[GTO]

Originally Posted by netchef

it constantly reads 9.0 Km/l.

You can reset it from the iDrive on this screen. You can also choose to have it reset automatically (after a long stop...typically an overnighter).

Originally Posted by mikon

E92 BMW M3

Congratulations . How about a new ownership thread for us to drool on?

[sboddup2]

Originally Posted by ashish22

Friends today i took my 530D to service center for general checkup and when we opened up the hood of the car we saw mouse foot prints due to dust which had gathered inside. On further investigation the SA found that rodent had in fact reached till the engine compartment under the engine cover.

I have been having nightmares ever since because we all know that rats can cause serious problems to the car, especially when it comes to complicated car like a BMW.

I request the fellow members to kindly suggest the best possible solution to keep away the rats away from the engine compartment, which can be easily implemented in a BMW.

Thanks!

I have a solution that's worked very well for me. After two rounds of rat bites to my F30 I went brute force, and haven't had any rat issues since.

What you need to do is buy a bunch of rat maps and surround each of your four tires with them. The wheels are the only way the rats can get in. In the early stages I caught a ton of rats and eventually I stopped catching anything. My neighbors still have rat problems so I reckon they just got smart about the traps and stopped visiting the car. Either way, I don't really care. I haven't had a pawprint in my engine bay in over a year and a half with this setup. I use it on my Creta too.

[//M]

Originally Posted by mikon

Slightly

Finally Ivdid a worthy upgrade from my 530d.

E92 BMW M3
(with lots of Carbon fiber parts and some performance upgrades)

Wonderful upgrade mikon sir.

The E92/E93 M3 coupe is a wet dream. The only two-car garage I would ever want is a E92/E93 M3 coupe and a LC200.

Please start a dedicated thread for the M3, some fly-by videos would be great. The Borla exhaust sounds heavenly !

Wishing you many happy miles with this car (deep inside I am secretly praying that you get the M3 to India under T/R).

[netchef]

If you refer to this picture I got off your 525D review way back, could someone please enlighten me as to which of these controls work the lumbar support? The chaps at the service fiddled with them and I need to fix it. (I'm presuming my 2012 525D has the same set or something very similar to these.)

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by netchef

If you refer to this picture I got off your 525D review way back, could someone please enlighten me as to which of these controls work the lumbar support? The chaps at the service fiddled with them and I need to fix it. (I'm presuming my 2012 525D has the same set or something very similar to these.)

That round button with the above and to the right of the seat controls is for the lumbar.

[tud]

Originally Posted by sboddup2

I have a solution that's worked very well for me. After two rounds of rat bites to my F30 I went brute force, and haven't had any rat issues since.

What you need to do is buy a bunch of rat maps and surround each of your four tires with them. The wheels are the only way the rats can get in. In the early stages I caught a ton of rats and eventually I stopped catching anything. My neighbors still have rat problems so I reckon they just got smart about the traps and stopped visiting the car. Either way, I don't really care. I haven't had a pawprint in my engine bay in over a year and a half with this setup. I use it on my Creta too.

Could you please explain in detail. What is a rat map? I'm facing too many problems with these rats.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by netchef

The chaps at the service fiddled with them and I need to fix it

Set the seat + steering + ORVMs up and save them in memory. Press "M" and then "1". If someone changes the position, simply keep "1" long-pressed and they'll come back just the way you like them.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by netchef

could someone please enlighten me as to which of these controls work the lumbar support?

The up/down of the circular button controls the vertical position of the lumbar support, and the left/right controls how far in or out of the seat it is.

[netchef]

Thanks gents.
I shall remedy it this evening. Also for the Memory thing: I've known about it all this while but never ventured into that black hole. If I'm not wrong, it will also memorize radio and other settings accessible via the comp/LCD screen.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by netchef

Thanks gents.
I shall remedy it this evening. Also for the Memory thing: I've known about it all this while but never ventured into that black hole. If I'm not wrong, it will also memorize radio and other settings accessible via the comp/LCD screen.

The memory button on the door stores the seat, steering, mirror memory. This is stored per key. So each key has a set of 2 memory settings. And depending on which key is used to unlock the car, the seats move to the last used position with that key. Also the idrive settings you speak off, those are also stored separately on each key. Its quite confusing, but hope you got it

[GTO]

Just completed 2 years with the car & what better way to celebrate than a road-trip to Goa . It was a work & play trip of 1,800 km. Goa, what a road…what a destination:


Got spotted on the way to Goa by Moralfibre’s brother. This is somewhere near Kolhapur:


Nothing quite like spicy misal pav + black coffee + a Marlboro for breakfast:


On narrow stretches of the Amboli ghat, I closed in on this Innova and used him as a ‘sweeper’. Best to have someone clear the way for you & make blind turns worry-free:


While we had coffee & pakoras, the 530d was idling its turbo. Immediately switching the engine off after a long run is a big no-no (related thread):


A drive to Goa entails all kinds of roads…including long, winding & empty tarmac:


Cruising on the expressway in her super tall 8th gear:


The beauty of a large tank is the l-o-n-g range. Reached South Goa (620 km) with a quarter still left. No worry of filling up diesel at unknown highway pumps. In comparison, a 535i would definitely need that fuel stop enroute:


I’ve already covered the car in detail on the opening page of this thread, so in this post, I’ll focus on the Goa road-trip, what she’s like to live with & major expenses incurred.

+ Deadly engine! This is the best turbo-diesel I have ever driven, a true masterpiece. The creamy big 6-cylinder was in its element on the highway to Goa. A monster when you need it to be (open road, ghats) and calm at other times (in traffic). Superb driveability, monstrous mid-range and petrol-like top end performance. Know how we always talk about the Octavia 1.8 TSI punching above its weight? It’s a similar case with the 530d – her sprinting ability & long legs easily match sedans & SUVs costing 2 or 3 times as much (it’s quicker than the Maserati Ghibli, Porsche Panamera & S-Class diesels). She munches miles like no other car I’ve owned. Bonus = the 6-cylinder sounds amazing at high revs. Can’t say that about too many diesels.

- Horrible rear legroom is felt even more on long journeys. This is the single largest disadvantage of the 5-Series. In the city, I’m okay with moving the seat ahead for a rear-seat passenger, but not on the highway where I need my perfect driving position. Too bad for the occupant, I say! This is NOT a 5-adult family sedan, which is disappointing when you consider its long-distance cruising abilities. The tall floor hump makes matters worse. I just drove the small Honda WR-V and even that offers more rear legroom! Big fail, BMW.

+ The ZF 8-speed gearbox is so sweet that I wanted to bend & kiss it after reaching Goa. It’s hard to say which is better – that explosive 3 liter diesel or the quick ZF automatic. Both are equally competitive & their match is indeed made in heaven. Silky smooth with seamless shifts in traffic, lighting fast on the open road. At an rpm level where the E-Class tells you ‘ok boy, party over’, the 5-Series barks “the party’s just getting started, dude”! She revvs, and revvs, and revvs (to ~5,400 rpm). Unlike Mercedes which usually tunes its gearboxes to hold a higher gear than necessary, BMW’s ZF-8 always has the right gear. It’s as if Michael Schumacher selects the current ratio for you. The engine and gearbox, both, get a 10/10 rating from me.

- Those exorbitant part costs are always at the back of your head. On the highway, you simply can’t be careless or distracted. As an example, driving over a speed-breaker at speed isn’t even an option. You also have to be extra careful in avoiding road debris – remember how BHPian Androdev got an 8 lakh rupee estimate after driving over a 6” stone (related post)? In that sense, all these luxury cars are too fragile for Indian conditions.

+ The opulent cabin & top class refinement make you feel like you’re travelling in a 5-star hotel room. Then, the well-contoured seats offer superlative support. At the Nipani pitstop, a passenger asked “have we really completed 420 km already?”.

- Know those narrow rural roads? Well, everyone will push you off the road. This is the exact opposite behaviour of when I’m in my Jeep and opposite traffic makes way for me. With the 530d, everyone knows you won’t take a risk and they don’t budge at all. Unfailingly, when things get tight, you’re the one who has to take half the car off the road. It slows progress big time.

+ Ground clearance. The GC of the 2013+ update is fantastic! Had no issues on the entire drive and she cleared all broken / rural roads with ease (including the times I had to take half the car off the road). In 1,800 km, the single speed-bump she scraped over was one where the Innova ahead did too, so that doesn’t count.

- Sheer size (especially the w-i-d-t-h) made her impractical when touring through lesser known Goan villages. She’s just too wide for those kind of roads. The big turning radius makes things worse.

+ Freezing air-conditioner. Goa was H-O-T, yet it wasn’t a bother in the 530d. Whatever the conditions outside, the air-con kept the cabin c-o-l-d. This air-con is undoubtedly the segment best. Mercedes has traditionally trailed behind BMW in the cooling department.

- Fuel economy is nothing to write home about. She continues to sip at the rate of 6 – 7 km/l in the city. On this highway run, she delivered about 11.xx km/l. That’s not too bad considering the power on tap, but it’s hardly impressive for a diesel with such tall 7th & 8th cruising ratios. Of course, if you drive easy, she sips economically, but then one doesn’t buy a 530d to drive it like a 520d, right?

+ Enormous grip levels – sticks to tarmac like a leech! Despite her f-a-t weight & proportions, this car has unbelievable grip through the corners. The 530d can handle corner speeds that are beyond the capability of an average driver on Indian roads. I had a grin plastered on my face all throughout, thanks in no small part to the RWD & BMW’s ESP which lets you have a li’l fun. Even on the long GQ straights, the stability was astounding. I was doing silly speeds without even realising it. Additionally, the steering is damn good for an electronic unit. Feels *almost* like a hydraulic. Lastly, the outstanding brakes mean you can shed serious speed in an instant. The overall behaviour is very confidence assuring.

- Lacks agility. My smaller & lighter C220 was so much more chuckable than the big & heavy 530d on mountain roads. Even the E60 feels far “tighter” than the F10. You feel the 530d’s weight & size through fast corners. The F10 is NOT a sports sedan; it is a luxury sedan that also goes fast.

+ The car will soon be completing 4 years and for such a complex ride, the reliability has been outstanding. In terms of the mechanicals & electronics (surprisingly!), there have been ZERO issues. The single problem I’ve faced till date was a water leakage caused by a bad plastic cap (used to seal the LHD hole on the firewall). I was so confident before the Goan trip that all I did was fill up the tank & tyres as part of preparations. This wasn’t the case with my C220 that suffered numerous issues (one highway trip had the Mercedes’ air-con conk off, another had leaking dampers, yet another saw an ESP malfunction). Furthermore, having a long 6-year warranty (and zero-dep insurance) provides unmatched peace-of-the-mind.

- BMW’s service levels are pretty darn incompetent – it’s not a patch on Mercedes. While Laukik was there at Navnit Motors, I was very happy, but after he moved on, I’m still not getting service levels I’d call ‘excellent’. This is despite the workshop manager always personally keeping an eye on my car when she goes in. For one, they take too long! Any visit entails a couple of days off the road, even regular services (water leakage took two weeks!). New battery? 2 days I’m told as some programming is required. Then, the fools can’t ever fix anything at the first shot. They repaired the upholstery on my headrest (my staff had damaged it), and the whole unit started rattling a year later. I lost my audio a little after the water leakage was fixed – reason? The amplifier connector was fitted back loosely (4 days to find it). My C220 / City / Civic and even Jeep have never had to go back to get things fixed the way that the Bimmer has.

+ Engine braking. This deserves a separate point. Even when driving in the city, take your foot off the accelerator and she’ll start slowing down + downshifting faster than any other AT I know (no free-wheeling like other automatics either). On the highway, just a flick or two of the left paddle shifter and you have all the engine braking you desire. It’s so strong that, many times on this trip, I had to manually upshift after exiting the corner. I was using the paddles so often that a rear seat passenger asked me what are the click-click noises she’s hearing .

- Too much attention, whether parked down the house or in the small Goan towns. Had to go out of the way to park her safely innumerable times in Goa too. I have a rule for business meetings – if I’m going somewhere as a customer, drive the Jeep (so they think I’m broke). As a seller, drive the BMW (so no one lowballs me). Unfortunately, one look at the car and everyone’s rates go up - be it the house electrician or the water sports guy on a Goan beach.

+ Comfortable ride quality. Give me the F10’s comfort over the E60’s bone-jarring suspension any which day. Whatever the roads on the way to Goa, the 530d kept its occupants comfortable. Not once were we stung by a sharp pothole or big bump.

+ The styling. I find the F10’s clean, proportionate & timeless styling to be very appealing. They say, if you don’t look back after parking your car, you bought the wrong one. Well, I always do!

+ 5-star safety & equipment. This is the only car that I drive on the highway now (other than test-drive cars). Knowing that you are protected by the world’s best safety tech & kit is reassuring.

= Neutral on runflats. I must admit that I’m warming up to the runflats (although tubeless tyres will always be my first choice). The staggered setup delivers stupendous grip levels and the current generation of runflats offer nicer ride quality than the 1st-gen runflats of the late 2000s. Plus, there’s the feeling of security as runflats don’t lead to a loss of control at expressway speeds like tubeless tyres do (in a blowout).

= Am neutral on the boot space. While the spare tyre does chew up a lot of room, there was still enough cargo space. The boot ate up a week’s worth of luggage! It runs deep inside.

- Two miscellaneous points. One, while the rear headrest is comfy to rest your head on when awake, it’s not good to sleep on. Protrudes out too much and no, it cannot be removed. Two, there is no seatbelt warning for the front passenger (my C220 had it). In a car as expensive, I demand seatbelt warnings for all occupants, including those at the back.

Ownership Costs:

Major expenses till date are as follows.

- In March 2016, I spent about 14K for a service + 5K for headrest repair + 3k for misc work + 4k for painting the grille + 15k for BMW’s detailing. Full details with invoice in this post.

- In July 2016, I paid Infinity Motors about 34K for a brake fluid change, some filter change and other miscellaneous stuff (don’t have the invoice saved on my laptop). It wasn’t done in the March visit as these items still had a couple of months left on them.

- Next service is due in September 2017. BMW’s condition-based service rocks! No need to compulsorily visit the workshop every 12 months. On the way to Goa, I could actually see the ‘service due’ counter climbing. After the 1,800 km trip, the service interval went up by 500 km.

- In May 2016, the spare wheel & tyre cost me Rs. 28,749. This was ridiculous. I’ve never ever bought a spare tyre separately for any car. Related Thread.

- In October 2016, 4 new tyres cost Rs. 119,102 (including taxes) which is again obscene pricing. But there was no other choice - link to post with full details. Now, if you consider they have a life of 20,000 to 25,000 km, that’s 5 to 6 bucks a km for the tyres alone! In comparison, my C220’s awesome Michelin Pilot Sports cost 50k for a change and they lasted 35,000 km. If you see a lot of 530ds ditching the staggered setup & running on 245 mm tubeless tyres all around, it’s because of the cost. 245 mm tubeless will be less than half the cost and it’s actually not a bad option for someone with high running.

- I get the car detailed every 6 months, so those are obviously extra.

Heaven on earth…


I’m addicted to music, and even more to live music which is everywhere in Goa!




Our restaurant unexpectedly started screening the race! Perfect:


The best wood fire pizzas @ Da Titas (link):




Beautiful Goa. Simply no road-trip destination like it:






I was lucky to find safe parking spots wherever I went:






Drove through some Goan villages and found the beast too w-i-d-e for their roads. Even if a small 3-wheeler came from the opposite side, you’re in trouble:


Google Maps – LOL! Don’t trust it blindly. Had to make a U-turn and backtrack our path quite a bit to get around this bridge:


Getting a massage on the beach with good music, friends & food for company. Things don’t get better than this:


You know you’re a BHPian when a red Jeep with black wheels turns your head more than a red bikini with long legs:


Speaking of BHPians, spotted this car at Kaveri restaurant on the way back:


Came across this gangster Endeavour in one of the lanes. Front looked far out in person:






A sick video with the F10 & E60:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbQ6wJLi1CA

An informative video on buying a used F10. A lot of his points are accurate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8v58QiaWYI

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by GTO

The beauty of a large tank is the l-o-n-g range. Reached South Goa (620 km) with a quarter still left. No worry of filling up diesel at unknown highway pumps.

Just out of curiosity, where did you re-fuel for the return journey? You need to be careful filling Diesel in certain pumps in Goa. Some people have had issues with adulterated Diesel. I'm assuming you fill up either in Margao or at Verna.

I’m addicted to music, and even more to live music which is everywhere in Goa!

Going by the pictures and the below, I assume you stayed somewhere in Majorda. If you are in South Goa on a Thursday drop in to Firefly for some good Karaoke by Emmanuel. The owner of the place raced in the VW Cup one season.

The best wood fire pizzas @ Da Titas

Besides being very good, they are more VFM than Dominos.

You know you’re a BHPian when a red Jeep with black wheels turns your head more than a red bikini with long legs:

I only wished they maintained them better. They started off with Bolero Campers, followed by Majors and now the Thar Di.

BMW’s service levels are pretty darn incompetent

Though I have not experienced the service, most customers are quite satisfied with Bavaria Motors for service. They have a dealership in Pune too. Why don't you try it out.

[slackyboy]

Wow, fabulous write up GTO! Loved all the photos and I must say you had a pretty relaxing time in Goa.

[revvenant]

Originally Posted by GTO

Google Maps – LOL! Don’t trust it blindly. Had to make a U-turn and backtrack our path quite a bit to get around this bridge:
Attachment 1639696

This near the Agonda beach right? I was stuck at the exact same place in my last trip in April in my Little Figo. Had to reverse and take a U-turn.

Since I have had similar issues with Google maps previously I had decided to check with a couple of locals while starting from the beach if the road shown by the map was correct. And guess what, they told me it was the correct road.

Probably wanted to have some fun watching the car scrape through, as I saw the guys on a scooter going towards the bridge on our way back

[Arjun Reddy]

Nice write up. Shows a true BHPian as there is more write up about car than Goa. Some awesome photos. One of your safe parking spots had a coconut tree. Hope you checked before you parked.