[FlyingSpur]

@ Barcode - PM'ed you.

[oxyzen]

Congratulations on your new car.
Can you provide a little more details about
1) The engine performance
2) Transmission
3) Handling

The ex showroom of 24L (25.5 on-road excluding the secure and BSI) is absolutely tempting for a BMW. That too a diesel with AT. Absolutely a steal at this price.

In case one decides to skip secure and BSI what will be the approximate maintainance cost. IMO should not exceed 1L.

[FlyingSpur]

@ Oxyzen : Thanks man.

Engine performance is strong and the car pulls like a turbine. Infact today was the first time I had to transverse about 40 km in a helluva hurry, and the car's at around 2800 km all run-in, so I opened up completely. Not DS but tiptronic. Effortless overtaking, infact I went overboard a couple of times. Grips like a leech too, and after a highway run with tiptronic, you hit city traffic and are more than happy to slip into D. It's a crazy car with a plethora of talent and diverse capabilities. Highly recommended.

Btw, OTR Mumbai comes to much more than 25.5 lac. It's not a "steal" but it's VFM strictly if you look at it from the badge point of view. If you consider equipment list it could be termed as woefully short compared to the Superb / Teana.

I haven't taken Secure anyway. BSI is worth is for 5 years IMO, for 3 years I don't somehow see the sense in going for it, given your standard 2-year warranty is there anyway. But I may be wrong.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

@ Oxyzen : Thanks man.
If you consider equipment list it could be termed as woefully short compared to the Superb / Teana.

The base car is like a woman. Equipments are like ornaments.

Anyway when it comes to sheer driving pleasure I personally feel pertol is better than diesel. You can rev it up to as much as you want. Well that depends on your driving style. Too bad 320i is not available in CE. The only car that can give 320D a run for its money (considering the drive quality only) is the Laura 1.8 TSI. (I somehow feel Superb is more bulky and not as agile as Laura.) But anyway a lot of stuffs go missing like the tiptronic gearbox and definately the brand.
I dont know why did you ditch SKODA for their A.S.S. Service might be horrible but atleast spares would be hell cheaper than BMW.

Leaving aside the fun to drive factor. (NO COMMENTS ABOUT THAT, ITS A BMW). Another advantage of the BMW 3 series is that the design is so much proportionate and compact it should a boon to drive in traffic.---Any comments??

And why worry about FE. when you spent 30L on the car. If I had a BMW FE is the last thing I would look at.

Happy driving.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Too bad 320i is not available in CE.

the 320i was anything but fast. a honda city would probably smoke it

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

I dont know why did you ditch SKODA for their A.S.S. Service might be horrible but atleast spares would be hell cheaper than BMW.

Leaving aside the fun to drive factor. (NO COMMENTS ABOUT THAT, ITS A BMW).

You have sort of, answered your own question. Who cares about Skodas spares being cheaper than the Beemer's when 1 is in the frame of mind to buy a BMW. your second statement answers your comment. "the skoda got ditched simply beacause the Beemer was on its way"
The answer to escape Skodas horrific A.S.S & yet get a much better product - BMW.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

the 320i was anything but fast. a honda city would probably smoke it

AMEN ! to that

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

You can rev it up to as much as you want.

I can say with confidence that I'll blast a 320i into the middle of next week.

I dont know why did you ditch SKODA for their A.S.S. Service might be horrible but atleast spares would be hell cheaper than BMW.

Reliability, my friend. My father needs it. I bought a product which is at the sunset of it's life cycle, and it's about as reliable as German cars can be. If my Dad's car broke down (and one that I had influenced him to buy) I would be most likely shot.

Another advantage of the BMW 3 series is that the design is so much proportionate and compact it should a boon to drive in traffic.

Main advantage while moving up from a Corolla. My Dad didn't want a bigger car. Another reason why Skoda was ditched.

And why worry about FE. when you spent 30L on the car. If I had a BMW FE is the last thing I would look at.

With a yearly running of 25-30k km, we still do. And the 320d serves its purpose.

Happy driving.

What happy? Pure JOY

Originally Posted by akshay1234

the 320i was anything but fast. a honda city would probably smoke it

It ain't THAT bad dude. You are I are spoiled by routine runs in ridiculous OHC's that's probably why you feel so.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

It ain't THAT bad dude. You are I are spoiled by routine runs in ridiculous OHC's that's probably why you feel so.

haha it had a tested time of about 12.xx seconds 0-100. the ANHC is quicker AFAIK.nuff said.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

GEE !!! The 320i sure seems embarrassing for a BMW. An "efficient dynamics" deutsche goth is actually being compared to a Japanese lass !! ANHC !!

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

haha it had a tested time of about 12.xx seconds 0-100. the ANHC is quicker AFAIK.nuff said.

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

GEE !!! The 320i sure seems embarrassing for a BMW. An "efficient dynamics" deutsche goth is actually being compared to a Japanese lass !! ANHC !!

AFAIK it was early 10's. 10.3 odd.

[FlyingSpur]

Current odometer reading : 3114 km.

For those of you who were unaware of one major goof up, here's a link to that thread, the problem was resolved just today. Now the car is perfect. And I'm a very happy and relieved guy.

Link

[noopster]

I have been dreaming of driving my own BMW since I was about 7 and saw one for the first time. Nearly 30 years later, I am not quite there yet and that depresses me a little. A couple of friends do, but they're not in India anymore.
This thread (and the other 320D CE one by contango) has held me completely spellbound. I read it end to end and couldn't help but marvel at the passion a BMW (or any other good car for that mater) inspires within us. I'd like to thank flyingspur and everyone else who contributed on this thread for that.
It's amazing that a Bimmer is now available for 28 lakhs OTR. That too one that's a diesel AT. It gives me hope. Maybe not right away but in some years I shall graduate to a BMW. There is perhaps a VW Vento or similar in the interim that shall be the poor cousin substitute
But don't get me wrong- I am truly inspired. The JOY theme could not be more apt for this thread. Congratulations on a wonderful car and on expressing your emotions so eloquently. And yes- good luck for your final exams!

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by noopster

A couple of friends do, but they're not in India anymore.

Very unfiar yardstick to judge yourself by!

...couldn't help but marvel at the passion a BMW (or any other good car for that mater) inspires within us. I'd like to thank flyingspur and everyone else who contributed on this thread for that.

You're welcome. For many days after I picked it up, the feeling had still not sunk in. And the day we got delivery, I did two things. One, I watched the "joy" video for the first time. Two, I went to the BMW website and clicked on the "Owners" link... just for the sake of it

It's amazing that a Bimmer is now available for 28 lakhs OTR. That too one that's a diesel AT.

Frankly this is the right price point for them, this is where they belonged a decade ago (C-Class). And yes, luckily it was a diesel AND an AT. If it was an MT we'd still have bought it I guess, but if it was the 320i, most definitely not. Unimpressive performance and unimpressive FE? Not cool.

There is perhaps a VW Vento or similar in the interim...

I'm sure it'll be a cracker of a car

Congratulations on a wonderful car and on expressing your emotions so eloquently.

Thank you Sir.

And yes- good luck for your final exams!

....eh? Moi?

[FlyingSpur]

Service centre visit :

I had gone to get a couple of small things sorted out.

First up, the horn has been very... "off"... since delivery. I hardly use it so I didn't really notice, but my driver has been complaining about it for a while. Also, I did notice it isn't really effective for the truckers and buses (well, what is, but that's besides the point). All the other cars had a high pitched, typically German horn (trumpet type) while my car's sound was muted. So I got it checked and it seems the left one was defective. It was promptly replaced under warranty or BSI or whatever. Sounds nice and BMW'ish now.

Here's the old one and the new one.





Secondly, and more importantly, the space saver spare wheel.

This car would travel long distances a lot, just like our previous primary car, the Corolla. So not having a spare wheel is a big big handicap. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat, and making it home on the runflat would mean the runflat has to be replaced as the sidewall can't be repaired (or something like that). Each tyre costs around 20k.

And we've seen enough flat tyres to know what the truth is out there, rather than believing idealistic marketing yada yada in favour of runflats. Might as well make a one-time investment of ~20k and get the spare wheel & toolkit, thought we. Anyway, at next change we're switching to regular tubeless so the wheel would have been purchased at that time anyway. Feels good to have some peace of mind now.

The tyre is a Continental make. I insisted on a quick trial drive with the space saver mounted. Seemed perfectly alright, given that it would be for temporary use. It has a ridiculous recommended pressure of 60 psi . The only real problem here is that visually, it looks like something you're not allowed to say on Team BHP. I think it's a Pulsar tyre...

Think of it this way. You're playing a video game, and stuck on the "Mumbai" level. You have to find a hidden object "spare wheel" on this level. And the moment you find this object, a whole plethora of levels - i.e. Pune / Nasik / Balgalore / Ahmedabad and what not - suddenly get unlocked







The car will cross 4,000 km in a day or two. And whattttttt a car it is. God, I love it.

[SumitBahl]

That spare tyre looks very skinny. What are the specs?
And it costs 20k?