BMW imports

Page 1 / 2
richard198, Nov 26, 5:01am
Are imports from Japan okay!
I hear that imports from Singapore should be avoided, but is Japan much worse than NZ new!
horsepower7, Nov 26, 5:12am
you get the good and the bad, my work imports thm from japan, most of the time they are sweet, but if something does go wrong, like usual, they are expensive to fix. i guess with nz new,you dont get all the silly thing that the japs do to thier cars haha, its a lucky dip!
budgel, Nov 26, 12:30pm
Resale is definitely better with NZ new.
footplate1, Nov 26, 1:42pm
My last four Beamers were Japanese imports and I can report that there were no problems.The dealer attended to a few minor issues for each one and all was sweet.
richard198, Nov 26, 1:57pm
Thanks for that!
hoarder635, Nov 27, 3:57am
Singapore is bad because the whole country is an island so the cars spend their entire lives next to the warm salty sea air

and bmws have so many electrics they have to use small wires to fit it all in
Which means a small amount of corrosion on the connections can lead to huge electrical gremlin issues
jmma, Nov 27, 3:59am
Isn't Japan an Island too!
carmedic, Nov 27, 4:02am
What with NZ being land locked you wont get any problems with an NZ new model then.
jmma, Nov 27, 4:14am
Mongolia it is then (o:
richard198, Nov 27, 2:17pm
I think the relevant point that hoarder was trying to make is the abnormal level of humidity in Singapore!
mm12345, Nov 27, 2:55pm
Mean relative humidity in Singapore (80%) is about the same as Auckland (79%).
richard198, Nov 27, 5:38pm
How come so many people bitch about the full on humidity when they go to Singapore!

And if that ain't it, what is the problem then with Singapore imports!
I thought we had a consensus, but you have a theory of your own!
steph1211, Nov 27, 5:58pm
Japan bmw imports have diff gear box's ;) nt as good as nz new
richard198, Nov 27, 6:21pm
Interesting! Are the Jap ones made in Germany! Or why are they different!
mm12345, Nov 27, 6:27pm
It's much warmer in Singapore - that's for sure.
I don't know about BMW imports from Singapore, but at a guess I'd say that as the cost of owning a car in Singapore is very very high, the cost of the car itself is relatively low, so buyers able to afford any new car might as well buy the most fully specced model they can.Fully specced BMWs - regardless of where they're from - are eventually high maintenance cost vehicles, loaded with stuff which is going to cause problems sooner or later.It might be nice to be the first owner of such cars.
advantage001, Nov 27, 9:43pm
OK just to clear up the Singapore issue.Firstly you are right, the humidity and heat cause the rubbers, wiring, and most porous plastics on the car to soak up moisture.When first shipped the cars seem fine.But over time the moisture levels in these parts starts to drop and the plastics and rubber become brittle and fail.The wiring is first to crack and stop working, followed by suspension bushes and door rubbers. It takes between 6-12 months for problems to surface and they can be very expensive as they fall outside of RMVT's consumer responsibilities. This is why they have a bad name, and why most warranty companies will not allow dealers to write warranties on Singapore imports.Japanese ones are OK, however they arent as highly specified as the Singapore cars.
mitsiboy69, Nov 27, 10:01pm
Lol wtf have you been to singapore! It is so muggy there it's like being in a sauna 24/7
mm12345, Nov 27, 10:21pm
Yes, but though 90% RH at 30 deg C (Singapore) feels much worse than 90% RH at 20 degrees C (Auckland) condensation should be no worse.Worst heat that I've felt is early monsoon season heat in parts of SE Asia, 40 degrees, and >90% RH - enough to get locals wilting.
mitsiboy69, Nov 27, 10:26pm
Well, it must be worse. I don't know how it all works but those numbers don't mean anything. I think at least one of my old BMW's (e46) was a singapore import. One of the suspension bushes got very noisy and the doors were always creaking while I owned it. Also the gearbox would be very reluctant to come out of park if you were parked on a hill. I have heard that the gearboxes are always crap on the imports.
mm12345, Nov 27, 10:45pm
mitsiboy69 wrote:
Well, it must be worse. I don't know how it all works but those numbers don't mean anything. I think at least one of my old BMW's (e46) was a singapore import. One of the suspension bushes got very noisy and the doors were always creaking while I owned it. Also the gearbox would be very reluctant to come out of park if you were parked on a hill. I have heard that the gearboxes are always crap on the imports.[/quote

Take a quick look on trademe for NZ new high-spec BMW only a few years old, with low km.I saw an '07 740i with 25,000km for <$60k.A new 7 series is over $200k.
I don't think the sort of problems you experienced are unique to Singapore import BMW - devaluation rate for used high-spec BMW is phenomenal, and I suspect there's a very good reason for that.
Maybe the Singapore ones are a little worse, because of conditions over there, but Japan also has extreme weather compared to NZ.
richard198, Nov 27, 10:51pm
So you would favour NZ new over Jap import! Why are the gear boxes different!
mm12345, Nov 27, 11:03pm
Not sure how you got to those questions from what I'd said.
cummingsra1, Nov 28, 12:24am
Richard198, some of the E46 (3 series) gearboxes were a Japanese box. My '96 523i (badged for Jap market as a 525i) was fully assembled in Germany and has a ZF gearbox. If bob1120 is around, he'll be able to put the correct answers out here. Oh, and no particular Japanese Domestic Market related problems with my car.although someone has changed the factory radio to an aftermarket unit.
richard198, Nov 28, 3:17am
Thanks again!
I'm looking at buying either a 330 Msport coupe or a 530 Msport in the new year. (That decision is more about what kind of drive I want, rather than reliability we're dealing with here)

(mm12345; post #13 mentioned dodgy Jap gearboxes.)
budgel, Nov 28, 1:53pm
Some of the Jap imports had Jatco gearboxes, ZF are more usual in NZ New.