[ackyash]

Congrats on your car. The 320D CE is a very sensible buy, the less of electronic gizmos one has in the car, the less possible things to get messed up.

Saw a black 320D CE with black interiors here at BMW dealership in Chandigarh - > yummy!!!

flyingspur, how do you find the music system in the 320D CE with only 4 speakers? And does the unit display ID tags (names) of the MP3's? An USB connection would have been awesome.

BTW here in Chandigarh the 320D Highline is available for 30.00 lacs + insurance + Rs. 2500 Road tax before 31st march. So on road price diff of CE and Highline is only 5-6 lacs.

[FlyingSpur]

Thanks, Joe and Musicmaker. Credit for the interior shots goes to one of our mods

Originally Posted by ackyash

Congrats on your car. The 320D CE is a very sensible buy, the less of electronic gizmos one has in the car, the less possible things to get messed up.

True. Reduce the German quirks as much as possible.

flyingspur, how do you find the music system in the 320D CE with only 4 speakers? And does the unit display ID tags (names) of the MP3's? An USB connection would have been awesome.

For my vely limited audio use, very good. I haven't used anything more than the radio yet, this is Dad's car and I don't use it much. Yes, a USB slot would have been nice but since it isn't my everyday car, I am hardly bothered by it.

BTW here in Chandigarh the 320D Highline is available for 30.00 lacs + insurance + Rs. 2500 Road tax before 31st march. So on road price diff of CE and Highline is only 5-6 lacs.

Then something's greatly amiss. I got it at around that figure including insurance, road tax AND the all-important 5 year/100,000km BSI package. And given that the road tax in Mumbai is much much higher than in Chandigarh, I suggest you have a look at what' the deal behind those prices. The CorpEd is a full 9L cheaper than the Highline, but the discounts being offered on the Highline bring that difference down to about 6-odd lacs.

[indra_slk]

Speaking about the Music system, the audio quality is very bad. If you listen to it at medium volume its ok but any higher and the bass becomes terrible.

When ever I drive in my other cars(E280 CDI,C200,Superb,Captiva etc) I have a tendency of putting down the windows and blasting the music "sometimes".
Few days back I did this with my 320d CE and was very disappointed. This is a big big letdown for me. I wish I had tested it earlier.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by indra_slk

Speaking about the Music system, the audio quality is very bad. If you listen to it at medium volume its ok but any higher and the bass becomes terrible.

When ever I drive in my other cars(E280 CDI,C200,Superb,Captiva etc) I have a tendency of putting down the windows and blasting the music "sometimes".
Few days back I did this with my 320d CE and was very disappointed. This is a big big letdown for me. I wish I had tested it earlier.

Wanted to ask about this last day after I saw the photos; its 5'25" one at the front? Looks like a 4 inch :( Any idea what the brand is?

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Akki_5

That is the best way to notice any of Sahil's cars, especially the 5s.

Only the 525d has the silver plates, rest have normal white plates. However I maintain the same font on all my car's plates for years. But seems like this won't last too long as my driver was fined recently for the font being too thin, seems like the cops are on a drive to make our fonts bolder !

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by Sahil

But seems like this won't last too long as my driver was fined recently for the font being too thin, seems like the cops are on a drive to make our fonts bolder !

Then there might be a lot of regulations they might pick on us for. For example, the front plate is supposed to have the entire font in one line itself, while the rear plate is required to have it in two different lines i.e. MH xx on one line and yy 1234 under it in another line.

[BAGAVADY]

Flying spur,
I have a few questions for you.
1.Is the leather seat a genuine leather or a synthetic one?
2.Does the BMW secure(BSI) include engine oil,filters and other consumables?
3.Can we pay BMW secure every year instead of 3 yrs package?
4.What about the accident reparis including tinkering and painting.Does the BSI cover that as well?
How much will it cost to retrofit Xenon lights using original BMW 3 series High line
headlights.

I have almost finalised buying this car however I have few doubts which I think you can clear me

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by BAGAVADY

Flying spur,
I have a few questions for you.
1.Is the leather seat a genuine leather or a synthetic one?
2.Does the BMW secure(BSI) include engine oil,filters and other consumables?
3.Can we pay BMW secure every year instead of 3 yrs package?
4.What about the accident reparis including tinkering and painting.Does the BSI cover that as well?
How much will it cost to retrofit Xenon lights using original BMW 3 series High line
headlights.

I have almost finalised buying this car however I have few doubts which I think you can clear me

Let me give flying spur a little break from answer the questions and take the liberty to help out

1.Yes it's genuine leather but not the usual higher quality Dakota leather than comes on BMWs
2.Yes BSI includes all that you mentioned
3.Secure is paid on a yearly basis (FS- correct me if i'm wrong here)
4.BSI does NOT cover ANY accidental repair. Secure will help you in such cases but at the cost of losing NCB.
Xenon- Would cost over a lakh at least if not more as the entire assembly will have to be changed. Certainly not worth it. I'd suggest you keep it stock as the headlights are powerful enough, if you MUST have xenon's then get a good quality conversation kit.

[FlyingSpur]

@ Bagavady

Sahil has answered all your questions and he's correct about everything. A lot of people confuse BSI and BMW Secure. BSI covers everything as part of routine servicing. BMW Secure covere accidental damage but, as Sahil mentioned, at the cost of your NCB in most cases. BMW Secure is an add-on for your insurance and has to be paid for annually, there is no 3-year Secure package.

As fas as the Xenons are concerned, I was told ~1.5 lac. Totally not worth it IMO.

Just go for it man, you will NOT regret this

[BAGAVADY]

Thank you flying spur and Sahil for your prompt reply

[ackyash]

Guys, on the 320D CE its actually not leather but sensatec, according to both BMW dealer in Chandigarh and the 3 series spec sheet on the BMW India site.
Sensatec is a form of Leatherette and is supposed to be more durable than leather. Just google "sensatec".

[FlyingSpur]

One of the main problems with leatherette is that it can get very hot with the sun or when seated for a prolonged period of time. Luckily my seats dont bother me in any of those ways. So it might be leatherette, but I'm quite happy with the material.

[BAGAVADY]

Flying spur & Salil

What will be the approximate maintenance cost per year for the 320D which includes insurance cost/yr,BMW secure and BSI(without fuel and accident maintenance)?

[FlyingSpur]

Insurance should be no more than 45-50k annually. Secure will be 55,150 annually. BSI ranges from 1.5lac to 2.85lac one-time upfront payment for 3 or 5 years depending on which plan you pay for.

What do you mean by excluding accidental damage? Then you canleave Secure out of the equation. Expected costs for touch up and damage repair jobs is something for which Sahil will be able to give you a better picture.

Fuel and tyres depends on your right foot

[ackyash]

Does the 320D CE manual say as to how many max kms you can drive on the run-flats and at what max speed?

I'm confused that once you drive a on deflated RFT (ie using the RFT feature on a punctured RFT tyre) the tyre cannot be repaired and has to be replaced. Is this correct ???