[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by aseemsood

lThey offered to extend my BSI pack to 10 years, so I bought that.

Will you share the BSI price list here? Interesting to see the rates.

[aseemsood]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Will you share the BSI price list here? Interesting to see the rates.

I don't have the entire price list. But happy to share what I paid.

I paid Rs. 1.13L for extension from a 5yr 80k BSI plus plan to 10yr 100k BSI plus plan.

My car has done only 50K in 5 years so I decided another 50k for the next 5 years is good enough. Especially now, when I have bought an EV also (BYD Atto 3). Most of my local travel has shifted to the EV.

[graaja]

A Weekend Drive to Valparai

A couple of weekends back, had driven to Valparai for an overnight stay. Have written a small travelogue on this trip in the below link.

A Weekend Getaway to Valparai - A Photologue

Cross posting some pictures of the 3GT from this trip in this thread.























A silhoutte picture of the 3GT to close this post.


This picture now serves as my desktop wallpaper!

[graaja]

A Weekend Foodie Drive to Mangalore

Last weekend few friends from Bangalore decided to do a weekend drive to Mangalore. The main agenda was to drive through monsoon and enjoy lots of local cuisine. We drove through some beautiful roads of Charmadi and Sampaje ghats with lots of rain.

I drove from Coimbatore to Bangalore on Friday and stayed the night there. On Saturday, the first stop was a Hoysala resort where we had a buffet breakfast with 27 dishes. I felt this was similar to the Onam Sadya of Kerala where we get to taste lots of local delicacies. Then we halted at Ibbani cafe for cold coffee and reached Mangalore late afternoon. Lunch was at Maharaja's followed by gudbud ice cream at Pabbas. Evening was rest with just some snacking. Next day breakfast was at Hotel Janatha Delux where we had awesome dishes like Mangalore Bun, Goli Bajji, Thuppa Dosa, and Halwa. Lunch was at Coorg at a place called Tiger Tiger. We had some fantastic Coorg cuisine there. The pork gravy was heaven. From Coorg most of the friends drove back to Bangalore. But I, Dr.AD and Praveen Balan decided to stay the night in Mysore at Radisson. Continued the foodie run in Radisson and said our good byes on Monday morning after breakfast. A few pictures from this foodie drive.

The cars parked in front of Hoysala Resort.


The food at Hoysala.


Somewhere in the misty Charmadi ghat on the way to Mangalore.




Ice creams at Pabbas.


Breakfast at Janatha Delux.


Lunch at Tiger Tiger, Madikeri.


Food at Radisson, Mysore.


As an atonement to the gluttony sins committed the past three days, have started a 3 day fast after the breakfast at Radisson


As it was raining a lot during the drive, we could not do much of car photography. On the way back from Mysore, I clicked some pictures of the 3GT in the forest area before Dimbham ghats. Closing this post with the pictures of the 3GT.















That's all folks, I have now. KarthikK will be writing a detailed record of this foodie drive and I will add more pictures to that thread when it goes live.

PS: As the monsoon season has started, ending the astrophotography season, I have removed the roof box which is not required. Will put it back in December when astrophotography season begins.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by graaja

PS: As the monsoon season has started ending the astrophotography season, have removed the roof box which is not required. Will put it back in December when astrophotography season begins.

Great update and delicious pictures!

Tell me, why keep the roof bars on? I know it somehow adds to the looks, but won’t you continue to get wind roar and buffeting at higher speeds?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Great update and delicious pictures!

Tell me, why keep the roof bars on? I know it somehow adds to the looks, but won’t you continue to get wind roar and buffeting at higher speeds?

Thank you for the kind words!

My preference is to remove the roof bars as well. But there are a couple of reasons why I decided to keep them on - definitely not for the looks.

1. The head of the allen screw that secures the foot to the BMW's body has already worn out and I have to use a check nut to loosen or tighten this screw from the base. These components are not designed for repetitive cycles of fixing and removing.
2. Removing the box from the roof rails is a 5 minute job. Removing the roof rails from the body is 15 to 20 minute job. Add to this the worn out screw, it takes a little more time.

Due to the above reasons, I decided to leave the rails on for now. I don't hear much wind noise inside the cabin once all the windows are closed. However, I may still remove the rails when I go for my road trip to Hanle in a few months.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by graaja

1. The head of the allen screw that secures the foot to the BMW's body has already worn out and I have to use a check nut to loosen or tighten this screw from the base. These components are not designed for repetitive cycles of fixing and removing.

Oops, that IS a worry - one (long-term) recourse is to carefully open one of the mint condition screws and look aftermarket for a quality replacement. If I remember correctly, FARAD does sell their bespoke screws aftermarket, maybe Thule does too?

EDIT: available definitely abroad >> https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=...ries_and_Parts

[graaja]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

... one (long-term) recourse is to carefully open one of the mint condition screws and look aftermarket for a quality replacement.

EDIT: available definitely abroad >> https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=...ries_and_Parts

That is definitely a good option. If I take the screw to the local hardware market, I should be able to find an equivalent. Will do it when I decide to remove the assembly from the roof.

[graaja]

Herping and Macrophotography Trip to Agumbe Rainforests

Last week, attended a herping (study of reptiles and amphibians) and macro photography workshop organised by Herpetologist Mr. Vipul in Agumbe. We stayed in Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS) for 3 days and did several field trips into the jungle and photographed various snake and frong species.

The route I took for this trip was Coimbatore -> Bangalore -> Agumbe -> Mysore -> Coimbatore. Drove through all types of roads - 4 and 6 lane highways, winding forest roads in Chikmagalur - Agumbe stretch, the 27 haripin bends of Dimbham ghats, and also one stretch of very narrow waterlogged road with some shallow water crossings in the final stretch to reach ARRS. The GT did not disappoint in any of the road conditions. I had a Plan-B to park the car in a safe place in Agumbe town if the last stretch turned out to be undriveable for the GT, but I was able to reach the destination without any trouble. Covered about 1200km during this trip and the car crossed the 95,000 km mark.

A few pictures of the GT in this trip.








Water crossing.


A few pictures taken during the herping / macrophotography workshop in Agumbe. I will be writing a detailed trip report with more pictures in a couple of days.

Bicolor frog.




Malabar pit viper green morph.


Malabar pit viper brown morph.


Green vine snake.




Day Gecko.


A lantern bug with an ant waiting behind for the sweet secretion emitted by the bug.


Wayanad bush frog.


Golden back frog.


Thats all folks, I have for now.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by graaja

We stayed in Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS) for 3 days and did several field trip into the jungle and photographed various snake and frong species.

Has ARRS started accepting non-scientist/research visitors again?

Used to visit a long time ago, more than a decade. But in between, they had closed for the tourist-type visitor. So we used to just stay at Agumbe and walk around in the forest spotting snakes, amphibians, and birds. Those Malabar Pit Vipers are a photographers dream, they just sit in the same place for hours!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by am1m

Has ARRS started accepting non-scientist/research visitors again?

I am not sure if they accept non-scientist/research individuals. I think we were able to stay there due to the understanding Mr. Vipul has with ARRS. We also saw another group who came on Saturday and stayed there. They too had an expert who was guiding them around. So maybe ARRS allows groups who are guided by some subject experts on snakes to stay there.

[YashOjha15]

Nice pictures Graaja sir!
Congratulations on crossing the 95k mark!
Many more happy miles ahead!��

[graaja]

Service Update: Battery and steering wheel replaced under warranty, rat bite and repair

A few days back, I noticed the front and rear brake pads to have worn out a lot. iDrive was still showing 10000km for the front and 8000 for the rear pads. As I have experienced a few times in the past, iDrive's prediction about brake pads is not accurate. It could drop from 10,000 km to less than 1,500 km in no time.

iDrive predictions for front and rear pads.



The condition of front and rear pads.



As I have a long road trip coming up soon, I wanted to get the brake pads and discs checked and replaced if necessary.

Oil service due is in 3200 km and BMW does oil service under BSI only when iDrive shows 2000 km or less. As I have a couple of other drives for about 1500km before the long road trip, I decided to get the oil service done after completing these drives just before the road trip.


I called the Service Manager at BMW and explained about my upcoming road trip. He said he could do a thorough inspection of the vehicle and decide on components to be changed. Following is the list of tasks I wanted to be done.

1. Inspect brake pads and discs, decide how much life they have, and replace them if necessary. iDrive was showing 10000 km for front pads and 8000 km for rear pads. Visually, they had very little life left.
2. Rear left door beading to be replaced (this is a long pending task)
3. Do a battery health check
4. The left passenger door pad has melted. To be replaced.
5. Wipers leaving streaks. To be replaced.

He arranged a service appointment and sent a driver to pick up the car. The next day he gave me updates about parts that would be replaced, parts that have been ordered etc. In two more days, the car was ready and dropped back at my place.

Following are the updates from this service visit.

Front and rear brake pads:
Front and rear pads have about 4mm of thickness (BMW's threshold for replacing pads is 3mm) and would be due for replacement in another 1,000 to 1,500km

Passenger side door pad:
An order has been placed for the left passenger door pad. This will be replaced during the next oil service.

Rear left door beading
An order has been placed for the rear left door beading. This will be replaced during the next oil service.

Wiper replacement:
Wiper replacement is not yet due under BSI. I will see if it can be replaced in advance before the next due date, or I will pay for a new pair of wipers.

Battery replaced under warranty:
A battery test was done and the battery was found to have only 45% capacity. BMW authorized a replacement and the battery has been replaced under warranty.

Steering wheel replaced under warranty:
During the last visit, I had shown the leather in the steering to have developed a rough patch at 10'o clock position. I thought this would be considered normal wear and tear. But to my surprise, BMW authorized the replacement of the full steering wheel under warranty, and the GT has a brand new steering wheel now.



Rat bite and repair:
During the inspection of the engine bay, they found a couple of wires to have been bitten by a rat. The service manager shared a video showing this rat bite. They were able to repair this without having to change the wiring harness.

A video showing the rat bite.

https://youtu.be/zw6kTyu7Jcw

A picture of the patched wires.


A close look at the patch.


As the patch was covered with insulation tape which can get softened up in the high temperature inside the engine bay, I used TESA cotton tape to further cover these patches.


This is the first time in 12 years I have faced a rat bit issue in my house. There used to be a couple of cats in our area which kept the rat menace under check. I haven't seen these cats in the past couple of months. Maybe the absence of the cats has made the rats bold.

My friend RobiMahanta gave me some tips on managing rat menace.

1. Use a rat-repellant spray in the engine bay. On his recommendation, I have ordered the following rat-repellant spray from Amazon.

Rat-repellant spray

2. Use an ultrasonic transmitter to repel rats. Planning to order the below ultrasonic repellant.

Ultrasonic rat repellant

3. Keep the portico lights on in the night. Rats usually avoid bright locations.

Conclusion:

Cost:
The total cost for the parts replaced was about 1.2 Lakhs - 75K for the steering wheel and 45K for the battery replacement, both covered under warranty. Did not have to pay a penny. For the rat bite repair, I had to pay 5K.

Dealer Experience:
As usual, had a fantastic service experience from KUN BMW, Coimbatore. The service manager Mr. Karthik gave me very clear updates on the problems and the work being done. I was worried about the rat bite which may require an expensive wiring harness replacement. But he promised me that he would do his best to repair and patch the cable and he delivered on his promise. Rating a 5 star for this service. I hope this great service continues forever.

On BMW's Warranty Policy:
I would like to mention about BMW's warranty policy here. They have a very honest and transparent warranty. If there is even a small problem with any part, they replace it, no questions asked. No haggling or trying to brush the issue aside.

To be honest, I did not expect the steering wheel replacement or the proactive replacement of the battery under warranty. Even when the DRLs of one of the headlights had not actually failed, but had shown a very slight yellow tint, they replaced the headlight.

My first advice to anyone who plans to buy a BMW - get the maximum possible extended warranty.

That's all folks, I have for now. A picture of the GT to close this post. Until next time.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by graaja

I would like to mention about BMW's warranty policy here. They have a very honest and transparent warranty. If there is even a small problem with any part, they replace it, no questions asked. No haggling or trying to brush the issue aside.

Agree to it. Any small issue and part is replaced. Air intake duct was making slight noise in X1 20d engine bay, replaced. Damper pully making slight noise at 54,000 kms, replaced. No questions asked. One of the best warranty policy.

Originally Posted by graaja

Even when the DRLs of one of the headlights had not actually failed, but had shown a very slight yellow tint, they replaced the headlight.

Facing same in one of the RHS headlights DRL. Will have it replaced under extended warranty.

Originally Posted by graaja

My first advice to anyone who plans to buy a BMW - get the maximum possible extended warranty.

True. Sadly now BMW only offers 2+3 years extended warranty while charging same price as 6th year previously.

When most manufacturers are offering 7 years or even 10 years, what is stopping BMW from doing same.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

True. Sadly now BMW only offers 2+3 years extended warranty while charging same price as 6th year previously.

Agree. It is really bad that BMW has removed the 6th-year warranty option. Maybe it was not economically viable. I thought the price of 5-year warranty remained the same while they just removed 6-year option. Did not know about 5-year warranty costing as much as the 6-year warranty now. That is unfortunate.