[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Another issue which comes to mind is BHPian A4anurag's own health related trouble. He had issues with Swift's low seating, and had to get Creta. Wasn't it one of the main reasons to upgrade to Creta?? 320d's seating is also low.

Regards,
Shashi

The seats are not only low, its very difficult to get in and out of. The door sills are silly high for the level the seats are in. This would be a difficult car for ladies as well.

I test drove the latest 320d limited sports line, I was not impressed with the power delivery as well, the 520d was much better in terms of overall drivability. I have a prolapsed disk and I felt the 320d will not be kind on my condition.

Pramod

[hrk997]

Any luck with finding a car? While searching, did you come across any 330i? What range were the prices within while you were searching 3 and 5 series cars?

[AlokJain]

Originally Posted by hrk997

Any luck with finding a car? While searching, did you come across any 330i? What range were the prices within while you were searching 3 and 5 series cars?

Found a 320d 2013 at 22k well maint. at 15L ...worth it ?

[motorotor]

I picked up a '09 E60 530D about 4 years ago. It's a beast, to say the least. I have also driven the 320D both E90 and F30 extensively and I have to say that the E60 is at another level when it comes to sheer driving pleasure. Yes, it has a hard suspension, claustrophobic back seat, interiors may not have that ambient lighting and other special effects but find an open road, shift to sport mode and floor it. You will know what I mean. It has the sweetest handling/ performance package this side of a Porsche. The straight 6 on this bimmer is also one of the sweetest sounding engines to my ears.

On the maintenance front, it's not really been cheap but it's not been exorbitant either.

[haldar_siliguri]

Originally Posted by GTO

1. The 320d was a lot more fun to drive than the 325i / 330i which had a completely DEAD bottom end, and woke up only past 3,000 rpm.

Sorry GTO for bringing up a 2 year thread, because I only came across this post now.

I am currently hovering around 130,000kms on our 10 year old E90 LCI 330i (single owner - myself) and the bottom end in it is far, far away from being DEAD. The car does actually come to its true self above 4000 rpm, but it is still plenty punchy at revs below it. Cheers

[AnInternetUser]

Originally Posted by haldar_siliguri

Sorry GTO for bringing up a 2 year thread, because I only came across this post now.

I am currently hovering around 130,000kms on our 10 year old E90 LCI 330i (single owner - myself) and the bottom end in it is far, far away from being DEAD. The car does actually come to its true self above 4000 rpm, but it is still plenty punchy at revs below it. Cheers

Oh wow! 130k is a pretty solid number. How has the reliability/maintenance been for you? One of my friends had a 320i and the wiring harness went kaput. He was quoted six figures for a car that was worth around 6-7L!

[haldar_siliguri]

Originally Posted by AnInternetUser

Oh wow! 130k is a pretty solid number. How has the reliability/maintenance been for you? One of my friends had a 320i and the wiring harness went kaput. He was quoted six figures for a car that was worth around 6-7L!

Hello. Yes it has been our daily driver for most of the 10 years.

To be really honest, reliability and maintenance has been an absolute piece of S from get go. Till date there is almost nothing that has not failed, and bad roads of India are to blame for it entirely. Electronic/Sensor failures, Gasket leaks and suspension issues have lead the pack w.r.t faults over the years.

In 2019 we have spent nearly 8-9L in switching to new wheels, tubeless tires, steering rack, suspension components, steering rack, one misfiring cylinder, and numerous smaller stuff. The figure also includes at least 3-4 major oil and valvetronic gasket leak repairs in a span of 6 months. Basically year 9 onwards the car has begun showing its age especially when it comes to all the rubber components, as they tend to harden and wear off which makes them prone to leaks.

However, the N52 engine as a whole, the gearbox, and the driving pleasure (when it is out of the workshop ) has been faultless to this day. And for that we have kept up with the car's theatrics and its appalling 5.5 KPL FE, because at the end of the day, the way this car drives, freely revs all the way upto 7000rpm, corners, sounds and puts a smile on my face every time I take it for a spin, is something that I have not found in any other sub-50 lakh car since.
I kid you not, it is above 4500rpm where the engine unleashes itself into another dimension of fun and speed. Believe me, you would not see it happen in anything but a sportscar.

So yes, its true that living with an E90 in India is going to cost you several times more than you can ever sell it for. (in context of your friend's woes) Only if you're a mechanic yourself can you maintain it for a lot less mollah. Cheers.

[AnInternetUser]

Originally Posted by haldar_siliguri

So yes, its true that living with an E90 in India is going to cost you several times more than you can ever sell it for. (in context of your friend's woes) Only if you're a mechanic yourself can you maintain it for a lot less mollah. Cheers.

Wow. Those are some serious repair bills. Is the E90 gen more troublesome than the newer ones? Also, did you get your car worked on from the A.S.S. itself or from an outside mechanic?

As someone who's experienced the pricey repairs, do you feel these cars make sense if:

• One keeps 20-25% of the purchase price aside as a buffer
• Gets the vehicle checked by BMW A.S.S. before purchase

I have always been quite tempted to look into an old-ish BMW/Merc because of how well-priced. Perhaps not 10-year-old cars, but definitely cars in the F30 gen. Problem is, they will soon be 10 years old, too, with apparently sky-high repair bills!

[haldar_siliguri]

Originally Posted by AnInternetUser

Wow. Those are some serious repair bills. Is the E90 gen more troublesome than the newer ones? Also, did you get your car worked on from the A.S.S. itself or from an outside mechanic?

Bear with me on this.

More troublesome by virtue of lack of ready stock of spares even with bmw ASS. (Aftermarket parts availability of older gen cars in India is very poor).

Until 2018 (8 years since purchase), car was mostly repaired at BMW in Kolkata (as car was located in Siliguri, WB) since options other than OEM ASS is very poor in WB. It's another case that even the BMW guys out there are poor in ASS, haha.

From 2019 till date, car has been in Pune, MH so I have done 90% works at 2 local mechanics expert with BMW, Merc. (viz. AJ Performance, and The Mechanix).

But key electricals and sensor repairs, and one hard to locate coolant and hose pipe leakage of late 2019 were done at BMW Pune.

Keep in mind, with these older cars, such fine work as electricals and sensors are still best to be done at BMW ASS themselves for peace of mind and warranty of the new replaced part, as future failures are bound to happen. I had got steering wheel sensors fail on my 330i twice over a span of 12 months, and the part installed at BMW Kolkata was swiftly replaced at BMW Pune at zero cost due to this warranty. You won't get that at local mechanics.

Bottom line - Unless you are doing some non OEM mods like Exhausts, Bodykits, etc, best to stick to BMW ASS even if it costs more. Their electronics and electrical work is always better than local mechanics. Stick to the latter for general work and non electrical jobs.

If it were a developed Western nation like Germany, NL, UK, US, I would've never suggested BMW ASS, simply because their parts & labor charges are ridiculous and there are endless specialized mechanics out there for all works.

Originally Posted by AnInternetUser

As someone who's experienced the pricey repairs, do you feel these cars make sense if:
1. One keeps 20-25% of the purchase price aside as a buffer
2. Gets the vehicle checked by BMW A.S.S. before purchase

I am assuming an older gen second/third user car is in question here. For that,

1. 20-25% won't work at all. At least 75% buffer cash for first 2 years if its even in a mildly questionable condition. For V8s and V12s the case is even worse. Stay away from bigger displacement and complex motors. They fail in the worst possible and most expensive ways.

2. It should help if BMW ASS checks the car but in most cases all they ever care about is sell you a new car, so unless you know a BMW mechanic personally it might not work. Just saying.

I feel you're going to be okay with an F30. It's still a relatively 'new' car in India (hardly a year since it was phased out here) and most examples on sale in local market are mostly in good to mint conditions, not to mention very good availability of spares with ASS and knowledge of repair with aftermarket mechanics. All the best

[filmaka]

You can consider something like this below, Low mileage and well taken care off, If Bmw is driven carefully on bad roads not much problems come with it.
https://www.olx.in/item/dynamic-with...iid-1575606700

[GT3]

There is an update : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...via-jetta.html (My Experience owning decade-old German cars | 530d, E350, Octavia & Jetta)