South African 330xi? News to me...

3093 Views 21 Replies 15 Participants Last post by Ack, Apr 3, 2002

pres330xi

Discussion Starter · Mar 26, 2002

So I finally hunted down my elusive salesman to get my production code. I ordered a few months ago, but told him I wanted delivery for May 1st. I was pleasantly surprised to track my car via Owner's Circle and find it "en route." Then I began to be suspicious...

En Route already? Hmmmm. I then checked the production venue via E46Fanatics FAQ, only to discover there is no "P" listed. On to an .ORG search... Apparently P is a new production code for South Africa. Since when were 330xi's ever produced in SA? I thought only 325's were produced there. This also explains why my salesman insisted that I couldn't Euro-Deliver my 330xi...

At the risk of sparking an old (but perhaps not tired) debate, I'm curious as to any first hand/ word-of-mouth experiences with SA builds that were either trouble-free or trouble-ridden.... Thoughts, comments? I admit I'm a bit disappointed. After reading a few articles on the X5 and the Z3 most initial quality problems of all BMW models, I decided production location did, indeed matter. Accordingly, I am a bit worried about my newborn... I'd love to hear some feedback.

Thanks
Pres330xi
SG/Black 'ette, SP, CWP, Bi-Xe, Moonroof, 5sp

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Alex Baumann

· #2 · Mar 26, 2002

Why are you disappointed ?

BMW is a manufacturer with plants all over the world. Engines are being produced in England or Brazil (Mini), cars are produced in Germany, USA, S.Africa. And they wouldn't built a plant if SA if they were concerned with the built quality.

I have never read/seen an article or news where the quality issue of the SA plant was discussed. Not even in the german car press. Not one time !

You are writing that you heard the initial problems on Z3 and X5 models (which are built in the USA). I can show you hundreds of thousands of BMWs which were built in Germany and having the same problems. (And initial quality problem is not a BMW problem)

So as long as it's a BMW it'll need to pass the same quality control as in Munich, Dingolfing or Regensburg. No doubt about that.

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