[ddndrive]

Hey friends , there is a small confusion i am going through ... I asked the dealer to mail me the VIN of the car which they have blocked for me . When i checked the production date of the car online, it showed October 2015 LCI 320d , when i shared this with the dealership and refused to take this car, they e-mailed me their purchase invoice which says that this car production date was 3rd week of January 2016 .

I asked the dealership , why there is this difference in production date to which the SA said that the production date which is reflecting online must be the date when the parts were shipped from Germany to India . They also assured me on e-mail that in the RC the manufacturing date would be JAN 2016 , not 2015 .

I am failed to understand how can there be two different production dates for the same car . Guys please let me know if i should go ahead with this car or is SA taking me for a ride .

Thanks .

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Ok, so it's kind of official now , they have dropped prices of 3 Series Petrol CBU by 6 Lac. Apparently there are no sales for Petrol despite being cars Made in Germany.

Hi Turbanator , the Petrol 320i prestige is now offered at 34 Lac on the road with Delhi registration . I have heard that they would also be reducing the price on 320d from July onwards . Any idea if that is true ?

Thanks

[kartavya]

Originally Posted by ddndrive

Hey friends , there is a small confusion i am going through ... I asked the dealer to mail me the VIN of the car which they have blocked for me . When i checked the production date of the car online, it showed October 2015 LCI 320d , when i shared this with the dealership and refused to take this car, they e-mailed me their purchase invoice which says that this car production date was 3rd week of January 2016 .

I asked the dealership , why there is this difference in production date to which the SA said that the production date which is reflecting online must be the date when the parts were shipped from Germany to India . They also assured me on e-mail that in the RC the manufacturing date would be JAN 2016 , not 2015 .

I am failed to understand how can there be two different production dates for the same car . Guys please let me know if i should go ahead with this car or is SA taking me for a ride .

Thanks .

Well just check the car and the screen. The major difference between the two is Idrive screen and if it is the newer one it will be the LCI. Shouldn't be an issue really.

With regards to your other question, no idea if BMW might decrease their prices on the 3 or not. But if they decrease the official ex showroom prices they will just give you a lesser discount. So I don't think the overall deal would really make a difference.

Also what deal are you getting on the 320d Luxury or Prestige? If it is a huge difference with the petrol just go for the petrol.

[ddndrive]

Originally Posted by kartavya

Well just check the car and the screen. The major difference between the two is Idrive screen and if it is the newer one it will be the LCI. Shouldn't be an issue really.

Thanks for the advice kartavya !!! It is definitely the LCI model as the online details too say the same . The only hitch i have is why to buy a 2015 production car when i can go for the 2016 model . The discount i am getting is around Rs. 6 Lac on the diesel and Rs. 7.5 lac for the petrol .

[Abhi_Automobile]

Hey - so, what are the final prices you are being offered plz? Both for petrol and diesel and their respective breakups plz.

I think if you bargain harder, they may offer more on the petrol version. Just my guess.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by ddndrive

The discount i am getting is around Rs. 6 Lac on the diesel and Rs. 7.5 lac for the petrol .

Are these discounts on ex-showroom price or on road price? 2015 or 2016?

[Santoshbhat]

These guys always quote discount on on road prices. First they will quote over top insurance and handling charges. Then when they give discounts they know they have lot of cushion on these two and also road tax proportionately comes down which is not coming out of their pocket.

Actual discount is the one they give on ex showroom and that works out to something like 65% of the discount they make you believe you are getting.

[ddndrive]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

and also road tax proportionately comes down which is not coming out of their pocket.

You mean road tax also comes down if they offer the discount . I asked this thing from many dealerships but they simply refused and said that it is always calculated on the ex-showroom and not on the invoice . They also said they would hand over the receipt of the same to me .

Do you really save on Road tax too ???

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by ddndrive

You mean road tax also comes down if they offer the discount . I asked this thing from many dealerships but they simply refused and said that it is always calculated on the ex-showroom and not on the invoice . They also said they would hand over the receipt of the same to me .

Do you really save on Road tax too ???

Not sure of how it works in Delhi but when I bought my v40, the ex showroom was reduced and consequently the road tax saw a reduction in the final price.

[Turbanator]

You mean road tax also comes down if they offer the discount . I asked this thing from many dealerships but they simply refused and said that it is always calculated on the ex-showroom and not on the invoice .

It will depend from state to state , for Haryana it's calculated on EX-Showroom List price. Delhi I am not aware. If you want to save on this get it registered at Chandigarh where we have to pay on Invoice value that too without VAT

why there is this difference in production date to which the SA said that the production date which is reflecting online must be the date when the parts were shipped from Germany to India .

They have told me similar things in past but recently when I picked my new X5 , VIN details had only one production date which was of early May 2016 and I got the car on 30th May so this German kit story may not be entirely correct or perhaps BMW India has changed the way how they allocate VIN to cars assembled in India . There is one form - 22 or similar which carries manufacturing date - this will come from BMW if it says 2016 , then you are good.

Are these discounts on ex-showroom price or on road price? 2015 or 2016?

These are on 2016 models , given the very low number of sales of Petrol ( almost nil ) & the high inventories imported, they have dropped prices by 6-7 lac already. I expect these to be reduced even further as its still a Diesel market and no one wants to pay any premium for a CBU . Some senior has made a blunder by authorising such large imports of 3 & 5 series and BMW India might take one of the largest hits in their history. At present discounts , they are losing about 15 Lac per car and multiply this by 400 , if you can hold your decision for a while, expect much lower prices on petrol.

[ddndrive]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

There is one form - 22 or similar which carries manufacturing date - this will come from BMW if it says 2016 , then you are good.

The SA didn't show me form 22 but she mailed me a snapshot of their BMW official dealership link as follows : https://apac.wit.bmw.com/gis

In this link, the production date of the car was shown as 21/01/16 and the sales invoice date to the dealership was 31/03/2106 .
Is this a valid proof of the production date or should i only empathize on form 22 ???

Originally Posted by Turbanator

if you can hold your decision for a while, expect much lower prices on petrol.

Thanks for the info. and the advice ! Although i need the car asap but still if there is some hope for a further reduction in prices of around Rs. 3-4 lac then i might well wait for a week or so .
The only way i would be inclined to buy a petrol 320i over 320d is if the on road price difference between the two is approx Rs. 5 odd lac - as on date after merging all the discounts offered on both the cars, the difference is approx Rs. 2 Lac) Since my monthly running is approx 2k ,i feel Rs. 2 Lac difference is not sufficient to tilt my decision for 320i) . Whats your advice on this ?

Also few days ago i was told by one of the BMW India guys that on 2nd or 3rd of every month BMW India rolls out new schemes, so i thought it is better to wait for 1 more week to see in case the discounts get better .
Do you have any idea/info. on the discounts that BMW India might offer in the month of July 2016 on 320i and 320d ?

Thanks

[Turbanator]

In this link, the production date of the car was shown as 21/01/16 and the sales invoice date to the dealership was 31/03/2106 .
Is this a valid proof of the production date or should i only empathize on form 22 ???

Should be ok , Form you will get only when car is invoiced & full payment is received

Do you have any idea/info. on the discounts that BMW India might offer in the month of July 2016 on 320i and 320d ?

Not really, but I guess there Petrol models are not going anywhere and the way these companies works, it will be hard to keep hundreds of these cars at the factory for them.

[ddndrive]

Hey Guys , i was out of town for last couple of weeks . Came back yesterday night and was planning to take the delivery of 320d this week but today morning when i read the news of NGT banning diesel cars beyond 10 years with immediate effect made me thinking whether its better to go for 320i .

As far as price is concerned , 320i is cheaper by Rs. 3 lac OTR compared to 320d . What do you guys suggest 320d or 320i ???

Thanks .

[noopster]

Originally Posted by ddndrive

What do you guys suggest 320d or 320i ???

Why do you want to be subject to the caprices of NGT? The petrol makes more sense plus you are getting it cheaper than the 320d. Go for it!

[ddndrive]

Originally Posted by noopster

Why do you want to be subject to the caprices of NGT? The petrol makes more sense plus you are getting it cheaper than the 320d. Go for it!

Thanks for the suggestion noopster Its well taken but the matter of the fact is that there is so much going on against Diesel ban etc. that it does confuse you and you tend to hold on and re-think about your decision ,more so in my case because I would be keeping the car for a lil long term .

However, one thing is now decided that I am going for a petrol for sure and no more deviations there

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Ok, so it's kind of official now , they have dropped prices of 3 Series Petrol CBU by 6 Lac. Apparently there are no sales for Petrol despite being cars Made in Germany.

Hmm...you did say that they prices may have been officially dropped. Any confirmation over this? The ever narrowing petrol-diesel gap, clubbed with the fact that I have two diesel cars now, actively point me towards a petrol as my next purchase (Jetta replacement). My monthly running for both the cars combined ranges anywhere between 2k-3k, which does not warrant two diesels. In short, when the future comes calling - I am in for some petrol fun now!

@ddndrive - since you are close to buying the 320i, will you like to share some thoughts on the petrol engine? There have been no (Indian)review of the petrol motor till date - my biggest concern is that of a noisy sounding motor. Mercs and BMWs, for some reason, tend to make tappety (in my own layman words - gruff) sounding motors..wonder if that has changed now. I love silky smooth petrol motors a la 1.8 TSI from VAG. Any comments?

When are you planning to close the deal?


Cheers
A