twsx

Hello folks.

First post, and I'm already asking for stuff. Sorry, and thanks in advance.


I'm currently thinking about buying a used MB again, and while I'm a fan and kind-of-enthusiast, I'm not exactly too knowledgeable when it comes to cars, so I could use some advice.


I used to drive a W202 C280 which so far is the best car I've ever had.

I'm now driving a Golf Mk6 2.0 TDI which is a deal with my employer that I barely could refuse because it saved me so much money.
I do a lot of work-related car travel, and this deal cut my driving costs by about two-thirds, so yeah, I sold my soul.
But my contract with the employer is about to end, which also means I'll lose the Golf, and so I'm pulled towards my old love again.


So, what I want is:
* MB
* AMG is not a requirement, but would be cool, just for the "sportyness"
* Sedan
* 300 BHP or more
* Should last for a couple of years, so shouldn't have much more than 150'000 KM (~90'000 miles) on it
* Technical equipment that I absolutely don't want to do without are cruise control and parking sensors
* Affordable for me (cutting my budget at about 15'000 CHF (~16'000$) at most)

So, what that leads me to is either a W202 C43 or a W203 C32, at about 150'000-180'000 Kilometers (~90'000-120'000 miles).

The C43 would cost me somewhere in the area of 9'000-11'000 CHF (~9'800-12'000$).
The C32 would be around 12'000-16'000 CHF (13'000-17'500$).

Insurance will cost me about 2'000 CHF (~2'200$) a year for the C43 and about 1'600 CHF (~1'750$) for the C32. Also to take into consideration is that road tax is calculated in part by motor size over here, so the C43 will be a bit more expensive.

Obvious advantages I can think of:

C43:
- Cheaper to buy
- Less technical jumbo that could fail on me, considering (with 150'000km+) the car has been on the road for a while
- Has the absolutely wonderful W202 look
- Raw, uncharged power

C32:
- More power
- Less fuel consumption (smaller & newer engine / supercharger)
- More technical jumbo that is fun
- Parts (in case of failures or accidents) easier to come by
- Integrated multimedia system/GPS

A friend of mine who (usually) knows his way around cars also warned me to shy away from older vehicle superchargers as the C32 does have, as they have a certain chance of breaking down. Is there anything to that?

Another issue:
I want to be able to use a USB drive or SD card for my music. In the W202 this isn't much of an issue as I can just replace the original radio with a simple 1-slot radio that has a USB/card port. With the W203 I can't really do that, and with the W203 being a couple of years old, I'm assuming that it doesn't have such ports. So if it were to be the W203, how would I go about that?

I'd greatly appreciate any advice, comments, additions to advantages that I might have missed, and so on.


Thank you!