Buying a BMW as my first luxury car: Which model should I go for?

I showed my family the BMW range at the dealer showcase in our town. I am very certain that I want a BMW sedan only and will not consider other options.

BHPian ashish2135 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello everyone!

I am so grateful to be posting here finally. We are a family of 7 including my grandmother. Our current garage consists of (2017) Hyundai Creta diesel, (2017) Hyundai Verna petrol, (2018) Maruti Suzuki Baleno petrol and (2021) Tata Safari.

The Creta is the daily driver for my father and me as the seating position is best for him and I love the torque of the diesel engine. My wife usually drives the Baleno for her office commute which is 2 kms daily at max. Safari is used by my brother and me mostly as it is an automatic. Verna is the spare car at home which is used by my mother as per requirement. My parents both hate the high seating position in SUVs. We usually do not keep our cars for long and change within 3-5 years but not necessarily upgrade.

Our annual usage is 5-6k kms at max and mostly within city as everything is within the 5-6km range. Our highway usage increased after getting the Safari but only marginally.

I am the only car nut in the family. For everyone else, any car would do as long as it gets them from point A to point B. It has taken years of cajoling to finally convince my family to get our first German luxury car. Being an enthusiast and a sedan guy myself, I showed my family the BMW range at the dealer showcase in our town. I am very certain that I want a BMW sedan only and will not consider other options.

We test drove the 330Li and the 620d. My elder brother liked the 6 Series better and said that we could consider the 530i as well. I feel that we should stick to the 330Li only even though the 530i would be my dream machine! A little more pushing and we could also start looking at the 530d but I don’t want to get too greedy!

My reasons for sticking with 330Li are:

• Given that it is our first luxury car I do not want to get a more complexed and powerful machine with higher maintenance costs in the future.
• Our low usage doesn’t really justify the stretch to a higher segment vehicle.
• I do not want to unnecessarily increase the budget though the difference is not much.
• 330Li is 70% the same car as a 530i.

I would like the thoughts and inputs of other BHPians on this conundrum.

Here's what BHPian NarediAni7518 had to say on the matter:

The 530i has much better interior quality in comparison to a 330Li. Also, the 530i is a much mature car, it’s more premium and is definitely worth an upgrade. The 530i is not a complex machine by any chance, and the power figures are lesser for the 530i as compared to a 330Li. And the maintenance costs also won’t change much. Remember one thing, the 5-Series is one of the best cars in the world one can get, go ahead with the 5 as it’s your first luxury car, make it a special one.

Here's what BHPian 316kmph had to say on the matter:

Dear Ashish2135,

You will not go wrong with either cars, both are great choices. While like NarediAni7518 mentioned, the 5 series is more premium car, and that too for not much more money, it's at the end of it's life cycle. Whereas the 3 just got it's mid life facelift (LCI) and will be around for a while. The LCI brings in the latest of gadgets, tech and styling. The 3, now is only available as a long wheelbase implying the legroom at the rear is not only class leading, but also more than the 5 possibly. I don't think the will be much between two in terms of ownership costs, but there might be some deals on the 5.

So, it boils down to what you want.

Pick the 3 series for space, latest model and tech, fun to drive (definitely not in same league as the regular wheelbase 3) without much of a compromise, except that you pay next segment money (you get an ES or A6 for similar money).

Pick the 5-Series for a more premium experience (mature ride, refinement, better materials) but an outgoing model, might miss out on a couple of the latest gizmos.

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