[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by elantracrdi05

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.

I'm not sure about DVDs, though its worth a try. Do let me know if yours plays any.

Well for the BB text, I can't seem to remember how but once your bluetooth is on in your phone, go to bluetooth options which will show your saved profiles. Press the menu button while highlighting the BMW profile and choose map options there. Then tick sms/mms, and you should get them. Also open office in the iDrive, and press options, and there might be something there too.

Haha enjoy the bling, but consider it, at least after I fit mine. Again the oyster with red is a much better combo than red with saddle brown IMO. Nice contrast.

The BMW kit costs exactly 2l. But its worth it. The car becomes more silent, and its so responsive D feels like D/S and D/S is another level altogether. The main reason I'm against the racechip is because BMW can find out about it easily enough.

[vkaul1]

Congratulations on the fantastic buy. I believe the timely nudge in the right direction by the missus resulted in the upgrade to the highest edition & am sure you must be thoroughly happy with your decision..

This is the car to have for self-drive guys who "Live To Drive"
It was on my evaluation list while I was looking for my upgrade. The deal breaker for me were the run flats as I do wanted a peace of mind on the long highway drives.

Santro -> Elantra -> 320 d

Simply Wow !!

[Jaggu]

Congratulations! This is The dream purchase for me, ie if i had the $$$ I drove my friends car for few days and just fell in love. Drives like a dream and i somehow liked the stiff suspension.

Since the price tag was always hovering in my head i was very careful and driving sedate initially. The owner was not at all impressed with my driving, so he insisted that we head out to a relatively free road and see how it performs at speeds, and we did. The experience is something else all together, go aggressive on the right foot and this car just becomes a beast. And the engine tone is also quite pleasant, its aggressive but not rude. The way in which the car hugs the tarmac especially on the corners is just amazing. I was so addicted that we went up and down that stretch 5 times. The size is just perfect for our commutes inside the city, but offers decent enough comfort for the long highway runs.

Once again best wishes and do keep updating the experience.

[jacs]

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.

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



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



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.

Thanks for the AMC details.

Wow 5.3L discount, thats about 13.5% savings on On-road price. Your car is worth every penny spent.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Beautiful review - My initial impression after seeing the thread title was ' Wow - Finally a BMW with a brighter colour shade'. Truly a delight to watch in the pics - we all get so used to seeing BMWs in black/ silver/ white/ grey only!

Please post interior pics as well!

So - What was your parents expression when they arrived? And saw a brand new BMW in the garage?

[elantracrdi05]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Congratulations! This is The dream purchase for me, ie if i had the $$$ I drove my friends car for few days and just fell in love. Drives like a dream and i somehow liked the stiff suspension.

The size is just perfect for our commutes inside the city, but offers decent enough comfort for the long highway runs.

Once again best wishes and do keep updating the experience.

Many thanks! The suspension is good most of the times. Only in the last 2 km of my daily run do I feel the want of more comfortable rubber. The size is actually perfect!
Will keep you posted on the experiences.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Beautiful review - My initial impression after seeing the thread title was ' Wow - Finally a BMW with a brighter colour shade'. Truly a delight to watch in the pics - we all get so used to seeing BMWs in black/ silver/ white/ grey only!

Please post interior pics as well!

So - What was your parents expression when they arrived? And saw a brand new BMW in the garage?

Thanks for the wishes. The parents expressions are always priceless. My mother was thrilled to say the least (she did comment on how this was a bit snug for her in the back seat. My father is a whole story by himself!

He did congratulate me and as usual commented that white is the only colour to choose everytime so that was a semi-negative..until I caught him in the balcony calling his friends and telling them that his son had bought a BEE EMM Double-U. That was total paisa vasool

[FlyingSpur]

I thoroughly enjoy reading detailed initial ownership reviews like yours. When you put in a little effort, post some useful information, maybe your car buying dilemma, your apprehensions and your excitement... that is when you start to build a connect with readers. And when your information is the basis for a car-buying decision, you truly add value to our merry gang of Team-BHP'ians. Thanks buddy.

Back to your 320d then. Hearty congratulations on your new purchase. Very impressive that you have a spouse who actually pushed you on to buy the Exclusive! That is rare. Given that you found the C's rear cramped, I don't know how you would manage in the 3's rear seat if you ever had to use it. It's my least favourite place in our cars. The driving position though, and the steering and visibility is just...perfect. Simple, functional and sharp.

During my research phase, I was looking around online and found both, this colour as well as clearwater blue. I was quite pissed off that both were not available. But now that I've seen both in person, I'm glad to have picked Monaco Blue because frankly, I like neither! I like your oyster interiors though, they contrast well with the blacks and dark wood shade.

You will certainly not regret purchasing the BSI ultimate. 3.12 lacs is expensive though. I got it for 2.7 and it was even cheaper when Sahil bought his 525d. Still it is worth it, and your estimates are way off. If you look up the last few pages of my thread now, there are loads of five-figure replacement bills for various components you would never have imagined to need a replacement. You won't regret it, certainly not so much electronickery in your Exclusive edition.

Happy driving. Will watch this thread for more on your racechip.

[navpreet318]

Congratulations for the 320D and amazing writeup! Waiting for more detailed experience with the Racechip. As the generation of the 3 series is drawing to an end, this will be the most sorted out car with absolutely Zero problems and should last you the time that you choose to keep the car for.
I have been doing the same with my bike purchases and have had more joyful moments with them than lamenting of buying newer models.

Good buy!

Congratulations once again!

[S_U_N]

@elantracrdi05: Fantastic write up. Rated 5 stars.

The first picture is awesome and is wallpaper material - you only need to correct the tilt/ balance in the photo.

[TRANSAM]

wow, great ownership review and read. Congratulations, on a super buy and what a fab deal, 5 + off on a beemer..pls share some info on the racechip. drive safe.

[elantracrdi05]

Originally Posted by FlyingSpur

I thoroughly enjoy reading detailed initial ownership reviews like yours. When you put in a little effort, post some useful information, maybe your car buying dilemma, your apprehensions and your excitement... that is when you start to build a connect with readers. And when your information is the basis for a car-buying decision, you truly add value to our merry gang of Team-BHP'ians. Thanks buddy.

Back to your 320d then. Hearty congratulations on your new purchase. Very impressive that you have a spouse who actually pushed you on to buy the Exclusive! That is rare. Given that you found the C's rear cramped, I don't know how you would manage in the 3's rear seat if you ever had to use it. It's my least favourite place in our cars. The driving position though, and the steering and visibility is just...perfect. Simple, functional and sharp.

During my research phase, I was looking around online and found both, this colour as well as clearwater blue. I was quite pissed off that both were not available. But now that I've seen both in person, I'm glad to have picked Monaco Blue because frankly, I like neither! I like your oyster interiors though, they contrast well with the blacks and dark wood shade.

You will certainly not regret purchasing the BSI ultimate. 3.12 lacs is expensive though. I got it for 2.7 and it was even cheaper when Sahil bought his 525d. Still it is worth it, and your estimates are way off. If you look up the last few pages of my thread now, there are loads of five-figure replacement bills for various components you would never have imagined to need a replacement. You won't regret it, certainly not so much electronickery in your Exclusive edition.

Happy driving. Will watch this thread for more on your racechip.

Many thanks for the encouragement. Will try and keep up the writing. As I stated earlier, maybe its rationalization, maybe its true. I thought that the 320d with my driving positioning offered more space behind me than the C250CDI.
Colours - well - it is an individual taste. I am no-one to opine on a white vs black vs red vs etc. etc. The idea is that you need to be happy with a car since I am one who will try and keep this for a min of 7-8 years considering I spent 10-12 lacs more than my budget.
BSI - I agree on everything you say. I would not have pulled the car out of the showroom without the 'safety net'.

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Congratulations for the 320D and amazing writeup! Waiting for more detailed experience with the Racechip. As the generation of the 3 series is drawing to an end, this will be the most sorted out car with absolutely Zero problems and should last you the time that you choose to keep the car for.
I have been doing the same with my bike purchases and have had more joyful moments with them than lamenting of buying newer models.

Good buy!

Congratulations once again!

The Racechip review will be given once I have experimented properly. Keep yourself posted on the thread till then!
I sure hope you're right and that the car doesn't give me sleepless nights!

Originally Posted by S_U_N

@elantracrdi05: Fantastic write up. Rated 5 stars.

The first picture is awesome and is wallpaper material - you only need to correct the tilt/ balance in the photo.

Originally Posted by TRANSAM

wow, great ownership review and read. Congratulations, on a super buy and what a fab deal, 5 + off on a beemer..pls share some info on the racechip. drive safe.

Am a novice with the camera! Will show off proper photos once I get the time to click. These are just phone-cam pics!

[driveanddrive]

What a review! And what a car!
Congratulations on the purchase. That shade is to die for, lovely! You got a nice deal too.
The 3 will always be my dream car.
Congrats again and more pics please, we want to drool!

[shankar.balan]

Does this include the Alloy Wheels damage insurance too?
Please check that as it is worth it to have, especially in our conditions. Also, I hope your wheels come fastened with those special security bolts and nuts?

QUOTE="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.

[Concorde]

Congratulations on your purchase and thank you for the lively review! Looks sporty in Red. Not sure if i've seen this shade. Good to read about your spouse encouraging you to stretch just by that much more. A rare tale. Was shocked for once to see the pricing of BSI Ultimate Package but is totally worth it considering the complexity of systems integrated into this machine. And with the 3 to be replaced soon, the prices of spares may go up further. Nothing like a comprehensive coverage with these German beauties. Known to throw up surprises and give heartaches once in a while. Waiting for the interior pics. Santro to BMW in 18 months sounds like a title of a BestSeller. What's next??

[Desmosedici]

Congrats on the Bimmer. Excellent Narration. I felt as if i was there with you on your buying experience. The colour looks great though i havent seen that colour on the roads. Enjoy it.
Maybe Someday