[prakhar1998]

Originally Posted by kartavya

Actually you make a great point there. A single car owner doing 10K would be better than a demo car which has been through different conditions just for the sake of it. I did see a 530d yesterday at the BMW used showroom but he quoted 50 lakhs for the 22k kms and 1 year old car.

I will inquire about new used cars as well

That's not possible. I was getting a new 530D, just that it was with the dealer since the past 8 months, for ~53 lakh.

Anyhow, I will not recommend you to go for the S80 as it is too outdated and has been with the dealer for too long. 1 year in storage conditions, that you are unaware of. It could have rat problems, leakages and perished parts.

For the 3 GT, I personally didn't find it involving to drive. Also, the interior didn't feel as high quality as say the E class.

If you can stretch your budget a little bit, get hold of the new E class. Its the best backseat this side of 60 lakh, and the ride quality is simply sublime. If you are plonking so much of your hard earned money, I say, don't go for a used car, but go the whole way and get hold of a new car. The E class has decent discounts right now, and you can get one for ~50 lakh OTR, especially for a late 2014 model.

No car can beat the E in terms of backseat comfort, and I can vouch for that cause I tested most cars in the segment, but none were even close to the versatility offered by the E.

[drmohitg]

What is the fascination with a Demo car? Going for a display car can be understandable but why plonk so much money on a demo car ( read as abused). That too when all these luxury brands are so fragile with hundreds of issues cropping up and being blamed on our harsh driving conditions. Combine that with even harsher test rides by multiple drivers and I will simply advice you to run in the opposite direction. There are multiple stories on the forum of the step motherly treatment given by all these luxury car makers once the car is delivered. All in all, I would not recommend going in for a Demo car regardless of the discount offered.

Also find it strange that few people are questioning that the S80 might not be a good option since it is a January 14 model. When I was out in the market for my 320d, one thing was pretty evident across the board that these cars do not move like a Maruti or Honda. All dealerships had plenty of and I mean plenty of cars from the previous calendar year and the current year beginning ( I was buying in November) and hence making most of these cars 10 or more months older. With your warranty intact I don't see how that S80 will be a problem. Also you can surely opt for there extended warranty. I would rather go against the tide here and say that the Volvo sounds like a sweet deal to me. All these cars are depreciation disasters and 3-4 years down the line, I do not see a significant difference between there resale values. Also you will have to factor in the massive initial discount that you are being offered and the interest on that. That should compensate for any extra depreciation that the Volvo will face over the rest of the competition. Lastly the Volvo brand is slowly but surely gaining more visibility in our market. So predicting the market response to it few years down the line may be difficult.

[freewheelburnin]

If you havent bought the car already, there is a used S60 going pretty cheap.It is a pondicherry registration and a friend's friend in kerala owns it.Price was quiet attractive and was a very less used and relatively new car.Dunno if it is still available though.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by kartavya

I will inquire about new used cars as well

You can probably look at this option - http://mercedescertified.in.
They have a couple of sparsely used E250 CDI listed in your location.

[drsvijay]

Freewheel, i have sent you a PM. Kindly reply.

[kartavya]

Originally Posted by prakhar1998

If you can stretch your budget a little bit, get hold of the new E class. Its the best backseat this side of 60 lakh, and the ride quality is simply sublime. If you are plonking so much of your hard earned money, I say, don't go for a used car, but go the whole way and get hold of a new car. The E class has decent discounts right now, and you can get one for ~50 lakh OTR, especially for a late 2014 model.

A bit of an update we did visit the local Mercedes showroom today morning, we liked the E250 model but that was only available at 54 lakhs (albiet including extended warranty) and that will increase if I don't take the delivery in the next few days (they are going to adjust the excise). That is a lot over the budget considering we started off with 35 lakhs.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

All in all, I would not recommend going in for a Demo car regardless of the discount offered.

Also you can surely opt for there extended warranty. I would rather go against the tide here and say that the Volvo sounds like a sweet deal to me. All these cars are depreciation disasters and 3-4 years down the line, I do not see a significant difference between there resale values.

We have decided to drop the idea of a Demo car after a few people suggested me against it on here. The S80 does come with an extended warranty (2+2) included in the negotiation of the final price of 41.5. Also dad will be using the car for 7 years if all goes well so resale isn't much of an issue to be honest.

Originally Posted by freewheelburnin

If you havent bought the car already, there is a used S60 going pretty cheap.It is a pondicherry registration and a friend's friend in kerala owns it.Price was quiet attractive and was a very less used and relatively new car.Dunno if it is still available though.

We did start looking at the S60 but realized that its not the ideal car for a rear seat passenger, hence we decided against it.

Originally Posted by vb-san

You can probably look at this option - http://mercedescertified.in.

He is going to get me the models tomorrow, so will have a look at them, he quoted me the same price that are shown above. This is an option right now as well .


We also went to the BMW showroom (this time for the 5 series and not 3GT) but the prices quoted by him were more than even a E250. BMW just made a 5% increase so buying a new 5 is also out of the question.

[kartavya]

So, went a bit against the tide and got the delivery of the Volvo S80 D5 (215 hp and 440 Nm).

I will make a ownership thread as well in due time. The car is smooth as butter and has a very mean engine underneath it (expected considering it is D5). The seats are amazing and I had rather sleep in the car than on my bed

Big positive is the leather dashboard (yup almost the whole area in inscription leather), interior quality (second to none I feel) and the option to rest the rear seat headrests down.

Had a friend over to test drive it who owns a 525d and he was thoroughly impressed with the stability at high speeds and the smooth suspension of the car and also the comfortable seating.

Some negatives are the lack of a reverse parking camera, the front look (I love the rear) and day time running LEDS .

The deal we got was 41.5L on road with rear entertainment and 2 year extended warranty and a tyre change.

More than happy to answer any doubts about Volvo or this particular car.


Here is the beast in a big collage of pictures:

[GKR9900]

Congrats on the acquisition man Beauty lies in the eyes of its beholder. Wishing you many happy miles of motoring!

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by kartavya

So, went a bit against the tide and got the delivery of the Volvo S80 D5 (215 hp and 440 Nm).

I will make a ownership thread as well in due time. The car is smooth as butter and has a very mean engine underneath it (expected considering it is D5). The seats are amazing and I had rather sleep in the car than on my bed

Some negatives are the lack of a reverse parking camera, the front look (I love the rear) and day time running LEDS .

More than happy to answer any doubts about Volvo or this particular car.


Here is the beast in a big collage of pictures:

Glad you choose to listen to your heart! I find the whole package to be extremely attractive, front looks neat IMO How much is the ground clearance on this one? same as the V8 version? if so do you face any issues with same.

[V.Narayan]

Congratulations on your new purchase. wish you many years of trouble free motoring. The red colour looks attractive with its metallic pearl like effect. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and you should be happy with what you bought. That is what is important. Please post more pictures of the interiors and upholstery.

[drmohitg]

Congratulations. I was about to PM you to enquire about your final decision. Happy to see that it went the Volvo way afterall. At 41L it is a very good deal and the car looks absolutely amazing in that shade. Looking forward to your ownership review.

Volvo is known for its safety equipment. I am surprised they didn't add a reverse camera to this top of the line product!

[s_pphilip]

Congratulations on this neat acquisition, wish you many happy miles and smiles, Volvo as a brand is growing on the Indian horizon, happy to see that, something I secretly appreciate too, I must have gone over the S60 AWD TBHP review a zillion times, each time wanting to drive home one, one of those companies that do a lot of R&D. Do share your ownership experiences.

[V.Narayan]

Dear Kartavya, Once you have clocked in a few hundred kilometres please help us all with an initial ownership review. It will probably be one of the few if not the first ownership review on Team BHP of this lovely stately car. I for one would love to read it and quiz you further for anecdotes on your experience. The experience in the back seat is of particular interest to me. Best wishes, Narayan

[kartavya]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

How much is the ground clearance on this one? same as the V8 version? if so do you face any issues with same.

The ground clearance is 151 mm which is good enough (My skoda was 130 but had a hard suspension). We have a nasty bump near where we stay but we have taken no chances on it yet so the car hasn't scrapped anywhere. I am guessing it is fine.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Volvo is known for its safety equipment. I am surprised they didn't add a reverse camera to this top of the line product!

Thankyou Dr. Mohit ! Your advise was insanely helpful in the final decision.
It was as an accessory (Volvo tends to have a lot of add ons in its European car) so the showroom might have missed in bringing it here. I can't complain to be honest, but would have preferred to have the camera over the rear seat entertainment.

The headrest drop down does help a lot though.