[King Rudi]

The girlfriend is looking for a new car. She has driven the same Ford F-150 for the past 15 years. She is looking for a 4 door sedan under $20k.

We have looked at a handful of cars, but nothing has jumped out at her yet. She does like C300's. What do you recommend?

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by King Rudi

She does like C300's. What do you recommend?

Having read about your past history, may I suggest a Paddy Wagon?

[E92inNC]

DO NOT under any circumstances buy a 2015-current C300, I don’t know what the engine code is but stay away from any MB with a 300 engine from the mid 2010s onwards. I don’t even know if they’ve solved the issue yet. The engine has a known exploding problem and MB refuses to put an extended warranty on it. I couldn’t walk through the shop without there being a 300-C,E, and all the other models with that engine-having a new engine put in. We had a tech dedicated to replacing them, which is good for him since he can get through a 20+ hr job pretty quick cuz he did so many. There were usually several crates around the shop with new engines waiting for someone to come in to have it installed. Luckily all of them except one guy had either the new warranty or CPO, it cost the guy $9500 to replace one fucking piston.

[TiMSport]

I was going to ask if this truly a "new" car as in brand new, or a car that can be used. If brand new there are a bunch of recommended ones by various publications and one of the most popular seems to be the Civic. If she doesn't mind driving a sub-compact there are plenty of choices I suppose, many of them being Kia or Hyundai. Most of these are boring of course.

[nyalpine90]

e90

[bmwv]

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

e90

I have e90 all the gaskets started to leak

[FizzyElf]

Originally Posted by King Rudi

The girlfriend is looking for a new car. She has driven the same Ford F-150 for the past 15 years. She is looking for a 4 door sedan under $20k.

We have looked at a handful of cars, but nothing has jumped out at her yet. She does like C300's. What do you recommend?

Nothing german if she expects few repairs and 15 years of service! Honda Accord or Camry.

I'd warn getting a sedan coming from a truck.

[Joekerr]

Well, a toyota should be pretty reliable and boring, so there is that option.

Other than that, not sure, she'd have to just find something that she likes. Everything is less reliable these days.

[FizzyElf]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

Well, a toyota should be pretty reliable and boring, so there is that option.

Other than that, not sure, she'd have to just find something that she likes. Everything is less reliable these days.

Inexpensive, reliable or exciting. Pick 2!

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by E92inPHX

DO NOT under any circumstances buy a 2015-current C300, I don’t know what the engine code is but stay away from any MB with a 300 engine from the mid 2010s onwards. I don’t even know if they’ve solved the issue yet. The engine has a known exploding problem and MB refuses to put an extended warranty on it. I couldn’t walk through the shop without there being a 300-C,E, and all the other models with that engine-having a new engine put in. We had a tech dedicated to replacing them, which is good for him since he can get through a 20+ hr job pretty quick cuz he did so many. There were usually several crates around the shop with new engines waiting for someone to come in to have it installed. Luckily all of them except one guy had either the new warranty or CPO, it cost the guy $9500 to replace one fucking piston.

Good to know. Thank you! This is exactly why I posted here.

Originally Posted by TiMSport

I was going to ask if this truly a "new" car as in brand new, or a car that can be used. If brand new there are a bunch of recommended ones by various publications and one of the most popular seems to be the Civic. If she doesn't mind driving a sub-compact there are plenty of choices I suppose, many of them being Kia or Hyundai. Most of these are boring of course.

This will be a used vehicle. She won't mind it being boring as long as it's reliable. She isn't any form of an enthusiast.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by Lady Jane

Having read about your past history, may I suggest a Paddy Wagon?

I'm confused by this. Why does she need a paddy wagon based on my history?

[Esteban]

If you want reliable go Toyota. A used Camry is a safe bet.

[celsdogg]

Originally Posted by bmwv

I have e90 all the gaskets started to leak

yes, you own a bmw.

[PYE46M3]

CPO Mazda 6 GT

Reliable
Sporty
Beautiful
Roomy
Many nice colors
Cheap/low cost of maintenance

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by PYE46M3

CPO Mazda 6

Reliable
Sporty
Beautiful
Many nice colors
Cheap/low cost of maintenance

A good choice, but not boring. lol

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by PYE46M3

CPO Mazda 6 GT

Reliable
Sporty
Beautiful
Roomy
Many nice colors
Cheap/low cost of maintenance

Good recommendation! I've owned a few mazda's myself and had minimal issues with both.

[ccdre]

Originally Posted by King Rudi

The girlfriend is looking for a new car. She has driven the same Ford F-150 for the past 15 years. She is looking for a 4 door sedan under $20k.

We have looked at a handful of cars, but nothing has jumped out at her yet. She does like C300's. What do you recommend?

It all comes down to personal taste but I was pleasantly surprised when I got to drive a Cadillac ATS with the small turbo engine recently. I would recommend getting one on Turo for a day to see how she likes it.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by ccdre

It all comes down to personal taste but I was pleasantly surprised when I got to drive a Cadillac ATS with the small turbo engine recently. I would recommend getting one on Turo for a day to see how she likes it.

I looked at a few caddy's on car gurus last night. I'll have her check them out as well. Grazi.

[Shiza]

W204 C300's are great daily driver cars. As stated earlier steer clear of the W205's. If you're going to go the other route and go with an E90 or anything BMW stay away from the n54/n55's.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by King Rudi

I looked at a few caddy's on car gurus last night. I'll have her check them out as well. Grazi.

Caddy ATS is great BUT every single one of them the Cue unit (radio) cracks and I think its about $1200 to change. Its a double DIN so you could change it out but keep it in mind

[NorCalAthlete]

+1 for the Mazda if going sensible.

If she's hung up on the luxury brands more than the actual car, well...we're on bimmerpost not benzworld. CPO 3 series? CPO 5 series? CPO X3 maybe?

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

+1 for the Mazda if going sensible.

If she's hung up on the luxury brands more than the actual car, well...we're on bimmerpost not benzworld. CPO 3 series? CPO 5 series? CPO X3 maybe?

She's not so much hung up on luxury brands, that's all my influence. I've owned two BMW's. I told her to avoid them as I don't want to go back to turning wrenches on the weekends.