Team-BHP > What Car? > Luxury, Imports & Niche


Reply
  Search this Thread
114,348 views
Old 21st May 2019, 23:40   #76
Distinguished - BHPian
 
drmohitg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Liverpool/Delhi
Posts: 5,439
Thanked: 7,539 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pankaj_Ahlawat View Post
T

Also was checking out tyres and would like to later switch from RFTs to Michelin primacy 3ST 225/55/17.
Without going off-topic, I would recommend you to take a TD of a BMW on non-RFT/regular tubeless tyres before making the switch. The ride comfort would increase but to me it felt and still feels as if I lost out quite a bit on the riding behaviour of the car. The RFTs make me feel connected to the road and always in control of the car. The tubeless tyres ( have the Primacy 3ST) provide excellent comfort but I have lost the confidence to push it to speeds. So much so that for my next tyre change, if the need arises, I will opt for RFTs once again.
More details here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-...ml#post4305338 (RFT to Tubeless switch for BMW 320d)
drmohitg is offline  
Old 3rd June 2019, 08:40   #77
BHPian
 
wmanu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 140
Thanked: 28 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Team/Experts,

How about a 2011 E350 V6 Petrol? What could be the expected FE? ARAI: 6-7.
Thanks in advance.
wmanu is offline  
Old 3rd June 2019, 12:55   #78
BHPian
 
AnInternetUser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 155
Thanked: 309 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by wmanu View Post
Team/Experts,

How about a 2011 E350 V6 Petrol? What could be the expected FE? ARAI: 6-7.
Thanks in advance.
One of my close friends had one. He said 5-6 km/l in the city (Mumbai suburbs). This was chauffeur driven 90% of the time and the remaining 10% by him in a rather spirited manner.

Resale values are terrible for this one (friend sold his a few years back for 17L I think) so you might be able to pick one up for a decent price. But it's an 8 year old Merc so you might end up paying a pretty penny for repairs and maintenance especially if it has an air suspension. If that is not an issue for you then it is a good car - my friend said it is one of the most comfortable cars he's owned.
AnInternetUser is offline   (4) Thanks
Old 3rd June 2019, 14:53   #79
BHPian
 
wmanu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 140
Thanked: 28 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by AnInternetUser View Post
But it's an 8 year old Merc so you might end up paying a pretty penny for repairs and maintenance especially if it has an air suspension. If that is not an issue for you then it is a good car - my friend said it is one of the most comfortable cars he's owned.
Thank you. According to this (Driven: The 2010 Mercedes E-Class (W212)) review, 2010 E350 does not have air suspension.

Last edited by wmanu : 3rd June 2019 at 14:54. Reason: Typo
wmanu is offline  
Old 3rd June 2019, 15:58   #80
BHPian
 
AnInternetUser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 155
Thanked: 309 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by wmanu View Post
Thank you. According to this (Driven: The 2010 Mercedes E-Class (W212)) review, 2010 E350 does not have air suspension.
You should be good then since I've heard that while expensive, the regular steel springs won't break the bank in the off chance that things go south. I hope you are getting the car checked by the authorized service centre before making the purchase, regardless of which one you finalize. It will help you make a better decision and in case there are a few minor niggles it can also act as a bargaining chip.

Best of luck!
AnInternetUser is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 3rd June 2019, 16:58   #81
BHPian
 
wmanu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 140
Thanked: 28 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by AnInternetUser View Post
You should be good then since I've heard that while expensive, the regular steel springs won't break the bank in the off chance that things go south. I hope you are getting the car checked by the authorized service centre before making the purchase, regardless of which one you finalize. It will help you make a better decision and in case there are a few minor niggles it can also act as a bargaining chip.

Best of luck!
Thank you. Yes indeed, need to take her to the Authorized Service Center before finalizing.

Do you know how much the SC will charge for the report, by any chance?

Last edited by wmanu : 3rd June 2019 at 16:59. Reason: Added
wmanu is offline  
Old 3rd June 2019, 17:06   #82
BHPian
 
AnInternetUser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 155
Thanked: 309 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by wmanu View Post
Thank you. Yes indeed, need to take her to the Authorized Service Center before finalizing.

Do you know how much the SC will charge for the report, by any chance?
I am not sure, but I think it's around Rs. 10,000 at a BMW service centre. I remember reading someone's ownership review here and they'd mentioned it. I was quoted Rs. 2,500 by Solitaire Honda a few years ago. You can always call the dealership up and ask them how much they charge and what all they provide.

Since Rs. 10,000 is pricey you're better off asking for detailed service history records from the dealership where the car was serviced (Linkway or some other dealership agreed to provide them for free to me) and then get a detailed check scheduled for a car once you're confident there are no immediate red flags.
AnInternetUser is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 14th June 2019, 09:58   #83
BHPian
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: delhi
Posts: 92
Thanked: 160 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pankaj_Ahlawat View Post
It is really a relief to see this, and congrats! After going through this thread which has managed to kill a lot of my dreams of owning (and driving) an old (80s-90s) BMW or Merc, at least I know some people still take the risk!

There is another way to approach the whole question, I feel. To me, a car is really a car only if I can drive it when I feel like it. So treating it as something precious (it is) and keeping it in a garage is not for me. So is the approach described below practical?

One buys an old German, say an S-Class of late 90s or early 2000s vintage. Then, he puts in some solid work and money into bringing the car up to high levels of reliability. Is this workable?

For example, one can see old S-Class selling at 7-10 lakhs. How about buying one, and then spending Rs 7-10 lakhs on it right away fixing anything that is important to fix? Will that bring in the much needed reliability? Or, is reliability likely to be iffy even then, and we are talking of spending like Rs 1 lakh-plus or more to keep it running well?

Hope those with experience of keeping old cars can answer!
lawdgawd is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 29th June 2019, 18:24   #84
Senior - BHPian
 
stanjohn123's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: TN 75
Posts: 1,345
Thanked: 1,797 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by lawdgawd View Post

For example, one can see old S-Class selling at 7-10 lakhs. How about buying one, and then spending Rs 7-10 lakhs on it right away fixing anything that is important to fix? Will that bring in the much needed reliability? Or, is reliability likely to be iffy even then, and we are talking of spending like Rs 1 lakh-plus or more to keep it running well?
Even I was thinking the same thing. But the thing with cars like S-class or Audi's A6 or A7 is that they are too unreliable. Something or the other keeps failing at their vintage say from 2004-2006-2014 models.

Just have a look at the ownership thread in international forums. The list of repair work is endless and the money that costs to repair them is high. These cars are good only if you have very deep pockets.

From my research in these category of vehicles the 520d or 530d and even 320d are more reliable and won't hurt us much in spares and maintenance costs.

For eg.,The thing with A6 and A7 even S-class is they have air suspension which is very prone to failure, this component is not there in the 5 series.
stanjohn123 is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 30th June 2019, 14:43   #85
BHPian
 
AnInternetUser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 155
Thanked: 309 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by stanjohn123 View Post
For eg., The thing with A6 and A7 even S-class is they have air suspension which is very prone to failure, this component is not there in the 5 series.
Adding to this, a few friends of mine have A6s.

One of them has a 3.0TDI that he bought with a few thousand kilometres on the clock (under 2k if I remember correctly). It's always been cared for well, but he still faced several serious problems during his ownership period. His other car was a Passat which also suffered a gearbox failure. He ended up selling both and now has an E350 CDI.

Another friend has a 2.0TDI which has had suspension issues thrice so far. Unlike the 3.0, it isn't driven that much but is still maintained well.

These cars seem like money-pits since I haven't known a single person who hasn't faced long-term reliability issues.
AnInternetUser is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 17th November 2019, 15:18   #86
BANNED
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 11,368
Thanked: 23,089 Times
Infractions: 0/3 (12)

Quote:
Originally Posted by drmohitg View Post
Without going off-topic, I would recommend you to take a TD of a BMW on non-RFT/regular tubeless tyres before making the switch. The ride comfort would increase but to me it felt and still feels as if I lost out quite a bit on the riding behaviour of the car. The RFTs make me feel connected to the road and always in control of the car. The tubeless tyres ( have the Primacy 3ST) provide excellent comfort but I have lost the confidence to push it to speeds. So much so that for my next tyre change, if the need arises, I will opt for RFTs once again.

More details here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-...ml#post4305338 (RFT to Tubeless switch for BMW 320d)

The headache with RFT's is that our Indian road surfaces are so unpredictable and horrible that the RFT's have a poor chance of survival.

I have experienced a blowout (a sharp phut sound followed by a long and audible hiss ) on RFTs at mid- high speeds in Europe. Luckily it was on a country road with little or no traffic.

And I was able to squizz the car to a halt, flashers on, put on the high vis jacket, hop out, put the warning triangles up and check its condition.

Sadly the tyre had a pretty visible hole in it hence even using a compressor to try to reinflate it was not even an option.

Luckily as per my GPS there was a garage 10 km away. Then as per the manual/ instruction I drove the car at 40-50kmph for that distance in order to get the tyre done.

By the time I reached the garage the tyre was pretty much ruined and being a rural place I wasnt able to get a replacement easily.

So I had to abandon the car and get the rental company to make alternative arrangements for me.

Now I am seriously looking at buying a Mini Cooper in India. This comes with runflat tyres and no spare.

Hence Im thinking seriously once the purchase is made, whether it is just simply worth replacing these runflats with a set of tubeless tyres.
shankar.balan is offline  
Old 17th November 2019, 17:15   #87
Team-BHP Support
 
graaja's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Coimbatore
Posts: 3,183
Thanked: 20,567 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankar.balan View Post
The headache with RFT's is that our Indian road surfaces are so unpredictable and horrible that the RFT's have a poor chance of survival.

I have experienced a blowout (a sharp phut sound followed by a long and audible hiss ) on RFTs at mid- high speeds in Europe. Luckily it was on a country road with little or no traffic.
...

Luckily as per my GPS there was a garage 10 km away. Then as per the manual/ instruction I drove the car at 40-50kmph for that distance in order to get the tyre done.

...

Now I am seriously looking at buying a Mini Cooper in India. This comes with runflat tyres and no spare.

Hence Im thinking seriously once the purchase is made, whether it is just simply worth replacing these runflats with a set of tubeless tyres.
This is exactly what RFTs are supposed to do - help you reach a safe place even with a blowout. Of course, they become useless after you drive that 50km or 80km.

Imagine the same situation with a tubeless tire and without a spare wheel. That is why I am not going to tubeless tires in my 3GT.

PS: It is a different story if there is a proper spare tire.
graaja is online now  
Old 18th November 2019, 11:49   #88
Distinguished - BHPian
 
drmohitg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Liverpool/Delhi
Posts: 5,439
Thanked: 7,539 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by shankar.balan View Post
The headache with RFT's is that our Indian road surfaces are so unpredictable and horrible that the RFT's have a poor chance of survival.

I have experienced a blowout (a sharp phut sound followed by a long and audible hiss ) on RFTs at mid- high speeds in Europe. Luckily it was on a country road with little or no traffic.

Hence Im thinking seriously once the purchase is made, whether it is just simply worth replacing these runflats with a set of tubeless tyres
Well Shankar, I drove my 3 series with its OEM RFTs for 41k kms. The car ran in Delhi, Gurgaon, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat during this time encountering its fare share of good and bad roads. The RFTs didn't suffer any undue wear and tear all the while. The ride was definitely on the harder side but it was a bliss to drive as you feel connected to the road. But yes at the 41k km mark, the road in front of my apartment in Gurgaon just gave way and it was full of sharp edged craters and this is when one of the tyres suffered a side wall cut. Since there was so much talk about regular tubeless tyres and the fact that my RFTs had anyways done 41k kms, I opted to change them and chose non-RFT Michelins.

I would still urge you to once experience the car in both tyre set ups if possible. My BMWs ride quality has improved immensely but the fun to drive factor has taken a back seat. I have completed 20k kms on the Michelins now.
drmohitg is offline  
Old 26th November 2019, 03:02   #89
BANNED
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 11,368
Thanked: 23,089 Times
Infractions: 0/3 (12)
Pre-worshipped luxury car for 10 - 15 lakhs?

@ graaja and @drmohitg:

I completely understand and appreciate your inputs.

And indeed I am cognizant of the lovely 'planted' and 'connected' feel one gets with RFT's- however my experiences with RFT's has been confined to the beautiful road surfaces of Europe, Australia and the US.

I still cannot help shivering a bit when considering daily usage of these in India, especially Bangalore.

Now since the used Cooper Im looking at on boarding soon (which also just happens to
be somewhere around and a little above the ballpark pricing mentioned in the title of this thread) , does indeed come with RFT's and no spare as do all Coopers.

I am however, definitely going to experience the RFT's through my daily usage and it is only if the daily ride becomes an unbearable experience (apart from the first time change cost), that I may consider replacing the RFT's with tubeless tyres sometime.

But I will most certainly give it a fair and equitable shot as well as much significant careful thought, before I jump into any changes on the tyres.

Last edited by shankar.balan : 26th November 2019 at 03:04.
shankar.balan is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 28th November 2019, 04:24   #90
BANNED
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 11,368
Thanked: 23,089 Times
Infractions: 0/3 (12)

Getting closer and closer to the dream of a used Mini Cooper S.

Lots of bells and whistles.

Price is in the ball park - perhaps a tad higher than normal but to me the slight premium Is worth paying for the first class maintenance upkeep and care of that used car.

Will put out more details as and when...
shankar.balan is offline   (5) Thanks
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks