Many thanks for the wishes & appreciation, guys!
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Originally Posted by dark.knight My only question to you is did you feel an instant difference when driving the BMW after having owned a Mercedes for a long time? |
The 5 is a level or two up in every area. The C220 had a stiff suspension, hence it didn't have that luxury Merc character - she was more of a driver's car. The 6-speed manual on the C was just awesome.
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Originally Posted by pedrolourenco Just one question though "How do you always manage to find such well maintained cars?" |
My approach is very, very thorough; I even use a colour-coded excel sheet for short-listing cars, observations, what's hot or not etc. When I'm looking for a car, I call every good dealer and let him know, over and above screening every classifieds website there is & setting up Google alerts.
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Originally Posted by sasi@8689 Even though taking this route requires huge efforts / time / skills and bandwidth, it is hard to ignore the value it offers, if executed perfectly. |
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Originally Posted by Turbo_asd As always, you have made a sound argument favouring used cars, and I turn green with envy when I see your fleet. Still, and unfortunately, they just aren't for us at this point in time. The amount of dedication, patience and passion you got to have is just overwhelming. Of course, you have it all, so pre-worshiped cars and you get along well. |
Honestly, the effort to find this car, my Civic or the Vtec wasn't anymore than shopping around for a new car. The waiting period was lesser than cars like the Creta too
. You just have to push the right buttons & adhere to the Team-BHP Used Car Checklist.
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Originally Posted by avira_tk The steering wheel is missing the chrome lining below the horn pad, is that part of the M package? Its one place where chrome looks good in the car. |
Vis a vis the 520d, this car has lost a lot of chrome (thank God!). Agree with you that the 520d's silver highlights look good on the steering though.
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Does the car have rims with different widths as the tread varies between front and back?
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Haven't checked that yet.
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Also does BMW provide appropriate tyre pressure values for this particular combination, or you go with an approximation?
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Originally Posted by super.cars How would you compare this to X3 30d M-Sport with much higher clearance, all wheel drive and a practical 4650mm length ? |
I prefer sedans over SUVs, hence the X3 wasn't even on the shortlist.
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Originally Posted by VW2010 My friend has this here and even with speed limits we try to hit the speed limits in minimal seconds and the pleasure of hearing the engine is brillant. In fact we suggested getting a modified muffler and if possibel drive with the windows open.
This car deserves to be driven with maximum engine noise entering the cockpit. |
Totally! It's fun driving her at night with the windows down, enjoying the engine sound. What a sweet-sounding diesel.
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Brilliant dual turbo and exhilarating ride all the time. Its a mini M5 in disguise.
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The 530d has a single turbo. It's the 535d which has two turbos (the 550d has THREE turbos!!).
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Originally Posted by hybridpetrol You mentioned changing the settings through coding. Is this done at service center, or something you can do on your own sitting in your car? |
BHPian Akshay1234 has gotten into the business. He has all the necessary stuff ready. I'll be paying him a visit.
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Originally Posted by AkMar I have an ownership review in Assembly line, and man I have got a complex reading this one! A part of me is urging me to stop writing that review, such is the level of detail here. |
Please do complete your thread. The level of detail can vary from thread to thread. As long as your review has covered all the important areas, it'll help thousands to make a better choice. Thanks!
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Originally Posted by mohaks19 But yes, even the 3.0 TDI in the A6 is a true beast! My uncle owns one (2013 model) in Mumbai, and I absolutely love driving it on the expressway though its nowhere near the driving pleasure of a 530d. |
I love the A6's styling - Audi has gotten it so right. Only two things I don't like about the A6 are the dead EPS and that the AWD makes the handling feel dull (in comparison, the Bimmer is on the edge).
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Originally Posted by stanjohn123 Who needs an M5 when the 530d is this good ? |
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Originally Posted by miharbe I believe you quoted somewhere that this is the perfect car in many ways and makes the M5 look like an unnecessary excess. |
This is what I'd posted in the M5 review:
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I must add that it's sibling - the 530d - is quite a sedan in its own right. A more practical car, that 6-cylinder diesel also has more power than you'll ever know what to do with (in India) and sips the cheaper fuel too! It's priced 1/2 as much and will be as quick in any point A -> point B drive in India, including expressways.
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Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar Congrats on the car. So i guess this is your first automatic that you have owned ? |
Unfortunately, yes. I hope the Germans start offering their manual gearboxes in India (although it's very unlikely).
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Originally Posted by GrammarNazi 10,000 km/yr - that'll be like barely a few hours a week! |
Got to drive the other cars in the garage & official review cars too
.
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Originally Posted by a4anurag I can imagine how many days it would have taken you to get this review out. |
Rather than the level of detail, it's the other 10 official reviews that pushed this report down the priority chain. With every manufacturer invite, my mind went 'gosh, that's another 10 days added to the 530d report'.
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Originally Posted by Chillout I know exactly how you feel when you get a good preowned vehicle, for I got my Fiesta with just 1000 on the ODO at 60% of on road price. |
That's my kind of deal - congratulations! Pre-worshipped rocks, whatever the segment.
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Originally Posted by isiv Though my personal favorite when in comes to lines, overall proportions, the kidney grilles etc. has always been the 7 series E38, the 530d also looks real classy. |
Ah, the E38. Love its gangster personality.
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Originally Posted by Diesel_convert When braking hard into a corner hanging from the seatbelt, it's easier to push the gear lever forward and the opposite is true when accelerating hard pinned into the seat. |
Interesting, thanks for sharing! I guess it's all down to personal preferences.
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I personally loved the BMW gearbox. The 8 speed also seems to have no hesitation at all shifting down compared to DSG, and is much smoother while doing so.
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Completely agreed. This ZF 8-speed blows the unreliable DSG out of the water.
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How much should one set aside for maintaining one if one lands up buying a piece which doesn't have warranty/BSI?
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Once she is out of the warranty period, I would expect an average of Rs. 1.5 lakhs annually at an independent garage (my C220 was 50 - 75k p.a.).
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What does the M-Sport get over the regular 530d besides the body kit, and some other cosmetic bits?
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255 horses (instead of 245 for the pre-2013 cars) and 560 Nm of torque (vs 540 Nm earlier). Increased ground clearance of 158 mm (earlier 141 mm). Staggered tyre set-up. Sport seats with adjustable under-thigh support. And some other minor things.
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Originally Posted by pgsagar can I ask you why you did not consider a pre-owned Nissan 370Z or something similar. |
The last sedan that I loved as much as the F10 was the W124. I wanted to own a good example while they're still available.
Maybe the next buy can be a 2-door coupe.
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Originally Posted by thatsdileep I had the pleasure of driving my friend's 1998 (if I remember correctly) BMW 540i (the famous E39 series) |
The E39 - along with the Honda S2000 - really got me hooked onto online forums! I remember spending a lot of time reading posts on the M5 board & S2KI forum. Two incredibly special cars of that time.