[suman]

Originally Posted by PNARUNC

They say that they don't sell that and they are saying that such an issue is not heard off in the recent days with lots of upgrading happened. I am just keeping my fingers crossed. Can you help me with your views / cautions before I get myself committed?. Also, if you can share your recent updates on the performance of your devil, it will be great.

Sorry for not replying earlier, have been away for quite a while. These trickle chargers are available but horrendously expensive. A lot of the showroom & Test Drive vehicles require to be kept charged on a regular basis and they use these chargers. I was told that even opening and closing of doors in a stationery showroom vehicle, on a regular basis is enough to drain the battery out in a few days

Having said that, if you are going to be using the vehicle on a regular basis, don't worry too much about it. In my case, the car had not been used for an inordinately long time. Post this incident, we have been away on vacation for up to a fortnight on multiple occasions and I've not had any issues at all. So go for it, no worries! It's a super car otherwise. I've completed 3 years and over 45k kms now and am really happy with it. Updates coming up soon........

[PNARUNC]

Thanks Suman. Certainly your reply infused a lots of confidence about X1. I will be planning to take the delivery by Oct. 01st week. Planning to write a post starting from my dilemmas to how and why I arrived at a beamer. Eagerly awaiting your recent updates with (y)our beamer - X1.

[suman]

Wow, I've really been playing truant haven't I! I cannot believe that I haven't updated the thread for almost a year and a half. Well, I guess it’s been the usual quiet and steady performance that's partly responsible for that. As on date, the mileage stands at 49,597 kms and it's on the brink of a well compiled half century. The tyres, according to my friend and expert Deepak Kataria, are good for another 10k kms at least. A regular service is just around the corner and I intend taking it in next week for the needful. But let me back up a bit and update you on the story post my August 2013 update.

LH ORVM issue: One morning in September 2013, the left side ORVM refused to unfold (I have a habit of closing the mirrors when I park). Managed to unfold it manually and took it to the workshop over the weekend. They opened it up, fiddled around with it, and said that they would replace under warranty. However, there was no stock available with them so I would have to take it back in a couple of weeks. So they fit the existing one back and guess what? It was merrily folding and unfolding. LOL. So I told them that they needn’t indent and I’d keep a close watch and let them know if the issue resurfaced. And resurface it did, a month or so later. The funny thing was, when I took it out of the parking and left it in the sun for a while, the mechanism would function freely! And we only blame TATA cars for inconsistency! So I called them up and asked them to indent for one. I got a call in early November and took the vehicle in for a warranty replacement.

Regular Service – November 2013: Around the time the above was due, the regular service indicator lit up so I combined the two visits. Engine oil service was carried out at 35,675 kms and they also attended to the irritating tail gate rattle that seemed to resurface every now and then. It's now been missing for a number of months but seems too good to be true

Insurance Renewal – July 2014: In July 2012, I had renewed with ICICI and had continued with them as they provided the best coverage at a reasonable rate with their Silver Plan. Come July 2014, they not only changed the Plan name, separated the components into two separate plans and hiked the premium by an obscene amount, but they were also unable to send me a simple written confirmation that the new (exorbitantly priced) Plan would cover all the items that my previous plan did. I finally got disgusted and decided to switch to TATA AIG – they covered everything other than the Tyre replacement at 10k less! I figured that with the tyres having done around 45k, it didn’t make much sense insuring them – given the tread wear stipulations, I’d have to dish out a fair amount for replacement anyway and that would be much more than the 10k+ plus that I’d be saving by renewing with TATA AIG. So I paid a final premium of Rs 41,544 to TATA AIG and parted company with ICICI for good. But not before I sent a long email to their MD, Bhargav Dasgupta, complaining about the inefficiency and bureaucratic attitude of their Helpdesk. I did receive an immediate response back from him and some senior operations person but my mind was made up. The TATA AIG policy includes Zero Dep, Hydrostatic Lock and Consumables.

BSI Renewal: I had taken coverage under BSI Ultimate for 3 years and 60k kms. Since this would be running out in July 2014, I checked with my contact at Bird, as early as April 2014 and I was assured that I could approach them at any time before the end of July to extend this to 5 years/60k kms. I was also given an estimate of around 80-85k and I thought it would be worth paying for complete peace of mind for another 2 years and approximately 15k kms longer. So I contacted Bird at the end of June and heard multiple, conflicting bits of information –
• Rates had gone up way beyond the 80-85k that had been quoted to almost double! No reply when I asked why I had not been contacted before prices went up
• Subsequent update that prices had, in effect, not gone up that much and would cost around 95k
• Finally – since BMW had changed the plans and discontinued Ultimate, I could only be provided extension on the Service part and NOT on the extended warranty! Cost would be around 40k.

Well, what choice did I have, even Service cost coverage would be good for me. So the vehicle coverage was finally extended till July 2016 under what is now known as BMW Service Inclusive Plus at a final cost of Rs 38,990. Considering the fact that a regular service would set one back by 20-25k and a brake service could cost anything in the region of 30-35k, this is a mere pittance. A pity that I couldn’t get the warranty cover extended but it is what it is!

Apart from the above, there’s not much else to report folks! Post April 2014, my commute has also reduced considerably and is outside of peak hours, mostly on the expressway. As a result, fuel efficiency has leaped. The X1 loves winter and apart from reveling in the conditions, is also bringing a huge smile to my face – when I topped up day before, it returned 14.4 kmpl! There have been a couple of more scratches which have been touched up by Bird Automotive and there’s a minute chip on the paint of the left rear alloy (courtesy a passing cycle rickshaw) but its not worth getting the entire alloy painted so I’ve just let it be. I started filled Nitrogen in the tyres in April 2014. While I know there are divergent views on the subject, I for one, have been very happy. Hardly need to top up more than once in three or four months, that’s a major improvement over regular air. So I intend to continue.

And what lies ahead folks? Coming up in the next post……….

[suman]

If I were to look back over the past three and a half years of The Devil's ownership, there would be many happy memories and quite a few "AHA!" moments. We've all enjoyed the experience and the drive has brought countless smiles to our faces. If you were to ask me what the one constraint or fly in the ointment has been, it would be very simple - the inability to "go anywhere". Mind you, this has been caused more by a mental perception and "what if" rather than an actual proven handicap. Please allow me to elaborate.

This vehicle is a true blue highway ripper and can venture off tarmac on undulating surfaces too, thanks to it's 194 mm ground clearance. However, the lack of a full sized spare wheel always makes one hesitate when it comes to long distance trips, particularly forays to the mountains or hilly terrain. As a result of this, our road trips have come to a grinding halt for some time now. In August 2012, a year after The Devil arrived, we had planned a trip to a friend's mountain retreat in Uttarakhand. I was quite excited at the thought of taking The Devil up........closer to the time, the butterflies started up and kept nagging. What if one of the tyres gets cut up badly? More importantly, what if a rim gets damaged? Flat-bed back to Gurgaon? Finally - No way! We took our two week old Skoda Rapid! In hindsight, it was a good decision because it was the Moradabad stretch that was a bloody nightmare and I was sure that I'd have busted tyres and rims doing that bit.

Since then, we haven't done any road trips. Reason for that is not the X1 but the fact that the kids haven't been inclined to do any more road trips. So it's been more of flights, domestic and abroad. But even if we had thought of a trip, we'd have been in the same quandary. And would have probably ended up Skoda-ing it.

"Big deal" you'll say, "life is not only about road trips". I agree and The Devil has been bringing us sheer Joy within city limits. But then, some things are changing and there'll be more changes along the way.My daughter's away doing her Post Grad. My son has his Class 12 exams in March this year and will thereafter be pursuing his Engineering dreams, away from home. When my daughter finishes her Post Grad, she could be starting her career away from the NCR too. Our in-city usage will be drastically curtailed. And that's when the probability of us (wife & I) doing more road trips increases. Always wanted to go back to Leh - that's been shelved ever since the Safari left. Had even dreamed of taking the X1 there (I'm confident it would have sailed through but for the tyre thingy) but practicality made me give up the idea. We have Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to cover, maybe a few trips to Cal and a few more to Uttarakhand.......and I do not intend taking the Skoda (make no mistake, it's a great highway cruiser as well but, it's now the family workhorse, not the recreational vehicle )

And that's what brings me to the post title folks, the time has probably come to bid farewell to The Devil in Deep Sea Blue! The Devil has given us some of the best "pushed back in the seat" moments and has more than lived up to my expectations of a daily drive (it had to fill the Safari's shoes but it's ended up creating a wider tread of its own). Perhaps it is now time for The Devil to go out in a blaze of glory

With that in mind and a heavy heart, I've put The Devil up for sale in the forum Classifieds. Do stop by and check out that out and drop me a PM if any of you are looking for driving Nirvana and would like to give our X1 a home.

As for Who replaces The Devil? That will certainly be the topic of much discussion, on a separate thread.......see you there soon folks!

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by suman

As for Who replaces The Devil? That will certainly be the topic of much discussion, on a separate thread.......see you there soon folks!

If I didn't know better, I would say a storme is cooking, but I guess, after so much time on the other side, your fortunes may take you elsewhere

[suman]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

If I didn't know better, I would say a storme is cooking, but I guess, after so much time on the other side, your fortunes may take you elsewhere

LOL Tanveer, I have some crazy thoughts running around in my head lately......fortunerly, it may be something totally different

[Akshay1234]

That's a surprise! Didn't expect you to consider selling it so soon. Honestly unless you are upgrading to another German I'm sure you will miss a lot of things. Do consider the X3, or is that already on your mind?

I'd say switch to tubeless tyres, get a space saver and continue to use the car for another 50k kms. The resale isn't going to be great for the car, and I'm sure you will get some stupidly low offers.

Also these cars can take some abuse, its worrying before but try it out once for your road trips and it will leave you surprised. If you could take the Rapid, the X1 would definitely do the same very easily. The tyres and rims are stronger than you would imagine.

[suman]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Do consider the X3, or is that already on your mind?

It was very much on my mind but gave up looking at the on-road price of the XLine which was way way over my Budget. They had a discounted Xpedition in stock but if I'm going to pay that much, I want a sunroof.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

I'd say switch to tubeless tyres, get a space saver and continue to use the car for another 50k kms.

You make a valid point but I've thought it over extensively. This year will probably be the last year that I'll make a big change for a few years to come. As the years go buy, resale value will continue to fall and new car prices will continue to go up. So, it's now or never.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

The resale isn't going to be great for the car, and I'm sure you will get some stupidly low offers.

You're absolutely correct there. This car is in it's fourth year, thus the value would be approximately 50% of it's original Invoice price (20% for Year 1 and then 10% for each year thereafter).

Originally Posted by akshay1234

If you could take the Rapid, the X1 would definitely do the same very easily. The tyres and rims are stronger than you would imagine.

Well, with the Rapid, I didn't have to worry about low profile tyres and rims . You have to see that stretch of road to believe it........more importantly, the thought of having to look at flat-bedding with the family in tow was enough to deter me