[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by graaja

Had a wonderful drive to Munnar. Though I was planning to go easy with the brakes on the curves, once I hit the hills, all the resolution went away like new year gym resolution

The brake pad service distance before and after the trip. The distance has reduced by about 700 km in 600km of drive.

As always, beautiful photos Graaja! Your car looks lovely as always and good to know you had a fun drive.

700km drop in brake pad life in 600km is really good. In my experience it usually drops quite fast once in that territory of under 1500km. Going by your fitness thread, we know that your new year gym resolutions do not go away! So looks like you drove quite well and this resolution did not go away either :-)

BTW, I noticed that your tripmeter was not reset for over 6,000km. When do you usually reset it? I am just curious. I reset it for each tankful so that at a glance I can see the distance traveled on the current tank of fuel. Or sometimes I reset it for each specific drive to quickly check the distance traveled in that drive.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

On another note, wish Munnar was more accessible from BLR (although that comes with it's own cons). Currently, even with a early start from BLR, it still takes an uncomfortably long time for the passengers. I'll be sure to enjoy the wide roads till Dindigul etc. and then the ghats.

In a lighter vein, I would say just take your BMW and drive there. The distances reduce quite fast and unless one is driving the rock-hard E90, the family does not complain either. My family has been taking long distances much better in the BMW compared to any of the previous cars. You might be pleasantly surprised how quick you reach there :-)

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ramsi

Well when my baby comes back I'll narrate my experience similar to yours

Apart from being a keen explorer and an adventurist, you seem to be an avid photographer too

Thank you so much for your kind words ramsi Looking forward to pictures of your 330i.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

As always, beautiful photos Graaja! Your car looks lovely as always and good to know you had a fun drive.

BTW, I noticed that your tripmeter was not reset for over 6,000km. When do you usually reset it? I am just curious. I reset it for each tankful so that at a glance I can see the distance traveled on the current tank of fuel. Or sometimes I reset it for each specific drive to quickly check the distance traveled in that drive.

Thank you so much for your kind words Dr.AD

Actually, I don't use the trip meter and hence don't remember when I last reset it. I stopped looking at range and FE in the car. I just stop for fuel whenever the tank becomes about 25%. Maybe I should use the trip meter for every drive to see how much distance was traveled in that particular drive.

I only use the short term trip meter that I monitor for every session. This meter gets auto reset after a few hours.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by graaja

Actually, I don't use the trip meter and hence don't remember when I last reset it. I stopped looking at range and FE in the car. I just stop for fuel whenever the tank becomes about 25%. Maybe I should use the trip meter for every drive to see how much distance was traveled in that particular drive.

Even I don't care much for FE, but I still reset the trip meter since it is there and gives one more meaningful data point. I love to get data and love to scan all the meters and gauges to get as much data as I can.

I use the iDrive trip meter for the day's statistics. I have kept it on "auto reset", which resets after 4 hours of shutdown. On my long drives, that typically means overnight halt. Thus, practically, the iDrive trip meter is my "day's statistics" and I like it that way. I have a habit of taking a mental note of that day's stats before shutting down the car for the night.

You should use the trip meter to measure whatever you want to - maybe tankful range, maybe distance traveled in that particular trip, or whatever else you wish. But please use it. If you do not reset it at any particular marker that is relevant to you, and let it just run till 6000km, then you are essentially "wasting" one of the data points, if you see what I mean :-)

On that note, I still feel bad that BMW does not give two trip meters. Most cars have Trip A and Trip B as two meters. BMW is the only modern car I know of that has only one trip meter. Quite weird actually!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

You should use the trip meter to measure whatever you want to - maybe tankful range, maybe distance traveled in that particular trip, or whatever else you wish. But please use it. If you do not reset it at any particular marker that is relevant to you, and let it just run till 6000km, then you are essentially "wasting" one of the data points, if you see what I mean :-)

On that note, I still feel bad that BMW does not give two trip meters. Most cars have Trip A and Trip B as two meters. BMW is the only modern car I know of that has only one trip meter. Quite weird actually!

True. I will start using this to measure the distance stats for each trip using this trip meter.

Doesn't the one with auto-reset count as a trip meter too? And if we disable the auto reset, we will have two similar trip meters, right? Even in the Jetta and Polo, there are two trip meters. The first one can be configured for auto reset and the second one is for longer measurement.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by graaja

Doesn't the one with auto-reset count as a trip meter too? And if we disable the auto reset, we will have two similar trip meters, right? Even in the Jetta and Polo, there are two trip meters. The first one can be configured for auto reset and the second one is for longer measurement.

Yes it counts, but I am counting that as one trip meter. I would love to have two trip meters with their own average speed and driving time data. That way I could use one for my daily statistics and one for my full trip statistics (in case of a multi-day trip). If I am not mistaken, in Jetta or Polo as you mentioned, there are two trip meters with their own associated stats too, right? Whereas in BMW there is one trip meter with journey stats (in iDrive), the other with only the trip distance (in the instrument cluster).

Maybe I am too greedy for data :-)

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Yes it counts, but I am counting that as one trip meter. I would love to have two trip meters with their own average speed and driving time data. That way I could use one for my daily statistics and one for my full trip statistics (in case of a multi-day trip). If I am not mistaken, in Jetta or Polo as you mentioned, there are two trip meters with their own associated stats too, right? Whereas in BMW there is one trip meter with journey stats (in iDrive), the other with only the trip distance (in the instrument cluster).

Maybe I am too greedy for data :-)

Ah. Did not know the second one in BMW has only distance information and does not have average speed, average fuel etc. That is definitely a shortcoming in the BMW.

In Jetta and Polo, both trip meters do have average speed and consumption details.

[graaja]

Insurance Renewal:

It's time to renew the insurance policy. I have received three quotes from the dealer.

1. ICICI Lombard, IDV 35L, premium 1.05L
2. Bajaj Allianz, IDV 35L, premium 83K
3. Tata AIG, IDV, 33.3L, premium 71K

All the above are with zero dep + consumables + engine cover. Tata AIG also adds tire protection, key replacement and roadside assistance which are not part of ICICI and Bajaj.

As all these are issued by the dealer, they all support cashless claims. So I am thinking of going with Tata AIG.

Is there any reason I should choose Bajaj over Tata - like claim rejections even after the cashless tie up?

PS: I guess I may get better quotes if I were to go shopping in sites like policy bazaar. But ever since the insurance claim I had with the Jetta which was very smooth because the dealership handled all the formalities, I prefer to get the insurance from the dealers for that peace of mind.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by graaja

[b][u]Insurance
Is there any reason I should choose Bajaj over Tata - like claim rejections even after the cashless tie up?

I use Tata AIG for my car. While fortunately, I have not had a reason to make a claim, I have had to claim against a travel policy for delayed luggage after an airline delayed my bags - and it was super smooth. Assuming that reflects the culture of the firm, I would go with them.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Hayek

I use Tata AIG for my car. While fortunately, I have not had a reason to make a claim, I have had to claim against a travel policy for delayed luggage after an airline delayed my bags - and it was super smooth. Assuming that reflects the culture of the firm, I would go with them.

Thanks a lot for the confirmation! I will go with Tata AIG then. I have asked the agent to revise the quote with an IDV of 35L. Will proceed as soon as I receive this.

[itwasntme]

Ganesh, my first insurance renewal is in June 2021, but since we are on the topic: does it make sense to continue BMW Secure from Year 2 onwards? If I understand correctly, it was free in Y1.

I will of course stick to bumper-to-bumper & RTI but unsure if I should continue Secure. For some context, I do not intend to continue with my RFTs which may well need replacement halfway through Y2. Hopefully the yummy new Michelin PS4 will be easily available if not something better (maybe PS4S?).

[graaja]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Ganesh, my first insurance renewal is in June 2021, but since we are on the topic: does it make sense to continue BMW Secure from Year 2 onwards? If I understand correctly, it was free in Y1.

I will of course stick to bumper-to-bumper & RTI but unsure if I should continue Secure. For some context, I do not intend to continue with my RFTs which may well need replacement halfway through Y2. Hopefully the yummy new Michelin PS4 will be easily available if not something better (maybe PS4S?).

If you do not plan to continue with the RFTs, then BMW secure is not worth the premium. They charge about 40K+ for this. And it covers tires, alloys, and road side assistance. Even when I had bent alloys I was told that they have lot of limitations on the amount of bend in the alloys to be replaced.

You could either get separate road side assistance for much lower price or have it included in the main insurance.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by graaja

I will go with Tata AIG then. I have asked the agent to revise the quote with an IDV of 35L.

If I am not mistaken, AIG has special relations with BMW. They do cover extended warranties for BMW internally. Higher IDV is useful only in case of total loss or theft. Your premium will rise and even if IDV is higher, these companies will get market rates at time of settlement. But things might have changed and you can consult insurance agent.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

does it make sense to continue BMW Secure from Year 2 onwards?

Nope, stick with regular insurance, don't forget to add engine protection which is included with the secure in the first year.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

I noticed that your tripmeter was not reset for over 6,000km. When do you usually reset it? I am just curious. I reset it for each tankful so that at a glance I can see the distance traveled on the current tank of fuel. Or sometimes I reset it for each specific drive to quickly check the distance traveled in that drive.

The newer idrive has more information settings, some screenshots

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If I am not mistaken, AIG has special relations with BMW. They do cover extended warranties for BMW internally. Higher IDV is useful only in case of total loss or theft. Your premium will rise and even if IDV is higher, these companies will get market rates at time of settlement. But things might have changed and you can consult insurance agent.

Thank you for the feedback. This is very helpful. I will go with the original quoted IDV of 33.3L if the difference is very high for a 35L IDV. I will also talk to the agent and find out if they refund the full IDV or market price.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

The newer idrive has more information settings, some screenshots

Wow. This iDrive is cool! Which version is this?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

The newer idrive has more information settings, some screenshots

Wow! This looks really cool. It is amazing how much new stuff BMW is adding in each generation. So much new technology added in every new generation by BMW that the old one immediately feels obsolete :-) I feel the "quantum leap" in the technology with new generation is more in BMW than in most other brands. Kudos to BMW for that!

[ramsi]

Originally Posted by graaja

Insurance Renewal:

It's time to renew the insurance policy. I have received three quotes from the dealer.

1. ICICI Lombard, IDV 35L, premium 1.05L
2. Bajaj Allianz, IDV 35L, premium 83K
3. Tata AIG, IDV, 33.3L, premium 71K

My renewal was due on 07/01/2021 below is a summary

Your quote from AIG is very competitive in relation to mine and a better IDV
Kotak I've run with after the 1st year that was through BMW. New Car needed max security then.

Kotak did not have a Cashless arrangement but I had a claim last year and they were very good at the communication with the dealer and sanctioned funds to cover the parts as soon as the claim was approved.
So no burden on me although you lose a few days till funds get transferred.

Overall The experience was good.

Plus they allow 2 claims in a year in order not to affect the premium increase following year although no NCB benefit applies

This year Cashless Facility is included in an email confirmation I have received.

Bajaj Allianz in-house cashless with Workshop at the time of claim.

If AIG have a direct settlement (cashless) arrangement then its good
Suggest you check their settlement record or anyone has experiences in their settlements please advise.

Always get your agent to confirm in writing saves ambiguity and hassles later.

Quote for BMW 330 I Petrol Reg no : GA XX - X Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Ltd expiring on 7th Jan 2021

1. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Ltd

IDV: 2700000.00 NCB : 0% claim made last year

Premium Rs. 76802.00
1.Zero Depreciation Cover
2.Engine Protect
3.Consumable's Cover
4.Return to Invoice
5.Tyre Cover
6.Road Side Assistance
7.Rodent Bite
8.Key Replacement
9.Loss of Personal Belongings
10. Daily Car Allowance

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If I am not mistaken, AIG has special relations with BMW. They do cover extended warranties for BMW internally. Higher IDV is useful only in case of total loss or theft.

This view also was voiced by my ins Agent as you can see my IDV is low and it's a newer car then yous
Never understood the huge variance in IDV value how it's decided?

Originally Posted by Turbanator

The newer idrive has more information settings, some screenshots

Thank you for this which model and wonder if anyone knows if some of this can be an upgrade to existing models. Its tech after all