Team-BHP - Review: BMW 330i (G20)

Has anyone paid for 1st annual service out of pocket recently (not through BSI)?

BMW India website shows 1st service cost as INR 12,500 incl parts, labour, fees and taxes.

I checked with a few dealers in KA state and they quote between INR 28,000 and INR 35,000.

I've reached out to BMW India to understand this discrepancy, but want to hear from others who may have not taken BSI.

Only explanation I can think of is the website does not consider cost of engine oil.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rav1up (Post 5606597)

Has anyone paid for 1st annual service out of pocket recently (not through BSI)?

I checked with a few dealers in KA state and they quote between INR 28,000 and INR 35,000.

Although I had BSI for my first free services, my SA showed me the first year invoice they sent to BMW. It was in the range of 22K if I recall.

No way is it 12.5K in any case!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rav1up (Post 5606597)

Has anyone paid for 1st annual service out of pocket recently (not through BSI)?

I recently completed the first service of my 330Li with about 10,500km on the odo. It was a routine service with micro filter, engine oil, air filter change and value added service of AC disinfection. I don’t have BSI and ended up paying around 21k (13k parts, 5k labor, 3k tax). Decided not to do wheeling alignment / balancing.

I have been facing a peculiar issue with the AC. Even when the air flow is directed into the cabin, there is a constant flow of air from the windscreen ducts behind the sub-woofer leading to condensation on the windscreen.

BMW dealership has not been able to fix the problem and is now taking refuge by saying that this is the design of the system.

Has anyone else faced this issue? Any suggested solutions?

I am based in Bangalore and have been in the market the last few months , specifically for a BMW 330I M Sport only. Have been offered a 2022 April month car genuinely done 7000 kms by the BMW dealer for Rs 53.50 lakhs. The car is pristine and black in colour. What would be the right price to pay ? The seller is not budging on the price and I need to decide in the next couple of days. Would love to hear from the experts here.

Very happy to share that after a lot of deliberations, today, I am the proud owner of a pre-loved 330i. The beauty was owned by my company and was for us of a senior official who relocated outside India. Regd in Dec 2021 and has run 14000kms. Will share more details in sometime. I thank all the owners whose posts here and on other ownership reviews have been the inspiration to go for it.

Drove my Beemer for ~950Kms - Bangalore > Wayanad > Ooty > Bangalore over the last week. This was my first long drive in this car and I must say... all that I had read about the vehicle and its characteristics were all proved true!

The car covers miles effortlessly without a fuss (my earlier Civic 2019 was also a great car in covering distances) and its true colours come alive while driving up in the hills on to Ooty. The handling is perfect and one feels so very sure each time a curve comes or during a steep climb across a sharp curve in the hills. At no point in time did I feel nervous or unsure of what the car might do or how might it behave. I am back in Bangalore and itching to drive out again at the slightest opportunity.

The ride is definitely stiff but my teenage daughter never complained of any awkwardness or discomfort during the travel. My wife sitting beside me enjoyed the bursts of power (when needed to overtake) and would roll her eyes and give me a stern glance asking me to slow down. Reluctantly, and as all of you would have done, listened to her and dialled down my enthusiasm and the car's speed.

The narrow roads within Wayanad and Ooty gave me real scare for a scratch each time another vehicle appeared coming from the other side. Thankfully nothing of that kind happened.

Driving back through Mudumalai and Bandipur was a bliss.

The FE during the journey was 11.5km/l and I felt it was low. Would be good to get others' perspective here.

A few snaps taken along the way is below:

Pitstop onway to Wayanad

Blissfully parked at GReaT Trails, Wayanad

Under the blue sky near Ooty

At Sterling Fern Hill after effortlessly climbing up to Ooty

Enroute to Bangalore, amongst Eucalyptus Trees on way back from Ooty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devil-on-Wheel (Post 5761476)

The handling is perfect and one feels so very sure each time a curve comes or during a steep climb across a sharp curve in the hills. At no point in time did I feel nervous or unsure of what the car might do or how might it behave.

The ride is definitely stiff but my teenage daughter never complained of any awkwardness or discomfort during the travel.

The narrow roads within Wayanad and Ooty gave me real scare for a scratch each time another vehicle appeared coming from the other side.

The FE during the journey was 11.5km/l and I felt it was low. Would be good to get others' perspective here.

Handling-wise, the SWB is very predictable no doubt. In fact the 17" 225 square setup on the Sport make the car feel more 'alive' and easier to break traction as opposed to the massive 255 rears on the M Sport.

Ride is stiff BUT the upside is minimal side-to-side body roll and less bouncy than a softer setup. In fact I was astonished to find that our teen sons liked the 330i ride better than the softer Octavia TSI.

Narrow roads with oncoming traffic make me fold my ORVMs by reflex. Unfortunately with BMWs, one cannot fold ORVMs on the move unless below ~15 km/hr. I've had multiple scares myself with them!

FE suffers at speed or on the ghats or even on the climb back to BLR. Try a couple of normal runs on the plains and see what it comes to. Highway average can be as high as 17 km/lt if cruise control is set at ~90 km/hr but gets worse and worse beyond that.

By the way, what tyre pressure did/are you maintaining on your 17s?