[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

Sent the car to the service centre today only to be told that the problem has been resolved now.
They also had to recalibrate the suspension system for the car lowering while standing idle (which is normal according to them) and for the bumpy ride.
Makes me wonder was it calibrated to start with upon replacement? OR there is a bug in the software now which is making all these gremlins act up now.

It certainly doesn't need to be recalibrated for just a strut change. More than likely they didn't check it properly before handing it over and there was an air leak somewhere. The car dropping a few mm while standing idle may be considered normal, but certainly not dropping all the way down.

[funkykar]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

Total cost incurred to use the car over 4 years
8/9 lacs - insurance (never been used other than one broken mirror)
3.6 lacs - on alloy replacement (3 cracked alloys costing 1.2 each)
5.4 lacs - on tyre replacement so far.
6.5 lacs - BSI/BRI maintenance package
5 lacs - EMI paid while the car was at the service centre waiting for part replacement (4+ months)
Cost of using the car without fuel so far in 4 years - approx 29 lacs.

Very sorry to know. Not claiming Insurance is a good headache to have, be it small or large premium. I wouldnt see that as a cost, merely its a requirement. Check for options of discount in premium for low usage, some insurance providers offer that. Same with the EMI's. You have to pay as you dint buy the car with full money. You use the car during EMI period or not is secondary.

Essentially you paid 3.6+5.4 which probably shouldnt have in ideal conditions. BSI/BRI, does it cover this? If not, what was the reasons for rejection?

[PowerSpike]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

No idea who is responsible for making such fragile alloys for Indian driving conditions and then add on run flat tyres for added giggles because you will need to change them each time there is a puncture.

but for the life of me I am unable to understand what is the engineering behind the air suspensions which fail in 87000 kms.

Cost of using the car without fuel so far in 4 years - approx 29 lacs.

To put it bluntly, these cars are not designed for India. They are designed for European roads and conditions. Even after earning a huge profit from Indians, the manufacturers simply don't bother to customize the car for Indian roads and conditions. And when things go wrong, as in the case of the alloys, they just turn up their noses in a snobbish manner and refuse to accept the mistake at their end. It's another opportunity for them to charge an arm and a leg to eek out more money from Indians.
Taking the example of the run flat tyre as an example, why opt for a feature that's a detriment for Indian conditions? Having such a monster of a machine on the track is an advantage, but on Indian roads, with uneven Speed breakers it becomes a liability as you don't have the peace of mind while driving about.

This is why most people sacrifice the joy of driving a sedan and go for vehicles with higher ground clearance.

I will give an example of the snobbish nature of manufacturers. A friend purchased an E Class few months ago. The car had a luxurious interior but no ventilated seats. Instead it had a heated seat option in a hot country like India where majority of their customers drive this car in hot and humid cities.

[Rshrey22]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

Total cost incurred to use the car over 4 years
8/9 lacs - insurance (never been used other than one broken mirror)
3.6 lacs - on alloy replacement (3 cracked alloys costing 1.2 each)
5.4 lacs - on tyre replacement so far.
6.5 lacs - BSI/BRI maintenance package
5 lacs - EMI paid while the car was at the service centre waiting for part replacement (4+ months)
Cost of using the car without fuel so far in 4 years - approx 29 lacs.

Did you give aftermarket alloys and tyres a thought?
I know it ruins the stock look but at what cost?

Almost 9-10 lacs just in wheels and tyres is major financial problem considering how quick luxury cars depreciate. That money is basically gone (sorry for being harsh).

Also are those maintenance packs of any good help?
It's a well known fact that luxury cars can become a money pit but this is next level.

[YK85]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

So I have been facing some issues with my BMW 630D every now and then and have been wondering - are others facing this too?

I think I had mentioned earlier the plight of the alloys cracking for no rhyme or reason inspite of babying the car around. In 87000kms so far - we have .........Cost of using the car without fuel so far in 4 years - approx 29 lacs.

Ridiculous !
One would expect better quality and durability from a luxury brand like BMW.
What is their use case? Do they expect their cars to be driven on marble floors ?

My suggestion is to get a set of aftermarket rims downsized to 18 inches and tubeless tires with increased aspect ratio. You will save several Lakhs on alloy replacement AND will be able to drive without babying the car everywhere.

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

3.6 lacs - on alloy replacement (3 cracked alloys costing 1.2 each)
5.4 lacs - on tyre replacement so far.
.

This is sad to hear. Why don't you switch to tubeless tyres of the same profile. I've been running it since past 5 months and have been quite happy with the ride quality, comfort and grip levels. You still need to take it easy and drive carefully over bad patches but at least the alloys and tyres won't give up on you.

[samyakmodi]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Very sorry to know. Not claiming Insurance is a good headache to have, be it small or large premium. I wouldnt see that as a cost, merely its a requirement. Check for options of discount in premium for low usage, some insurance providers offer that. Same with the EMI's. You have to pay as you dint buy the car with full money. You use the car during EMI period or not is secondary.

Essentially you paid 3.6+5.4 which probably shouldnt have in ideal conditions. BSI/BRI, does it cover this? If not, what was the reasons for rejection?

Included the cost of insurance as it turned out to be absolutely useless as the alloy breakage was denied. Had to include the EMI as the car was simply waiting for parts to come. I would've used the car had it not been sitting at the service centre - hence the amount paid as EMI is wasted.

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Did you give aftermarket alloys and tyres a thought?
I know it ruins the stock look but at what cost?

Almost 9-10 lacs just in wheels and tyres is major financial problem considering how quick luxury cars depreciate. That money is basically gone (sorry for being harsh).

Also are those maintenance packs of any good help?
It's a well known fact that luxury cars can become a money pit but this is next level.

I have been seriously contemplating that. Yes the money is gone - but thought might as well put the cost of ownership of these cars (from purely my experience) for all to understand and brace for it whenever they do end up buying these luxobarges.
The maintenance packs have been beneficial so far - as I haven't bled every time the car visits the service centre - I had passed out while paying for it only once while buying the car

Originally Posted by YK85

Ridiculous !
One would expect better quality and durability from a luxury brand like BMW.
What is their use case? Do they expect their cars to be driven on marble floors ?

My suggestion is to get a set of aftermarket rims downsized to 18 inches and tubeless tires with increased aspect ratio. You will save several Lakhs on alloy replacement AND will be able to drive without babying the car everywhere.

Exactly what I have been thinking - these cars are originally engineered to be driven on German roads. But I was hoping someone higher up in BMW India would have the common sense to tune the car specific to Indian conditions before launching them here.
Aftermarket alloys seem to be the only way forward - but that would void the warranty which I had taken.

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

This is sad to hear. Why don't you switch to tubeless tyres of the same profile. I've been running it since past 5 months and have been quite happy with the ride quality, comfort and grip levels. You still need to take it easy and drive carefully over bad patches but at least the alloys and tyres won't give up on you.

I had switched to tubeless tyres after the first set of tyres itself - which resulted in 2 alloys cracking with absolutely no damage to the tyre themselves - which was a reason good enough for insurance company to deny the claim and for denying warranty replacement by the company.

[funkykar]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

Included the cost of insurance as it turned out to be absolutely useless as the alloy breakage was denied. Had to include the EMI as the car was simply waiting for parts to come. I would've used the car had it not been sitting at the service centre - hence the amount paid as EMI is wasted.

Insurance is for accidental repairs. Generally, they dont cover wear and tear. Correct me if I am wrong, insurance comes into picture if car met with some sort of accident(+ one needs to read the terms and conditions to understand what sort of accidents it covers. If really you were eligible and denied, you should consider escalating to Insurance appelate).


And on the EMI part, I beg to differ. You are paying EMI as you did not pay the amount upfront. You borrowed and you repaying. Wasted EMI is not correct. If you got this car on rent, then you could say you wasted paying rent as it was in garage. You certainly lost out on the opportunity to use the car, that is given.

[samyakmodi]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Insurance is for accidental repairs. Generally, they dont cover wear and tear. Correct me if I am wrong, insurance comes into picture if car met with some sort of accident(+ one needs to read the terms and conditions to understand what sort of accidents it covers. If really you were eligible and denied, you should consider escalating to Insurance appelate).


And on the EMI part, I beg to differ. You are paying EMI as you did not pay the amount upfront. You borrowed and you repaying. Wasted EMI is not correct. If you got this car on rent, then you could say you wasted paying rent as it was in garage. You certainly lost out on the opportunity to use the car, that is given.

I understand what you are saying about the EMI part - but the lost opportunity is what I meant.

As far as the insurance is concerned - none of the times the alloys cracked because of wear and tear in any of my other cars. Cars which have seen much higher usage and have not been babied around ever. Alloys cracking while being super careful is abnormal. It should have been either covered in insurance as the cracking of alloys happened accidentally while using the car OR it should have been covered in warranty. Please remember - the insurance claim was denied each time stating the reason - no damage to the tyre (rubber part). In fact from past 2 years I was sold BMW secure policy by the dealership clearly stating that ONLY BMW Secure policy covers the alloys cracking and no other company would cover that. After the claim denial the guy who sold the insurance simply said - sorry sir - I was not aware of this.

But anyhow - the reason I had added the total was simply for me to know how much money one ends up spending after the on-road cost of the car.

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

I had switched to tubeless tyres after the first set of tyres itself - which resulted in 2 alloys cracking with absolutely no damage to the tyre themselves - which was a reason good enough for insurance company to deny the claim and for denying warranty replacement by the company.

Now I'm really intrigued and shocked at the quality of the standard alloys. What tyre pressures are you running?

[samyakmodi]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

Now I'm really intrigued and shocked at the quality of the standard alloys. What tyre pressures are you running?

34 psi at front and 36psi at the rear. Atleast that's what the car recommends.

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

34 psi at front and 36psi at the rear. Atleast that's what the car recommends.

I’ve been running 33psi both front and rear if I’m driving solo or with light luggage and fellow passenger. If you are driving solo mostly, you want to try this.

[samyakmodi]

Another update of another thing going kaput in the car.

Last week after returning from about 200 kms drive, I noticed that after locking the side view mirrors aren't closing. Upon checking I noticed that only the right side mirror is not closing/opening while locking/unlocking the car.

The next day I noticed that when I used the remote parking feature - both the mirrors closed while reversing (as they should), but this only happened twice when I was checking the mirrors.
Since then the right side view mirror is not folding when I lock the car.

Last month I realised that the car's bluetooth system just wouldn't start. (there is a setting which can be toggled on and off, which I only noticed when I couldn't connect my phone to the car) Tried resetting everything, switching of the media system and what not - and then gave up. After the car was parked for about half an hour or so - when I was ready to leave again - surprisingly all started working again! Never experienced this ever in any other car!! Only fly in the ointment now is that the bass seems a bit too low and at times the music volume is too low as well. Also - at time the car switches the music to individual mode instead of theatre, which takes some time to figure out - why I am not able to listen to anything in the car. I think something is playing with the multimedia system.

Other than this - I am absolutely happy with the car with about 95k under its belt.

[samyakmodi]

A quick update. Had sent the car for figuring out why the mirrors were not folding, and also to get the driver side window's mechanism checked. (it had become extremely noisy with a high pitch noise each time you use the window - and also while closing or opening the doors)

The dealership said that maybe someone must have opened/closed the mirror which might have cracked the gears inside. I really never knew that other than the alloys, the internal parts of BMWs were also made of material as fragile as glass. If folded manually - they can break!!

Anyhow - I am waiting for them to revert whether this will be covered under warranty or not. Other than that - the car was sent back with a small surprise!! Now the rear spoiler is stuck in half open position with an error on the screen. Need to send the car again to them to rectify this.

With so many issues cropping up in my car - I have taken a leap of faith with Mercedes now. Let's see how that goes.

On a different note - The car has now done about 98k kms and still have to refill the AdBlue a second time as it still shows I have about half still in the tank. Very surprised with this.