Is anyone a member of team-bhp?? What car to buy?

[goyal.sanchit]

Hello

We want to buy a car now and I was looking for some suggestions on team-bhp (very famous forums for automobiles) but the mods there dont seem to approve my request!! :sad:

So if any1 is the member there can you please tell the mods to approve my request!! My Id there is gunner71 hyeah:

BTW it might not be a bad idea to even have suggestions here as to what to choose from BMW 3 series/ MERC c class / AUDI A4 ??


PS: I hope this thread shall be fine in the general chit chat section. If it isnt allowed kindly delete it and excuse me for my ignorance.

 

[teky]

Same here, They ask you to write why one would want to join TBHP. I think they are doing this do maintain quality, But it's insane in my view. I failed once 1 month ago and have written another explanation , I will be giving up after this and probably look into some other source. I think Santhol2 is a member may be you can contact him.

 

[rikhav]

T-Bhp is the ultimate place for cars but you can get some advise here too.
First of all do you drive your self or you have a chauffeur? Secondly you are looking for a petrol or a diesel?
Generally BMW and Audi are fun cars to drive and total drivers car. With all the gadgetry and superb handling. Also in looks department BMW seems to be the people choice amongst the 3
Where as any Mercedes will have a more softer suspension in comparison to other two and more importance is given to ride quality.
But even Mercedes is changing its design philosophy or i can say trying to as it is evident with the new E class
I hope what i have written is true enough as personally i have not driven any of the 3 cars or had a drive in it
BMW's have some niggling issue with their run flat tyres which dont like the bad roads of india.
So its best you test driver all the 3 cars and see how is the seating comfort and how good are they to drive
Mercedes would be having the best service network through out india as they are here since many years
Dinyaar, i am sure you have driven all the three, so give your valuable suggestions

 

[anm]

what is the price range of the cars being discussed here? I wonder if I would be able to buy any of these in this life time :indifferent14:

 

[srramanujam]

Hello


BTW it might not be a bad idea to even have suggestions here as to what to choose from BMW 3 series/ MERC c class / AUDI A4 ??


PS: I hope this thread shall be fine in the general chit chat section. If it isnt allowed kindly delete it and excuse me for my ignorance.

Sorry. In this forum, we only discuss MERC S class and above and Bentley.

 

[santhosh]

I am a member of Team-bhp and my handle there is S@~+#0$#. I have heard of stories where members have had to write essays as to why they want to join team-bhp and yet they have been rejected. I could recommend you to some mods whom I know but instead I'll suggest another good forum - GearHeads which was started by my friends last month. Many team-bhp members are active here and will be able to guide you.

Rikhav is right in whatever he has said including BMW being the choice and problems with their runflat tyres. It will be better if you tell us what your exact requirements are so we will be able to guide you better.

Sorry. In this forum, we only discuss MERC S class and above and Bentley.

:clapping:

 

[neo]

Hello

We want to buy a car now and I was looking for some suggestions on team-bhp (very famous forums for automobiles) but the mods there dont seem to approve my request!! :sad:

So if any1 is the member there can you please tell the mods to approve my request!! My Id there is gunner71 hyeah:

BTW it might not be a bad idea to even have suggestions here as to what to choose from BMW 3 series/ MERC c class / AUDI A4 ??


PS: I hope this thread shall be fine in the general chit chat section. If it isnt allowed kindly delete it and excuse me for my ignorance.

Hey! I'm a member at team-bhp but i've never posted as i find their policy of sending your first 10 posts to mods for approval a big hindrance.
But you can always search the forum & you'll def find a lot of info.
Or else you can ask Ajay Kamat on this forum to get you approved, as i guess he must be on should terms with the mods at team-bhp.

I'm sure you'll also find some good answers on this forum as well.
I've test driven all the 3 cars in your contention & i guess so has dinyaar( Pl Pm him)

It would help if you ask specific questions & i'll try to help with my inputs.
All the best.
Cheers

 

[santhosh]

what is the price range of the cars being discussed here? I wonder if I would be able to buy any of these in this life time :indifferent14:

The price bracket being discussed here is 30L plus. Today it might not be in your budget but some day it will. Wish you all the very best

Anand, let me tell you a small story. Once I went along with my friend to take delivery of his Fiat Palio from service. Since the billing etc was taking too long, I decided to pop into the Merc showroom owned by the same dealership. I was greeted by a not-so-friendly sales person Mr.X (I am sure one look at me affirmed to him that I could not afford a Merc). Here is the conversation that ensued after:

Mr.X: How can I help you Sir?
Me: I would like to see the newly launched S-Class (there was a change in model that month)
Mr.X: Hmmm S-Class?!! (I could see Mr.X could not digest the fact that I wanted to buy a S-Class)
Me: Oh Ok, I can see it there

I started walking towards the S leaving Mr.X behind. I was just zapped seeing the lovely S-Class in Black. I did one full circle of the S-Class and found that the doors were locked.

Me: I would like to check out the interiors. Could you please organise for the doors to be unlocked?
Mr.X: Sure Sir, are you looking to buy an S-Class?
Me: Yes
Mr.X: Thats great Sir. When are you planning to buy?
Me: In the next 5 to 15 years. Not sure when, but definitely in this lifetime
Mr.X (smiling for the first time): S-Class ka key laana bhai
Me: Thanks Mr.X, a Merc is everyones dream isn't it?
Mr.X: Very true Sir, mine too. Some day

We wished each other luck. I left without seeing the C and the E only because I had already seen them elsewhere.

 

[BLASTO]

the mods there dont seem to approve my request!! :sad:

Same here..
They require some exoctic tag lines on why we want to join which apparently mine did not pass. :sad:

 

[goyal.sanchit]

what is the price range of the cars being discussed here? I wonder if I would be able to buy any of these in this life time :indifferent14:

The Audi A4 and BMW 3 series would cost a little above 27 lakhs on road while merc C class would be 1.5 lakh costlier!! And I fail to see any reason why you would not be able to buy any of these in near future. Unless you spend all the money on High tech Audio/video equipments!! (which I dont)

I am a member of Team-bhp and my handle there is S@~+#0$#. I have heard of stories where members have had to write essays as to why they want to join team-bhp and yet they have been rejected. I could recommend you to some mods whom I know but instead I'll suggest another good forum - GearHeads which was started by my friends last month. Many team-bhp members are active here and will be able to guide you.

Rikhav is right in whatever he has said including BMW being the choice and problems with their runflat tyres. It will be better if you tell us what your exact requirements are so we will be able to guide you better.


:clapping:

1.) The irony with Team-BHP is once I sent a request for membership they denied saying that my "explanation" was either too short or had spelling mistakes. So I decided the next time I would write a complete essay but then I saw they had another condition "dont make it longer than 60 words" :lol: I guess they are going a bit over the top with all these measures.

2.) Thnx for the alternate forum. I would post my query there also. The more advice the better (hopefully) :yahoo:

Hey! I'm a member at team-bhp but i've never posted as i find their policy of sending your first 10 posts to mods for approval a big hindrance.
But you can always search the forum & you'll def find a lot of info.
Or else you can ask Ajay Kamat on this forum to get you approved, as i guess he must be on should terms with the mods at team-bhp.

I'm sure you'll also find some good answers on this forum as well.
I've test driven all the 3 cars in your contention & i guess so has dinyaar( Pl Pm him)

It would help if you ask specific questions & i'll try to help with my inputs.
All the best.
Cheers

Thnx for the reply. Actually I have very specific points about the cars to be discussed. But I hadnt posted them in 1st post as I was unsure whether I am allowed to discuss it here or not. Since now I guess its fine in my next post I would try to give as much detail as possible.

The price bracket being discussed here is 30L plus. Today it might not be in your budget but some day it will. Wish you all the very best

Anand, let me tell you a small story. Once I went along with my friend to take delivery of his Fiat Palio from service. Since the billing etc was taking too long, I decided to pop into the Merc showroom owned by the same dealership. I was greeted by a not-so-friendly sales person Mr.X (I am sure one look at me affirmed to him that I could not afford a Merc). Here is the conversation that ensued after:

Mr.X: How can I help you Sir?
Me: I would like to see the newly launched S-Class (there was a change in model that month)
Mr.X: Hmmm S-Class?!! (I could see Mr.X could not digest the fact that I wanted to buy a S-Class)
Me: Oh Ok, I can see it there

I started walking towards the S leaving Mr.X behind. I was just zapped seeing the lovely S-Class in Black. I did one full circle of the S-Class and found that the doors were locked.

Me: I would like to check out the interiors. Could you please organise for the doors to be unlocked?
Mr.X: Sure Sir, are you looking to buy an S-Class?
Me: Yes
Mr.X: Thats great Sir. When are you planning to buy?
Me: In the next 5 to 15 years. Not sure when, but definitely in this lifetime
Mr.X (smiling for the first time): S-Class ka key laana bhai
Me: Thanks Mr.X, a Merc is everyones dream isn't it?
Mr.X: Very true Sir, mine too. Some day

We wished each other luck. I left without seeing the C and the E only because I had already seen them elsewhere.

Lovely incidence. Although my dream is to have a convertible! It will be great if I am able to buy it through my own Income ( Currently I am a student this car would come from Dad's income :yahoo: )

 

[goyal.sanchit]

All the models I am looking at are Petrol ones ( I would mention the exact model no below) as our usage is very less. Our previous car Honda city has travelled around 1 lakh km in around 10 years!!


The car would be mostly self driven.


BMW 320i (petrol)-

Advantage-

+ Cost- Pretty much same as Audi but around 1.5 lakh cheaper than MERC.

+ Engine- 2000 cc engine (Merc and Audi have 1800cc)

+ Idrive- You can watch TV (satellite channels) and DVD when the car is stationary. + around 12 gb built in hard drive.

+ Excellent interiors

+ Exteriors also very nice

+ Has SNOB value.

+ Run flat tyres (?)


Disadvantage-

- Highly uncomfortable back seat- Only 2 people can sit comfortably in BMW on back seat and 3 people are HIGHLY UNCOMFORTABLE whereas in MERC and AUDI this is not the case. ( This is the main factor against BMW. Otherwise BMW was our 1st preference. )


- Run flat tyres- Initially we thought it as advantage but reading on internet gives the impression that they lead to stiff handling and bad suspension.

Also the Salesman say that if they get punctured you can get them repaired from any puncture repair shop ( Is it true)

So are run flat advantage or disadvantage?



AUDI A4 (1.8 tfsi) (petrol)-

+ Comfortable back seats

+ 8" longer than BMW

+ 8 airbags (BMW has 6)

+ 8 transmission gear box without clutch ( The audi salesman told that BMW is a 6-7 transimission and even though its automatic the system automatically use clutch which the AUDI doesnt use hence improved technology)

+ Mileage- Audi Claim around 13. (BMW claim is around 11)

+ Cost- Almost the same as BMW.


Disadvantage-

- No Idrive- Cant watch TV or DVD's

- Interiors inferior when compared to BMW but better than MERC.

- Less SNOB value ( MERC and BMW are considered better brands)

- Front wheel drive ( BMW and MERC are rear wheel drive)




MERC c-200 K elegance (Petrol)


Advantage-

+ Highest SNOB value

+ Comfortable back seats

+ Supposed to be the most comfortable car


Disadvantage-

- Poor interiors

- 1-2 less feature when compared to Audi or BMW

- High cost

============


A lot would also depend on the test drive I feel. Current status-

1.) BMW- Took a test drive. Found it amazing. Though didnt test on rough roads at that time. Will have a drive again hopefully in 1-2 days to see how it fairs obn rough roads.


2.) MERC- Took a test drive. Found it stiff and bulky!!!! Suspension was average. Engine noise was loud! Surprised at how is this possible as reviews say otherwise. Would drive it again to see If there was some mistake the 1st time or is the same always.



3.) Audi- havent took a test drive as yet as the demo car wasnt available. Maybe will take a drive today and would update!!


=======

cheerz

 

[santhosh]

Lovely incidence. Although my dream is to have a convertible! It will be great if I am able to buy it through my own Income ( Currently I am a student this car would come from Dad's income :yahoo: )

See, telling us more about yourself helps

You need a Sport looking car. So, the Audi A4 is ruled out. It is now either the BMW 3 Series petrol or the C-Class.

C-Class that I would recommend is the one with the tristar grille looking like this http://www.carsalesindia.com/displayimage.jsp?img_identifier=12755

Again, you have not mentioned upper limit of your budget. See if you can get C-Class with the Kompressor engine in your budget.

 

[goyal.sanchit]

You need a Sport looking car. So, the Audi A4 is ruled out. It is now either the BMW 3 Series petrol or the C-Class.

C-Class that I would recommend is the one with the tristar grille looking like this http://www.carsalesindia.com/display...entifier=12755

Again, you have not mentioned upper limit of your budget. See if you can get C-Class with the Kompressor engine in your budget.

No infact it would by mostly driven By Dad. Its a family car. Theres no upper limit as such Can spend around 30 lakhs on MERC but the car doesnt look to be worth 1-2 lakh expensive then AUDI or BMW. It has less features when compared. Only thing which goes in its favour is Its NAME and the BRAND.

 

[teky]

I am a member of Team-bhp and my handle there is S@~+#0$#. I have heard of stories where members have had to write essays as to why they want to join team-bhp and yet they have been rejected. I could recommend you to some mods whom I know but instead I'll suggest another good forum - GearHeads which was started by my friends last month. Many team-bhp members are active here and will be able to guide you.

Rikhav is right in whatever he has said including BMW being the choice and problems with their runflat tyres. It will be better if you tell us what your exact requirements are so we will be able to guide you better.


:clapping:

Thanks Santosh, Will peep in there sometime - So it's even less time for me to work .

P.S - Pavan Kadam is the friend you're talking about. Oh and I read a one of the member's Introduction post - Man he was flaming hot....

 

[santhosh]

Thanks Santosh, Will peep in there sometime - So it's even less time for me to work .

P.S - Pavan Kadam is the friend you're talking about. Oh and I read a one of the member's Introduction post - Man he was flaming hot....

Pavan Kadam is a very very close friend, but gearheads was started by another group of friends. He is a member here too but not very active. Team-bhp was/is a great place. Unfortunately, it is losing out on popularity as it is very tightly and childishly moderated. Gearheads comes as a huge relief.

 

[rikhav]

First of all i am a member of Tbhp but not at all active, 8 posts in last 3 years. But still when i opened a thread regarding a technical query for my car i got good response. Maybe its only the problem with being a member, after that its fine. I registered there when there were no such tight policies.

Now about the car, technical things like gearbox being 7 speed and all surely someone who has test driven can answer. But as far as my knowledge goes i dont think we have a 8 speed.

About Audi not having Idrive, as you said your car runs very less and is mostly self driven, then anyways you cant watch a dvd.
About runflats apart from making the ride harsh it does not take the bad roads well and get unusable for many. We still dont get runflats in the market and BMW charges approx 50k for the tyre.
Audi i feel is very under rated and i think its styling is not that dynamic as BMW. But still as a manufacturer i feel its right there with others like BMW and has a good brand value as well.
Thats all i have to say for now

 

[raj]

Let me share some of my experience here. I have driven all these cars (to a varying degree) but not in India.
I owned a BMW for six years till 2004 (though my better half drove most of the time). It was a sporty car (M3) and so the handling was superb. I avoided a couple of accidents on the highway purely with its pickup. Given its sportiness, the suspension was hard. But for US roads, it was ok. It always had some minor issue or other (mostly covered by warranty), so quality was nothing to write home about though it was not an issue. I have driven the diesel version of 3 and 1 series in Germany. They are generally sluggish.
Most recently (2-3 years ago) I have driven the Audi A4 diesel version in Germany and Switzerland for a week. It is a comfortable car but IMHO not in the same league as the other two. The diesel sluggishness did not help the impression. I felt that it was glorified VW.
I test drove a C class Mercedes around 12-13 years ago. The sales guy took the car out of the lot and told me that he would give it to me outside the lot. He took it out on the by-lane (two lane street) next to the dealership, and I could see a 3-way stop sign ahead (around 100 mts). He flloored it to touch 80 mph and around 100 ft or so from the stop sign, he slammed the brake. The car did not skid and stopped in a straight line. He then said it was the safest car on the road and I believed him. The handling also was superb. But I did not buy that car at that time and I settled on an Acura TL 2.5,

On the plus side, Merc and BMW are one of the safest cars on the road. Probably Audi too but I don't know much about its record. On the downside, you will find some quality issues along the way. BMW releases are like software releases. You should not buy a series in its first year of release. They fix a lot of bugs in the first year. Merc has come down in quality too. Another downside is all of them have a very plain interior (at least what I remember from around 5 years ago) compared to cars like Lexus.
I am not sure how much of my experience is relevant to Indian driving conditions. In the US, my choice would have been a BMW without much thinking (an M3 if I can afford it). In India, I would go with the comfort of the ride (and the dealership network), and probably choose a Merc. But then I would not be buying any of these cars anyway.
I am a little surprised about the membership policy of tbhp. From a little bit of what I have seen, I found it to be somewhat interesting place. But asking one to write an essay for membership shows that they are full of themselves. I would stay away from such a place (other than reading through existing posts).

 

[shuv]

In short, if you want a sporty drive its the BMW, Merc for amazing magic carpet ride and the A4 for the best of both worlds.

The 1.8 A4 is FWD and at that price point, a FWD doesn't make any sense to me. Power delivery is decent.
The 320i is grossly underpowered. You won't like to get smoked by a guy driving an Octy vRS would you? The straight six of the 325i is a beast though.

If I were in your shoes (hopefully someday), I would look at the 325i or the 320d.

You should also look at the V6 Superb. AWD and 260 bhp

 

[suri]

bmw 320i = do not bother, the engine does not cut the ice.

the bmw 325i = the engine is really really good, but then, it's like you bought the 3 series because you could not afford the 5 series - that is always the thought - no sense in buying the three series - far better to buy a second-hand 5 series for snob value - and they are better cars to boot.

but, perhaps, the real deal is this- if you can swing it-

both you and your father buy second-hand cars-
he buys a 3.0 litre v6 accord (the one with the led lights on the boot lip)
and you buy a s2000 honda (apparently a 3 year old s2000 could be yours for 14-16 lacs).

your dad might not get much snob value - but he gets a car better than audi and one which invites comparison with the other two-

BUT YOU!!!! - you will be king of the heap!!! there is no other car that has a redline at 8200, and the pit babes - they will not need your help when they ride shotgun with you!

and hey - both should cost your dad south of 30 lacs - hard cash though - no bank will finance these deals.

 

[anm]

Does skoda superb figure in these comparisons