[ajmat]

I'm not one to name my cars but this one came with a name so in deference to the past owner (lurking Bhp'ian) who name their cars. I decided to let it stick. More on this later! As most BHP'ians know, there are two most challenging things facing a typical BHP'ian - The first is avoiding typo's and the second - moving on from a Jetta!

My Jetta turned 8 years old last year. It has been utterly reliable although the bills had been increasing. Having gone through a difficult career phase and my cashflow improved tremendously, it was time for a well earned treat! My criteria was simple:

• European
• Petrol
• Able to handle 4 in comfort,
• Ideally pre-owned.

I had around 35 big ones burning and could stretch if I wanted to. Ideally, I wanted to avoid EMI's.

My ideal car would be this:

BMW 330i

But it was too expensive and am notorious with tyres. Somewhere during my motoring evolution - I have ruined the tyres of:

Honda City - cut one, burnt one
Range Rover - sharp stone underwater
Outlander Sport - sharp ridge while offroading
Volvo S90 - pothole outside Jodhpur
Mercedes E350D - sharp stone embedded in a road
Skoda Kodiaq - 2 down when I got run off road in Spiti (so did the car behind me!)
Mini Cooper S - hidden pothole near Sakleshpur

So tyre durability is something that sits in the back of my head. So the hunt started. I would not dismiss a 330i and it still remains on my radar but used ones were rare and expensive.

Best way to meet my needs was to do a Graaja!

BMW 330i GT


Yes it is still in the classifieds - Spoke to the owner. KA car but located and serviced in Kochi. It was a 2017 car regd only in 2019 as the current owner's former business partner (sounds complicated!) could afford the car but not the tax (sounds even more complicated ) and never used it until upcoming BS norms forced it to be registered. I also spoke to Graaja and Robi about this.

I flew out to Kochi. Car was in good shape but tyres were worn. I made an opening bid of Rs 34L. The owner wanted Rs 39L. Tried to negotiate but was rudely ghosted. No messages answered in relation to seeking a counter offer. I do believe that there is an issue with BMW Finance - the loan is cleared but there are some penalties outstanding for missing some payments. Another BHP'ian offered Rs 39L but also got ghosted. Ditto another person.

With current inflated prices, he might get his target price but its complicated !

Jaguar XE


Never buy this new

I spotted this preowned car on OLX but got no response. Why? It had been sold on to JLR Shakti and offered as a "Certified" car. Sounded interesting!

I rang ahead and trekked to Whitefield. One customer was looking at it when I arrived and was supposed to return for a TD later in the afternoon. I spent a good hour looking at it.

Alarm Bell 1 - It was clean and waxed but swirl marks etc. meant that presentation was not thorough.
Alarm Bell 2- The sunroof channels were filthy, later found that the sunshade kept getting stuck.

I asked for a test drive, which meant moving it out of the showroom. I gladly took up their kind offer of a latte and sat down on a lounger, watching an F Pace being moved out and ignored to get the XE out.

As I sat down sitting down, the something hit me more than the caffeine hit when I spotted bits dangling at the bottom of the XE.

Alarm Bell 3 Once the car was moved outside, I crawled under and noticed the plastic cladding underneath holding with a bit of "hope". The shield which protected the catalytic convertor was crumpled. My mind had sort of been made up! Fellow Mod Vid then arrived and we both drove the car. It was a bit old fashioned inside, not an issue if it drove and steered well but this just did not move me. Engine note was flat and boring, power delivery was so-so. The Jetta felt better. Mind you, the tank was empty and the car was running on fumes. I just don't understand why dealers do not present a car properly. As we returned another party came to see the car and dealer pressured want me to make an offer. I said wait till 4 PM.

One point to note is the "Certified" only meant a clean car and some cash for the dealer. There was no warranty etc. Am sure if I put down a deposit and told them to sort things out, I would still be waiting. Viddy felt that I needed to experience something! He pushed me into his 328i, and snatched the keys of my Jetta and went for a spin. It was a big reveal, in how it steered and delivered power. It comes together seamlessly. Heck, even my Jetta felt better than the XE. Mind you, I do think the new XF handles a lot better than the XE.

I never bothered to inform the sales guy at 4 PM that I had decided no - Instead, I informed him straight away!

So - back to the drawing board! I still had 35L to put down and a wage hike, let's talk new cars and possibly dreaded EMI's- so the next Saturday, I spent an afternoon as follows at the showrooms in my area:

BMW - 330i's were double my budget. The Li looked too porky for me. The 5's outside my league also the X3. The X1 is the curd rice of BMW's - nourishing but ultimately bland and there was the 220i GC which was Rs 55L. It looked interesting so I drove it. It was quite nice but not a real BMW (Viddy- your 328i spoilt me!). Rear space lacked room for any hanky panky. The boot is a pill box.

It was like a G string - nice, entertaining but does not cover everything.

Skoda - Drove around the corner and looked at the Kushaq and Octavia - well below my pay grade - I did like it but not the plastics. From what I later heard about the niggles, I dodged a bullet.

I then killied time until the demo Octavia returned. Took it out -it was very linear in delivery. Interiors looked like a mortuary - all white. Screens look nice in pics but felt a little tacked on in reality. The gear selector felt a bit tacky. The slot with a selector button was cold and tacky. No excitement there! It might have been a reasonable buy but I would always be looking for more! I felt I had driven an Elantra - it felt just like that - lots of gizmos but no soul.

If Kodiaq petrols were in ready supply, I might have signed up. Superbs were too big and the resale was questionable.

Mercedes - popped over to Sundaram - Prices were eye-popping - C's were not bad but so common. My poor wallet could barely extend to testing an A class. Believe me - it was not bad. Handling was good, the engine was great in town but I felt it would be breathless on the highway. It was nice but not worth Rs 56 L. The diesel would be a better bet but BS6 would not work with my type of usage. It also looks very anonymous. In darker colours, it looked like a stretched Verna in dark colours. The diesel is a better bet but BSVI DPF issues might surface for my usage. I somehow felt the A35 was better value!!!!

A futile though interesting afternoon!

I now considered crossing over the thick black line to look at diesels also!

I then spotted a BMW 530d Msport at a dealer - 2014 - two owner - 45000km. It was in great condition. All it needed was some paint restoration. It drove well but I felt is was a little too big and the ride was too choppy. The two owner factor worked against it so I dropped that idea.



So then I thought it best to refurb the Jetta and save for an M340i but the itch was there. I even started getting stuff done like a new windscreen, redoing the wheels etc but I did notice that parts were getting difficult to source (body/trim) so it was best to let it go eventually.

Audi A4

This was not on my list due to the price. After Manson's deal, I decided to take a look. Audi were most obliging and gave me a test drive on the spot. In town, it was very nice and flawless but Rs 60L and no Manson type deals got me thinking. Used A4 diesels were available around the Rs 40L range.

Later on in Belgaum, I took Manson's car and celebrated the end of its run-in period and went flat out with it. It understeered on the limit big time and was a little bouncy at speed.

Then this 320d came up.



I happened to know the owner but it was all but an auction. I, again, pulled the long suffering Viddy out into seeing this. Car was in excellent condition but tyre and suspension might need work. Owner had offers of Rs15L. I offered Rs 16L which was Rs 1 L more that the market value However, the beige interior and outmoded Bluetooth interoperability issues did stick out in my mind. Unlike sticky relationships, I still had the option to pull out as there was no mutual commitment.

There was a similar two owner car at Sundram Motors in an average condition going for Rs 14.25L - it later went off for Rs 12.5L. There was a message there! Owner took his time in responding (The sale terms were - any offer less than 18 -wait till Dec, any offer at 18L - immediate delivery!) but someone in his company gave him Rs 18L - one sucker born every minute and this one sucker was saved. I should have considered the Sundaram car and put money in it.

And so

During this intervening period, Lucy appeared in TeamBHP classifieds. I was in the middle of an audit. Got 5 missed calls from Viddy - during a tense break, I returned his call and he said = "Since you are considering diesels, look at this !"

Audi Q3 - silver - full PPF. -36K - 2014 - single owner. Noticed that pics were taken in the Bangalore Club and the owner was a lawyer. Spoke to her husband (fellow bhp'ian) who was handling the sale and we met on a Saturday in the Club. My impression about Q3's were that they were more for yummy mummy's so I did not expect much.

My first sight of her


Lucy was well presented - new battery, immaculate. Had some paintwork due to minor scratches. She did need new tyres (was still on original rubber). I took her for a drive. She drove very well. Capable of more power no doubt, her steering was precise but had a little less feel. Returned to the Club and decided to take it further. My best transactions are where you form a good relationship and transparency with the other party. It also helped that I discovered that my cousin and another aunt were good friends with them. So I made an offer. 24 hours later, they made a reasonable counteroffer and the deal was struck on a Monday and I made a downpayment. By Thurs, all monies were transferred and we met at the club on a Saturday to complete the paperwork.

Why was she called Lucy?- (I only discovered the name as they file her documents accordingly) - they are music fans and named after Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

What did it for me?

• The black interiors
  
  
• Excellent Condition
  
  
• The wife loves Audis,
• My press-on driving style on bad roads
• Tough components,
• Very little negative feedback

What was the Jetta like after driving this?

The Audi is much more refined but the Jetta is much more tactile. The steering has more feel and handling has more verve. I miss that

Isnt this just another VW?

The quality is at another level. It is pure Golf underneath but the interiors, the sound system, the refinement, switchgear are at another level.

I still had the Jetta so I alternated between the two. First thing was to get the transfer initiated, the AASI took their own time. Jetta sold a month later, but both RC's came at the same time! Agents do speed things up.

Now mine!!!!

[ajmat]

Updating after 9 months. Rains and work pressure means that I have not been able to take "Insta" style pics

My initial plan was to use it and change the tyres after a couple of months. However, with my notorious way with tyres, this happened thanks to SMART city work, a week after I took delivery.



When changing the wheel, I realised the spare and the jack were all unused. Car comes complete with wheel chocks. Rang Madhu's who had the equivalent Michelins in stock - it was a no brainer.



Slapped the Michelins on and what was a nice car become a near brilliant car. The steering was more precise. Grip and traction is secure and the slight rumble has disappeared. It hides speeds quite well. When fetching my squeamish Mother in Law from the airport, she like the Q3, she had no idea about the speeds. It hides it well.

So what has it been like to use in real life?

I am coming from a Jetta, I also drive a Polo. I also get to use a Mini Cooper and have been recently flirting with exotics. The lag was something which I needed to overcome, but the Q3 is a doddle in town and its is great in point and squirt traffic. It is very easy to place and park due to its size. The ground clearance means, one can park anywhere. Additionally, the relative higher profile tyres means one does not have to think twice about rough roads.

I actually find it very relaxing to drive. I was never hot on automatic boxes but now I am a convert! The Mini Cooper feels very frantic after the Audi. Lucy fits in very well in our lives . The only gripe is the turning circle is not so great due to the 4wd mechanicals.

Why do you term it as Stolen?

My neighbour calls it the stolen car - getting a pristine example with 35000km on the clock for that price.

What have I done to it?

I remapped it! Fellow Mod Suhaas persuaded me to remap it to 225bhp. It sounded rorty and initially put out a hell of a lot of smoke which reduced after 50km. The mid-range wallop was pretty impressive but the lag was initially there.

A Post tune pose with the slowest tuned Skoda in town.


However, the tuner felt the EGR needed a clean out, which he did a few months later and there was enough carbon to coat a road. The Q3 lost its lag and became much more progressive in power delivery.

Beyond that , there has been nothing else except for a dash cam added.

What is like on a long journey?

Have only taken it to Ooty but it kept up with the other cars well. Bandipur was tackled easily with its speedbumps. The Q7 was like a whale up the Segur ghats while Lucy was like a mountain goat! The return trip was via Salem and it kept up with the Q8 with no problem.





Your office is 2 km away - do you actually use it?

I use it mainly for airport drops and for some evening events. The airport runs are good fun, the acceleration, the grip and midrange acceleration make it pretty good fun.

[ajmat]

Lets do a quick walkaround!!

Side profile is a bit like a potato!



The deep grill makes a little in your face. Headlights are pretty good. Much better than the Jetta. Front sensors help in parking



Wheel design is a little boring but strong and easy to clean, the later models with the black spokes look a lot better.



Behind the wheel, very simple, very clear



The MMI in its various modes - simple, clear, knobs and buttons, no complicated screens





No navigation - not to worry, stick the phone in the windscreen







Centre control - armrest houses a nice big bin. The power socket is a little in the way.



The gear selector nicely placed. I like the heater controls - actually selectors but they have a nice heft to it. AC is pretty effective coming from the Jetta, the dual climate zone facility has saved my marriage



Despite small footprint, plenty of space for the driver


The only place it loses out over the Jetta is the rear seat. The Jetta rear seat was the one of best this side of the Mercedes V213. Not taken anyone on a long journey to elicit a comment so far in the case of the Q3



Passenger is treated with equality - also gets electric seats



Instruments are clear although a little busy



The only shortcoming is that Lucy's pert little bum means very little boot space

Moving house - meant a tight slam

Moving my daughter to another town! Just about managed


The glovebox size matches the boot!!

[ajmat]

5000 km later what's gone wrong?

Nothing really. I got it serviced by Audi. I was most impressed with their service. No messing around They were very systematic and meticulous in checking it in and assessing the car to a fine detail. I paid around Rs 32000 for the service which was a little higher that the Jetta average service. The car was ready when I went to collect it.

(It also helps that the lack of vehicles sold over the past couple of years make it less crowded!)

I might have considered an FNG but the standards at Audi were impressive. Only issue - they remapped the engine back to standard!!! It needed a remap again. Next time must warn then not to touch the engine map.

The latest issue has been that the passenger door does not lock - a wear and tear item! It is an issue but Audi have a solution, in the door jamb, is a rubber plug, remove it and there is system to disable the door handle. I was about to get it sorted but recent floods means workshops are currently drowning in pending insurance claims so it will have to wait.

So, overall, Lucy the Q3 was not what I set out to buy with my heart but she fits in really well. Yes, a straight six BMW or an AMG Merc is what I lust for. I would like something tactile. However, the Q3 serves my purpose very well. Also I saved almost Rs 20L of my original budget. My wife has snatched that for the house renovation!!!!

Next, I think the X3M sounds quite appealing.


Just realised this is the only Q3 review out here.

Happy reading!

[ajmat]

Moving out to Initial Ownership thread!

[ashis89]

Congratulations on your new acquisition! Your thread title got me for a moment until I read till the end. Hope it stands by you at all times!


OT: Reading about a "stolen" Q3, I was reminded of a blue Q3 I saw the other day. Was being pulled by a humble i10 on the Bellandur road. As I looked from the rooftop, I saw water on the passenger floor side and realised why the Hyundai was calling the shots on a rainy day. Unfortunate but the car moves on.

[Cresterk]

Congrats on the car! I'm happy to see someone actually save money and still get a car they can enjoy in the current market conditions.

Originally Posted by ajmat

Yes it is still in the classifieds - Spoke to the owner. KA car but located and serviced in Kochi. It was a 2017 car regd only in 2019 as current owner's former business partner (sounds complicated!) could afford the car but not the tax (sounds even more complicated ) and never used it until upcoming BS norms forced it to be registered. I also spoke to Graaja and Robi about this

I flew out to Kochi. Car was in good shape but tyres were worn. I made an opening bid of Rs 34L . The owner wanted Rs 39L. Tried to negotiate but was rudely ghosted. No messages answered in relation to seeking a counter offer. I do believe that there is an issue with BMW Finance - the loan is cleared but there are some penalties outstanding for missing some payments. Another BHP'ian offered Rs 39L but also got ghosted. Ditto another person.

Could they actually have been driven or used without paying the taxes? You can't even take insurance for it without registration. I think it might have been a test drive or media car. They are sold off after a year and the RC still shows them as first owner cars but with a large gap between manufacture year and registration. You might know more about this than me though so feel free to correct me

It's good that you stayed away from this. The current luxury car market in Kerala is in a very weird place. On one hand you have barely anyone actually wanting to sell their cars. On the other hand you have very rich NRIs and businessmen who need cars to show off when they are back home for some event, mostly their children's weddings. New cars have long waiting lists and these people are barely here in country for long so they are willing to pay any amount of money in order to get a car immediately, use it to show off at the wedding and then get rid of it perhaps immediately afterward or just let it lie around till they visit again. They don't care much about the kms or number of owners, they just want something that looks new and sparkly and are willing to pay immediately and the ones who can't afford that kind of cash are willing to sign up for terrible loans in order to 'keep up with the Joneses'. This is fueled by a rising amount of jobless 'entrepreneurs' and 'dealers' who are basically just middlemen who try to facilitate these deals by tracking down random owners of good cars and asking them at what price they are willing to let go of it. Many of these cars end up changing multiple owners without actually undergoing RC transfers and that "single" owner car might actually be on its 4th owner. Nowadays, they are even resorting to bringing in other state vehicles due to how bad the shortage is compared to the demand.

[4WheelPilot]

Good to find a Q3 TDI review here. I also drive a 2013 Q3 2.0 TDI. For its age, the car has aged well. Engine packs a punch but in the last service, anti roll bar and bush were changed. Suspension is fine and another issue that is seen in Q3 of similar age(also A4) is sagging roof liner. I should be done with the servicing soon and have a 1500+ kms trip planned in Q3 in a few weeks. Happy motoring!

[charanreddy]

I was glued from the start to end to feed my delusions of owning a practical car from the big-3, with out having to seriously jeopardise my financial health.

I am assuming this cost you any where between 15 and 20 lakhs, which is not too bad considering the new cars prices these days. In your opinion, can a car like this serve as your daily driver (50 kms a day in Bangalore traffic) ?

[sunikkat]

Such a nice car. Being from Bangalore, I am generally not in favour of used cars. But your case indeed gives me some confidence.
What was the stock power output of this gen of Q3 - was it 188bhp /370 nm? And what is the remapped figures? You mentioned 225bhp, how about torque?

[Turbohead]

If not for that title, I would've never bothered reading a Q3 ownership review. After all, it's a car that doesn't excite me. But looks like the missing piece of the puzzle in a Q3 was the remap!

Congrats on the steal! Hope it continues to taste sweet, If you know what I mean!

[hondafanboy]

Just realised this is the only Q3 review out here

Thank you for sharing it. There is not much genuine and credible information on ownership experience for some desirable cars. So your's and GTOs' 5 series Graaja's thread is a great example. Its even better when such information comes from the knowledgeable ones.

I wish Viddy had his own thread to share his ownership experience on Kodiaq.

[AZ911]

Congratulations on the acquisition. I owned one for close to 8 years and it is a very capable compact family crossover. Had clocked about 72k on it (slowed down post covid), mostly on outstation family trips. Never did it let us down in terms of comfort, power, or fun factor.

Unfortunately, due to the mindless NGT's 10/15 year rule implementation in NCR, had to let go of it with a heavy heart. It's a gem of a car. Have great fun and miles on it.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

Congrats on the car! I'm happy to see someone actually save money and still get a car they can enjoy in the current market conditions.


Could they actually have been driven or used without paying the taxes? You can't even take insurance for it without registration. I think it might have been a test drive or media car. They are sold off after a year and the RC still shows them as first owner cars but with a large gap between manufacture year and registration. You might know more about this than me though so feel free to correct me

It's good that you stayed away from this.

There were two identical cars bought by this person and his business partner, these cars were the last two left and purchased by Infinity Motors. One was registered but later sold on in order to get this one registered. It is registered to a now defunct semiconductor design company.

There is a complication with this.

Originally Posted by 4WheelPilot

I also drive a 2013 Q3 2.0 TDI. For its age, the car has aged well. Engine packs a punch but in the last service, anti roll bar and bush were changed.

Audi commented that this would be happening to me by the next service!

Originally Posted by charanreddy

I was glued from the start to end to feed my delusions of owning a practical car from the big-3, with out having to seriously jeopardise my financial health.

I am assuming this cost you any where between 15 and 20 lakhs, which is not too bad considering the new cars prices these days. In your opinion, can a car like this serve as your daily driver (50 kms a day in Bangalore traffic) ?

If it is a well maintained example, it can be used as a daily driver. My Jetta has been to Orissa at least twice under its new owner.

Originally Posted by sunikkat

Such a nice car. Being from Bangalore, I am generally not in favour of used cars. But your case indeed gives me some confidence.
What was the stock power output of this gen of Q3 - was it 188bhp /370 nm? And what is the remapped figures? You mentioned 225bhp, how about torque?

Stick to owners directly selling and are transparent,.
Torque is around 420 Nm

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

I wish Viddy had his own thread to share his ownership experience on Kodiaq.

Bit of a lazy whale to drive, unfortunately, it is only used to buy milk and ice cream - what a waste!

[Jaisalmeriya]

Congrats on the new drive! The title sure lured me in! What a no-nonsense style of writing the review!