New Honda Accord Vs Bmw 330i 2003

[ignis]

5th Gear did a test drive of The new Volkswagen Golf GTI with 2.0 litre turbocharged engine It is really quiet and faster than the out going petrol..

The diesel Fortuner is after all only a Vigo truck with a SUV body, so any car with a new generation diesel will be worlds apart

Edited December 19, 2008 by ignis

[HDRIDER]

Hi Mobi

You still have warranty AFTER you put a new chip in your car? If they find out? what do you think they will do

[Lorin]

Thanks for details, can I ask you if the motor is loud when its in neutral? I test drive 520D before and it was sounds like a a diesel Fortuner to me...

I used to own a diesel Fortuner, and IMO there is no comparison with the noise. It is really quiet.

Top Gear did a test drive of a 520D and Clarkson, who has always hated diesels, became an instant convert. They did a noise test and compared it to the BMW petrol equivalent, and found that the 520D was quieter.

These are diesels like you gave never experienced before, and are very economical, provided you don't drive like a maniac, but even then, it still does better than my 3 litre Fortuner diesel.

BTW the latest 3 series models are roomier than earlier versions, and I have had 3 'largish' adults in the back with minimal discomfort. But it's still compact enough to park in small spaces and get through busy, narrow sois. The ideal size for driving in Thailand.

Do a test drive and see what you think. Right now I reckon the salesmen will be falling over themselves to make a sale.

I will do test drive tomorrow, they have few demos available from what I know, so maybe will make up my mind tomorrow.

[Mobi]

Hi Mobi

You still have warranty AFTER you put a new chip in your car? If they find out? what do you think they will do

Even the owner of the dealership told me it's no problem, but suggested I remove it before I take it in for service.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

I know that in some cars they can go back and see if there have been a chip in the car, my friend lost warenty on his Mercedes back home be caurse he put a chip in a turbo diesel, dont know here in TH

[choppychugger]

Hi Mobi

You still have warranty AFTER you put a new chip in your car? If they find out? what do you think they will do

Even the owner of the dealership told me it's no problem, but suggested I remove it before I take it in for service.

Maybe not a good idea. As they may tune/adjust the car to the non chipped version?

[onnut]

When driving to Chiang Mai on a monthly basis I have a tendency to make the Honda and BMW owners cry, no matter how hard they try. Save yourself a lot of money, buy a Mazda3 (150hp stock) make a few mods and few will touch you in Thailand

I blew plenty of them Mazda 3's away in my 2 liter Civic even without any mods.

now I have an Accord 2 liter, im very happy with it, but there is no power, but then again, that is a good thing because less Mazda 3 owners are getting upset.

[Mobi]

Maybe not a good idea. As they may tune/adjust the car to the non chipped version?

These modern chips require no re-tuning. Just plug in and go. Less than 5 minutes to put in or take out.

BTW there is no standard service period for my car. The computer will alert me when something needs servicing/replacing etc, and then I take it in.

[Plus]

The top most complain motor journalists have about Mazda 3 is the crappy engine.

Remember, though, that even crap 2l motor will outrun 1.6 Corollas or Civics. Try beating 2l Civic instead.

And there should be no comparison to Mobi's BMW. I hope.

[yabaaaa]

The BMW 330i is a great car. I had the coupe version in the UK about six years ago - excellent. It's far better than the hond in my opinion.

Get the BMW checked out by a good mechanic, if you can find a BMW trained one, and if it's in good condition it'll last for years. BMW's are excellent cars.

I bought a new beemer and first day i had it it wouldnt start. dealer was useless bye bye BMW in my opinion they are living on a past reputation. Honda way more reliable. usually comes very high up in all surveys. Mercedes also fits in with my BMW thinking now doing quite badly in many surveys also. Overpriced and not so good

[yabaaaa]

That's nice that you love your Mazda. I wonder if you took say a million car owners and gave them a choice between a BMW 320d and Mazda 3, which they would choose. I'd bet that hundreds would choose the Mazda, who knows maybe you'd still be one of them. That's the beauty of personal preference (even in light of a much better automobile).

I think youll find "image" and remember thats all it is sells a lot of cars. Way too many companies now sit on their past reputations whilst Japanes and Koreans etc have surpassed them in many ways. (styling though in my opinion is not one of them)

[yabaaaa]

With the possible exception of a 328i convertible I used to own in the UK, this is one of the best cars I have ever driven.

I have no idea whether a Mazda3 would overtake me, but so far nothing has come even close. I cruise down the outside lane at a whisper-quiet 180kms/hr and it is truly a pleasure to drive. The brakes are magic.

If you have Bangkok plates and darkened windows, everyone gets out of you way as they think you are someone important. I drove with red plates for over 5 months, at night, upcountry, Bangkok, everywhere, and never got stopped once.

Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi: 45 Minutes. Pattaya to Bangkok, Sukhumvit, Soi 19: 65 Minutes.

There is a semi manual gear option (7 speeds) and it goes like shit in this mode. Very useful for getting ahead of slow moving "traffic clumps" and safely overtaking on the narrow roads of East Pattaya.

They tried to persuade me to put some factory built modifications on the body, but I think it looks beautiful the way it is, and it was one of the first to have the very latest styling, with great rims as standard.

I was contacted by a gentleman who offered to get a chip for my car, so I thought "Why Not?" I met him in Pattaya and it was duly installed. This was just after I took delivery, so I can't say how much the performance has been improved by the chip, but it sure goes well now.

I suppose you know there is a 3 year unlimited warranty (except for tyres and battery), and BMW will rescue you form any location in Thailand, should you break down. The run flat tyres are also a reassurance if you are driving up country.

I have never regretted forking out for this motor. It is one of my greatest pleasures.

But each to his own - it is all a matter of personal preference.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease run flat tyres are a joke, ridiculously priced and throw them away when punctured, maybe in Thailand they will repair them but the buggers wont in the UK apart from one brand I believe?. Ive changed all mine to NON run flats, we'll ignore the run flats concrete like ride qualities too!! Tin of tyreweld if punctured fixes the no spare problem.

[yadetout]

VROOM VROOM

[Mobi]

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease run flat tyres are a joke, ridiculously priced and throw them away when punctured, maybe in Thailand they will repair them but the buggers wont in the UK apart from one brand I believe?. Ive changed all mine to NON run flats, we'll ignore the run flats concrete like ride qualities too!! Tin of tyreweld if punctured fixes the no spare problem.

My run flats are absolutely fine. Smooth ride and very comfortable.

I've had one puncture - very early on when I hit a massive pot hole. I was very glad I had run flats as I wouldn't have even known I had a puncture if the computer hadn't signalled. I actually ran the car for couple of days before getting it replaced - yes expensive - around 9,000 Baht.

It is a great safety feature: if I get a blow out at speed, I will be perfectly OK, and it is very reassuring when I am up country to know I will be able to carry on driving to the nearest town/dealer.

I've been running my car for nearly 6 months now with not a whisper of a problem of any kind. If you read back through this thread you will see that I did test drive a Honda Accord, and I thought it was a very nice car. But it just isn't in the same class as the BM.

[Lorin]

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease run flat tyres are a joke, ridiculously priced and throw them away when punctured, maybe in Thailand they will repair them but the buggers wont in the UK apart from one brand I believe?. Ive changed all mine to NON run flats, we'll ignore the run flats concrete like ride qualities too!! Tin of tyreweld if punctured fixes the no spare problem.

My run flats are absolutely fine. Smooth ride and very comfortable.

I've had one puncture - very early on when I hit a massive pot hole. I was very glad I had run flats as I wouldn't have even known I had a puncture if the computer hadn't signalled. I actually ran the car for couple of days before getting it replaced - yes expensive - around 9,000 Baht.

It is a great safety feature: if I get a blow out at speed, I will be perfectly OK, and it is very reassuring when I am up country to know I will be able to carry on driving to the nearest town/dealer.

I've been running my car for nearly 6 months now with not a whisper of a problem of any kind. If you read back through this thread you will see that I did test drive a Honda Accord, and I thought it was a very nice car. But it just isn't in the same class as the BM.

I actually read a review on BMW service/tyres in Motoring section of Bangkok Post. They mentioned to replace on cost 19000 baht, its good to know that it can get cheaper with your been "only" 9000..:-)

[Grant]

Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi: 45 Minutes. Pattaya to Bangkok, Sukhumvit, Soi 19: 65 Minutes.

Should be 35 min to airport and 50 min to Soi 19

Anyway BMW 328 is nice car, especially convertible - I had 318 convertible in 1996

[Mobi]

Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi: 45 Minutes. Pattaya to Bangkok, Sukhumvit, Soi 19: 65 Minutes.

Should be 35 min to airport and 50 min to Soi 19

Anyway BMW 328 is nice car, especially convertible - I had 318 convertible in 1996

Well there was the odd car that refused to get out of the way, and the traffic in Bangkok must have held me up at least 10 minutes

Lorin

I actually read a review on BMW service/tyres in Motoring section of Bangkok Post. They mentioned to replace on cost 19000 baht, its good to know that it can get cheaper with your been "only" 9000..:-)

9,300 Bahtif I remember correctly, from the main Bridgestone dealer in Pattaya. If you look back through the thread, you will see that they had never fitted one before and it took them ages. Someone said that the cost of these tyres in Europe is much higher, so maybe the Bangkok Post was quoting European prices.

[Heng]

That's nice that you love your Mazda. I wonder if you took say a million car owners and gave them a choice between a BMW 320d and Mazda 3, which they would choose. I'd bet that hundreds would choose the Mazda, who knows maybe you'd still be one of them. That's the beauty of personal preference (even in light of a much better automobile).

I think youll find "image" and remember thats all it is sells a lot of cars. Way too many companies now sit on their past reputations whilst Japanes and Koreans etc have surpassed them in many ways. (styling though in my opinion is not one of them)

Of course, it's also the same reason why most of us wear clothes as well. I do agree with you, but in the case of the Mazda 3 vs. any entry level beamer, I'd say it's no contest in favor of the latter.

[Kf6vci]

I had a 5-series BMW and drove an Accord. Honda has better built quality, no doubt!

What I hate about a new car is the huge depreciation in the first few years.

That used BMW seems to be overpriced IMHO, so get the seller to face reality and come down on the price. something is very wrong with this price scenario

[Lorin]

Just got my new wheels few days ago and I'm very happy with it. Still havent sold the Mazda, but you cant compare those 2...:-) Do anyone knows where I can make some fixes/tunning to the car? Starting with enabling build in GPS that is not working by default from what agent told me, then to chip that adds hp and torque and then changing exhaust pipe and spoilers? Me in BKK.

[yabaaaa]

Best of luck with your BM purchase Mr Mobi.

Very interesting what you say about the car being sold here and in the UK at similar prices. I was under the impression that taxes here on cars are very high, certainly higher than the UK, so i'm wondering if that means that if we were to take away the tax, BMs would actually be cheaper here? Seems strange. Do you know how much tax you are paying on the car?

Another area of confusion for me regarding the 3 series was how the price suddenly changed about 3 or 4 years ago. Unless i'm remembering this wrong, when i arrived in Thailand some 8 or 9 years ago, the 3 series was being sold at around the 1.5 mill mark. At some point, presumably when they introduced a newer version, the price then jumped up to well above 2 mill. Have i got this wrong?

Anyway, like i say, good luck and keep us posted on how she runs. And don't forget to go easy with that right foot!

Prices of new cars in the UK are the highest in Europe… = why it is called ripe off UK when it comes to new cars

Mostly Thai made cars are cheaper here…….. when I bought my Honda Jazz CVT Sport, I paid £8,190 the list price in the UK was £12.385, so over £4,000 cheaper here..

Checking the other week.. The 2nd hand price of the top Jazz of my year in the UK is still more than a brand new one here.

Guys stop whining about UK prices, BMW 320D in UK £26,050 - on the road

Same car in Denmark £55.447,

UK has the highest prices in Europe, get a life

The average income for fulltime work ( 37h per week ) is DKK 345.954 DKK = US$68.365

UK average wage = $43,000 (2007) probably a lot less now with £-$ rates

Tax in Denmark is a real downer!!