[androdev]

Thanks for all the good wishes folks. Booking done and delivery date will depend on some paper work and payment logistics. Hope to get it early next week or on Easter. Took the 3yrs service package as well (2 lakhs) - I am a sucker for pre-paid schemes when it comes to these elephants.

Btw, I feel a bit awkward about the sensational thread title - if you read my earlier posts, I started off with an intention to buy something cheaper than 520D to replace Laura while 520D does the family duty, but then decided I will use 520D as the Laura replacement and buy E350 for the family. Unavailability of E350 with panoramic roof option lead to S350.

Originally Posted by jkdas

Was gonna check your thread and tell you to change title to E class instead of X1, lol.
Congrats!

What color?

I love black but didn't have choice as I was picking up a discounted stock. This is the "low point" of my purchase - hope the color grows on me. Any other color they have to order fresh - will lose discount as well as pay post budget price.

It is scary long - 5226mm (Fortuner is 4705mm)

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

All I can say is WOW!

But heck, ZNMD so might as well enjoy while life is going well!

All the best!

Thanks Shankar. I was all over the place and was closely following your Yeti thread as well.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Quite an upgrade. Congratulations!
But... I am not ruling out another twist in the story

Yeah, it is not over till it over. I paid advance for A4 and took it back due to poor customer service. Paid advance for E350 and took it back due to unavailability of my choice/spec (with Panoramic roof). Hope this one holds!

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Congratulations, hunting for an upgrade for Laura, and choosing S speaks a lot about quality of the Laura as you were finally satisfied only by S.

I always feared upgrading from Laura is going to be a torture - esp the L&K one. Laura was my trusted companion during many holiday drives. I don't trust 520D or this S350 like I trusted Laura.

Originally Posted by ashis89

Congrats androdev. I felt sad to read your Laura accident but now I feel something better was in store for you.It would be offending to call it better, its the best.

Looking forward to update from you.

That accident made me a sober driver. Before the accident BMW appealed to me, after that accident, it is the a Mercedes. The accident nonsense is still getting dragged - third party claim and i have no clue if the workshop that bought my car as-is has sold it or not, etc. Accidents are real nightmares!

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Oh man.. 2 months of search for a Laura replacement and you have reached an S-Class! Read the entire thread and guess what, it sounds a lot of fun. I wish I had that kind of money ! Congratulations on the S, it is a special car and a huge one at that!

Thanks, let us just say I had budget only for E and I mortgaged my future for an S. Hope that is acceptable on this forum :-)

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

The new title of the thread really drew me here. A Skoda Laura to an S class! Incredible upgrade!

Cngrats and keep us posted!

Just to clarify, this S class is a slightly used model right? 8,000 kms and less than a year old?

This is a 'new' one (just old stock so a bit discounted). I have seen the used/demo models you are talking about - they were asking unreasonable price for them. The car didn't feel new, you don't get 3rs warranty, etc.

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

One of a kind upgrade. Period!.

Androdev this is not ballistic, this is nuclear. I had initially read your thread and was looking forward to it but never expected this. Have read threads of bhpians upgrading from D-segment to BMW E90 but ending up with BMW F10. But your upgrade is just awesome, who thought from a Laura to an S-Class.

Congrats! Which color is it and do put up the pictures & ownership review of it quickly. Waiting for it.

Thanks. Never really thought would end up in this situation. I wish I had got a darker color though instead of white.

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Holy smoke, that is one serious upgrade considering the X1 was the intended buy. Congrats on it though.

Am sure you will enjoy the car.

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren't you looking for a vehicle that had a bit of GC, which was why the X1 was considered.

Surprisingly S class has good ground clearance. I don't know how thats possible but it didn't hit the humps on test drive. 520D touches the same humps if driven at the same pace. I gave up GC criteria because I got over the 520D accident and I felt Sedans ofter much better refinement and S owns refinement.

Originally Posted by Ford5

Firstly congratulations androdev. The S is truly a special car. Secondly i'm feeling happy about the happiness surrounding your S class purchase. God bless your new acquisition from bad roads. Congrats again!

Thank you sir! S is really special and I am happy to go broke. Hope to do a review thread after I get the delivery.

Mods, please don't close the thread till I actually take the delivery of the car. I have a history of not getting what I booked.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by androdev

Btw, I feel a bit awkward about the sensational thread title - if you read my earlier posts, I started off with an intention to buy something cheaper than 520D to replace Laura while 520D does the family duty, but then decided I will use 520D as the Laura replacement and buy E350 for the family. Unavailability of E350 with panoramic roof option lead to S350.

The transformation of your choice car is sensational, the thread title is an accurate reflection, I guess, you should just bask in the glory!

Originally Posted by androdev

It is scary long - 5226mm (Fortuner is 4705mm)
Attachment 909010
Attachment 909009

Now, that is the scary part, especially with parking and driving in tight spots.. How wide is the car btw? Is riding over bumps not a problem, with the titanic wheelbase?

Originally Posted by androdev

Thanks, let us just say I had budget only for E and I mortgaged my future for an S. Hope that is acceptable on this forum :-)

Oh yes, nothing like buying a car that stole your heart!
PS : I love white cars, and I never could buy a white car till 2 weeks back

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by androdev

Yeah, it is not over till it over. I paid advance for A4 and took it back due to poor customer service. Paid advance for E350 and took it back due to unavailability of my choice/spec (with Panoramic roof). Hope this one holds!

Thanks, let us just say I had budget only for E and I mortgaged my future for an S. Hope that is acceptable on this forum :-)

Surprisingly S class has good ground clearance. I don't know how thats possible but it didn't hit the humps on test drive. 520D touches the same humps if driven at the same pace. I gave up GC criteria because I got over the 520D accident and I felt Sedans ofter much better refinement and S owns refinement.

Thank you sir! S is really special and I am happy to go broke. Hope to do a review thread after I get the delivery.

Mods, please don't close the thread till I actually take the delivery of the car. I have a history of not getting what I booked.

I guess you have a reason for saying that it ain't over till the fat lady sings and the car is actually in your possession, but if you do change your mind on the S, consider the progression: Laura class competitor, X1, A4, E class and then S class. The only realistic next vehicle from here will have to be the Rolls Royce / Bentley / Maybach. Of course for that you may well have to mortgage your kids futures as well, but it would be so totally worth it

Never realised an S class had that good GC, but then I guess if it does, that solves your problems of a comfortable car that you can get across India in.

[jkdas]

Would be easier to maintain a white car and one that's this big.

Thanks for all the good wishes folks. Booking done and delivery date will depend on some paper work and payment logistics. Hope to get it early next week or on Easter. Took the 3yrs service package as well (2 lakhs) - I am a sucker for pre-paid schemes when it comes to these elephants.

Btw, I feel a bit awkward about the sensational thread title - if you read my earlier posts, I started off with an intention to buy something cheaper than 520D to replace Laura while 520D does the family duty, but then decided I will use 520D as the Laura replacement and buy E350 for the family. Unavailability of E350 with panoramic roof option lead to S350.

Thought Merc never gave service package. 2lac for this sounds great!

[cosmopolitan]

Wow congrats androdev for the new S350.

By the way did you take TD of Range rover evogue or Jag XF?

[ghostrider]

Good grief - from a Laura to an S-Class... I don't think anyone on this forum's ever taken a jump like this!!
Congratulations on the S... it is after all possibly one of the finest automobiles in the world... I hope you're starting an Initial Ownership Thread with lots of pics.

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by androdev

Laura was my trusted companion during many holiday drives. I don't trust 520D or this S350 like I trusted Laura.

Don't hear too many people saying that. When it works, it works like a dream though.

Congratulations on the S. It costs 1.12 Cr now? Wow. Do they increase the price by 3-4L every year?

[androdev]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Never realised an S class had that good GC, but then I guess if it does, that solves your problems of a comfortable car that you can get across India in.

Yeah, it has decent GC and I believe it has some fancy stuff that automatically raises the height if it senses the road is rough, etc. Not sure though.

Originally Posted by jkdas

Would be easier to maintain a white car and one that's this big.

Thought Merc never gave service package. 2lac for this sounds great!

They call it "star ease" I guess and it is available for 3yrs/60K kms. This stuff doesn't make it cheaper and there will be lot of small print - but given the price of the car, 2L seems reasonable. Yearly insurance of 3-4L (star protect similar to BMW secure) is actually much more than 3yrs service package.

Originally Posted by cosmopolitan

Wow congrats androdev for the new S350.

By the way did you take TD of Range rover evogue or Jag XF?

Thanks cosmo! No, I did not TD anything from that stable. To be honest, I don't know much about those cars.

Originally Posted by FlyingSpur

Don't hear too many people saying that. When it works, it works like a dream though.

Congratulations on the S. It costs 1.12 Cr now? Wow. Do they increase the price by 3-4L every year?

My Laura L&K was MT so maybe that could be the reason for my trust/confidence. I have heard good things about W221 S class and I hope it serves me well at least "mechanically" - I am fine with electrical gadgets giving up on me but hate to be stranded on a holiday drive. It happened to me with 520D and it was an epic fail.

Yeah, the prices are crazy and they keep going up. So the dealers can actually sell their old stock without much "net discount" because of the price escalation. In Bangalore, we pay 25% extra on top of ex-showroom price (20% road tax and 5% Secure-like insurance and miscellaneous.)

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by androdev

.
Surprisingly S class has good ground clearance. I don't know how thats possible but it didn't hit the humps on test drive. 520D touches the same humps if driven at the same pace. I gave up GC criteria because I got over the 520D accident and I felt Sedans ofter much better refinement and S owns refinement.
.

Did u just say 520d accident? When did that happen? May I missed out if you have mentioned it somewhere on the forum. What happened?

[androdev]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Did u just say 520d accident? When did that happen? May I missed out if you have mentioned it somewhere on the forum. What happened?

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2589848

Btw, planning to pick up the car tomorrow if everything works out as planned. But as we all know, dealers can always mess up the delivery schedule.

[ashis89]

Thats real sad to read about your car misery. I wish everything will be fine once S turns up in your driveway. Also your Secure package will help you out in this case.

[Durango Dude]

Congrats Androdev on your 'Airavat'. Take good care of the 5 metre long 2 metre wide, arguably the 'Best car in the world'. Wishing you and your family many thousands of happy miles and wish she serves you well.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Im visiting your thread after sometime today. Thought you might have made a decision by now but THIS ???????
Just what have you been upto man ?
Some upgrade that !
Congratulations !

[Akshay1234]

The S has an air suspension and can be raised a bit. I think there is a button next to the command screen. I remember seeing a button which signified raising the car.

[Hells Bells]

One hell of a thread and one hell of an acquisition. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this one! As someone said earlier, the title of the thread was good enough for me to go through the entire thread