither fun to drive nor comfortable. It feels cheap inside and out, the looks are terrible and have aged extremely poorly, and it is gutless WITH crummy fuel economy. The automatic transmission is also horrid, confused, indecisive, with a "manual" mode that continues to do whatever it wants. The driving position is good but ergonomics are not. They're prone to failures in the backlit dash display which are expensive to fix.

Here's my review of the great ugly turd:
2002-mercedes-c230-kompressor-review-th ... l#p6135072

[IBCoupe]

Oh, I hate those too, MoD. Ugliest hatchback ever. Except for the last generation A-Class, though. That's worse. This one is a sedan though. Never had an opportunity to drive them, so thanks for your review.

http://www.autoscout24.de/Details.aspx? ... =222612674

[Bubba1]

I have the gas mileage on the spreadsheet, too. My last car purchase was that of an impulsive, post-graduation celebration. My A/C was pretty and fun, and I was never terrified at the prospect of having to go up a highway on-ramp.

I'm an adult, now, I think, and I need a car that is reliable, affordable, and is the kind of thing that won't make a customer question the product I'm bringing them if I drive up to their hospital in it. So, hearses are out of the question.

Sorry if I'm about to sound like a dad. I am one.

It should come as no surprise at all that the Opel fared well on your spreadsheets. You're cost comparing a modest compact wagon (Opel Astra caravan) to two entry level luxury sedans. Of course a Bimmer/Benz are gonna be more expensive.

when you finally get off your tush and test drive these vehicles, you'll get a much clearer picture of which one is best for you. I can tell you from past experience that the 3 series Bimmer will likely feel like the best driver, the baby Benz will probably feel more soft sprung and cruiser like, and the Opel will probably haul more stuff (duh, it's a wagon) but it will probably feel a level down in quality as compared to the other two. But the Opel will also probably be the cheapest to own/operate in the long run. Bottom line is only you know which attributes are most important to you.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Oh, I hate those too, MoD. Ugliest hatchback ever. Except for the last generation A-Class, though. That's worse. This one is a sedan though. Never had an opportunity to drive them, so thanks for your review.

http://www.autoscout24.de/Details.aspx? ... =222612674

Sedan vs Coupe changes none of my complaints. The sedan is still a bassackwards-engineered pile of overweight, underpowered, defiantly wrong German nonsense. Same chassis. Same terrible transmission. Same terrible interior. Same terrible electronics. Same overpriced parts. Same unpleasant driving experience. Same pain-in-the-a**-to-work-on.

It's a genuinely terrible car. It's a badge car. It's there for kids to be able to barely afford with a long-term loan so they can say "I drive a Benzzzz, yo." It's cheapass inside. Cheapass outside. But still overengineered. My 1993 Maxima GXE had more luxury features than my sister's 2002 C-class. It was far nicer to drive, too. The C-class is a cheap, cheap, cheap, badgemobile. It's got all the focus on all the wrong places. It's designed to look and show, not to drive and enjoy. It's a TERRIBLE car. I have no love for it. It has no redeeming features. It is unpleasant and terrible. Every single aspect of the car has a distinctive "why did they do it THAT WAY?!" feel to it. I would NEVER recommend one to anyone, not even a teenage girl looking for a "cute sporty coupe" to get attention in. I can't figure out why my sister loves hers so much (and now that she also owns a '99 323i, she's starting to see what I meant...it's easy to love the only car you've ever owned even if it's a steaming pile...but as soon as your perspective is broadened things become much more clear).

[IBCoupe]

Oh, I hate those too, MoD. Ugliest hatchback ever. Except for the last generation A-Class, though. That's worse. This one is a sedan though. Never had an opportunity to drive them, so thanks for your review.

http://www.autoscout24.de/Details.aspx? ... =222612674

Sedan vs Coupe changes none of my complaints. The sedan is still a bassackwards-engineered pile of overweight, underpowered, defiantly wrong German nonsense. Same chassis. Same terrible transmission. Same terrible interior. Same terrible electronics. Same overpriced parts. Same unpleasant driving experience. Same pain-in-the-a**-to-work-on.

It's a genuinely terrible car. It's a badge car. It's there for kids to be able to barely afford with a long-term loan so they can say "I drive a Benzzzz, yo." It's cheapass inside. Cheapass outside. But still overengineered. My 1993 Maxima GXE had more luxury features than my sister's 2002 C-class. It was far nicer to drive, too. The C-class is a cheap, cheap, cheap, badgemobile. It's got all the focus on all the wrong places. It's designed to look and show, not to drive and enjoy. It's a TERRIBLE car. I have no love for it. It has no redeeming features. It is unpleasant and terrible. Every single aspect of the car has a distinctive "why did they do it THAT WAY?!" feel to it. I would NEVER recommend one to anyone, not even a teenage girl looking for a "cute sporty coupe" to get attention in. I can't figure out why my sister loves hers so much (and now that she also owns a '99 323i, she's starting to see what I meant...it's easy to love the only car you've ever owned even if it's a steaming pile...but as soon as your perspective is broadened things become much more clear).

Oh, I get that; I was just saying it's not butt-ugly like the 3-door. I'm genuinely grateful that you shared your review.

[IBCoupe]

I have the gas mileage on the spreadsheet, too. My last car purchase was that of an impulsive, post-graduation celebration. My A/C was pretty and fun, and I was never terrified at the prospect of having to go up a highway on-ramp.

I'm an adult, now, I think, and I need a car that is reliable, affordable, and is the kind of thing that won't make a customer question the product I'm bringing them if I drive up to their hospital in it. So, hearses are out of the question.

Sorry if I'm about to sound like a dad. I am one.

It should come as no surprise at all that the Opel fared well on your spreadsheets. You're cost comparing a modest compact wagon (Opel Astra caravan) to two entry level luxury sedans. Of course a Bimmer/Benz are gonna be more expensive.

when you finally get off your tush and test drive these vehicles, you'll get a much clearer picture of which one is best for you. I can tell you from past experience that the 3 series Bimmer will likely feel like the best driver, the baby Benz will probably feel more soft sprung and cruiser like, and the Opel will probably haul more stuff (duh, it's a wagon) but it will probably feel a level down in quality as compared to the other two. But the Opel will also probably be the cheapest to own/operate in the long run. Bottom line is only you know which attributes are most important to you.

Great advice. Thanks, dad.

If I'm still in Berlin this weekend (stuff has come up that might require me to go back to the United States for a couple weeks), I'll try to get out and test drive the Bimmer and the Opel. On the basis of MoD's advice, I'll probably skip the Benz. I don't think I'll give the MINI the time of day, either, because it's just too impractical and, while it might be a blast to drive, I don't think it's grown-up enough for my purposes in Germany.

[Jesda]

Sensible Bubba always running around throwing his sensibilities in everyone's face.

I'm a fan of the handful of Opels that GM has sent to America. The Saturn Astra/Opel Astra/Buick Verano is a very nice car and the Buick Regal/Opel Insignia is one heck of a driver.

I don't think an Opel is -that- much of a step down from MB and BMW, at least not as much as it was in the past.

[AZhitman]

My Jewish bean-counter side is running hard into my car enthusiast side, guys.

My car enthusiast side would take a torque wrench to your bean-counter side.

<3 you homey. I'm absolutely no help, altho I don't think it's requisite that you buy a GDM car in the GDM market. I'm sure there are just as many Japanese marques that are easily-maintained.

With that said, keep an eye out for a 3-series wagon. Best of all the worlds in that market.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Fords are pretty popular too. Don't rule them out.

I'd definitely skip the benz as well. What about VW golfs?
+1 for starting test drives.