[lamborghini]

That was a beautiful 3 year update on the 3!
I deeply resonated with a few of the points you mentioned, and a few others have me feeling adventurous

Despite having only clocked 15K on the 328i since we got it around 4 years ago, it has been a dream to live with! Heck, I've even started to wake up early on the odd sunday to stretch her legs a little!

Apart from the usual suspects, everything else is running and working brilliantly and most of the downtime is thanks to me & the tuner's dumb ideas!

Would have loved to put on more miles, but most of the highway running is taken care of by the C / Tig; though I have to say after reading your post I am really tempted to take this for a Mum-GJ run next week instead of the C : I know it's going to be a whole lot more fun, though definitely not frugal (900kms/tankful v/s 400km/tankful) but if I'm able to fix the 2 odd niggles before then it may just be a no-brainer - mainly because the brain is going to prefer to stay shut the entire drive.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Loved reading your post. Thanks for sharing.

I understand from your garage that you also had a VW Jetta. The 3 Series seems to be the choice of upgrade for a handful of people I know of.

Thanks Kiku! Yes, that's right. There are days I still miss the Jetta, she was a lovely car. But the 3 series is that bit better in almost every respect, so it's no surprise many migrated to it from a Jetta since they're both very well-rounded vehicles with a wide breadth of capabilities.

The G30 5 series and G20 3'er are also cut from the same cloth, so I wouldn't be surprised to see many migrate to them as look to move on from the F30 3 series.

Originally Posted by Nitish.arnold

I may need to block team-bhp for some time, to save my crumbling bank balance.

Every time I see a passionate thread/banter like this, My hand subconsciously goes to the checkbook to book one right away.

& why not, if one may ask!
ONE LIFE BABY

Keep up the good work

Hahaha, awesome...the bit where you choose to live ONE LIFE BABY, not about dwindling bank balances. If I can spark the passion of even a few on here, I'll consider it Mission Accomplished.

After all, we live only once (I think), so we might as well live it up. I'd rather turn up at Pearly Gates pulling a sideways drift in a cloud of smoke than safe and sound anyways.

Originally Posted by allinbalance

Boy!! Do you have a super flair for writing!! That deadpan humor is so engaging! Anyway, Guten Taag from another Beemer owner, bro!!

Thank you, mano, I appreciate the kind words. And guten tag to you too, fellow gentleman with great taste!

Originally Posted by lamborghini

That was a beautiful 3 year update on the 3!

...the 328i...has been a dream to live with! Heck, I've even started to wake up early on the odd sunday to stretch her legs a little! Apart from the usual suspects, everything else is running and working brilliantly and most of the downtime is thanks to me & the tuner's dumb ideas!

Thank you bud! I agree; BMW might have got things a bit wrong on some fronts with the F30, but even in this "watered down" avatar, it is still fun, and reliable at that too. I can fully empathise with your facing downtime due to your own keedas...it's a boat I'm in too at the moment, and one I hope to row to shore soon, proverbially speaking.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

After reading your post I am really tempted to take this for a Mum-GJ run next week instead of the C : I know it's going to be a whole lot more fun, though definitely not frugal (900kms/tankful v/s 400km/tankful)

Provided she's got no major niggles (read anything milder than an ABS sensor, I'd say take her for a highway spin every now and then. You know you want to, and it'll turn your drive into a bit of an event.

Come over to the dark side, bro...we have cookies.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by dealer

If it's just an o2 sensor code, you can turn off cat monitoring in the bm3 app to get rid of that CEL. O2 sensor CELs do show up for some after going catless and stage 2 so it shouldn't be a cause of concern.

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Sounds very much like the CEL for the catless downpipe.

If you hook it up to ISTA, it will clearly say catless downpipe detected

Literally the first thing we did was to go into the BM3 tune and disable the cat monitoring option, and reflash. The CEL went away immediately post the reflash (because BM3 clears codes after a tune by default), but it came aa few minutes later.

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Chapter 2: Where have all the ponies gone?

Unbeknownst to me, at some point, several ponies had escaped the stable, leading to a rather flat, NA experience rather than the full-blown turbocharged tumult I should have been enjoying. Unreal, and harrowing.

I was down on power (and how!), but not out. One call (and then a second, and a third) to my favorite local supergarage, Redline Autohaus, was made as I sought to get to the bottom of this internal power struggle.

Special thanks go out to Redline for fixing this in what felt like a jiffy, Salman @ Mark Performance for the exhaust-ing work, Ghostrider for burning up the roads and making a beeline to help me take off the tune at short notice, and Tanveer_2558 for being a petulant man-child that would throw a hissy fit if I didn’t mention his name here.

Glad you got this addressed. I vividly remember how painfully slow she'd gotten - I'm pretty sure a 316i would've left you in the dust. Actually, I'm pretty sure a freaking 118NE would've shown you a clean pair of heels.

I'm also glad you're keeping this thread going - it's important for at least one of the 328i brethren to chronicle the entire ownership experience honestly (without making dubious claims about how their service only cost about 3 grand and how they get 16kpl on the highway!!), and it seems that's fallen to you by default because I'm too lazy.

[Naztone]

Originally Posted by Moontan

Yep. Like you, I'm not an ASS man anymore.

Enjoy!

Oh Dude
I almost fell off the chair when your meaning dawned on me

You SIR, Have a way with words. Wish you many more happy miles with the 3

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Literally the first thing we did was to go into the BM3 tune and disable the cat monitoring option, and reflash. The CEL went away immediately post the reflash (because BM3 clears codes after a tune by default), but it came aa few minutes later.

That's true. I genuinely believed the re-flash would sort this issue, but here we are.

Bizarrely, the CEL seems to have a mind of its own. It went away twice over the last weekend of its own accord (please, no Honda jokes), only to return.

Okay, maybe there is a joke in there about Jesus driving an Accord, and the error resurrected itself on the third day, but it's low-hanging fruit, and I'm not going there.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Glad you got this addressed. I vividly remember how painfully slow she'd gotten - I'm pretty sure a 316i would've left you in the dust. Actually, I'm pretty sure a freaking 118NE would've shown you a clean pair of heels.

Thank you for sticking a knife deep into my heart and jiggling it around for good measure, just to make sure it's right in there.

Good thing I fixed it, because I couldn't find a 316i badge anywhere on the interweb.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

I'm also glad you're keeping this thread going - it's important for at least one of the 328i brethren to chronicle the entire ownership experience honestly (without making dubious claims about how their service only cost about 3 grand and how they get 16kpl on the highway!!), and it seems that's fallen to you by default because I'm too lazy.

Thanks bud! I'm innately lazy too, except sometimes I get possessed by a dervish and absolutely have to get something out of my system. There's an analogy to be made there to a bunch of drunken monkeys hitting keys at random on a typewriter keyboard, and occasionally churning out something of value...

[4nd3r50n]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

My wife, she who pronounces salad like Malad because she knows it annoys me so, was leaving town for the next 3-4 days, and threw one of her trademark phrases my way to add to her greatest hits collection of quick quips.

The way you write is delectable- like eating a layered meal that is savory and salty, with a subtle spicy punch and a sweet aftertaste finale. Your descriptive verbiage hastens an out-of-body experience where I am living and breathing every moment with my mind's eye replaced by an all-perspective encompassing GoPro. Please do continue to write with your quick wit, acerbic analogies (Malad-Salad), and varied perspective where the car is genuinely, the star!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by 4nd3r50n

The way you write is delectable- like eating a layered meal that is savory and salty, with a subtle spicy punch and a sweet aftertaste finale.

You make me sound like I'm penning something akin to Pad Thai, which I quite like...and which now makes me hungry.

Originally Posted by 4nd3r50n

Your descriptive verbiage hastens an out-of-body experience where I am living and breathing every moment with my mind's eye replaced by an all-perspective encompassing GoPro. Please do continue to write with your quick wit, acerbic analogies (Malad-Salad), and varied perspective where the car is genuinely, the star!

Very high praise, sir, you're too kind. Rest assured I'll keep on jotting my thoughts down here, just so long as inspiration keeps on stirring the invisible pot in my head.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

3 lessons from 3 years and some 30,000 kilometers with the 3

What a write up! Your updates leave me confused about what I like more - the beautiful lowered red 3, or your writing style.

Congratulations on completing 3 years with the 3. Wishing you many more years of joy mate.

[kiran_aithal]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

3 lessons from 3 years and some 30,000 kilometers with the 3

Looking back, my life can be neatly divided into two phases. Let’s call them AD (Age of Diesels) and BC (BMW Cars) for easy reference.

BMWs are truly great machines and the RED ones among them are just gorgeous! Wishing you happy and safe journeys for years to come.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by graaja

Congratulations on completing 3 years with the 3. ...Your updates leave me confused about what I like more - the beautiful lowered red 3, or your writing style.

Thanks Ganesh! I think the 3 comfortably edges it, as it well should. After all, it literally is the marketing vehicle in this case!

Originally Posted by kiran_aithal

BMWs are truly great machines and the RED ones among them are just gorgeous! Wishing you happy and safe journeys for years to come.

Thank you Kiran, I appreciate your kind sentiment. I have to admit my mind is beginning to veer to "what's next"...but for now, I'm more than happy to explore new frontiers with the 3. Safe travels to you too!

[dealer]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Bizarrely, the CEL seems to have a mind of its own. It went away twice over the last weekend of its own accord (please, no Honda jokes), only to return.

If you're absolutely certain that the CEL is a false code caused by the catless downpipe, you can just enter the error code in your bootmod3 app which will make the system ignore the code's existence and will certainly take care of your CEL.

Also, I would recommend closely inspecting the 2 sensors on the downpipe and the MAF sensor to check if they've been fit properly. I installed my downpipe yesterday and a slightly loose MAF sensor kept throwing CELs my way intermittently.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by dealer

If you're absolutely certain that the CEL is a false code caused by the catless downpipe, you can just enter the error code in your bootmod3 app which will make the system ignore the code's existence and will certainly take care of your CEL.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep this as a last resort.

Originally Posted by dealer

Also, I would recommend closely inspecting the 2 sensors on the downpipe and the MAF sensor to check if they've been fit properly. I installed my downpipe yesterday and a slightly loose MAF sensor kept throwing CELs my way intermittently.

I don't suspect it is that, else it would have popped up way sooner, not a few months after I installed the downpipe.

I had the O2 sensor removed, cleaned, and refitted. It made the error go away on the face of it, but it was still lurking below the surface (a scan confirmed it). Like clockwork, it returned.

I believe it's an O2 sensor gone bad. There's a precedent for it too. I've ordered for an O2 sensor, and should get it fitted by the weekend. Fingers crossed, I reckon that will take care of it.

[nkapoor777]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Hahaha, awesome...the bit where you choose to live ONE LIFE BABY, not about dwindling bank balances. If I can spark the passion of even a few on here, I'll consider it Mission Accomplished.

After all, we live only once (I think), so we might as well live it up. I'd rather turn up at Pearly Gates pulling a sideways drift in a cloud of smoke than safe and sound anyways.

You certainly stoked the fire in me Meister. I was on the verge of giving up on my CLA45 AMG after nearly 3 years with her as I was increasingly tired of seeing it sit in the garage. I didn't get her home to make a showpiece out of it, I wanted it as a daily driver.

The story went like this - I was searching desperately for a pre worshipped 330i (530d was the original choice, but God bless NGT) when I chanced upon a beautifully maintained specimen of CLA45 AMG back in May 2019 (lol and behold through TBHP classifieds itself). I had only just started to enjoy her after acclimatising to it for the first few months. Then covid struck and the daily 60 kms round trip through the very decent piece of tarmac vanished from my life (those from NCR will know the Gurgaon-Faridabad road) and it became a garage queen more or less - a shade under 12k kms done in 30 months of ownership.

I grudgingly asked a friend who deals in used cars to put her up for sale and let me know if a reasonable buyer turned up. But in the heart of hearts, I never wanted to let her go. And after reading this thread (admittedly a fair few number of times in the last couple of weeks), I have taken it off the market and will rekindle the love again.

ONE LIFE BABY, everything else be damned.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by nkapoor777

ONE LIFE BABY, everything else be damned.

Preach, mano. Life's too short, we gotta fully enjoy however many trips we have around the sun.

Originally Posted by nkapoor777

You certainly stoked the fire in me Meister. I was on the verge of giving up on my CLA45 AMG after nearly 3 years with her...after reading this thread (admittedly a fair few number of times in the last couple of weeks), I have taken it off the market and will rekindle the love again.

This gladdens my heart no end. The CLA45 is fundamentally flawed; it's got virtually no space at the back, costs more than some larger cars (size does matter for society, no matter what the ladies say), and has a firm, low ride. It's gloriously impractical, and that's why we need more of its ilk on the road. The misfits should always have a home in civil society.

Drive her like she's meant to be driven, and here's hoping you enjoy her for thousands of kilometers yet. More power to you, bud.

[iliketurtles]

Still shifty at fifty: 50,000 kilometer update

The past two to three years have been hard for us all. But think, if you will for a moment, about our loyal rides just sitting around at the start of this cussed thing, wondering where the hell we disappeared off to, and if we'd ever return.

Meanwhile we were sitting around bored at home, with the passage of time seeing the months and kilos pile up, all without stepping out of the house for a drive.

I was so bored that I ate everything there was in the fridge (even the lauki), I finally learnt to play the guitar (I'm proud to say I've forgotten all I've learnt), and I even dusted off the chess set before swiftly putting it away after remembering what caused it to gather so much dust in the first place.

Throughout this time, one bug continued wheedle its way through me: the travel bug. But with airlines grounded even after the sufficient passage of time, the only way to get around was on a four legged chariot, not that I'm complaining.

And so, time-consuming though it may be, we set out on jaunts every now and then, racking up the kilometres with a vengeance to make up for lost time, and then some.

You might imagine she's not exactly a grand tourer in her low, not-so-slow avatar, and you'd be right to assume so. But, besides slowing down for bad roads, and slowing down for speed breakers larger than the Great Wall of China, and slowing down to ensure its chin doesn't scrape much anywhere, she's been an absolute peach. We did a few recent sorties to Pune and beyond, and to Goa, without any issue. And the regular availability of 95 Octane just made things that much more fizzy and enjoyable, especially after doing up the exhaust.

Bugbears and niggles? I have a few; that O2 sensor still hasn't arrived in stock, so I stare at a check engine light on account of it. There are a few rattles that have crept in, that I need to iron out. And the front bumper needs a bit of spit and polish to wipe out the few battle scars it has picked up. But all in all, I think I've drawn the short straw with this one.

How much longer will I keep her? Your guess is as good as mine, and I'm not exactly ready to put her out to pasture as yet. But for now, let me just enjoy the ride, and chase legal highs and sunsets aplenty in whatever time we have left together.

Until next time, amigos. Cheerio.