Which COE car should I buy?

[Mkl22]

17 minutes ago, kumquat said:

It was not the top resale car in SG for nothing. But I still wouldn't want to drive one 😀

Anyway not my car but parents. I only help maintain it. 

[Tohto]

1 hour ago, Mkl22 said:

And never once in the 15 years did any check light or whatever smlj airbag light appear. Truly worry free. 
Only boring to drive. 

This is the comments that make me drive my Toyota Allion the shortest own period of only 2 yrs.

Superb FC, but the drive.........

[Kia7200]

For me, any cars with more than 3owners n unrealistically low mileage I will avoid n also those mod their air intake or exhaust. 

Buy from 1st owner, usually their mileage will be genuine n by looking at the interior/exterior, u can tell whether the owner got take care of his car

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Optramagnum]

Personally, I would only consider to buy COE car if I know the owner and I know he take care of the car. 

I'm currently driving COE car myself, renewed after ownership of 6yrs. So I know the car condition very well.. 

It is very true that COE car maintenance can be higher and neverending. I poured a few k for repairs on first year of COE renewal, but it was already budgeted before I decided to renew the COE.

Having said that, need to manage own expectation. Don't expect it to drive like a new or even PARF car. 

[Comage]

10 hours ago, Kia7200 said:

For me, any cars with more than 3owners n unrealistically low mileage I will avoid n also those mod their air intake or exhaust. 

Buy from 1st owner, usually their mileage will be genuine n by looking at the interior/exterior, u can tell whether the owner got take care of his car

 

 

 

 

 

 

This statement rings very true. If you can find a COE car with 1 owner only, you can be pretty darned sure that the owner took real good care of it. 

Otherwise it wouldn't be able to survive the 10+years and still be on 1 owner. 

[Jamesc]

I would only buy a used car from jamesc good quality used cars at affordable prices.

I am related to him.

In every way.

[Jamesc]

Full disclosure if you buy from him I get commission.

[Mkl22]

3 hours ago, Comage said:

This statement rings very true. If you can find a COE car with 1 owner only, you can be pretty darned sure that the owner took real good care of it. 

Otherwise it wouldn't be able to survive the 10+years and still be on 1 owner. 

Not totally true. I have experienced all ends of the spectrum. 
youll be surprised that some 1owner cars especially those nearer the end of their coe has many things to fix. 
what can be an “expensive” car to you is just a daily runner to them. Even some of the sports cars closer to the end of their coe can be neglected. 

 

also when you  see 1 owner car, used car dealer selling in SGcarmart with low mileages but with new leather, new this and that. your suspicions should be aroused. profits/margins are the priority in the used car business, they will never never dump more money into the car than they really have to. if they have to change leathers and do cosmetic works in order to sell a car, then it means that it is not so well taken care of. 

their mode of operation is always to flip the car as soon as possible for as little money put into it. the most honest a car can be is when it just got pulled into the dealers lot prior to washing and grooming. but then you seldom see such cases.

cause a seller of a soon to be a 10year old car will never dump more money into it. so it has to be done by the dealer. of course there are exceptions but rather rare.

Edited January 29, 2021 by Mkl22

[ferrytales]

One of the ocatvias sold in sgcarmart is an accident car (almost total loss) but the dealer bought it over and did it up, now its in the market. 

Used cars are legit scary. 

[Comage]

26 minutes ago, Mkl22 said:

Not totally true. I have experienced all ends of the spectrum. 
youll be surprised that some 1owner cars especially those nearer the end of their coe has many things to fix. 
what can be an “expensive” car to you is just a daily runner to them. Even some of the sports cars closer to the end of their coe can be neglected. 

Yeah, definitely agree with that. I have seen car owners neglect their car towards the "tail-end" of their ownership of the vehicles. 

I guess this really transcends the number of prior owners of the vehicle. 

[Tohto]

Is unlucky for TS that he step into the trap set up by the dealer for unware new buyer.

But 5 owners with 120k mileage said a lot.

 

[Kia7200]

4 hours ago, Comage said:

This statement rings very true. If you can find a COE car with 1 owner only, you can be pretty darned sure that the owner took real good care of it. 

Otherwise it wouldn't be able to survive the 10+years and still be on 1 owner. 

My friend bought a Coe Audi S4, he drove almost a yr liao. No repair needed

[Naimed]

On 1/27/2021 at 12:33 AM, keechiu said:

the engine light came on again yesterday morning Tuesday 26th January. This time together with the ESP light. I switched off the engine, waited 15 mins and then restarted engine. Still the same 2 lights. Switched off engine again and started engine 10 mins later. This time ESP light disappear but engine light remained. still able to drive and reached my destination. Switched off engine and started again an hour later. This time both engine and ESP light did not come on. 

thanks for the info. how much should the actual cost have been or could be at other workshops? possible to name these workshops? 

the SG merc FB group has many of them facing all these sensor, ecu problems and many have remarked that this is a well-known problem for mercedes cars. I also saw the same problem in the Malaysia merc FB group. A couple of them said they faced this problem even for brand new Mercedes that they bought. One owner said that from warranty period until warranty ended, this ecu/sensor problems still persisted. I also saw many similar posts in the W204 enthusiasts FB page which has people from all over the world. and a few of them changed one sensor after another, one cable after another and the problem still remained. 

I will be sending the car in to do the throttle body replacement. hopefully the engine and ESP light doesn't come on after the replacement is done. Will update here. 

The dealer's workshop in Defu Lane is charging $500 inclusive of labour. I got a second opinion from Elite Car Ventures and they advised me to change the manifold throttle body and supercharger throttle body at $1580 inclusive of labour. I then got a third opinion from Kee Yong who was recommended to me by someone from the SG Merc FB group who apparently had the same problem. Kee Yong said to replace the Bosch throttle body for $620 with installation. I have to make a decision on who to go with but with 3 different suggestions, it is definitely going to be a problem deciding who to go with. 

Is there any way to check besides calling up cycle and carriage?

You seemed to be taking the car issues in stride so far. First thing, your dealer gave 6 months "warranty" - get them to honour and repair whatever problems that you are experiencing now. CEL light on the first couple of days would probably scare the sh|t out of newbies getting their virgin ride. 

Kee Yong and Chip Soon are quite popular with the MB folks. I went to Kee Yong to diagnose an issue but not really convince with the explanation (maybe didnt get the right guy to look at the car). Chip Soon very busy - their reply only came 2 days later after I text them again if I had gotten the correct number. I got a "Yes" and that was the end of the conversation with them. Looks like 2-3 workshops recommended the replace of TB. Well, not too expensive if can really solve the problems. 

There are a few pro-MB shops that meddle quite a bit with the ECU (can repair, bench flash...etc). It will be good if you have the codes the scanner threw out so we can help to take a look. I will PM you some workshop names - no affiliations with them. OK, to diagnose with C&C too. The wait can be quite long but I'd think they will get the right solution much earlier vs other workshops.

As for the mileage, I don't think it is meaningful chasing after the truth now though. Fast method - should be written on the receipts from Elite if the dealer had passed them to you.

[Mkl22]

6 minutes ago, Limalimuthu said:

No lah, won't repeat if do homework on which are the better model-years, not just the badge. Even Toyotas have dud model years. More so the Koreans and Contis. If buy badge blindly, deserve to be in suffering.

I have bought used cars all of my car-loving adult life. Have to say that buying new with the 5 year warranties and free servicing does make car buyers weak and unschooled of all the traps. Having too much money makes one stupid and foolish. Many like to complain about the price of things, but don't know the true value of anything.

My old dud merc had its anti roll bar replaced only to have sounds again 2.5years and 30k km later. 
yes whole ARB replaced and flown in from Germany. Cause the bushings are moulded onto the bar. Locally no stock as it was a unique part. 
only replaced the 1st time and then sold the car when the sound appeared 2.5years later. 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Mkl22

[Mkl22]

20 minutes ago, Limalimuthu said:

If you stand back and hear yourself: "2.5 years" later. No cause to get angry. Replacement part did perform as expected and only showed wear and tear couple of years, and 30k km of usage later. Like I said, don't be someone who know and complain about the price of everything but know the value of nothing.

No offence intended, cheers.

30k km for anti roll bar bushings is poor and a failed design. How would you like it if your laptop and mobile phone self destructs after. 1.5years. 
Your tolerance for low mean time to failure  seems to be very high. I don’t expect things to last forever but 30k km is crap.

I’m the sort that calls a spade a spade. Even if it was something I bought or currently own. It is crap, it’s crap. There are some who get super offend when others criticize what they are driving. I didn’t design or make the car and if it is lousy it just is. 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Mkl22

[Mkl22]

14 minutes ago, Limalimuthu said:

No, even sport tyres need to be changed about 40k km in tropics. Those MB bushings performed as intended, but tropics heat and humidity cause faster wear and tear. It is not as if the bar corroded n snapped.

Besides, you got the bragging rights of owning a MB. And complaining loudly about "affording" expensive spare parts. Were alternatives such as Lexus available? If you chose MB for the badge, prestige and bragging, then you got what you deserved.

No offence intended, cheers.

Haha bragging about MB? Please! 
I think many companies will love you as a customer. Just Pay and replace. It’s never their fault for crap products.! 

[Jamesc]

On 1/29/2021 at 9:13 AM, Mkl22 said:

Not totally true. I have experienced all ends of the spectrum. 
youll be surprised that some 1owner cars especially those nearer the end of their coe has many things to fix. 
what can be an “expensive” car to you is just a daily runner to them. Even some of the sports cars closer to the end of their coe can be neglected. 

 

also when you  see 1 owner car, used car dealer selling in SGcarmart with low mileages but with new leather, new this and that. your suspicions should be aroused. profits/margins are the priority in the used car business, they will never never dump more money into the car than they really have to. if they have to change leathers and do cosmetic works in order to sell a car, then it means that it is not so well taken care of. 

their mode of operation is always to flip the car as soon as possible for as little money put into it. the most honest a car can be is when it just got pulled into the dealers lot prior to washing and grooming. but then you seldom see such cases.

cause a seller of a soon to be a 10year old car will never dump more money into it. so it has to be done by the dealer. of course there are exceptions but rather rare.

Yah lah if people own a car for 10 years and know they going to buy a new car they won't repair or service anything in the last year.

I know a few cases like this. One unlucky one battery failed so he sold a car with a new batter used 3 months only.

I kept the battery for my own car, put my 1.5 year old batt in another car and sold it.

The new owner will have at least 6 months good use of the battery left.

[Jamesc]

Now some 5 or 6 owners cars have replaced everything brand new in the car.

3rd or 4th owner buy the car fix everything not happy and sell.

Some also never plan to sell and service or respray and then see something they like and sell.