[elantracrdi05]

Originally Posted by sameerg001

Congratulations on your latest acquisition, looks damn HOT in red color, nice choice i must say . Good to see that you got yourself exclusive instead of Corp. which lacks too many feautres.

BTW are you planning to add space saver at the rear, for all those long highway drives ?

Do post some interior pics along ( specially rear ) along with more exterior shots.

Wish you wonderful miles ahead, drive safe.

Cheers
Sameer

Thanks a lot. The only reason I was hesitant on the colour was my other was also the same! That said, this colour won me over when I saw it in the flesh.

No plans for the space saver - I like my boot space

Pics will come soon - promise!

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

we need more pictures.

Btw I believe your handle is quite mis-leading!

Pics - refer above!
Handle - well, I really couldn't think of a better one at the time. No regrets though because even though it was a lemon, I still loved the car to the core.

Originally Posted by smartcat

haha! Serves you right for not thinking through before you chose the username "elantracrdi05" on team-bhp!

And technically, you have upgraded from a Santro to a BMW. Were you saving up all that money for buying a house, and ditched the plans at the last minute to buy the beemer?

Meanwhile, I would vote this among the best ownership reviews of any car - very well written. Comments & questions -

- Interior pics needed.

- Hydraulic steering unit on the X1 is like that of a tractor eh? How is the steering on the new electric unit of the 3 series?

- How bad is the ride quality really? I have seen many owners complain about the ride quality, but it doesn't seem to be a deal-breaker, is it?

Actually, the funny thing is that I had a deal with my wife that the day I get a house, the balance money would be spent on my dream car. That is the sequence of events

Well, the steering on the X1 was awful after the 320d drive.
The ride quality is absolutely perfect when the roads are between 7/10-10/10. It is when they fall to a 5/10 where I miss the soft cushy suspension of my old Elantra.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Brilliant review. Been waiting for it even since you mentioned on the new 3 thread that you booked this car. A couple of points -

Is it really a DVD changer in the boot?
The abs kicks in early because the run flats grip is nothing spectacular, and also because of the car jumping around on the stiff suspension.
I can view text messages from my bb on I drive, there is an option in Bluetooth settings of your phone to enable it to send messages and another option in Idrive too, will check and tell you tomorrow.

Beautiful colour you have got there, and the interiors too are gorgeous. If I may suggest, change the chrome grilles to bmw performance glossy black ones, will go really well with the colour. I've just picked them up for mine among other things.

The second thing, I suggest you remove the race chip. I've heard that when your car goes for service and the diagnostic tool is connected, it uploads ecu values to the central bmw server, and if by chance you have a warranty claim later on these will be checked and your warranty dishonoured. That'll be 3 lacs of Bai down the drain.

If anything, try a car with the bmw performance kit, i assure you the difference in car behaviour is worth the price.

Enjoy the 3

Thanks Akshay. Have followed your thread consistently. Don't know for sure if it is a DVD changer - just know that the system is capable of playing DVDs so whether it is just the single slot up front or all slots is something I haven't yet explored.
Will wait for your tutorial on the BB text setup.
Appreciate your thoughts on the grill. The first red 320d I saw was one with the M performance skirts and the black grill. Was not to my taste on this particular colour so will enjoy the bling of the chrome for now.

The racechip - well, the BMW thingy costs upwards of 3 lacs. I frankly am broke. I think I'll just go with the flow and cross the bridge when I get there. Thanks for the concern though.

Originally Posted by bigron

Congratulations . The car looks fantastic in that colour. Ironically , i saw the car in the same color in my sector few days ago in chandigarh. Wonder if it was your car ?

You may be referring to another red 320d in Sector 8 - owned by a friend of mine - it is a dynamic edition. Although I was in Chandigarh in Sec 8/9 in the last week of May so it could have been me.

Originally Posted by dockap

Hi and congrats on getting your BMW. wish you and your family many happy and safe miles on it. With the 100,000 km 5 year BSI Ultimate service package i am sure you will have a tension free ownership experience.
Why do you want a race chip? my neighbor owns the same colour and model BMW and i have driven it and in sport mode( i hope i am saying the right word) it just pushes you back into the seat when you squeeze the accelerator. you end up with a silly smile on your face .
The omission of sat navigation may be forgivable in such a expensive car but the omission of cruise control is criminal on BMW's part ( my BMW neighbor drove my XUV and he looked crest fallen when he noticed cruise control and sat navigation in a vehicle which costs less than half of his car value)

Thanks sir. The racechip transforms the lower end power spectrum and I expect it to actually improve the economy since my engine is running less stressed. The silly smile now goes mentally spastic

Originally Posted by suhaas307

What a brilliant ownership review! You've nailed it!

And you've just acquired a car that will go down into the history books as one of the best drivers' cars of this century! You can be sure of that!

It's very refreshing to see a BMW in a colour other than grey/black/white. Sure, these colours are great and suit the car well too, but a BMW in this particular shade of red exudes a certain charm. It's very nice colour.

From a Santro to an Elantra and now a BMW 3-Series. You must be over the Moon, certainly! I wonder what your neighbours might be thinking now!

Oh, and did I mention that your review was very well written? So well constructed that we could just as well use your review as an example/format for which other reviews may written on.

Thank you for your contribution and a hearty congratulations on your latest acquisition. *thumbs up*

I hope I find myself moving your thread to the long-term ownership threads section very soon.

Thanks for the kind words. Makes the long write worth it. The colour looks even nicer on a cloudy day - the finish is supreme. The neighbours had a bit of a scare - one went and got a Cruze within a week of the car getting in. Wonder if I had anything to do with it.

Santro to 320d in 18 months - life has been kind to me. Really.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Congrats !

The BSI 5yr/100k costs 3.12 lakhs now for the 320d !! To think I paid 2.5 lakhs for it for the 525d over 4 years ago, it indeed was a sweet deal ! The 320d package at that time was much cheaper, def well below 2 lakhs.

Originally Posted by R-Six

Great choice of ride and what an excellent review!! Thank you for sharing! I think this color is a new one? I don't remember seeing this shade on the BMWs.

The colour is actually quite old but rare in India. Even the X5/6 comes in this colour. The new 320d ditches this colour in favor of a more scarletti tone.

R-Six

Originally Posted by Samridh

I can't really tell you how much I liked this review of yours. Not only was it honest to the core, it gave us a laymans perspective of (amongst) the big 3 germans. I think the colour is spectacular and I wish you all the best in your driving endeavours. I could 'exactly' relate to the feeling of such an upgrade. I was even about to shed a tear (probably beacuse I know I want that car and I know one day I shall have one). But to get a smile on my face (and probably yours), I have added your thread in my favourites as "Santro to BMW in 3 easy steps" (the third and the intermittent one being the lemon err elantra)....... hahahaha! And since we probably stay quite close by (Gud-Gaon), can I drop in one of these days just to get a sneak peak??

Do drop in any time - feel free to message me.

[jacs]

@elantracrdi05 - Congrats on your new car. I must say its a very well written review, covered many aspects from a simple layman perspective. Some humour elements like "Kitna detti hei" made it really interesting like a story.

Personally I loved the White, Blue and Grey metallic Beemers. But sure Red is hot!

Could you please share the AMC details of the car. I heard BMW offers a complete 3 year package so that your mainteance is 100% covered including consumables and pickups.

[vb-saan]

Thanks for the excellent review. That shade of red is beautiful. On the seats - I guess BMW did a good thing by not providing an option of saddle brown seats for the red car. This combination works much better IMHO.

Keep updating the thread, and drive safe!

[shankar.balan]

What a thoroughly enjoyable read!

Thank you so much for 30 minutes of great enjoyment.

Beautiful colour of car and I do believe saddle brown interiors would have gone rather well with it.

Perhaps the time is upon you now, to consider a change of handle, if such a thing is possible!

[mobike008]

Excellent ownership report of the Bimmer. It was engrossing to read would be a bit of an understatement. Loved the color of your car and looks like a new one to me as I never saw this color till date on BMW

Really enjoyed reading the description of you travelling for 3 days in Metro and 4th day becoming a owner of a 3-series. Lovely!

Btw, how much did the entire car including BSI package cost you?

Look forward to a detailed review of the chip as well apart from some interior pictures of the car.

[razor4077]

Great buying & initial ownership report. The 3 is one of my personal favourites, and I keep telling myself.. "one day" Truth be told, I am a bigger fan of the E46, but the Bangled E90 is quite something as well. Loved the way the 320D drove - acceleration, cornering - brilliant! Maybe down the line you can change the RFTs to something a little more comfortable.

Congrats, and do post some nice pics!

[AltoHoncho]

supremely written ownership experience @elantracrdi... I was so engrossed reading it that didnt realized when my boss came and stood behind me and started reading the same few mins later.
Rated it a deserving 5 star IMO.

Amazed to see the purchase impulse took you all the way from a skoda etc to a 320d CE to finally the 320d Exc.

Can you also provide details about the financing thing?

[elantracrdi05]

Originally Posted by jacs

Could you please share the AMC details of the car. I heard BMW offers a complete 3 year package so that your mainteance is 100% covered including consumables and pickups.

The AMC is a five year 100,000 km BSI Ultimate package which includes all services, labor and consumables. It also includes all brake pads and discs. It further gives an extended warranty upto the 5 Y / 100,000 km limit.

The whole package cost me INR 312,701 to be precise.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Beautiful colour of car and I do believe saddle brown interiors would have gone rather well with it.

Perhaps the time is upon you now, to consider a change of handle, if such a thing is possible!

Saddle brown - Sigh - Sir mujhe jalao mat!
Handle - We should never forget our roots Also, its not possible on the forum

Originally Posted by mobike008

Excellent ownership report of the Bimmer. It was engrossing to read would be a bit of an understatement. Loved the color of your car and looks like a new one to me as I never saw this color till date on BMW

Really enjoyed reading the description of you travelling for 3 days in Metro and 4th day becoming a owner of a 3-series. Lovely!

Btw, how much did the entire car including BSI package cost you?

Look forward to a detailed review of the chip as well apart from some interior pictures of the car.

The colour is quite old actually. It just never sold as well as the whites, blacks and greys.
The total cost goes as follows:

Ex-showroom - 32,07,722
Registration (incl handling charges) - 282,918
Insurance (after an approx. 45,000-50,000 discount) - 67,732
BSI Ultimate 5 Y / 100,000 km - 312,701
= Total - 38,71,073

I paid a total of 33,90,000 which means a total discount incl Insurance - 5,30,000

Interior and additional Exterior pics as promised - soon! Just waiting to get the time.

[shashank.nk]

Congrats on the 3, and wish you many safe miles with it! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. Very well written!

The 0-100 is at 9.xx seconds right ? The car certainly felt much faster than 9 seconds to 100 from my TD experience. The 3 was so good to drive, our Octy felt like a slow truck in comparison later. It spoils you,i'm sure

[the VTEC guy]

Congratulations and very well written. Need pictures. Enjoy the ride.
I personally have been a Merc fan for as long as I can remember. However, in recent years I am being pulled towards the Beemer. And I guess the customer is also moving away from Merc to BMW as can be seen in the sales figures.

[elantracrdi05]

Originally Posted by AltoHoncho

I was so engrossed reading it that didnt realized when my boss came and stood behind me and started reading the same few mins later.
Rated it a deserving 5 star IMO.

Amazed to see the purchase impulse took you all the way from a skoda etc to a 320d CE to finally the 320d Exc.

Can you also provide details about the financing thing?

Wrote it in office so you can imagine what I was upto with other people around What was your boss' reaction?
Thanks for the rating!
Will PM you the details

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Congrats on the 3, and wish you many safe miles with it! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. Very well written!

The 0-100 is at 9.xx seconds right ? The car certainly felt much faster than 9 seconds to 100 from my TD experience. The 3 was so good to drive, our Octy felt like a slow truck in comparison later. It spoils you,i'm sure

The 0-100 is quoted at 7.6 and it does feel that way!

Originally Posted by the VTEC guy

Congratulations and very well written. Need pictures. Enjoy the ride.
I personally have been a Merc fan for as long as I can remember. However, in recent years I am being pulled towards the Beemer. And I guess the customer is also moving away from Merc to BMW as can be seen in the sales figures.

Don't know about others but BMW won me over in more ways than 1. Am a customer for life (or until the love is lost due to poor aftersales service - though hope not)!

[AltoHoncho]

Originally Posted by elantracrdi05

Wrote it in office so you can imagine what I was upto with other people around What was your boss' reaction?

He already owns the same one, same color 320d but he never viewed his ride with the same eyes like you did (which all the readers I believe could gather easily from your writing).

Courtesy your writing, he seems to have got some fondness for his ride else he's a total expressionless about anything that has wheels to it. I might get a lunch for that

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by elantracrdi05

The AMC is a five year 100,000 km BSI Ultimate package which includes all services, labor and consumables. It also includes all brake pads and discs. It further gives an extended warranty upto the 5 Y / 100,000 km limit.

Saddle brown - Sigh - Sir mujhe jalao mat!
Handle - We should never forget our roots Also, its not possible on the forum

Ex-showroom - 32,07,722
Registration (incl handling charges) - 282,918
Insurance (after an approx. 45,000-50,000 discount) - 67,732
BSI Ultimate 5 Y / 100,000 km - 312,701
= Total - 38,71,073

I paid a total of 33,90,000 which means a total discount incl Insurance - 5,30,000

Interior and additional Exterior pics as promised - soon! Just waiting to get the time.

Very good decision to go for the AMC.
Very nice price indeed. This alone makes a good case to move up North!
Yes, not having got saddle brown isnt the end of the world. What matters is that you got yourself a brill looking car which YOU are happy with!
Humble roots make us appreciate the good things in life all the more! Well done!
Cheers!

[noopster]

Whoa that is a SWEET price! And I just popped back to your opening post and it hit me that the exclusive edition 320D cost you LESS than an Audi A4 in the lower state of tune! That is just ridiculous.

The 320D exclusive hits all the sweet spots: fantastic driveability, monster torquey engine, plus the super-to-have add-ons like iDrive, sunroof and the like. Someday...he promised himself

[elantracrdi05]

Originally Posted by AltoHoncho

He already owns the same one, same color 320d but he never viewed his ride with the same eyes like you did (which all the readers I believe could gather easily from your writing).

Courtesy your writing, he seems to have got some fondness for his ride else he's a total expressionless about anything that has wheels to it. I might get a lunch for that

Be careful - he may log on back to read in detail and see your comment

Originally Posted by noopster

Whoa that is a SWEET price! And I just popped back to your opening post and it hit me that the exclusive edition 320D cost you LESS than an Audi A4 in the lower state of tune! That is just ridiculous.

The 320D exclusive hits all the sweet spots: fantastic driveability, monster torquey engine, plus the super-to-have add-ons like iDrive, sunroof and the like. Someday...he promised himself

I know - Chandigarh is even sweeter as I hear. Gurgaon has a regn cost of 8% as compared to Delhi at 12.5%. Chd is as low as 4%!

The Someday... will happen for all ...Someday! Hope sooner rather than later