[khoj]

Just when I was about to put my money down on an Altis. Is this offer for a limited time or is it going to stay for some time? I will need the better part of 2010 to rustle up the additional 10L but it will be worth it.

Beemer experts is it possible to retrofit this car with the xenons and change the run flats to standard tubeless tyres? I wish the factory had given the above changes as standard, might have brought the prices down to 22L! What say?

[canonball]

Khoj you sure can do a after market retro fit. You may even save some money in sourcing the Zenon's yourself! Runflat change is very possible don't know what the deal is but they are sure more costly than tubeless so tyre dealer should give you some money over and above the exchange . The C class is also available in classic trim and I think it is a good 3 to 5 lacs cheaper than the elegence. Seen many such spec cars both in diesel & pertol on the road. Saw a relatively new one 2 days ago in the new gold color not sure if the pricing I have mentioned is correct!

[iceman7]

WOOHOO!! What a move by BMW. A cool 8 lakhs savings without stripping the essentials. And come on who's going to miss the sun roof and 6 CD changer and Bluetooth and USB interface?

You're getting a BMW for 26 lakhs (estimated) OTR. What else can you ask for?

Although I think the Xenon's will be missed.

The Superb is sure going to feel the heat. If I was in the market for a car in this price range, I'd lay my money blindly on the 3 Series.

Will this have a negative impact on the resale value of the existing 3 series?

Edit: They should have gotten rid of the run flats too.

[vinaydas]

nice move but i think the japs and even skoda gives more VFM than the beemer + the added space from the competition is a boon.
People who wanted to be associated with the badge before but found it to be too expensive can rejoice now apart from that nothing much interesting with the beemer.

[GTO]

Man, this is almost like Maverick's (BMWs) comeback to my thread of last evening (Now, Audi A6 at 37 (Now, Audi A6 at 37 lakhs (ex-showroom Mumbai))).

Know what I'm really happy to see? That the pricing of entry level German luxury cars is getting back to where it should have been. The Merc C200 / C220 used to cost about in the ballpark of 22 - 23 lakhs ex-showroom 5 years back. Unfortunately, Mercedes & BMW continuously raised the prices since then, and ever so often. I hope this triggers a price war and gets the A4 / 3 / C at the price point they belong.

I don't care about the idrive, bluetooth etc. etc. Sure, I'll miss the leather seats but that's the easiest to correct in the after-market.

Full marks to BMW for an aggressive strategy. This move is yet another example of why they have become the No.1 luxury car brand in India (outsold Mercedes & Audi in 2009).

BMW 320d : 22.95 lakhs
Skoda Superb 2.0 Diesel : 21.50 lakhs

See what I mean? The choice is obvious for those who love to drive.

[Shardul.YamahaF]

really good to know German people are pushing their cars at such low Price, now you can see Meru travels Cabs with BMW tags

[Yeldo]

IMHO, the Passat should be feeling the heat more than the Superb, as the latter is bought by people with an eye on space and comfort.

What is this "corporate edition" anyway? Only available to corporate customers or fleet buyers? Then it's a pity!

Altogether, a very, very welcome move. The best driving small Diesel German luxury car is now going to kill everything else in the same segment. Wish they offered the leather seats and chopped the runflats instead.

[issigonis]

On the whole, a very smart move by BMW.
With this they have widened their appeal to include people who with a little bit of stretch can buy this dream driving machine.

Be warned, Merc, Audi, Toyota, Honda,VW & Volvo!

I agree with all of you about the
i. run flats (should be replaced with 'normal' tubeless)
ii. inclusion of leather seats, plus
iii.maybe lumbar support for the passenger in the suicide seat ( the seat next to the driver ),
iv. Bi Xenon lamps

Its time for a TD.

Will the company offer a trade-in package?

That would be ideal for many of us!

Regards

P.S. : By the way, a Bimmer refers to all four wheeled BMW vehicles; a Beemer refers to all non - four wheeled vehicles ( bikes). The Isetta was a four wheeled car ( so is a Bimmer).

[rpmx1000]

Smart move by BMW.This is what the C-class used to cost when it entered the Indian market in rupee terms.Makes a good price point and popularise the brand.The really good thing is that no safety features are compromised. This will not take away Superb buyers for sure. The Superb is too good a deal, badge or no badge.The 320d is a good segment lower than the Superb.Specs wise it is in the same segment as the Laura/C-class etc.

[holysmoke]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Niiiiice price tag ! But why the runflats still !? Instead they should pass on that saving to the customers or give leather seats instead. But am glad they didn't strip the car off it's safety features!

The Superb diesel will feel that heat. Although features and comfort-wise there is no comparison, the BMW will sell merely by badge value to some.

The superb diesel hardly sells. Most people buy the 1.8TSI. From what I gather the dealers have been telling customers that the common rail from the passat is going to make its way into the superb soon.

Also, this is a car for enthusiasts, or for people who want the badge. Superb is more for CEO's etc. The v6 might feel some heat.

The accord is surely in deep sheet now. From being the default go-to car for someone with 20 odd lacs, its market is now eaten up by the superb and now BMW. Honda is sleeping!

[RakishRam]

Wondering why all these activities happen only on 320d? Are they not really worried about 320i and 325i - I am sure they are not selling that good either. In fact a stripped down 320i could be priced at sub 20L levels - but that could be a harakiri, brand image wise.

[johnjacob]

If I remember right, the 3-series has to have run-flats as they don't have space for a spare tire (not even for a space-saver). In fact, wasn't there a big outcry as ARAI initially refused to homologate the 3-series because they didn't have spare tires? I even remember a Team-BHP thread about it.

[vkochar]

That's a real tempting price for a Beemer. Expect their sales of 3 series to double now.

They should keep a Leather / Sat - Nav / Sun roof option at 2 Lacs or so.

[recshenoy]

Originally Posted by rpmx1000

Smart move by BMW.This is what the C-class used to cost when it entered the Indian market in rupee terms.Makes a good price point and popularise the brand.The really good thing is that no safety features are compromised. This will not take away Superb buyers for sure. The Superb is too good a deal, badge or no badge.The 320d is a good segment lower than the Superb.Specs wise it is in the same segment as the Laura/C-class etc.

Exactly. C class used to cost around 20lakhs. When i was in high school, i used to think about of means of saving 20 Lakhs to buy a C class MERC

But later year on year price raise and latest i heard was that MERC C class costs 44 lakhs Nice to see a Bimmer coming at around 23 lakhs ( still lot of money for me ). Atleast can dream out owning a second hand some day!

IMHO, If a car is chauffer driven, going for superb makes more sense. But if you are a juvenile driving on city roads, BMW is THE car!

Now is it worth paying almost 8 lakhs more for the top end 320 with 6 Cd changer, bluetooth, USB etc? or for iDRIVE may be?

[mayjay]

Any idea what is the ex-showroom price / OTR price in Delhi / NCR?