[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

This has to be the most entertaining review I've read on Team-BHP. You've summed up a lot of emotions that many of us are going through in your own inimitable style. Aankho mein khushi ke aansoo aa gaye

Car is looking magnificent in the photos. Superb decision. Superb car. Enjoy!

Thank you, thank you. I aim to please.

Originally Posted by keroo1099

You have a rare gift for penning your thoughts with humour that makes sense. Superbly written.

Thank you! Very pleased to hear I made sense. Always a bonus with me.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Amazing and quite hilarious, but a realistic take on a review! Some pics/videos would be helpful.

Thanks man! Will figure out how to share a video of it, but will share a few more pics of the setup.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

What an entertaining review after a long time. At some point I thought Bas kar pagle Rulayega kya. Keep updating in the same style as the review.

Arre don’t cry, Pushpa. I’ll stick around and keep updating things. For sure.

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Wonderful and interesting read after an afternoon meal.
Tugged my heart strings a bit as I was just thinking about upgrading this year.

Thanks man. Hope you find a fantastic steed worthy of your stable.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

I have to say, we have had very similar stories - I graduated from a Laura TDi, booked an Octy vRS until I spotted a pre-owned 328i done 20Kkm last year, which courtesy Akshay1234 is now at home, with some works under the hood (M Adaptive Suspension, intake, remap, and some cosmetic bits).

Very, very similar indeed, almost everything including our rides of choice. Even the fact that we switched from the devil’s juice to dino juice!

I’ve heard of your 3 with the adaptive suspension, it sounds fantastic. Would love to check it out soon-ish.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

I was pushing a friend to have a look at this exact 328i, but unfortunately it was sold very shortly after. Hoping to see it soon in real life, and compare notes on both our 3s - especially the exhaust and the door handles!

I know, I moved as quickly as I could on this since I really, really wanted to close this one. There was a blue 328i, roughly the same vintage, run less up for grabs in South Bombay at the time for a few lakhs more. But this was the one.

[Dr.AD]

First of all, congratulations on your beautiful car. Red 328i is one of the best looking cars on Indian roads. And it is a rare combination (in the red color). You are very lucky to have found one. Congratulations once again!

And what an awesome write-up! This is one of the best reviews I have read. Very entertaining and yet very insightful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. You have a great writing style. And what amazing pictures! The photos here are the great examples of best angles to photograph the 3-series.

In fact, you are driving my dream car. See here, this is my screensaver. Same car, same color, in the same alloy wheel design too.




Last year, I too was on a lookout for a pre-owned 3-series, and would have loved to have a 328i. However, I wanted cars within warranty and BSI, and with that constraint added, I did not find even a single 328i in the market. Finally settled on a 320d - but it is still a Red 3-series with the same black sports interiors with those lovely sports seats - and I do share your joy to a large extent!

You are spot on with your observations about most things in the F30 3-series. Regarding the suspensions, thankfully the suspensions were improved in the LCI and a lot of floatiness that you mentioned is gone in the post-LCI 3-series.

My apologies but but could not resist sharing a couple of pictures of my Red 3-series here:


She looks beautiful even when dirty:


Congratulations once again and wish you many happy miles!

[BLACKRiVAL]

Congratulations man. The 328i is one hell of a car. Had driven one during my search for a used one last year. Thoroughly enjoyed the review. Your writing style is on another level.

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

What an awesome write-up! This is one of the best reviews I have read. Very entertaining and yet very insightful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Thank you saar. Glad to have hit the spot.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Last year, I too was on a lookout for a pre-owned 3-series, and would have loved to have a 328i. However, I wanted cars within warranty and BSI, and with that constraint added, I did not find even a single 328i in the market.

Amazingly, a friend of mine picked up a red 328i 2 months before me. Despite being a 2013 car, it still has a few years worth of BSI left on it. Lucky guy!

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

You are spot on with your observations about most things in the F30 3-series. Regarding the suspensions, thankfully the suspensions were improved in the LCI and a lot of floatiness that you mentioned is gone in the post-LCI 3-series.

Yes, so I hear. Glad they sorted it out.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

My apologies but but could not resist sharing a couple of pictures of my Red 3-series here

No apologies needed. The world needs more red BMW's!

Originally Posted by BLACKRiVAL

Congratulations man. The 328i is one hell of a car. Had driven one during my search for a used one last year. Thoroughly enjoyed the review. Your writing style is on another level.

You're too kind. Muchas gracias.

[suhaas307]

What a fantastic report on a great little car! Thoroughly entertaining and a joy to read!

The 328i was launched at a time when the only other remotely affordable petrol car available from the BMW stable was the Z4. Everything else was north of 1 CR, and the fact that BMW made it available in limited numbers meant that it was that much more special.

The colour too is spot on! How you managed to find such a clean example with so few kilometers on the clock is beyond me! You've struck gold, as far as I and most other petrol heads here are concerned!

A video of the exhaust note would be nice!

Looking forward to the update on the Bilstein installation.

Enjoy in good health, and do keep this thread alive with periodic updates!

[headbanger]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

One need not extol the virtues of the 530d around these parts, for it as close to perfection as it comes to balancing the needs of daily driving with that of an enthusiast. If I did have to go with a car that is powered by devil's juice, why not do it right? And being wrong never felt more right than behind the wheel of a 530d. Like a heady, intoxicating woman, it has you wrapped around its (non-existent) spare wheel before you know it. Timeless elegance meets sheer brute force in this car that packs more than enough muscle for most men, and it reeks beauty inside and out in that subtle, understated Germanic way that I find so alluring. This is the Teutonic titan most will aspire to, the most sensible laugh-a-minute ride your money can buy.

Finished reading in one go - quite an achievement for me in my own procrastinated world of khyaali pulao.
Still not able to figure out whether your red hawwt chic has more flair than your charismatic penning of so vivid emotions. As someone rightly said, bas kar yaar, rulayega kya!!!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

What a fantastic report on a great little car! Thoroughly entertaining and a joy to read!

Thanks man, glad to hear you had a fun time poring over it!

Originally Posted by suhaas307

How you managed to find such a clean example with so few kilometers on the clock is beyond me! You've struck gold, as far as I and most other petrol heads here are concerned!

It's quite amazing really. My friend and I were both looking for 328i's, and we went to see one at Infinity Worli. It was a rattlesnake, and just so poorly maintained. Really bummed me out. But then he found one 2-3 months before me, and this popped up out of nowhere, and the rest is history. Really quite incredible that such a clean example landed in my lap when I wasn't even looking.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

A video of the exhaust note would be nice!
Looking forward to the update on the Bilstein installation.

I agree, will put up that too. I'm just figuring out how to do it right since I don't want to record it on mobile, even if in 4K, since it simply wouldn't capture the audio correctly. I'll figure this out and put it up soon, promise. The Bilstein's have arrived, just need to go get it installed soon-ish. Can't wait to slap them on.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Enjoy in good health, and do keep this thread alive with periodic updates!

Rest assured I will. There's too much to write about, with the cosmetic and mechanical mods I have in mind.

Originally Posted by headbanger

Still not able to figure out whether your red hawwt chic has more flair than your charismatic penning of so vivid emotions. As someone rightly said, bas kar yaar, rulayega kya!!!

Thank you saar, much appreciated. Always fun to pour a bit of myself into my writing, and even better when it resonates with those reading it.

[Rajeevraj]

Lovely review. Thanks for sharing. Reading the review was like gently floating down a river of thoughts. Very well written. The car and the pictures complemented the flow of the review so well.

Seems to be an immaculate buy. Congratulations and wish you all the very best.

[KungFuPanda]

Lovely review, and a thoroughly entertaining writing style. The fantastic photos are totally drool worthy, and I am sure I will remember the BMW ad for a long time , and hopefully use it in a few years time!!!

[anshumandun]

Congrats buddy! What a car and what a review! I had to look up some words in dictionary though

I've noticed on tbhp reviews that most of the people who upgrade to BMWs used to drive Jetta. Maybe in one of the VAG meetings, the Audi guys told VW to stop selling Jetta in India so that they could compete better with BMW

[9thsphinx]

Quite an imaginative mind you have there! Those analogies you've drawn all throughout that review are so vivid, yet very relatable.

What a brilliant piece of machinery and a thoroughly enjoyable review. Rating this thread five deserving stars

God speed.

[Akhileshmdp]

Congratulations on getting the beauty in red, but more than the car I loved the way you write iliketurtles, very gripping and lucid......happy miles!!

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

...For the goldfish among us that want the super-short version, here's the bottomline.

What is?: Is car
Is new?: Nope
But why?: Because
Kitni chali thi?: Wonly 18,000 KMS
Sacchi?: Yes. God promise
Kitna deti hai?: Bhaag yaha se

.....

WOW!! Now that's a review written by a human being with emotions, with a heart, with a personal touch and not by a robot tasked to write a user manual of a car!

Loved reading every word and connected with your emotions during this buying & ownership journey. The car, the color, the pictures are all just perfect and your writing style makes it a refreshing read.

Enjoy the car and drive safe!

PS: You have got me thinking on my next car! Need to search the classifieds for 328/330 as keywords

[GTO]

Amazing car, amazing colour, but the most amazing is your writing style! Congrats on the red beast. Enjoy that lovely petrol engine + the supremely talented ZF 8-speed. They'll keep you smiling for years to come.

I upgraded from a Civic to a pre-worshipped German, you did from a Jetta and so did many others (including Kurla West's Kanye West ). This trend will only expand among BHPians because of the vast choice in the pre-owned market & very tempting prices.

If you don't mind sharing, how much did you pick her up for? Hope you join us at one of our Sunny lunch meets. Would love to see it in person.

This thread is on our homepage & I must say, the car is making our homepage look better .

[artemis_fowl]

What a write up! I thoroughly enjoyed it. You, sir, do have a penchant for writing. Those photos are delicious for sure! If you don’t mind, can you share the price?
The 3 series is possibly the only true upgrade from the Jettas and Lauras of the world (unless you significantly stretch your budget, of course. Just my thoughts.)
You have just got me searching for pre-worshipped beauties and looks like luck is on my side! Of course, I may just be making some khayali pulao!