You can always go for the boring yet stable things like Toyota Altis or Honda Civic or something abit premium like Polo Sedan (but without a turbo, you'll feel that paying that price for a crippled VW seems sad) then of course you can go all nutty if you really want a premium conti and buy a recon merc which i think is a good and cheap entry point for a real conti as long as you're willing to get your hands abit dirty when it comes to maintenance and not rely on service centers or 3s. Then there is another option like Renault Fluence, conti design and specs with Japanese sourced engine (Nissan) which makes maintenance cheaper than your average conti 

Kalvienyong,

have u decided what car are u getting? 

Honda city 07/08 is using cvt, good for fuel consumption.
But if you buy a lemon it's quite costly to repair.
My current city is fine but still pending a flywheel & starter change when got money.
Those two items will be about 1000 to replace.
About the same as a sylphy
Why buy second hand when can buy new?
Consider the Renault fluence, as cheap to maintain as a Nissan but conti feel

how about civic or kia cerato?