[gadadhar]

2 years and 6 months, 35,500 KMS I said good bye to the my red beauty. It was not an easy decision, but was well thought through. Below are my observation and reasons for the decision, it is arranged more in order of significance behind the decision

Indian roads with our share of potholes and humps are still not ready for the Beemer. I thought I was driving defensively for 80 percent of the time while in City , rest 20 percent is where you are KING of the road when you hit the highway for long drives

Service always used to be a pain, it takes weeks to get an appointment. Having sold so many BMs, they lacked the space and infra to support them. Unpredictability on the service warning propping up makes things worst. I was in Kerala when the warning popped up in red, believe me, it took a minister level recommendation to get a service slot in next few days so that my return to Bangalore and leave plans were not disturbed. No pick-up and drop service (they have started it recently) makes things worst. A jazzy looking showroom with a big lounge does not really give that level of a service quality.

No Step-in tyres.. Done 29K with run flats and another 6K on tubeless armed with a puncture kit and never had any issue, but the thought used to bother me always during my trips to remote areas

My car was completely covered with BSI and bumper to bumper cover. Thought of BSI expiring after 6 years used to bother me, though it was another few years to go

Though no direct maintenance cost, associated costs like BSI pack, annual insurance, tyre price etc are expensive, but value of the car is going to depreciate big time after 5 to 6 years

Before every long trip, used to spend significant time and energy on BHP to check on the road conditions

Lack of space, front seats are king size, back is only for 2 people

Getting in and out is not easy for all folks

You need another Big Car or SUV that can run on all roads and Beemer can be kept as a 3rd Car. I do have a 2nd small car, but that cannot be considered for long drives, and my salary does not allow me to have another Big Car along with the beemer

Last but not the least, it is head turner which can invite unwanted attention at times. You can be looked at someone with a fortune tucked in your boot

Considering all above and deliberating for close to six months, put the plan in action. It was tough convincing my Jr, but he too agreed after being lured with trips to unexplored areas with a SUV

Now armed with a Toyota Fortuner AT, Big Black Beast - which can literally go anywhere.

[E90-E250]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

2 years and 6 months, 35,500 KMS I said good bye to the my red beauty

A tough decision I must say. I still miss my e90.
Could you please throw some light on the resale value of your car. Did having a BSI increase the cars value?
Thanks

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by E90-E250

A tough decision I must say. I still miss my e90.
Could you please throw some light on the resale value of your car. Did having a BSI increase the cars value?
Thanks

Yes, it was tough and painful. I got a direct buyer through Carvale, he mentioned BSI as the only reason he opted for my car. I canmessage you the price if you wish. btw what was your reason for selling your beauty.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Below are my observation and reasons for the decision, it is arranged more in order of significance behind the decision.

An extremely practical decision I say.

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Now armed with a Toyota Fortuner AT, Big Black Beast - which can literally go anywhere.

No wonder the Japanese rule the world when it comes to no nonsense motoring.

In spite of all my drooling whenever a premium German passes me or vice versa, I simply cannot think of owning one as my primary, go anywhere vehicle. It is vehicles like the Fortuner and the Pajero which fit the bill to a "T" here.

Do you plan to start an ownership thread? Are you a native of Coorg?

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

An extremely practical decision I say.

Do you plan to start an ownership thread? Are you a native of Coorg?

I am a native of Kerala, a big fan of Coorg and it's cuisine and visit the place whenever I get a chance.

Planning to start the ownership thread after few long drives planned in Dec end, have uploaded the snaps in below thread


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...review-45.html

[E90-E250]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Yes, it was tough and painful. I got a direct buyer through Carvale, he mentioned BSI as the only reason he opted for my car. I canmessage you the price if you wish. btw what was your reason for selling your beauty.

A lovely car I must say, though the reliability issues were not looking good for the long run. After 55k kms problems with wear and tear cropped up. Replaced the damping pulley(33k), battery(28k) and the front shock assembly(30k). Since I was not with BSI and my running was close to 25k kms a year, the e90 was taking away the "Sheer" from the driving pleasure. Moreover with the launch of the F30 , the e90 started loosing its premium value as you could find a dozen in the resale market. Thats when I started scouting for the new ride.
Nothing lured me in the same segment, so settled with the e class facelift. A6 was ruled out as FWD. Between F10 and W212 it was the latter which caught my attention it terms of looks and high speed stability(As I am a highway traveller). Though the BMW gearbox is better when compared to the Merc 7G, I make it up with paddle shifters. To be honest the merc gives me that surge something which I loved my e90 for.
Happy motoring

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by E90-E250

A lovely car I must say, though the reliability issues were not looking good for the long run. After 55k kms problems with wear and tear cropped up. Replaced the damping pulley(33k), battery(28k) and the front shock assembly(30k).

Thanks, I was under the impression that Beemers were built to last a life, reliability issues after 55K is a surprise. Enjoy your new machine.

[E90-E250]

The repairs were solely related to usage patterns. Though a BMW battery lasts for 3- 4 years but I didnt expect the damping pulley to give away. BMW guys told me that because you floor the car too much, it resulted in damage. What else did I buy the e90 for?
Fourth year saw the malfunction of power windows and also my right angel eyes went for a toss.
But I still miss her

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by E90-E250

I didnt expect the damping pulley to give away. BMW guys told me that because you floor the car too much, it resulted in damage. What else did I buy the e90 for?

Thats sounds funny to me, that is the first reason to go for a beemer.

Originally Posted by E90-E250

Fourth year saw the malfunction of power windows and also my right angel eyes went for a toss.
But I still miss her

Hope they didn't say that power window and eyes were used more than expected.

[gadadhar]

This is a blog written by my 12 year old Jr Deva. I delayed posting this in BHP for no obvious reason, decided to do it now after getting some positive feedback on the blog


Adieu to BMW 320D and move to SUV (Fortuner) – through the eyes of a 12 year old auto enthusiast


I am currently sitting in my new car, a Toyota Fortuner and heading for my first long drive to Munnar. It is genuinely a wonderful car for my dad's point of view and so is it from mine. The space, the size, the power...they all feel wonderful. But every time I think of these three words, the memories of my old car come rushing to me. The BMW 320d. It was a masterpiece. I wasn't even close to the age of 18 to drive it, but every time my dad told me about how perfect it was to drive, my mouth used to water. The story of why we bought it is quite funny. At first, my dad was looking for a new car and a before we bought it ,he saw an offer in the paper for the BMW X1, and we all ready to go and check it. That's when my uncle called up my dad and asked him not to buy it because he had one and that he had quite a few problems with his, so we decided "No". After that, I was looking at the Bangalore Times paper when I saw an offer for the BMW 320d. My dad knew it was a masterpiece cause he had driven my uncle's. So without any further thinking, we went straight to the showroom. I was over the moon when I heard that we were going there. Yet, I wasn't feeling well and when I got to the showroom, I was completely down. But, the cars over there were mad. There was an X6, X5, and 5 series GT and the 330i Convertible. To me, I was just in a different world. My dad discussed with the guy at the showroom for a while and then, he said he had two in stock and that he could give them in 2 weeks. The color available were Vermillion Hue and Dark Grey. My dad said the dark grey looked quite dull and that the Vermillion hue looked a million times more better. At the showroom, we decided not to buy it and went back home. By this point, I felt so tired that I went straight to sleep after reaching home. During this time, someone had come home and was talking about the car. I figured out that it was the guy from the showroom. After a lot of talking, my mom came and told me "we booked one". I was so stunned at that moment that I ran out of bed and started jumping on joy. My dad told me that we would get the car in around two weeks. For two weeks, I kept on telling my friends " I bought a BMW.". Few of them opened their mouth so wide that it nearly touched the floor. Others were just like" OK!". After what seemed like two years, the day finally came when I was allowed to bunk school and go to take the car with my parents. My dad and I both wore red shirts because that was the colour of the car. Then, for the first time, I saw my Vermillion Hue BMW. There were many wonderful other BM's around me but to me, it felt like none of them existed and that me and the car were in a world of our own. This was the delivery of the car.


Then, we enjoyed many long drives, the best of that being to Taj Vivanta at Coorg. The road to the place was a bit bad but we could forget about that because of the wonderful view at the lobby. I guess the drive my dad enjoyed the most was the drive to Kerala, the day after we bought the car. He kept going on and on about the power and the grip and the feel and everything one could think about when he\she would buy a new car. Then, within no time, two years just passed until the day when we decided to sell the car. The day when we sold the car, I just couldn't stand it. I started crying and ended up not seeing my car go away. Then, two days later, we saw an advertisement on carwale for a Toyota Fortuner 4x2 automatic in black. It was quite the thing in my dad's mind. Seeming quite interested, my dad and his friend went and checked the car. Then, the next day, my dad told me that he had bought the car. I wasn't very happy about the decision until the time when I saw the car. It was a wonderful car and mor than the looks and the speck sheet facts, I loved the size. It was mad. It was huge and it was black. What more would you want. Then, I was so happy that I ended up liking the car nearly as much as the BM. Now, I am going to do a comparison about both the cars.

Power in BMW
The BM has the power and you know it's always there. Overtaking manoeuvre...think of it and its done. Thats the power

Power in Fortuner
The Fortuner has enough power and it has loads of low end torque lugging it. This is good for city as well as the off-road areas. Every time you step on the throttle, you can feel that engine lugging the heavy load of the car, very well at that.

Looks in BMW
It looks mean and menacing to some people and to others, it looks like a comfortable and elegant long-distance cruiser. Yet, the looks do on the money...it gets people a lot of 'attention'.

Looks in Fortuner
The looks are properly dominating...it looks just eats up whatever space is on the road.



Feel in BMW
It has won BEST DRIVERS CAR IN THE WORLD many times. Need I say more? If you look at the feel the passengers get, it makes you feel great. Inside, there is soothing leather and a wonderful audio system (BMW Professional), and then, all of a sudden, step on the throttle and you have enough torque to smack your head on the the seat...hard.

Feel in Fortuner
My dad says the steering is a bit vague and that it is nowhere near as good to drive as the BM. You can't compare them. He also says the feel of being KING OF THE ROAD with its huge size is actually the main reason he bought one. For a kid, the car would be of no problem, but those of you who have a problem of motion-sickness, will find the ride a bit bad.

Maintenance in BMW
We didn't have any problems with ours, but I have heard of the automatic gearbox slipping gears, which costs 3-4 Lakhs. The services are quite very expensive, with a very long waiting period. I think that's mostly because BMW's service network in India is finding it hard to keep up with the number of cars the have sold.

Maintenance in Fortuner
No problems really...none at all. Services aren't expensive and the only expensive parts I saw were the headlight replacements. Even the tyres do seem quite expensive...but they do have a lot of meat on them which can be used for a properly long time...

That's about it. At the end of my comparison I would like to say that both these cars are brilliant and the comparison between them was something l did just out of my own interest. Hope you all enjoyed reading it


DEVA....