Expatriate Forums in Malaysia

Basically the taxes for MPV & 4WD is genrally higher compare to the normal passenger cars... So the calculation of the taxes are almost 40-odd% and 30-odd% respectively...

elephant wrote:oh just saw your other posting enquiring about the BMW 3-series sedan

i was guessing about your budget on the car, but it looks like i have made a big mistake for recommending lousy car such as naza ria!

well, not really recommendations, but they were just some cars that i looked at as i went to all the showrooms before i chose honda.

We are thinking of getting a brand new Honda or Toyota for a start after we came across your recommendations here.

Recently, me and my partner have been offered 'pre-owned' BMW somewhere around RM 1_ _ k by our agent.

1) 2002-2004 3-series E36 E46 E90 (1 owner)
2) Full-service -records at Auto Bavaria (M'sia)
3) Low mileage ( around 60, 000-100000)
4) Japan/UK spec.
5) 95% loan at 2._ - 3. _ %
6) Warranty 6 months- 1 year
7) Accident free.


Apart from the maintenance cost and fuel what are the most important considerations/hidden factors I should take into account when looking for a Bimmer especially here in Malaysia? What does 'unregistered' mean?

Your input in this matter is kindly appreciated. Thanks.

Leo Girl wrote:

elephant wrote:oh just saw your other posting enquiring about the BMW 3-series sedan

i was guessing about your budget on the car, but it looks like i have made a big mistake for recommending lousy car such as naza ria!

well, not really recommendations, but they were just some cars that i looked at as i went to all the showrooms before i chose honda.

We are thinking of getting a brand new Honda or Toyota for a start after we came across your recommendations here.

Recently, me and my partner have been offered 'pre-owned' BMW somewhere around RM 1_ _ k by our agent.

1) 2002-2004 3-series E36 E46 E90 (1 owner)
2) Full-service -records at Auto Bavaria (M'sia)
3) Low mileage ( around 60, 000-100000)
4) Japan/UK spec.
5) 95% loan at 2._ - 3. _ %
6) Warranty 6 months- 1 year
7) Accident free.


Apart from the maintenance cost and fuel what are the most important considerations/hidden factors I should take into account when looking for a Bimmer especially here in Malaysia? What does 'unregistered' mean?

Your input in this matter is kindly appreciated. Thanks.

First of all, i think you are refering to E90 as E90 is the upgrade version of E36 and E46; and i think even the newest E36 will be approximately 12 years old on the road. Correct me if i'm wrong, i'm not a bmw driver

General factors to consider?

1) maintenance maintenance maintenance

2) repairs repairs repairs (not necessarily to be your fault, but should accident happens due to other's fault - we know the way the behaviors of the drivers on the road here)

3) maintenance maintenance maintenance again well used car is proned to consume more money

4) The car is already 3 to 5 years old, how long do you intend to own it and what you resale value will it be 5 years down the road?

5)is the original manufacturer warranty still in effect? or was the 6 to 1 year warranty offered by the dealer? I assumed that it's the latter. So, investigate the availability and cost of an extended warranty from a reputable warranty company.

6) outstanding summons checking on the car

7)Make sure he hasn’t changed/replaced any original parts.

May i refer you to this website http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/ ... you should get plentiful of info/thoughts from other bmw owners there and i hope you will get more precise answers from them.

sorry, forgot to answer the "unregistered" part.

I think it means that the owner is not selling the car together with the car plate number (hence unregistered it) so that you could purchase a new car plate for that particular car.

if that is a used car, can they still get the tax exemption??

No, it is classified as a private transaction on the basis of willing buyer and willing seller; hence the sales tax and excise duty do not come into this.

elephant wrote:First of all, i think you are refering to E90 as E90 is the upgrade version of E36 and E46; and i think even the newest E36 will be approximately 12 years old on the road. Correct me if i'm wrong, i'm not a bmw driver

General factors to consider?



4) The car is already 3 to 5 years old, how long do you intend to own it and what you resale value will it be 5 years down the road?

5)is the original manufacturer warranty still in effect? or was the 6 to 1 year warranty offered by the dealer? I assumed that it's the latter. So, investigate the availability and cost of an extended warranty from a reputable warranty company.

6) outstanding summons checking on the car

7)Make sure he hasn’t changed/replaced any original parts.

Very good information. I am not too worried about the maintenance because from what I know Malaysians tend to go to mechanics around Cheras or Puchong. No? They are normally cheaper 10% than a reputable service center. The worrying part about getting used BMW however is about the computerized system and the gear box. Really afraid if the used Bimmer give these two major problem ..then it will be a bomb for us!

For 3 series and it has the cheapest maintenance cost. My neighbor has a 318 and the maintenance is extremely lower than Proton Perdana V6. For oil change, you only need to spend approx. RM 300++. For inspection 1 & 2, between RM 1K and RM 2K (depends on the spare part replacement). The cycle of service intervals normally begins with oil change, inspection 1 and inspection 2. And each service interval is done every 25,000 km. Thus we are thinking for the first 75,000 km it has been done and approx. And if we are lucky only driving at 12,000 km per year, it takes us 4-5 years before we need to undergo the inspection stage 2.

E90 is the 'upgrade' version of E36 and E46..quite true but still better than Toyota Vios and Honda (if we are lucky again). The question now who is going to help us with the inspections? Hmnn. I like Toyota and Honda for it's comfort, re-sale value and always been a value for money. However, as for continental vehicle like the Bimmer or even Ford, it has a sporty luxury character and never compromise on driving performance. Kust my 2 cents.

How is your Honda so far?

Very good information. I am not too worried about the maintenance because from what I know Malaysians tend to go to mechanics around Cheras or Puchong. No? They are normally cheaper 10% than a reputable service center. The worrying part about getting used BMW however is about the computerized system and the gear box. Really afraid if the used Bimmer give these two major problem ..then it will be a bomb for us!

For 3 series and it has the cheapest maintenance cost. My neighbor has a 318 and the maintenance is extremely lower than Proton Perdana V6. For oil change, you only need to spend approx. RM 300++. For inspection 1 & 2, between RM 1K and RM 2K (depends on the sparepart replacement). The cycle of service intervals normally begins with oil change, inspection 1 and inspection 2. And each service interval is done every 25,000 km. Thus we are thinking for the first 75,000 km it has been done and approx. And if we are lucky only driving at 12,000 km per year, it takes us 4-5 years before we need to undergo the inspection stage 2.

E90 is the 'upgrade' version of E36 and E46..quite true but still better than Toyota Vios and Honda (if we are lucky again). The question now who is going to help us with the inspections? Hmnn. I like Toyota and Honda for it's comfort, re-sale value and always been a value for money. However, as for continental vehicle like the Bimmer or even Ford, it has a sporty luxury character and never compromise on driving performance.

How is your Honda so far?

if you had a glance at the bwm forum, you should had seen that the owners broke down in details about the maintenance cost they paid at different service center, very informative.

i totally agree that you would break down crying should the gear box kaputt.

each service interval is done every 25,000 km?? wow, so for the past 4-5 years, how many services were conducted? approx 3 or 4 services only?! For Honda, I have to go for a service for every 5000km or every 3-month-interval, whichever comes first, to ensure that the car is in tip top condition and to comply with the manufacturer's warranty.

There's no way you would compare a toyota vios with a bimmer if you notice, you are playing an unsured game because you kept saying that IF WE"RE LUCKY. IFFFFF everything goes against you, you better prepare a bottle of sleeping pills by you bedside unless the agent was introduced by a reliable friend of yours, it's better to stay away from used cars.

However, as for continental vehicle like the Bimmer or even Ford, it has a sporty luxury character and never compromise on driving performance.

My honda car has been brilliant so far. It's very comfortable with the leather seat; i think it is very sporty with a digital meter on top of the dash board, double exhausts and the design is quite sporty; driving performance - very smooth and very responsive to the touch; safety - i put vehicle stability system on all the time and i could feel that it gives extra good grip to the road especially at sharp turnings; in-car auto temperature control; air con cools the car down within 2 mins; quiet economical; very spacious particularly the driver's seat that i spend most the time on....etc

I used some of the money i saved from the tax exemption, to install CAPTOR tracking system, integrated foot pedal and steerling lock (not those kind of anti-theft steel bars that lock the steerling on top), V-Cool films, and some special car-care products such as polymer sealant that will protect my body paintwork from dirts, tars, and bird's dung.

elephant wrote: if you had a glance at the bwm forum, you should had seen that the owners broke down in details about the maintenance cost they paid at different service center, very informative.

I have been checking the Bimmer website and the more I dig in the more I feel like Honda (brand new) is the best option so far. Thanks a lot you have been very informative.