"New" 2011 328i xDrive Sedan SULEV South Africa - WHY?

So I'm on the hunt to upgrade from my E46 and I would like to go x-drive this time around to avoid the winter tread shuffle. I was presented with the option of buying some new old stock inventory. A local dealer has a few 2011 328s that he said have the full warrantee etc etc. I did some gogling of the stock numbers and found them on his site, though it is interesting that I can't seem to navigate to them normally. Only googling in the "back door" so to speak.

Anyways, they are marked as SULEV South Africa. They are priced pretty good ($6700 off MSRP) albeit I realize that they are a few model years out of date. What does attract me a bit is that they are the i6 cyl in a 328. On the F30, I'd need to go 335 as I do not like the 4cyl.

I've seen some threads that are older about the SULEV South Africa. But nothing recent. Any idea why these would be in his inventory? Should I snap it up, or avoid like the plague. In a perfect world they'd be manual trannys, but beggars can't be choosers.

ETA that they have these on their "ghost list". Not sure what that means...

Thx!

Your real question should be "why not?" There has been quite a bit of discussion surrounding the Rosslyn SA factory versus Munich/Regensburg plant quality (you can search it out), and it's generally accepted that there is little difference. The motors and trannies are still from Germany/France, so why worry?

They're probably just strippers or weird colors or whatever.

Originally Posted by floydarogers

Your real question should be "why not?" There has been quite a bit of discussion surrounding the Rosslyn SA factory versus Munich/Regensburg plant quality (you can search it out), and it's generally accepted that there is little difference. The motors and trannies are still from Germany/France, so why worry?

They're probably just strippers or weird colors or whatever.

Actually, they are pretty well equipped.

ZPP, ZVP, 205, 248, 655, 465

At first the only thing that was making me thin on it is I'd really rather have a manual. But when I saw that SULEV SA thing, I just became really confused. It isn't like their German built cars are listed as Munich. It was specifically called out on the web link. Just took me by surprise.

Our last three 3 series were all built in SA.

2002 330i, 2005 3330i, 2009 328i. They were / are all solid and still driving the 2002 330i !

Originally Posted by r0gue

... But when I saw that SULEV SA thing, I just became really confused. It isn't like their German built cars are listed as Munich. It was specifically called out on the web link. Just took me by surprise.

Weird. But SULEV isn't often sold in PA - they are probably NY cars that were left over and the dealer bought them.

Originally Posted by r0gue

Actually, they are pretty well equipped.

ZPP, ZVP, 205, 248, 655, 465

At first the only thing that was making me thin on it is I'd really rather have a manual. But when I saw that SULEV SA thing, I just became really confused. It isn't like their German built cars are listed as Munich. It was specifically called out on the web link. Just took me by surprise.

SA built X drive 328is were stockpiled at the end of production as the F30 xdrive wouldnt hit the market till later in the intro of the F30.

SA production ended last, as with the shipping time from sa, it would keep the inventory channel fairly well stocked. AG was switched to F30 prod first to get product into inventory.

i suspect this dealer ended up overstocking and now is stuck as F30 Xdrive prod is ramping up.

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

SA built X drive 328is were stockpiled at the end of production as the F30 xdrive wouldnt hit the market till later in the intro of the F30.

SA production ended last, as with the shipping time from sa, it would keep the inventory channel fairly well stocked. AG was switched to F30 prod first to get product into inventory.

i suspect this dealer ended up overstocking and now is stuck as F30 Xdrive prod is ramping up.

I believe he did say something similar. I didn't quite catch it during the hustle and bustle of the moment but that sounds about right.

• Would I notice much difference in the SULEV's performance?
  
• Is 16% off MSRP solid enough for a 2 model year old car?...

Ohh the agony of big decisions huh? Nice problem to have I suppose...

Whats the production date on the cars? I suspect that it may well be built in 2011 making it just over a year old.

Originally Posted by floydarogers

Your real question should be "why not?" There has been quite a bit of discussion surrounding the Rosslyn SA factory versus Munich/Regensburg plant quality (you can search it out), and it's generally accepted that there is little difference. The motors and trannies are still from Germany/France, so why worry?

They're probably just strippers or weird colors or whatever.

Majority of the Australian BMW's since the E46 I believe are from the south africa plant and from what I can tell they pretty much the same as the german ones. The issues seem to be the same across the forums regardless of build location.

Originally Posted by r0gue

Would I notice much difference in the SULEV's performance?

Unlike most manufacturers, BMW actually put some effort into keeping the performance specs in line with the non-SULEV ones. I think the primary difference is an intake manifold carried over from the 330 engine. (There is a thread somewhere detailing this.) The only weird thing I can say about mine is that power to 3K RPM sometimes builds linearly and other times it feels like nothing followed by a sudden surge at 3K. I can't say if that's a SULEV-specific issue or not, since I have nothing to compare it to.

Be SURE they have not been "punched", marked on BMWNA's books as sold. This is very common with units such as these. If so the warranty clock started the day they were punched and they no longer have the full 48 months of warranty.

SA is nothing to worry about. SULEV has slightly lower hp, but if you're satisfied with the performance that's nothing to worry about either.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Be SURE they have not been "punched", marked on BMWNA's books as sold. This is very common with units such as these. If so the warranty clock started the day they were punched and they no longer have the full 48 months of warranty.

SA is nothing to worry about. SULEV has slightly lower hp, but if you're satisfied with the performance that's nothing to worry about either.

The list they gave me had 6 or 7 328s. A few had the warrantee clock running already. They were more loaded with options like sport package. But for me, if I go auto, that will be less important. I'm trying to talk myself into holding out and getting an F30 335i next summer -- thus allowing the i6 and a manual.

But this seems SUCH a good deal. $15k to $20k less than doing the 335 F30. This will be my last "reasonably priced" option for a new i6 3 series. Will I dislike the auto in the long run and regret my decision....?

Originally Posted by r0gue

The list they gave me had 6 or 7 328s. A few had the warrantee clock running already. They were more loaded with options like sport package. But for me, if I go auto, that will be less important. I'm trying to talk myself into holding out and getting an F30 335i next summer -- thus allowing the i6 and a manual.

But this seems SUCH a good deal. $15k to $20k less than doing the 335 F30. This will be my last "reasonably priced" option for a new i6 3 series. Will I dislike the auto in the long run and regret my decision....?

if you really want manual, hold out. i somewhat regretted getting an auto in my 2010 E90. ordered my F30 the way i wanted it, 6MT

I ending up getting the 328 and auto. Now I want manual. If I can do it all over again, I would have manned it up, drive my beater car for 2 more years and then order my perfect 2014 4 series. Now I ended up losing money because I was impatient. BTW, I got 19% off MSRP and its a E92. Yours is already out of production, I expect more off MSRP.

Thanks for the replies. You all gave me the confidence to give it a try. In the end, I drove it and decided that I cannot live without a manual transmission. I actually prefer my E46 to the 2011 328xi E90. But I believe that was primarily because of the transmission making the E46 "feel" a little more spritely. The E90 is a beautiful car though. No question.

It looks like an F30 will be in my future one day... soon or not is another question. Many monies will be needed!