BMWs ex Japan

[kiwiland 3]

Hi Guys

I see we have had a thread discussing the merits or otherwise of importing used BMWs from Singapore. Anyone got any comments on the same topic applying to cars imported from Japan. Good experiences, bad experiences etc

[ThreeOneEight 0]

Numberplate holders are never as nice as those on NZ new models

[shadowninja 0]

I'm interested in this topic too if people have something worthwhile to contribute.

[Silver Fox 43]

I've been lead to believe that Japan's the best option out of the 3, the others being Hong Kong and Singapore. I've recently bought a 1995 740i out of Japan with 96,000 k's on the clock, after looking around Auckland for a couple of months at the other options. I saw 2 or 3 cars which had been imported from Singapore and they all showed bad degradation of all the rubber, some to the extent that it had perished completely. The car I ended up buying came in from Japan, and looked to be in the same condition as most of the NZ new cars I had looked at, but cost about 40% less. So far it's been very good, no problems yet, touch wood, car's absolutely lovely. From my own experience I'd say no problems from Japan anyway, the last 5 vehicles I've owned have all been Jap imports, and none of them have caused me any problems.

[BMW POWER 2]

Bad experiences.

1994 320i - E36, about 80km on the clock, looked to be in good condition , FSH, and everything. But alas, it was a wolf in sheeps clothing. About 2 months later - it was towed to BMW because it wouldn't start. Was thought to be a minor problem, various factors contributing to the problem.. etc.

3 Months later...

320 is still at BMW. All sorts of problems had arisen. Really bad experience. Ended up trading it on our present KIWI NEW, 65,000km 5er. God knows where it is now.

Don't do it.

But like Silver Fox said, it may just be a bad apple? Who knows.

[*sic 1]

cars are always luck of the draw, singapore tend to have the worst verbal comments, dodgy rubber and electrics.

if your importing make sure you have a good relationship with the dude checking your sh*t...

[318is 0]

The 318iS I brought over 2.5 years ago, and recently sold, was from Singapore. Not a problem at all ( except from a door actuator, which is common )

Luck of the draw I guess, but mine was all good and literally just put gas in it from the day I owned it.

[RvT 9]

Having privately imported some 10 cars now from England & Japan, as well as spending time in Singapore with work, I would definitely go for the Japan option. Apart from an A4 needing some $3k spent on it, all the Jap cars have had little problems.

I would recommend bringing in your own car from Japan if you an afford the money & 7 week delay. As I import more cars, I am more convinced never to buy from a dealer again. Main issue is that when you buy ex a dealer, you have no idea of what grade you are buying unless you are wise and ask the dealer its grade. The main aution house, USS Auto Auctions, have a very accurate grading system on the cars from 5 being mint to 1 being altered. Anything 3.5 or lower is a no go territory; 4.5 is ideal. The second issue is most dealers might say the car was a grade 5 but unless you are shown the auction papers, he is calling your bluff.

I also see a lot of repaired cars hitting the yards here and the kiwi buyer is none the wiser about the damage sustained in Japan. If only the kiwi buyer was more aware of what they were buying !!!

If you are looking at a car under $10k, it is probably not worth importing. If you have a budget of $15+ then definitely import and you will save about $3k on the wholesale pricing and $5-6 on retail pricing as a rule of thumb for BMWs & Audis.

A starting point might be http://www.kadoco.co.jp/ If you want any further learnings from a private importer, ask away

[martyyn 2]

My boss has recently imported an 01 SL500 and he saved himself a fortune on NZ prices. He's also just bought two 99 A160's with 50k on the clock (both grade 4.5 and looking immaculate inside and out) for the princely sum of 5500 nzd each.

Same age, same k's and same condition cars in NZ are nearly 15k !

As long as you careful (just like buying any car) and do your research I dont see why more people dont do it. The potential savings are immense.

[shadowninja 0]

RvT that looks like some excellent info. I particularly like the ability to gauge the quality of the vehicle, thats something we can't even accurately determine sometimes on NZ new cars sitting on the lot especially if buying sight-unseen (I bought my previous vehicle from Akld without having seen it).

When I come to buying my next car would you mind if I get in touch with you to chat about your experiences & recommendations in more detail?

[Grant 4]

I'm of the opinion that you have to take each car on a case by case basis, and that making a generalisation about cars imported from any one country is wrong.

For me, where the car comes from is not that important, although I would take more care, and check more thoroughly a car imported from Japan (or Singpore etc), than I would a NZ new one.

However, if it checked out to be good, I would have no hesitation in buying it.

Cheers

Grant

[RvT 9]

Hi shadowninja. More than welcome to email or call me, (email preferred) I find I get more out of life helping others rather than helping myself

I have assisted about 10 other friends import their own over the past 2 years. Once you have done your first solo import, you will realise how easy it is, and in turn, you will help others. All you need is cash up front and some good knowledge on the NZ selling prices for a particular model, both retail and private. I do it as a hobby / interest. My latest import / toy, a mint Z4 is for sale on Trademe. It was a 5 grade car. This is a fantastic car to drive if you ever get the chance.

My contact details are on the advert. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=57704153

Regards

Ron

[AntonyG 0]

I have done reconditioning work on various BMW's imported from around the world.

Japan - Small cheap looking plate holders, until recently radios were Japan spec (later models are adjustable), NAV systems incompatible, Central displays etc can be changed to english but never look the same as they run Japan specific components to cope with the characters. Overall rubber condition better than Singapore, if leather is fitted always of better quality than singapore.

Singapore - Rubber quality, trims, door handle surrounds, glass surrounds, plastics in engine compartment and generally anything rubber or plastic usually brittle or cracked. Starting to find big problems with later model motors with even more plastics and rubbers under the bonnet leaking oil also vacuum leaks appearing from plastic and rubber crank case ventilation pipes. License plates surrounds look like NZ, leather quality is usually terrible in E46 and E39, NAV, radios and central displays compatible with NZ. E65 and E60 appearing as imports with bad specs.. i.e low spec climate control systems, not many options, large number of E60 also appearing without active front steering.

Also had a few import E60 and E65 coming into the country and having control units fail. These items are very costly to buyers when the factory warrenty has expired.

[Jazzbass 1]

My first two BMWs were Japanese imports and I had quite few niggling problems with each of them. E36: 318i and 325i. I threw away the plate holders on both.

My present car I bought as NZ new with full BMW service history. Yes, I paid more, but I feel happier and that's important to me.

Having been to Japan, I've seen the way cars are driven there and they spend a lot of time just idling, so although the mileage might be low, the running time is not necessarily in step (another plus for engine running time meters). I've never been to Singapore, but I have read that the high humidity can be a problem with electrical deterioration on their cars.

Also, in Korea and in Japan, most cars I saw were never garaged, (apartment living) so were more exposed to smog and sun than NZ cars are in general.

All that said, I've seen some really beautiful cars from both countries and if I had to choose, I'd probably take the Japanese car over the Singaporean, all other parameters being equal.

[jochen 4]

Hey if anyone has a Jap BMW and wants their radio or nav system converted to full NZ spec, talk to me.

I've done lots of them and know my way around the BMW stereo systems

I can get and fit replacement radio tuners for almost any model BMW, with and without nav system

I have also successfully converted a nav system from Jap to NZ mode, and had it fully 100% working, with all NZ maps, route guidance, voice instructions, english menus, and everything

Cheers, Jochen (the BMW Radio Guy)

[ib456 0]

I believe the girlfriends one is a Jap import, 98' e36 318Ti... an unbelieveable car, 188km's all it needed when we got it was new tyres and a airbag sensor in the passenger seat..

everything on it is really good for it's age, rubbers are good, electrics seem to be fine. Only trouble we have had with it is water in number 3 spark plug hole.... Mechanic friend said it is odd but the funny thing is that he has only ever seen it happen with BMW's...

other than that he reckons it is one of the best ones he's seen. But in the end it is all luck of the draw... I have had 3 Primera's, first was good, 2nd wasnt too bad, 3rd has cost a small fortune due to VVT engine... Just luck...

[jrgb 0]

BUYING EX-JAPAN : After looking at dozens of 328ci's, and even investigating buying direct from a Japanese auction, yesterday my wife finally purchased a Japanese import 1999 Silver 328ci (50,000km; 18" alloys; rear spoiler; clear indicator lenses; CD shuttle) from a car yard here in Auckland. Because of the current exchange rates, plus the over supply of imports in NZ, buying locally is definitely the best option (in my opinion). We negotiated the price down from $34,995 to $28,000 for our car.

BUYING EX-SINGAPORE : I agree with those who have said that it's better to buy ex-Japan, not from Singapore. Having worked in Singapore I know the extreme conditions that their cars operate in - and the general lack of care / maintenance (if my colleagues in Singapore were typical car owners). I've also heard horror storys from within the car industry here in NZ about the electrical problems with Singapore cars.

DEPRECIATION ON NZ CARS : The 'down-side' of all these imports is of course the depreciation on NZ-new BMWs. I've just been offered an $8,000 trade-in value on my NZ-new 1998 E38 740i, with only 80,000km on the clock - this was a $190,000 car when new!

EURO PLATE ON IMPORT E46 : Question! I've also posted this question in the 'General Discussion' section, but it seems appropriate to ask here also. My wife likes the euro style plate fitted on my E38 740i, and now wants a euro plate on her new E46. Of course being an import the front number plate panel won't accept a euro plate - but I believe these plastic panels can be changed over. Anyone got any idea who sells these NZ/European style panels? Appreciate any feedback.

[AntonyG 0]

Is the license plate panel a painted one or black?? I work for a BMW franchise

and we sell a few of these to Jap import owners wanting to make their

BMW look sharper.

[jrgb 0]

Is the license plate panel a painted one or black?? I work for a BMW franchise

and we sell a few of these to Jap import owners wanting to make their

BMW look sharper.

Thanks for the info Antony. It's a painted plastic panel that protrudes forward from the front bumper (looks to be simply attached over top of the bumper). Any idea of cost?

[alex 0]

Maybe we should sticky this thread?

Seems like a lot of good info and many go to guys in this thread..

[jrgb 0]

Maybe we should sticky this thread?

Seems like a lot of good info and many go to guys in this thread..

You're right Alex - I'm certainly getting alot of good info from this forum, and I've only been a member for 24 hours. But man, this forum laungage is all new to me - makes me feel very old! What does it mean to, "sticky this thread....and many go to guys in this thread" ?

Edited July 30, 2006 by John B

[Jazzbass 1]

'sticky' means that the thread (explained in another thread - LOL) stays at the top of the forum. Otherwise, it will slowly work its way down and over to the next page and so on. Making it 'stick' at the top of the page means it is always easy to find.

[Yuen 16]

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QUOTE(John B @ Jul 31 2006, 12:39 AM) 88640[/snapback]

What does it mean to, "sticky this thread....and many go to guys in this thread" ?

I think he meant many thanks to the guys in this thread

On the subject of Japanese BMWs, my car is a 1992 E36 320i imported from Japan. Everything is great, there are the typical problems for E36s of its age but nothing that I would single out against Japanese imports.

The only gripe I have is that my car uses a Jatco transmission and these transmissions were only put on BMWs in Japan, I suppose for cost purposes, and the rest of the world got ZF or GM ones which are widely available. For a DIYer this can be quite frustrating as there is next to no information available on it, it even says that the 'lifetime transmission fluid' which most people change on their BMWs has to be ApolloOil ATF and has to be ordered from Japan or South Africa.

[kiwiland 3]

Hey if anyone has a Jap BMW and wants their radio or nav system converted to full NZ spec, talk to me.

I've done lots of them and know my way around the BMW stereo systems

I can get and fit replacement radio tuners for almost any model BMW, with and without nav system

I have also successfully converted a nav system from Jap to NZ mode, and had it fully 100% working, with all NZ maps, route guidance, voice instructions, english menus, and everything

Cheers, Jochen (the BMW Radio Guy)

[kiwiland 3]

Having started off this thread I should perhaps include my own experieces with cars from Japan over the last 9 years.

First was in 1997 when I bought a 1994 Celica from the local Toyota dealer with 42,000k on the clock. Car was complete with manuals and service record all in Japanese but seemed to confirm the mileage after I got to grips with the Jap habit of listing years as "years of the emperors reign". This year sold the Celica with 223,00 on the clock and other than petrol and servicing each 10K it cost only 2 batteries and 2 sets of tyres. Even the muffler system was still ok after 9 years of NZ use.

Most recent Jap exercise is the 2001 E39 530I I bought through a Jap Auction house earlier this year. After weeks of sorting through auction sheets on the net and putting in bids that were too low I got a grade 5A car at an excellent price. The Shipping, Customs and Compliance matters were dead easy.

Points noted:

1. These days it seems rare to get an import with service records or any form of manual. They seem to clean out everything at some stage.

2. Paint finish and general build quality is first class, also they must look after their cars well, the BMW does not have a mark on it after 5 years of use, try that on NZ roads and parking lots!

3. The Japanese specs are really high with just about everything you can think of included as original equipment

4. The Japanese radios and SatNav systems are a pain, our good friend Jochen can help us out here.

Its early days yet but all in all it seems to have been a worthwhile exercise, probably saved approx $10K on the equivalent NZ price