[Maverift]

Originally Posted by German_clan

... to and fro tickets from chennai to portblair, food, hotel stay for a day and other travel charges.

Do you know if it was the same service person who came both the times? There must be a queue amongst them to get this assignment which comes with so many perks

[German_clan]

Originally Posted by Maverift

Do you know if it was the same service person who came both the times? There must be a queue amongst them to get this assignment which comes with so many perks

Hahaha. No but both of them were the least qualified as bmw wants the more qualified ones at the shop to service more cars per day.

[McLaren Rulez]

Do all luxury car brands charge this kind of price for servicing? It's insane that they expect the customer to pay for flights, meals and hotels for the service engineer.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Congrats on the car! The ownership report turned out to be a lovely Saturday morning read.

I'm not very surprised by the ownership costs. However - it may be better to forget the warranty now and maintain the car on your own if you are able to find competent mechanicals locally.

How about the general car scene in Andaman Nicobar islands? Do you see other such unique vehicles around, and any garages specially on these vehicles?

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by German_clan

Now that the 2 year warranty is over. The spare parts will be sourced from outside

I will suggest you to extend warranty. It’s very cheap for Mini. 2 years costs around Rs 56000 and due to the lockdown BMW has extended validity.

In case you find service expensive, ask any dealer to ship you the spares required for service. By keeping those receipts, you can claim warranty benefits in case something goes wrong bad.

Another question, don’t they offer RSA at your place? Like the battery incident, BMW should have got the car lifted back in case they were not ready to make exception?

[German_clan]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Do all luxury car brands charge this kind of price for servicing? It's insane that they expect the customer to pay for flights, meals and hotels for the service engineer.

The luxury brands basically make profits relying on service rather than selling their cars. The mini i bought had an invoice of 34 lakhs so the company only made around 2 lakhs on the sale. Naming one such instance navneet motors had quoted around 2 lakhs to fix an engine oil leak on my bmw 530d, took it to a reliable mechanic got the oil cooler gasket replaced for 3.5k and the problem was fixed.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

How about the general car scene in Andaman Nicobar islands? Do you see other such unique vehicles around, and any garages specially on these vehicles?

The general car scene in portblair is not as good compared to mainland mainly because their are no showrooms or service centres of the german trio.There isnt even a VW or skoda showroom. Still there are atleast 4-5 Mercedes including 2 gls400 owned by the owner of sea shells hotel. My uncle(dad’s brother) has a amazing collection though with 2 classic e250 mercedes, willys jeep 1969, bmw 320d(f10) and a bmw e34 m525i(white on red with a manual gearbox) (now sold - he sold it for peanuts at a mere 3 lakhs because he wasn’t able to source parts for her; still regrets selling that beauty). Portblair also has a red mustang.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I will suggest you to extend warranty. It’s very cheap for Mini. 2 years costs around Rs 56000 and due to the lockdown BMW has extended validity.
Another question, don’t they offer RSA at your place? Like the battery incident, BMW should have got the car lifted back in case they were not ready to make exception?

The warranty got over in may 2019 and we do not plan to extend it as the car will be situated in portblair for a long time where bmw has no support mechanism what so ever.
I have been maintaining the 530d by sourcing the spares from delhi which also seems to be the way to go for the mini as they cost 1/3 of what bmw charges and are oem.

[Aditya]

Congratulations on the car. As you said, the Mini is one of the best cars in the world when you consider the fun-to-drive factor. It's fairly small and quick. From the images you have posted, Port Blair looks clean, sunny and picturesque - the right place to drive a convertible.

Talking about convertibles, you rightly said, open top motoring needs to be experienced. I have driven quite a few open top cars and I definitely agree with you. The most fun I've had was probably in a BMW Z4. It was nowhere close to being the most powerful cars I had driven, but it was equally entertaining.

Coming back to your Mini, the service and spare part costs are certainly not "mini". In fact it's shocking when you consider the original car's humble background.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by German_clan

The warranty got over in may 2019 and we do not plan to extend it as the car will be situated in portblair for a long time where bmw has no support mechanism what so ever.
I have been maintaining the 530d by sourcing the spares from delhi which also seems to be the way to go for the mini as they cost 1/3 of what bmw charges and are oem.

Standard warranty on BMW/ Mini is 2 Years. If you bought it new in May 2018, it will be valid until May 2020.

I will be keen to know which BMW genuine parts costs 1/3rd of Dealership! Can you share any examples? I assume, either local dealer is royally taking you for an advantage ( very less chances as prices are controlled by BMW) or you are getting Fake products. There is a slight difference on the overseas costs but if we factor customs and GST, difference is negligible so 33% costs sounds too good to be true. Anyway, you are the best judge for your car

[German_clan]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I will be keen to know which BMW genuine parts costs 1/3rd of Dealership! Can you share any examples?

I have sourced quite a few parts for my bmw from a shop in palika bhavan - sood auto. He deals in all spare parts of premium cars ranging from Mercedes to bentleys and rolls royce. Following are the 2 examples:

1. Someone mischievously broke the rear right tail lamp of my 530d. Bmw navneet motors quoted 28k for 1 rear tail lamp. oem manufacturer for bmw and most of the german cars is hella. Hence called the hella dealer who quoted a price of 14k. Called sood auto who quoted a price of 10k (new). He could give it for lesser than what the hella dealer quoted as they smudge the hella logo while importing hence reducing the taxes. The same happened with the mini when an ignorant sumo driver bumped into the mini the lights weren’t available outside hence had to buy a pair of new england flag lights from navneet motors for 42k.
2. My bmw completed 1 lakh kms and had a transmission oil leak and was also due for transmission service. Bmw navneet motors quoted 5k/liter for zf8hp transmission and 27k for the oil sump which is also the filter. Zf has a factory in pune hence the transmission fluid has an mrp of 1.8k/liter and the oil sump for 7k. Bmw uses appx 8-9 litres of the transmission fluid. Hence 45k-16.2k=28.8k saved in transmission fluid and 27k-7k=20k saved in oil sump adding to a total savings of 48.8k. Took the car to Etuners motorsport who charged 3.5k labour sealed the gasket where the leak was and serviced the transmission. I ended up saving appx 70-80k. So all you need is to research thoroughly before buying the parts directly from bmw.

Best regards,
German_clan

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by German_clan

. He could give it for lesser than what the hella dealer quoted as they smudge the hella logo while importing hence reducing the taxes.

We are into imports of Industrial products. Many of our customers give us such examples. I won't be surprised if its a good quality lookalike. This part of being cosmetic won't hurt, but for some other critical components, I will not suggest you to take this risk.

Bmw navneet motors quoted 5k/liter for zf8hp transmission

Yes, it costs around 5600 per ltr but I am not sure if ZF gives the same oil. They have different variants based on the torque/ gearbox.

Took the car to Etuners motorsport who charged 3.5k labour sealed the gasket where the leak was and serviced the transmission.

BMW dealerships won't do a component level repairs for many parts. They could have changed the seal, but maybe they thought it appropriate to change the sump & oil as some contaminants might have gone inside from the leak. That's a risk you have taken and maybe Etuners have checked the condition in more details. So after warranty, such outside garages may be saviours.

anyway, enjoy your car.

[German_clan]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I won't be surprised if its a good quality lookalike. T
Yes, it costs around 5600 per ltr but I am not sure if ZF gives the same oil. They have different variants based on the torque/ gearbox.

Zf is the manufacturer of most of the automatics in jaguars, Bmw’s and dodge.
Hence the parts are the same ones used by bmw.

I can name one more instance when my 7 year old exide agm battery needed replacement. Bmw quoted around 48k for the battery. I sourced a varta agm battery for 20k from swastik fabs banglore(distributor of varta batteries); also Bmw’s and Audi’s these days come with varta agm’s.

Best regards,
German_clan

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by German_clan

Zf is the manufacturer of most of the automatics in jaguars, Bmw’s and dodge.
Hence the parts are the same ones used by bmw.

BMW has different oils depending on the Gearbox. I doubt if ZF makes this oil, maybe they just package. Perhaps Mobil or Shell are the OEM. There are some finer details, don't know if these make a difference or not, as an example, regular engine oil that BMW uses costs around Rs 600-800 Per Ltr. but the same grade, packed in 1 Ltr cans they use on M cars costs Rs 1650 per ltr.

Bmw quoted around 48k for the battery. I sourced a varta agm battery for 20k from swastik fabs banglore(distributor of varta batteries);

Yes, BMW OEM batteries are expensive even when compared with the OEM. But this is true with other manufacturers too, not to this extent though. The difference in your case seems to be due to the labour charges that BMW adds for reprogramming. This is true world over in case of BMW/ Audi etc.

[arindambasu13]

Andaman is an absolutely stunning place (have been there twice and plan to go several times more) and the Mini Cooper is exactly the right car for that kind of place. Great buy!

That said, I must admire your nerves of steel to maintain a car like the Cooper in a place like Andaman where service support seems to be next to non existent. But other than this, I am sure the ownership of the Cooper in a place with such lovely roads must be a rewarding experience.

[Slickshift99]

Whoa, that's a sweet sweet ride! Congratulations on your new car, hope you have a great time with her ahead. The 1 lakh service and a 45k battery is a shocker with the mechanic having to cone down specially for the Cooper.
I guess I have seen your car near Sector-9 Rohini. Permanent parking for luxury cars at unity one has become a common thing now-a-days owing to the security it offers I guess (or may not) . I have seen teenagers and young lads removing car covers just to click a picture . Cooper S definitely is a car for the enthusiast but the A.S.S. leaves a lot to be desired.

[German_clan]

Originally Posted by Slickshift99

I guess i have seen your car near sector-9 rohini

You are right, I used to live in Vasudha Apartments which was right opposite to the Indian oil petrol pump.


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