Another day, another new car I want

[dpbird90]

So, pretty much weekly I'm finding a car that for no apparant reason I want. Last week it was a Dodge Ram, which I still want but realistically won't get for a fair few years just yet. Today its the W202 Mercedes C Class. Previously I've wanted a 190E Cosworth but they're way out of budget (around £3k) but having a poke around I've came across this http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1661266.htm and for no logical reason I'm trying to convince myself its a good idea. Anyone had any experiences with the W202, particularly the C36 AMG model as this is my absolute favourite?

[dpbird90]

The Crack Fox said:

The guy who owns my local garage owns the previous model AMG ('190' shape), swears by it, and if it's good enough for him....

A better idea that your last one IMO

Do love the 190's, particularly hankering after the 2.3 Cosworth but a good one seems to start at £5k, wondering if there's any reason why the W202 AMG model is cheaper?

[deeen]

That one is very special, it has 2 cruise controls.

[pat_y]

I was considering some AMG type flavour in my life a few months ago, i canvassed the geat and the good of PH. The general opinion was that the C36 is OK as a starter for 10, the C43 is better, and for around the same money E55 AMG's are available, which a few people said: it's a great car but very heavy and thirsty.
All will cost some fairly serious money to run and keep in good shape. For me it was the combination of eye watering fuel consumption / Auto / Rust (on the E55) that scared me off.

[Mr Gear]

I just don't see the appeal of a shonky old high-mileage automatic barge that weighs as much as Noahs Ark. Ugh.

But if you do... enjoy!

[dpbird90]

Mr Gear said:

I just don't see the appeal of a shonky old high-mileage automatic barge that weighs as much as Noahs Ark. Ugh.

But if you do... enjoy!

And why not? Ok, if you have a decent car fair enough, but the most powerful car I've driven on the roads is a diesel Zafira. Also I fancy something more comfortable, uni-home is a 1000 mile round trip

[Mr Gear]

dpbird90 said:

Mr Gear said:

I just don't see the appeal of a shonky old high-mileage automatic barge that weighs as much as Noahs Ark. Ugh.

But if you do... enjoy!

And why not? Ok, if you have a decent car fair enough, but the most powerful car I've driven on the roads is a diesel Zafira. Also I fancy something more comfortable, uni-home is a 1000 mile round trip

In that case I'd want something capable of more than 15mpg and without £££ servicing costs. To me, it sounds horrific. If I only had £3k to spend on a car, this is the last place I'd spunk my cash. But then, you are not me and you are entitled to waste your money on whatever piece of scrap you wish.

[///Mike]

Without knowing your financial status its hard for me to comment accurately but.............


There is no way in the world you should be looking at buying an AMG whilst you are at Uni imo!

I am reasonably good with my money and ran a 325i all through uni apart from the final year when I took it off the road as I decided not to work in favour of studying hard for finals.

As soon as I got into a paid job I went out and bought my dream car, an M3 vert, what a disaster that turned out to be. I spent £7K in 12 months, can you afford to do the same whilst you are at uni? AMG's were all 40K plus cars when new and the cost of new parts do not depreciate with age like the car itself.

You may want to be comfortable on the 1000 mile cruise home but have you considered how utterly sole destroying it would be to have a car that you can't drive and insufficient funds to fix it whilst you are having to pay to sit on a train home?

Get yourself something economical and comfortable with low insurance. You can leave uni and get into a well paid job and reward yourself with something special. It will feel even more special as you have had to wait and to work for it believe me. You are actually lucky that you can buy a nice comfortable car which is reliable and with a decent amount of poke thesedays (TDI).

Its so hard being a petrol head and being at uni at the same time, lots of time to sit and trawl through adverts for 300+hp barges for no money at all. I remember loads of conversations with my parents...."but its german, it won't break, its got 200K on the clock, it barely run in" etc etc. I did well to run my 325 tbh. There were many new cars on campus compared to my 140K M sport but not many of them felt anywhere near as good to drive nor went as well. If you absolutely must get into something that resembles a car that a pistonhead might want to drive, why not consider an e36 328i sport? I still think you would be better off in a diseasal though.