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Old 26th December 2009, 22:56   #166
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Originally Posted by thegman View Post
BSI? I assume that you mean a "BMW Service Inclusive" But wouldnt i need that only after the initial warranty expires?

How long is the initial BMW warranty?
You've got it wrong (or I've got it terribly wrong). Even under warranty you have to pay for regular servicing which is prohibitively expensive for most. And once that warranty's over, God help the owner if electricals or mechanicals fail. With BSI, however, everything is prepaid except accidental damage. For more clarity on this, Sahil is the man you should speak with.

Must be 2 years, unlimited mileage. My estimate.

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Any idea on what the Xenon kit upgrade would cost for this baby?
I've asked Navnit to mail me details for the same. When I hear, I'll post here.

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Sure the Superb offers more bang for your buck in terms of features, but come on....you cant even begin to compare a BMW to a Skoda!
The only thing keeping most people here from buying a Superb is the A.S.S. It's unbelievably good, and if badge isn't a priority then the 3 isn't a patch to the Superb in the Indian context. By which I mean ride, comfort, VFM, kit etc. Take the BMW badge away and it's hopelessly underequipped.

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The 3 is widely considered as one of the best drivers car in the world!
No doubt. Has its flaws in the Indian environment though.
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Old 27th December 2009, 00:43   #167
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Had gone to Navnit today to check out the Corporate. Although they didn't have the car on display, I was shown some images on a computer screen. Visible changes include 5 x twin spoke alloys (16" dia and not that great to look at, but acceptable) and the piano black interior finish, which according to me looks just great. Everything else is about the same. Leatherette interior, manual seats, no sunroof, no iDrive, no CD changer. Ex-Thane is 22.95L and OTR Thane is 26.19L.

Exterior all shades available, although I was told that for the interior only black or beige upholstery would be available, and not the oyster / brown leather shades. Can someone please confirm this?
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Old 27th December 2009, 02:24   #168
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Originally Posted by flyingspur View Post
The only thing keeping most people here from buying a Superb is the A.S.S. It's unbelievably good, and if badge isn't a priority then the 3 isn't a patch to the Superb in the Indian context. By which I mean ride, comfort, VFM, kit etc. Take the BMW badge away and it's hopelessly underequipped.
So the unanimous choice would be the Superb compared to the Bimmer because down here(South side)the A.S.S isn't bad.Comparatively cheaper to maintain too.Snob value never mattered to me.Simple principle i follow is. You give me more value for the money i pay,you got yourself a customer
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Old 27th December 2009, 08:43   #169
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Originally Posted by flyingspur View Post
Had gone to Navnit today to check out the Corporate. Although they didn't have the car on display, I was shown some images on a computer screen. Visible changes include 5 x twin spoke alloys (16" dia and not that great to look at, but acceptable) and the piano black interior finish, which according to me looks just great. Everything else is about the same. Leatherette interior, manual seats, no sunroof, no iDrive, no CD changer. Ex-Thane is 22.95L and OTR Thane is 26.19L.

Exterior all shades available, although I was told that for the interior only black or beige upholstery would be available, and not the oyster / brown leather shades. Can someone please confirm this?
Did they have some sort of spec sheet which compared the feature list of all the 3 series models on offer. I have a bad feeling that they may have left out some other minor features too.

Is "Leatherette" the same material used for the seats on the other models? Im pretty sure it will be better than fabric seats, but may get a tad uncomfortable in the heat.

Any idea of the additional pricing for the xenons?

Anyone snapped up pics of the interiors/exterior of the stripped down 320d?
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Old 27th December 2009, 10:10   #170
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Originally Posted by Speeding@160mph View Post
For all the guys out there saying they wouldn't buy a BMW without the bells n whistles; I hope they already have a BMW in their garage otherwise, its a moot statement!

I, for one don't, but am in the market for a 22-24 lac car and am thoroughly stoked by this option! I would happily drop +2-3lacs more and get this baby Bimmer over any Accord/Camry/Teana/VW!

Fact remains that this move, IF followed through, will change the concept of entry level luxury cars in India; force the mid-market players to rethink options/prices and drive the competitive spirit which is so good for us consumers!
Very well said Speeding@160mph! Its what is in and on the hood that matters rather than gadgetry present. With a wide range of OEM accessories available in the market today, one can easily have a Bose or a Mark & Levinson system installed to suit one's need.
I for one went in for the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser GX-R which didn't have a GPS nor a decent sound system. The competition offered real good value for money, like the Infinity FX45 or even the Lexus RX300 (Price-wise). But my friends, a Land Cruiser is and will always be a machine to reckon with and that pleasure one gets from inside the driver's seat is a joy to live for!

Cheers!
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Old 27th December 2009, 13:28   #171
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May be the CKDS are from China,where they make cheap BMWS to compete with VW and AUDIS. I think skoda superb or VW Passat is a much better buy than cheap BMW. Fully loaded superb TDI is 25L on road Mumbai and Passat is 28L with 4year warranty and 3year or 45000kl free service and maintainace.
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Old 27th December 2009, 13:42   #172
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Originally Posted by thegman View Post
Did they have some sort of spec sheet which compared the feature list of all the 3 series models on offer. I have a bad feeling that they may have left out some other minor features too.
Not just yet. They should have one in a week or so. They didn't even have the pricelist printed, for that matter.

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Is "Leatherette" the same material used for the seats on the other models? Im pretty sure it will be better than fabric seats, but may get a tad uncomfortable in the heat.
Artificial leather. Looks pretty much the same, atleast in the pictures it did. Better than fabric, I suppose. Aftermarket won't be an option I think, considering it has airbags in the seats.

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Any idea of the additional pricing for the xenons?
Refer to my last post.

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Anyone snapped up pics of the interiors/exterior of the stripped down 320d?
Walk into the dealership. They've all been sent an email with the pictures of the car. Exterior shots, alloys and interior. That's what was shown to me.
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Old 27th December 2009, 20:44   #173
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Originally Posted by flyingspur View Post
Not just yet. They should have one in a week or so. They didn't even have the pricelist printed, for that matter.



Artificial leather. Looks pretty much the same, atleast in the pictures it did. Better than fabric, I suppose. Aftermarket won't be an option I think, considering it has airbags in the seats.



Refer to my last post.



Walk into the dealership. They've all been sent an email with the pictures of the car. Exterior shots, alloys and interior. That's what was shown to me.
Thanks mate, will do. If i can get any info from them I will be happy to post it here too! Cheerz!
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Old 28th December 2009, 13:59   #174
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This is an excellent move from BMW! Get rid of the run flats and its perfect. Leather Seats, CD Player, Xenons etc can be sourced via the after market route! Awaiting pictures of the car!
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Old 30th December 2009, 10:29   #175
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Wow!!!

The battle intensifies a lot more...

For the guys with moolah, this is real VFm.
Just throw the freebies as an after market purchase and still it would not account for RS. 8 lacs.

As for the brand image, BMW is way ahead of an Accord or Superb or Camry...
Next-Is Merc following suit with the C Class????
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Old 2nd January 2010, 12:59   #176
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Went to the BMW dealership yesterday with a friend who wants to buy either the 3 series or A4. Got the see the 3 series corporate edition. All in all a good car, but when you compare it with the loaded version, you feel its missing a lot.

The dealership had both cars parked and we compared every bit of it. But again considering the OTR cost. Corporate edition INR 25.XX L & 320d highline INR 34.XX L.

Saving good amount there. We had a few doubts.

1. Can we get after market xenons? When we asked the sales person, he said something about warranty issues.

I personally feel 25L OTR is value for money knowing there is no compromise on safety and performance.
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Old 2nd January 2010, 22:11   #177
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Seems a bit strange, but the BMW website has been updated with PDF specsheets of all models, even including price lists of options, just like sometime back. But the 320d C/E is not mentioned anywhere. Why is that?
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Old 2nd January 2010, 22:30   #178
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I checked on this with Navnit too.

@Harshal: Dunno about the aftermarkets but the OEM Xenon upgrade will set you back by 1.5L. If you get a CD player from BMW, that will set you back by 50K.

Personally, I wish they had retained Xenon's and instead done away with the sun roof. The sun roof is completely dispensable IMHO.

@Yeldo: I asked them about 2 days ago and its definitely available on sale. Ignore the websites I guess.
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Old 2nd January 2010, 22:41   #179
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sahil View Post
I thought to myself, a BMW at this price is yummy but I already had that badge in my garage. Would I want another BMW just to add another fancy badge and thereby downgrading on everything else in comparison to the Superb. Since the time the Superb came home it has become the hot favorite with the family, everyone prefers taking it when chauffeured around town.
Since you own both badges, a few questions for you (for my information):

(a) which car offers better performance and driving experience (performance; ride; handling all considered) in your opinion (I know you own a 5 series but just in case you have a view on this) - the 320D or the Superb 1.8 TSI.

(b) you already have a 5 series so picking a Superb v. 3 Series is easy. What if one has a small car and wants to pick between a 320.D and Superb as the primary and only high end option in the garage. What should one go in for. One note here: personally, I'm not much in favour of excessive electronics. I prefer mechanically sound cars with reasonable levels of frills. Given how unreliable some modern electronics are, a stripped down german car actually appeals to me in some ways.

(c) Assume leg room at the back is not a material consideration and the person picking is self driven 80% of the time.

Cheers,
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Old 2nd January 2010, 23:34   #180
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Axe77 View Post
Since you own both badges, a few questions for you (for my information):

(a) which car offers better performance and driving experience (performance; ride; handling all considered) in your opinion (I know you own a 5 series but just in case you have a view on this) - the 320D or the Superb 1.8 TSI.

(b) you already have a 5 series so picking a Superb v. 3 Series is easy. What if one has a small car and wants to pick between a 320.D and Superb as the primary and only high end option in the garage. What should one go in for. One note here: personally, I'm not much in favour of excessive electronics. I prefer mechanically sound cars with reasonable levels of frills. Given how unreliable some modern electronics are, a stripped down german car actually appeals to me in some ways.

(c) Assume leg room at the back is not a material consideration and the person picking is self driven 80% of the time.

Cheers,
I was in the same dilemma as you a year ago.

I bought a 530d for the weekends and was considering the 320d as a daily drive.

Drove the Superb 1.8 TSI as well and contemplated getting that instead of the 320d.

However, the driving dynamics of the 320d are far superior to the Superb.
You will need to live with the slightly harsh ride and poor leg room though ( you mentioned this is not a problem ).

Also, I got the 320d baseline ( no iDrive ), this is simpler and easier to use.
Besides the iDrive in my 530 feeezes every now and then....only a reboot helps.....German electronics !!
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