Re: BMW 320d: Joy comes home, My ultimate 3 5 completed, 5 to go!
Sincere apologies once again for not being able to update the thread more actively. The car has completed 5 years earlier this December with the odometer reading at 53k kms. As per the BSI pack (5 years/60k kms) that I had opted for at the time of buying, I regret not being able to complete those remaining 7k kms too. The car is running absolutely fine and till date this is the only car that we have ever owned which puts a smile on my face each time I have to take it out. And yes that includes even going and coming back from work. They say if you do not look back at your car before walking away from parking, then you probably bought the wrong car. Well I must say that till date I give it not 1 but 2 or 3 glances before walking away.
There were some talks of selling it at home earlier this year since the BSI was coming to an end. But someone on this forum rightly pointed out the flaw in that thought. In the era where the future is electric and hybrid vehicles, one should enjoy one of the last fun to drive, RWD 320d, especially since the car has been very well cared for and has not failed us in these last 5 years ( barring 1 incident).
The windshield had developed a crack thanks to a pebble hit. This is the second time it has happened in last 5 years and I am unsure if it is due to poor quality or the fact that the car is doing 20-30% higher speeds than my other cars at any moment and hence the force with which the stone hits is more. Anyways got it changed at BMW. Since the NCB was going to lapse, I decided to also get rid of all the scratches on the car which had got accumulated as a result of the vandalism prevalent in Delhi. Nearly got the complete car painted barring the roof and a couple of panels and finally the car is shining just like day 1 again. The paint job done at Bird auto has been good so far and I hope stays that way. Now I just need to go and get the interiors too cleaned once at 3M since the light beige interiors accumulate a lot of dirt.
The extended warranty expired this December. BMW offers an additional 6th year of warranty but that is priced at an exorbitant 1.9L. Unsure if that much amount is justified for just an additional year, I decided not to opt for it. But opted to extend the BSI pack to 10 years/1L kms. This car was our first car in the luxury segments. And to be frank, the presence of a BSI pack really took away all the pressure of owning the car. It really enables you to just enjoy your car to the fullest and let the costs of servicing etc not bother you. BMW offers a maximum coverage of 10 years/2L kms, of-course the cost would also increase accordingly. As before the BSI plus would cover the regular service components like engine oil, filters, wiper blades and brakes. Suspension related components would not be covered. But still the money that they charge, is easily justifiable if you are able to cover the listed number of kms.
Things that I wish I could change in the car:
1. Boot space: Yes this is the biggest downer as it limits the ability to take the car for outstation trips with family since the boot is too small to hold all the luggage. And without the space saver in the boot, it is just a matter of chance before one find himself stranded in the middle of nowhere with a puncture. It is good to see that they have no incorporated the space saver under the boot and opened up a bit more boot space.
2. Bluetooth music streaming: Yes a 30L + car does not support music streaming over Bluetooth and I guess this was a big miss by BMW since they already offered Bluetooth phone connectivity. Moreover since cars costing much less than this have this, it gets frustrating to connect an AUX cable every time. I understand that they now offer this in the newer models.
3. Placement of the aux cable: Now this is a design flaw that they still haven’t addressed. The AUX input is located inside the storage space under the front arm rest. The problem is that there is no space for the AUX cable to come out of the storage space and one needs to just shut the arm rest over the cable. As a result, the cable gives way in a few months. The problem is compounded by the fact that you cannot change tracks using the controls on the ICE or the steering to change music tracks while playing music through your phone using the AUX cable. And since the world has now moved to music streaming apps, it becomes cumbersome to keep holding the phone again and again to change tracks.
Miscellaneous Points:
1. Tyres: So as you know I had changed to Michelin primacy 3ST and now have completed 10k kms with the new tyres. I will still maintain that as per me the true sportiness of the car takes a hit once you move to regular tubeless tyres after driving on the RFTs. The RFTs, being harder tyres, gave a feeling of connect to the road and inspired more confidence in me. I may be a bit skeptical but I feel even the braking was a tad bit more sharper with the RFTs. But on the other hand, the ride quality has completely transformed and my parents pointed out the same ( without any idea about the tyre difference). Also the car can handle pot holes better as the amount of impact transferred to the alloys has reduced.
2. A minor noise was coming from the left front end of the car, more audible on low speeds with music off. It turned out to be a leaking shocker. BMW replaced it without any fuss under the extended warranty. The change of tyres to non RFT set up did not have any bearing, although it was duly noted. So I guess it is safe to assume that suspension related warranty claims will not be denied on changing the tyre set up. Of-course the tyre size remained the same in my case.
And finally a few pictures after getting the car back, post painting:
Last edited by drmohitg : 29th December 2018 at 20:47.
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