[Turbanator]

I miss is the cruise control, that can be added as a kit if you wish to

Do you mean new 3 series doesn't come with a cruise control?

Need to buy a drivers car for myself. Should I be looking at either the C class or the A4

You will need to drive these 3 and find out what works best for you. Take help of moderator Akshay who has some great contacts with the local dealership. Discounts should be maximum on BMW and they have some promotions going around, free BSI packs and low prices on both X1 and 3 series.

[gksunil]

I drove C class, A3 ,CLA and GLA the other day. Initial BMW experience was a bit of lackluster, hence I gave it the last preference. Out of those, C class was the easiest and comfortable to drive. The drive was on city roads and some empty stretches in and around Mangalore. Even A3 was fun and easy to drive. CLA was too cramped. GLA was better.
Now comes the twist. The next day BMW came with the 320d which I had driven for a brief period when I was checking out the X1. I asked the sales person.(Sreejit of Navnit motors) to drive in the city and take me to an open stretch. He did that and then gave me the car. He adjusted the seats and asked me to go to an empty curvy section. On that road, he asked me to go off road. I looked and it was a ghat type of incline with rocks and mud and full of potholes. The incline was too sleep like you see on hills. We were terrified and thought what would happen if the car topples. I refused, he kept on requesting, and some how I took the car down. Once it started descending, I forgot there was an incline! At on portion I was sure that the car will bottom out,but it didn't.! Sreejit kept on asking me to increase the speed, which I didn't do and we did a U turn and climbed the same road filled with loose rocks and mud. He was tinkering with traction control which I could not make out, but the car performed brilliantly. I drove it through potholes and city and felt super confident.
Now I am wondering, if 320d can do a bit of off roading, and capable of beating the potholes, why we should consider, X1 or Q3?

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by amidoc

Need to buy a drivers car for myself. Should I be looking at either the C class or the A4. Looking forward for inputs .

You already answered the question you asked.

However, I still suggest you still check out both the cars or at least the C. It is not as engaging to drive as 3 series but it definitely is a good package overall.

Originally Posted by gksunil

Now I am wondering, if 320d can do a bit of off roading, and capable of beating the potholes, why we should consider, X1 or Q3?

It can go offloading only on gravels and the likes and definitely not the places where Q3 can go with it's higher GC and especially the Quattro. Also, in Q3 you will not worry about the potholes as much as in 320d even if both can tackle them. It will be always at the back of mind.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by gksunil

Sreejit kept on asking me to increase the speed, which I didn't do and we did a U turn and climbed the same road filled with loose rocks and mud. He was tinkering with traction control which I could not make out, but the car performed brilliantly. I drove it through potholes and city and felt super confident.
Now I am wondering, if 320d can do a bit of off roading, and capable of beating the potholes, why we should consider, X1 or Q3?

Remember, he took you to a place that he knew the car will perform. Will it perform anywhere else? Thats the million dollar question

[nirvanaguy19]

Hi guys. I have been enjoying my Melbourne red 320d for the past 6 months. This thread has been super helpful , both before and after the purchase of the car. I have been trying to source a couple of accessories for the car but my local sales rep doesn't seem to have a lot of information.

Can anyone help me with information (cost and part no, if available) for the following accesories

Body color (Melbourne red) rear lip
M Aerodynamic package (or just the M series Front and rear bumper)

[Jamsukh]

Hi folks, I need some guidance and advice. Am currently using a nearly 3 year old Vento TSI DSG. My yearly running averages around 7000km. Hence was looking for a Pre-owned 2013 year C200 or 320i or 328i. Given my low running was looking to opt more for a petrol vehicle. As this car would be 100% self driven the 320d or 320/328i seems an option to evaluate. Further there are hardly any 320/328i vehicles on sale hence making me also look at the 320d. With a budget within 15 lacs what is it that you would recommend? This is the first time am taking the Pre-owned route and further have always been a petrolhead, hence need something which is low on maintenance while giving driving pleasure. Request your thoughts on it. Also if you do have some good preowned cars then request to guide me on them as well. Many thanks!

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by Jamsukh

Further there are hardly any 320/328i vehicles on sale hence making me also look at the 320d. With a budget within 15 lacs what is it that you would recommend? This is the first time am taking the Pre-owned route and further have always been a petrolhead, hence need something which is low on maintenance while giving driving pleasure. Request your thoughts on it. Also if you do have some good preowned cars then request to guide me on them as well. Many thanks!

Finding a 320d is easier than finding 320i. 328i will be too hard to find as it was sold in a limited quantity and also no discounts were offered on those so getting one below 20L will be tough.

You will get a lot of options for 320d around 18-20L (2012/13/14 cars) in Mumbai.

However, these cars are not low on maintenance as the cost to maintain will be same like that of a new car. In fact it will be even more depending on which of wear & tear parts are due for replacement.

Also, getting a warranty on 2012 car will not be an option so on top of maintenance one needs to factor in additional expenses towards any major part replacement.

[FAIAAA]

Hi everyone
I have a May'17 320d prestige which has done 7000 kms.
-What's the optimal frequency for tyre rotation / wheel balancing for RFTs? ( For my other cars, I usually get it done every 5k kms. That's allowed me to get tyre life as high as 60k kms on one of my cars). Or do I wait till the car goes for service ( currently showing as 12k kms)
- also can that be done outside without impacting the warranty?
- I have the basic BSI pack. Should I upgrade to the advanced BSI pack? My running will be ~15k kms per year.

[Jamsukh]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

Finding a 320d is easier than finding 320i. 328i will be too hard to find as it was sold in a limited quantity and also no discounts were offered on those so getting one below 20L will be tough.

You will get a lot of options for 320d around 18-20L (2012/13/14 cars) in Mumbai.

However, these cars are not low on maintenance as the cost to maintain will be same like that of a new car. In fact it will be even more depending on which of wear & tear parts are due for replacement.

Also, getting a warranty on 2012 car will not be an option so on top of maintenance one needs to factor in additional expenses towards any major part replacement.

Thank you for your inputs. As of now am checking a 2012 Luxury line with saddle coloured interiors at an unnegotiated ask price of 22Lacs for 48000km driven.

Another ad I came across in OLX was for a 328i 2012 with 32k kms for ask price of 21.5 Lacs. Unfortunately both these cars will be out of warranty hence am concerned on the associated maintenance costs.

[FAIAAA]

Originally Posted by FAIAAA

Hi everyone
I have a May'17 320d prestige which has done 7000 kms.
-What's the optimal frequency for tyre rotation / wheel balancing for RFTs? ( For my other cars, I usually get it done every 5k kms. That's allowed me to get tyre life as high as 60k kms on one of my cars). Or do I wait till the car goes for service ( currently showing as 12k kms)
- also can that be done outside without impacting the warranty?
- I have the basic BSI pack. Should I upgrade to the advanced BSI pack? My running will be ~15k kms per year.

Please advise. Thanks

[Turbanator]

What's the optimal frequency for tyre rotation / wheel balancing for RFTs?

Well, I never get tyres rotated on most of my BMW's and have got wheel balancing very occasionally, say if I hit something bad. Non-Rotation is due to different sizes on M variants. You can probably get these rotated after 20 K and same for balancing unless you feel differently while driving. I prefer to keep things factory standard to extent possible

I have the basic BSI pack. Should I upgrade to the advanced BSI pack?

I don't understand what's basic or advanced as they stopped such differentiation a while ago. You get an extended warranty and another that covers regular maintenance, if you have got an extended warranty only and your running is low, maybe you can skip the maintenance pack, have a look at thread here and like past years, BMW is changing prices again from 1st November so you need to hurry up if you want to go for a maintenance pack.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post4213343

As of now am checking a 2012 Luxury line with saddle coloured interiors at an unnegotiated ask price of 22Lacs for 48000km driven.

very high prices, these are more like for 5 series.

[rajamuneeb]

Don't know if this is the right thread but wanted to share this news. BMW has recalled 1.4 million sedans and SUV's in North America due to the risk that they could catch fire.
Link: http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/03/news...ies1213PMStory

[amidoc]

Hi everyone, inquired about offers on the 320 d.

Got an initial offer of 8 L on the Luxury Line. These are 2016 kits/assembled in 2017 which have been ordered by the dealer.

There is a new version called Luxury Line Plus which being launched shortly at the same on road price 52.96L with addition of rear camera, etc.

Also went through the BMW 360 buy back scheme which is being offered at an interest rate of 7.7%. Has anyone availed of this scheme?

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by amidoc

Also went through the BMW 360 buy back scheme which is being offered at an interest rate of 7.7%. Has anyone availed of this scheme?

I had enquired about it in detail and it is not a very attractive scheme and the interest rate shown Vs the actual payout is quite different. They some weird concept of charging you interest on the buyback amount as well that they presume is parked with them. Also, you will easily get a better price for it in the open market compared what BMW will offer you.

Lastly, there are quite a few "T&Cs" for the buyback as well. Overall, I don't recommend it.

[ais]

The buyback offer, or selling proposition to BMW can easily be bettered in the open market.

I got a far higher price for my 320d Sportline. BMW was offering only about 21 lakhs for a Feb 2015 registered 11000km driven and immaculate condition car. They were however gracious enough to advice the buyer against wasting money on a complete check and instead vouched for the cars perfect maintanance.

Another sham to look out for is buyers, dealers etc asking about the manufacturing month/year, and then labeling the car as that year's model. In my case the manufacturing was Sep 2014, so dealers were labeling it as a '2014 model'. The warranty, servicing, insurance etc start from registration month. Unless there is a substantial gap between manufacturing and registration month, the latter should be considered.