Singaporean used vehicle imports.

peja, Sep 19, 9:44pm
The issue is the extremely high humidity there, it can rot electrical contacts etc. However it seems to be mostly BMW and Mercedes and other European makes so afflicted, as their electical systems or not known for reliability to start with. Lexus/ Toyota etc should be fine
grangies, Sep 19, 10:04pm
OK Cheers for that.

I just Googled the average humidity levels for Singapore and NZ's North Island, and the North Island is actually slightly higher than Singapore.
gunhand, Sep 19, 10:13pm
Lotta car for the money. Lots of useful and handy things if you like all that.
Only downfall is the stereo is abit out of date but i'm sure that could be dealt to for a couple of hundy.
Was working on one last week and I would own one for sure. Not quite sure about the look but seen worse and unless ya real ugly ya can't see the front while ya driving.
Not that fuel efficient apparently, but depends what one calls economical or uneconomical though.
I dis like leather but seat covers deal to that lol.
peja, Sep 19, 10:24pm
x1
If you've ever been in Singapore, you will know what I mean - its not just that its humid like here but HOT with it. 30 degrees C and 99% humidity, which doesnt turn to rain the way it does here because its cooler. and when it does rain there it RAINS, really heavy downpours that drench you in seconds
tamarillo, Sep 19, 11:09pm
As said there's been issues with wiring and electrics , indeed some mercs were so bad it became normal to replace engine bay loom.
But, if all electrics are good and junctions etc appear clean and rust free it should be ok.

It used to be some cars there don't have heaters in them.
kazbanz, Sep 19, 11:44pm
its been here for 9 years and is a Toyota --most likely any issues are well in the past
lookoutas, Sep 20, 3:49am
Just like in Auckland
poppy62, Sep 20, 6:17am
Actually it's more to do with the inferior plastic coating on the wiring which is locally sourced (in Singapore/Malaysia) as part of the % of local content requirement. Plastic goes brittle and brakes of thus shorting out the bared wiring. Also the local content covers the poor quality of adhesives which also fail thus sagging hood linings and trim becoming detached. Was a problem at 2005 don't know if things improved. Jap stuff assembled over there would no doubt have had similar issues.
poppy62, Sep 20, 6:18am
So 1% more humidity and everyone drowns! 100% humidity and you're breathing water.
tamarillo, Sep 20, 3:42pm
The humidity in Singapore is a very different beast, makes Auckland feel pleasant. I don't know the numbers, but have experienced it.
tamarillo, Sep 20, 3:44pm
Useful to know, thanks. Why the hell I find that interesting I don't know but I guess that's what defines a car tragic.
supernova2, Sep 20, 4:14pm
There is more to it than that. I've had experience of Euros ex singy that have been totally assembled in Europe - no local content. All sorts of odd electrical problems due to high resistance joints in most cases so an easy fix once found. What I don't know is would there be the same problems in the same car if it had never been in singy - I suspect that there probably would be.

I'd be cautious of anything from singy but I tend to think that there is too much of a "it's from singy so it will be trouble" attitude being used as an excuse for butt covering. In my experience ex singy means its more likely to be an odd bod spec, and then a parts nightmare, rather than it being any more unreliable than any other similar model.
billyfieldman, Sep 21, 4:21am
Something doesn't add up. If humidity was the problem, wouldn't these cars have lots of problems while they were in Singapore? There would have been complaints about lack of reliability from customers and from Lexus dealerships.
craigsmith, Sep 21, 5:02am
The humidity thing is a half-truth; it will be a problem on cars that are older, and weren't well looked after or garaged, and those which are known to be sensitive to electrical gremlins in the 1st place e.g. Merc Benz.

I have a Singapore import Ford which spent the 1st 4 or 5 yrs of its life there, and I have never had any electrical issues. All electrical components and other metals that would be at risk of accelerated corrosion that I have visually inspected are still as good as you could hope for (it is now 13 yrs old with zero issues).

The REAL problem with Singapore imports is that they practically all have their odo's wound back. Including the digital ones. The exporters do it as a matter of course. It can be detected, depending on the car, but mostly they just don't care. My car had this issue; disputes tribunal ensued, etc. The NZ odo certifier I had look at the car had spent time in Singapore in the industry and his testimony was that it is just endemic and unavoidable.

Paintwork tends to suffer too with the humidity, sun, and age. That Lexus is a 2000 so you would expect aged paint. Check the door lines to see if a border between a re-spray and old paint is visible. (This isn't necessarily a problem as new paint is nice if it's well done, but it tells you more about the real life of the car.)

So I wouldn't rule out a young Singapore model (ahem) but give her a good check over for obvious signs of corrosion (pull fuses out, pull out light assemblies and check wiring etc), ignore the 1st impression from the engine bay which will be tarted up with silicone. And whatever you do get the odo checked. (AA certification or the like is worthless if it was done over there).
nzjay, Sep 21, 5:55am
And isn't there an issue with Singapore requiring "local content" in their vehicles? I've heard of Mercs an BMW's a few years ago being fitted with Nissan gearboxes because Nissan assembled gearboxes there.
budgel, Sep 21, 6:56am
No you're not. 100% humidity is the maximum amount of water that it is possible for air to carry, not a measurement of the total volume of air.
kazbanz, Sep 21, 2:54pm
All the above discussion to me relates to newly imported or even reasonably recently imported vehicles.
This is a TOYOTA that has been used in NZ for 9 years.
I haven't heard of issues with singers imported Toyota's
kazbanz, Sep 21, 2:54pm
Nope--that was Japan
poppy62, Sep 21, 6:10pm
Correct but Singapore/Malay have an imput into the wiring harnesses taht were installed into the vehicles there, crap quality plastic insulation.
trade4us2, Sep 21, 9:21pm
I got an ex Singapore car and it had electrical problems. Everyone was moaning about wiring and connections and humidity etc. I inspected almost all the wiring and connections and all were fine.
The problem turned out to be a couple of soldered joints in the body computer, basically bad design. I soldered them up and all has been fine every since.
billyfieldman, May 23, 2:15pm
x1
I did a google for Toyota factory and Lexus factory in Singapore but found none. So it's doubtful if Singapore cars will have local installed wiring harness etc. It's likely that Lexus cars are imported into Singapore fully assembled.