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Originally Posted by wmanu I was thinking of upgrading to German Trio, which was always a dream.
Many thanks. |
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Originally Posted by wildsdi5530 Well I was in a similar situation a few months back. But it will satisfy your dream, albeit temporarily. |
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Originally Posted by shobhit.shri I would rephrase the question: Essentially, I should be ready to spend minimum 20L for enjoying five years of a luxury car? Is it possible to buy a five-year-old BMW 320D for 20L, use it for five years by paying 1L per year as maintenance, and sell it for 5L?
All numbers can change by 15-20% and are hypothetical, but I just wanted to get a financial sense of luxury car ownership. Can this, 20L + 5 years of bliss, can really be pulled off? |
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Originally Posted by satrikon_454 I'm exactly in the same boat as wmanu. I have been dilly-dallying with the same thought, and incidentally, the same budget as well. Having being smitten by the desire to own a luxury badge, it is hard to replicate the same with the Jettas and the Octavias, even though these cars make more sense. Classic heart-over-head situation. I have a trusted stead in the form of a Civic, which has been serving me very well for a long time. But heart wants what the heart wants.
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Originally Posted by r.K Funny, I'm thinking of buying a used luxury car too. My needs are as follows:
- Will use for highway trips and 3 says a week use
- Must have curtain and side air bags
- In case of SUV 4wd/awd would be nice to have, considering I won't do hard core off-roading; but would definitely miss it on those steep ghat roads
- Budget of 15L - 18L (will go for a used car loan)
-I'm looking at a Volvo v40 or an xc60. Would this be expensive to maintain? |
Hi guys, I was in the same situation back in 2015 as all of you have expressed. So, let me document my experience on this topic.
I had a budget of roughly Rs 20 lakhs and post a lot of reading here on Team-bhp, zeroed in only on BMW X1 or an Audi Q3. Back then, used Q3s weren't available aplenty in Hyderabad but there were a lot of X1s though. So, I looked at quite a few X1s and test drove a few and finally picked one up directly from an Owner. The car was 2012 make, with Hydraulic steering and Rear wheel drive.
I have just sold my car last month. But, in the 4 years (2 months short) of my ownership, these are the expenses I met with on the car and they were not totally unexpected or out of the world. I may have been lucky.
1. Month 1 - I got a regular Oil service at the authorized BMW service center - Rs 24k. This was a pro-active measure based on my reading on T-bhp.
2. Month 2 - An unfortunate breakdown led to a repair costing me Rs 65k. The issue was with the "Replacing vibration damper" and the belt, etc. This was out of my control. Perhaps, I should have gotten the vehicle tested at the BMW showroom but back then I wasn't aware of the facility. I think they charge Rs 10k and will give out the condition of most replaceable parts in the car at any point in time.
3. Month 17 (service internal was 12-15k kms or 18 months but I always used to go in 2-3 months before-hand) - Regular oil change service at the authorized BMW service center costing around Rs 24k.
4. Month 31 - Replacement of disc brakes based on the car diagnostics - I chose to get this done at a non-BMW service center. And from the top of my head, remember the cost to be around Rs 20k.
5. Month 34 - Battery gave up when we were at a mall and returning back after a late night movie. BMW quoted 27k for a replacement(They use an imported Exide one, I guess). I found a compatible Amaron battery and ordered it directly from Amazon for 10k.
6. Month 36 - A pro-active replacement of tyres, I moved away from RFTs and rather got myself Michelin PS4s and also a space saver spare from BMW - Overall cost - Rs 80k [60k for PS4s and 20k for the space saver, if I remember correctly].
7. Month 44 - Regular oil change service at the authorized BMW service center Rs 24k and a breakdown repair on the AC which involved "Replacing evaporator" and other related parts costing me Rs 75k at the authorized BMW service center.
8. I also got an annual 3M pack on the car and paid roughly 30k each year. This included 3M Trizact exterior cleaning and Germikleen Plus twice every year.
Car bought for Rs 21 lakhs
The overall cost of maintenance over the last 4 years thus came to ~ 3.25 lakhs + 1 lakh (3M)
Car sold at Rs 12 lakhs
From my ownership experience, here are some learnings:
Goods:
1. I had a gala time doing those 50k kms esp the ones on Highways (mostly to Vijayawada, AP and Bangalore), ORR (here in Hyderabad).
2. I haven't driven a BMW 3 series, but most say after 3 series, X1 is one of the most balanced (Front to Rear weighted ratios) car and fun to drive and I can vouch by that.
3. The traffic/ road sense in Hyderabad isn't great (no offence to anyone and I am a local) but driving around in a BMW always meant people kept their distance from my car.
4. The ease with which the car used to manoeuvre on highways, on hills (elevations, etc).
Bads:
1. Difficult to explain, but I guess in my mind I always had the reliability question so there were a few trips when I would have preferred taking the X1 but instead hired Zoomcar (like the 12 days trip into North Kerala - Wayanad, etc from Bangalore), the 5 days trip to Pondicherry (from Chennai) and the 7-8 days trip to Coorg (from Bangalore), etc. So, the point I'm trying to make is that there usually 'will' always be a point of concern.
2. The city drives were okay but with the Hydraulic steering, low speeds drives and manoeuvrability were a bit eventful.
3. Parking in tight spaces, cellars, malls again due to the Hydraulic steering, I would say.
4. Ride on pothole-ridden roads was stiff.
5. Sometimes, I felt there was way too much feedback given to the steering.
My suggestions if you guys go ahead with the plan would be the following:
1. 3-5-year-old vehicles are the best kept/ maintained ones.
2. Buying directly from an owner is beneficial.
3. Do find out from the authorized service center in terms of if there is some kind of an Evaluation of car service. Typically, it can cost up to Rs 10k. Not many sellers will be okay with this as it could lead to an unwanted find on the car.