F10 M5 - Good price ex UK

[mjh 26]

No doubt some people will have seen a couple of F10 M5's for sale on TM that are UK imports. I've always been a fan of the M5 and had a 2009 E60 until just before xmas (now have a F10 535D M/Sport).

After test driving the new car at Hampton Downs I've been quietly looking at what can be had in NZ.

I've stumbled across this one; http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...age/1?logcode=p

It's a Demo done 1,100 miles and is VAT qualifying. Therefore according to my sums it can be landed for;

GBP66,666 - VAT = GBP55,555 = NZD$110,800 + $4,000 (Shipping etc) + GST $17,220 + Compliance $1,000 = $133,020. I'm quite lucky as I have a relationship with a dealership I've used in the past in the UK that will sort the VAT issue out for me.

This is a full 100K less than the NZ RRP. I know that there is no service package included and the warranty will be a pain in the backside as BMW NZ will make life hard, but for 100K saving it seems worthwhile!

What are other people's thoughts on this??

Cheers

[jeffbebe 1559]

No doubt some people will have seen a couple of F10 M5's for sale on TM that are UK imports. I've always been a fan of the M5 and had a 2009 E60 until just before xmas (now have a F10 535D M/Sport).

After test driving the new car at Hampton Downs I've been quietly looking at what can be had in NZ.

I've stumbled across this one; http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...age/1?logcode=p

It's a Demo done 1,100 miles and is VAT qualifying. Therefore according to my sums it can be landed for;

GBP66,666 - VAT = GBP55,555 = NZD$110,800 + $4,000 (Shipping etc) + GST $17,220 + Compliance $1,000 = $133,020. I'm quite lucky as I have a relationship with a dealership I've used in the past in the UK that will sort the VAT issue out for me.

This is a full 100K less than the NZ RRP. I know that there is no service package included and the warranty will be a pain in the backside as BMW NZ will make life hard, but for 100K saving it seems worthwhile!

What are other people's thoughts on this??

Cheers

Sounds bloody great. Wish I had NZ$133K... Let alone NZ$133K to spend on a car!!

[Guest Ari Gold]

a car like a brand new M5 is not something I personally would want to be ruining any chance of goodwill with BMW NZ on.

[Palazzo 477]

Do it. If it has an international warranty on it (as it should), BMW NZ won't have a leg to stand on with regards to honouring the warranty. If they follow normal procedure, you may have to pay any repairs (if needed) up front and claim them back from BMW.

[Apex 693]

Says the BMW salesman.

With 100k saved and a BMW factory warranty you should not have any problems. 100k is a good chunk on money saved.

Or put a LSD in the 535d and get it re-maped, now that would be fun.

[nath 134]

a car like a brand new M5 is not something I personally would want to be ruining any chance of goodwill with BMW NZ on.

What goodwill is there with a car bought from BMW NZ? I imagine the presumably good service is all accounted for in the money that the customer hands over. As such, I can't see 100K worth of service/warranty life consideration.

[Greg111 13]

Am quite sure (not 100%) that there is no warrenty what so ever on new imports like this. BMW NZ don't want a bar of it.

Can find out for sure.

[Guest Ari Gold]

Who is the BMW salesman Graeme?

There is international warranty, but you're going to have to claim it back from the original dealer that sold the car, not your closest service agent.

BMW NZ would of course make it difficult, they've seen no profit from your car.

By goodwill I'm referring to either post warranty work or outside of warranty work where BMW NZ might agree to cover the cost of repairs. An example that comes to mind is a couple of E60 M5's that received new motors and the work was covered under goodwill (labour for one job and labour & parts for the other).

[RvT 9]

I was also looking at importing one of these as there are a lot on Pistonheads that are of similar pricing ...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3584147.htm

but have decided to try another marque for a change.

I elected not to buy the new M5, not because it was not attractive but because after the issue with the SMG pumps on the e60 M5 and the high number of gearbox fails It took 2 years before the issue was resolved. Buying the latest has good ego appeal but you end up being the test bunny until the bugs are ironed out.

This forum is a great source of info ... http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/f10-m5-discussion/

I would be advising to wait 18 months and see what the issues with the car are before getting one then trying to get BMW NZ to honour a warranty. The SMG Gearbox fail for a car out of warranty cost $25k to replace so I would ask if it is really worth being the first cab of the rank. Wait 18 months and buy the 2014 demo model ex UK ???

[e38king 1]

Do it. If it has an international warranty on it (as it should), BMW NZ won't have a leg to stand on with regards to honouring the warranty. If they follow normal procedure, you may have to pay any repairs (if needed) up front and claim them back from BMW.

This is 100% true. There has already been a precedent set in NZ Law where the local Ferrari distributors tried to make life difficult for a privately imported Ferrari that had a warranty issue.

Am quite sure (not 100%) that there is no warrenty what so ever on new imports like this. BMW NZ don't want a bar of it.

Can find out for sure.

It is an INTERNATIONAL WARRANTY, you can't contract out of a warranty simply because you didn't sell it. It doesn't matter if you don't want a bar of it, it has to be honoured.

Who is the BMW salesman Graeme?

There is international warranty, but you're going to have to claim it back from the original dealer that sold the car, not your closest service agent.

I highly doubt this, what about worldwide recalls? Especially on 2nd hand Jap imports. Are you suggesting that the owner should go back to Japan to claim the work? An International warranty means just that, it is international. As the official agent of a product, you cannot contract out of a warranty. If you do choose to make life difficult in terms of honouring any warranty claim, all you are doing is damaging the reputation of the brand.

If it was me, I would be trying to do the servicing on these imports, at least that way you can make some money from it, and when they go to upgrade their vehicle, at least you have that relationship already with them and they may buy from you in the future.

[deeveus 81]

More to the point, why is NZ being charged some 120k more for the same thing?

This is BS in it's purest form IMO, media needs to be involved...

[Jamez 2147483647]

why is NZ being charged some 120k more for the same thing?

It is because they can and its a free market.

[e38king 1]

More to the point, why is NZ being charged some 120k more for the same thing?

This is BS in it's purest form IMO, media needs to be involved...

Somebody has to pay for their fancy showrooms

[deeveus 81]

It is because they can and its a free market.

That didn't answer the question lol. It's actually no different from paying $1000 for a washing machine at one store, then paying $1800 for the exact same item at another store.

Somebody has to pay for their fancy showrooms

There's some pretty fan dangled flash as showrooms in England tho lol.

Edited May 2, 2012 by The Diesel Guy

[Jamez 2147483647]

It's actually no different from paying $1000 for a washing machine at one store, then paying $1800 for the exact same item at another store.

Exactly, so why would BMW NZ drop the price when people are paying it currently? They would see a massive drop is profit for only a slight increase in sales.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Jamez

[Apex 693]

Small market, higher buy price, higher specked cars, higher mark up.. it all ads up. The BMW experience is second to none, after sales service has always been fantastic and other brands could learn a lot, this does not quite justify the pricing but does go along way as to why BMW are still number one premium brand in NZ.

[deeveus 81]

Fair points lads, so I guess we could absorb an increase in price, but 120k? She's a bit steep IMO, 10 M5's equaling 1.2 million extra profits?

I guess with more and more people jumping on the bandwagon purchasing in U.K it's only going to further damage their own sales.

[Apex 693]

As mentioned in an older thread, it did with Jaguar NZ, they have slashed 20% off local pricing due to parallel importing.

Jag are at the bottom of the premium sales heap though so need to be more competitive with pricing, people will just buy BMW's anyway.

[e38king 1]

Small market, higher buy price, higher specked cars, higher mark up.. it all ads up. The BMW experience is second to none, after sales service has always been fantastic and other brands could learn a lot, this does not quite justify the pricing but does go along way as to why BMW are still number one premium brand in NZ.

smaller market - yes I agree with

Higher buy price - yes I agree with

Higher spec - absolutely not! The UK have a far bigger and better option range!

The BMW experience being 2nd to none? Maybe at the moment, but this may well change given the attitude that seems to coming from some of the members on here that work for BMW. If they are displaying their disdain at UK imports, how many others at BMW will be doing the same thing?

Our tiny population is probably at the base of the population. We just do not have the buying power needed to compete globally. Someone told me that most distributors buy through Australia. Obviously they have a luxury car tax. Could this have something to do with the higher pricing?

Edited May 3, 2012 by e38king

[Apex 693]

smaller market - yes I agree with

Higher buy price - yes I agree with

Higher spec - absolutely not! The UK have a far bigger and better option range!

The BMW experience being 2nd to none? Maybe at the moment, but this may well change given the attitude that seems to coming from some of the members on here that work for BMW. If they are displaying their disdain at UK imports, how many others at BMW will be doing the same thing?

Our tiny population is probably at the base of the population. We just do not have the buying power needed to compete globally. Someone told me that most distributors buy through Australia. Obviously they have a luxury car tax. Could this have something to do with the higher pricing?

How long the great experience and great service can keep customers coming in and buying new cars regardless of price will remain to be seen, buyers have continued to buy them at a premium for years and the premium pricing vs other markets is nothing new, what is new is the increasing quality and value of lesser brands, I know my parents have moved away from BMW after buying them for 25 years, they could no longer see the "premium" value and "prestige" in the product vs lesser brands and have just brought a fully loaded European car for a fraction of the cost that they are happy with. With the economy I think the badge snobbery has become unfashionable also, you don't want to be seen as a person spending money on a BMW in times of down turn.

Of course BMW's in the UK have better options but all start with a lower base package and lower base price.

Comparing brand new pricing, ours have a better "base" spec, a lot of our high end models that BMW NZ package for our market have equipment levels that would equate to ticking quite a few boxes if you were to order one new in the UK.

I used to have a 545i and when we ran the build on it it had something like 30 options over a base car that BMW NZ had specified for that particular model in our market.

I'm not trying to justify cost and agree they should cost 15-20% less new here, I was just pointing out a few things that make it hard to make a direct comparison and packaging is something that needs to be accounted for.

Its not exclusive to BMW, my current car, a 2011 Renault Megane RS250 Trophy is 15% more expensive here than they are in the UK and its still not in the exact spec I would want, had I ordered it how I wanted I would have to wait 6 months and it would have cost more as they get a discount when they "package" order cars the same speck and ship them all together. Bulk buying cars is no different than any other product.

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

smaller market - yes I agree with

Higher buy price - yes I agree with

Higher spec - absolutely not! The UK have a far bigger and better option range!

The BMW experience being 2nd to none? Maybe at the moment, but this may well change given the attitude that seems to coming from some of the members on here that work for BMW. If they are displaying their disdain at UK imports, how many others at BMW will be doing the same thing?

Our tiny population is probably at the base of the population. We just do not have the buying power needed to compete globally. Someone told me that most distributors buy through Australia. Obviously they have a luxury car tax. Could this have something to do with the higher pricing?

I dont know if BMW NZ has anything to do with BMW OZ, but BMW NZ is owned by BMW Germany.

[deeveus 81]

Higher spec - absolutely not! The UK have a far bigger and better option range!

And the options are far cheaper than NZ, which is probably why you'll see a much higher percentage of BMW's over there sold with toys such as navigation, M sport package e.t.c.

[M3_Power 636]

The BMW experience is second to none, after sales service has always been fantastic and other brands could learn a lot, this does not quite justify the pricing but does go along way as to why BMW are still number one premium brand in NZ.

The aftersales service is by in large very very good ... but their post sale retention of customers is very very poor in my opinion. Let me give you an example - one that I've personally experienced. You would think that as an owner of no less than 4 x brand new M cars in the last 10 years that they would consider someone like myself to be fitting within the customer profile of somebody that might eventually buy another M car - yet I have NEVER EVER been invited to an M launch event ... NEVER. And this is despite a personal letter to a Mr Gilbert one year just after the E92 M3 launch to voice my disappointment at treatments of potential customers (at the time the wife was working for BMW, so I thought as a nice gesture that they should know about their own shortfallings - I got sent a magazine as make up .. LOL).

Come the new M5 ... again nothing.

So I do what a normal customer would do ... I am walking away from the brand.

Love the guys that do servicing though - great bunch of people and real enthusiasts about looking after special cars.

Also I am fairly sure BMW is no longer the top selling Premium brand ... I believe Audi has been for the last few years.

Edited May 3, 2012 by M3_Power

[allan 295]

It is just another avenue that Kiwis are using to get the best valve for their dollar and if you can get a warranty with it then it's icing on the cake. The market in the UK is way larger than NZ a given of coarse that is why they have a larger range and options to choose from plus the price is lower. Maybe BMW NZ needs to have a closer look at it's self because with the savings that could be had it still leaves a lot of $$$$ to cover any repair bills before the NZ price is reached. Which could result in less sales than would have occurred other wise this does not only apply to new BM's. Have always been of the opinion that the older BM's have been over priced and sellers need to get real in todays market have a look at how many are on the road now and for sale also.

[Greg111 13]

I dont know if BMW NZ has anything to do with BMW OZ, but BMW NZ is owned by BMW Germany.

One in the same.