Dear owners,

I have been attracted to BMW car since a teenager.
Now as an adult I thought to myself, it is now or never.

I have seen many people whom are just a normal employee, but driving a bmw.

having said that, Need your advice on the following as i cant seem to find a thread on the F30.

Car:
1. How is your experience having the car?
2. What are the problems that you have faced with the car?
3. How many time did you send your car for maintenance?
4. What is the cost of maintenance?
5. What is the cost of petrol full tank?
6. Do you normally send it to the authorised service center or normal mechanics outside?

Individual:
1. I saw on mudah, the going price is averaging aroun 160k. is this standard or could be cheaper?
2. my nett earning is 7k, should i even consider the car?


I know i might be asking the wrong questions, appreciate if someone could guide me and advice me so i don't make a mistake i will regret.

Worst investment in Malaysia is car. Especially continental car. Sorry.

Go to BMW Malaysia forums to get proper advice on the car. Most will just ask you let go of the idea here.

buy a TOYOTA or HONDA

The more expensive the car, the more expensive it is to maintain or replace parts (major service/accidents). SO unless money is not an issue 3 years down the road then go for it.

PS. dont bother asking about servicing outside to reduce cost. You'll end up paying more in the long run and causing more headaches to yourself.

New unit 5 years unlimited mileage warranty & 5 years/100k free service & parts. So for the 1st 5 years or 100k, no cost at all for maintenance. 2nd unit before June 15 only came with 2 years warranty.

honestly no, not at 7k nett. at that level, i would go for 150k-160k new conti with full warranty and FOC service. Then you dont have to worry about running costs for the next few years. The fact that you are worrying about petrol and the cost of a full tank says alot about your financial status.

a 2012 F30 would be out of warranty and FOC service already, RFT tires alone will cost you over 2.5k per set, and the car will be due for major service 1.5k -2k.

having said that...if you have your heart set on a BMW(and know that it will be a money sink) then i would suggest you go direct to BMW dealers for pre reg or demo 118i or 316i, both of which will get you peace of mind warranty/service package

BMW has 5 year warranty, free service as well as 2 years tire protecteion at the moment, def the best after sales package at the moment

i found the 328i engine to be unrefined and loud, clattery. Was quite disapointed in it actually, but if you try the new X1 which has the new generation 2.0 turbo, its a world of difference, smooth and quiet

This post has been edited by jwrx: Mar 12 2016, 11:30 AM

Uber always I get this, conclusion you're paying a lot for badge only

totally untrue. there are many specialist BMW workshops in pj/kl that are excellent and much cheaper then BMW principle.

Following many other people/normal employee who drives BMW does not mean it's the right decision! Following majority of people who have made the wrong decision doesn't make it right. Seriously I'd advice against buying such expensive car with such low income. Not even a new 150k car as suggested above. I suggest you just stick to something truly affordable for you which is anything below 80k! If you want to buy such expensive car, work hard and smart until you can earn at least double what you're earning now and even that only if you're not planning for other commitments (like raising a family, buying a house, etc2.) If you are planning to have those other commitments as well, then wait longer until you can earn more than triple your current income. If you cannot reach that level of income then sorry to say you just have to change your dream car to something more realistic.

With RM7K nett income you can afford to maintain a second hand BMW if you have no big commitments but not worth the struggle. It's a high maintenance car and you are better off using your income to improve your lifestyle elswhere rather than paying for a badge.

mazda 3 enough xD

On a 7-9 yr loan, the affordability checks out (not sure abt your other commitments).

But seriously, you'll feel great driving a beemer for a while but the novelty of driving such brand will wear off quickly once the reality of the actual ownership cost kicks in, if it comes to you by surprise. By then when you want to sell off the car, you'll be incurring tens of thousand of losses.

But if your pocket is deep enough, go ahead and buy one. Live presently they say. A 328i is certainly nice to vroom vroom around.

For me, my advice it try not to see the additional disposable income as a reason and excuse to buy a nice car, whatmore a beemer.

Having a mentality of being able to save/invest 3-5k every month at least as a norm is definitely better in the long run. But who am I to give you financial advice.

#yolo

At RM 7k nett salary, his gross salary is already around RM 9k.

TS, as I mentioned earlier you won't get any sound technical advice here on the car but half-baked financial advice.

PM me if you are really interested on the car, will give you a tips or two personally

Hello TS,
I can answer your questions. Previous owner of F30 328i M-Sport Year 2013. Sold off cause booked an W205, nothing wrong with the car.

Car:
1. How is your experience having the car?
Actually, regretted selling it off. The pickup and acceleration is second to none compared with current ride. Plus with adaptive suspension, taking tight corner really a breeze. Which bring us to tyre wear.

2. What are the problems that you have faced with the car?
Above 100km, will hear wind whistling sound from door window, this cannot be fixed. Else nothing wrong that I know of.

3. How many time did you send your car for maintenance?
FOC maintenance including brake pad every 10k km. Current 5years FOC maintenance doesn't. The pad is the most expensive component per my SA

4. What is the cost of maintenance?
FOC as above. Just RFT tyre every 2years. But mine is staggered front 225/40/18 and rear 255/45/18. Difficult to get the exact rear tyre size in Malaysia.

5. What is the cost of petrol full tank?
At RM1.90, full tank can go RM120. I am on highway most of the time, hence full tank on car dashboard will show range of 880km for my type of driving.

6. Do you normally send it to the authorised service center or normal mechanics outside?
I got extended 2+1 years extension, due there were a promo that if we intro other to buy BMW car, they will get extra 5% off and I will get extension, pass to my SA and both parties got a good deal.
Under warranty, so sent to Authorised Service.

Nope, more like max 8.5k only. Even so whatever the gross is, it's surely 1000% still pretty low. It's not half baked financial advice, it's being sensible and realistic, keeping both feet firmly on the ground and not just day dreaming.

If you really want a f30, you should target the 320i or the 320d. It's cheaper and more affordable with your income.

a 2012 320d sells around 145k now - certainly much more affordable than 2012 328i which goes ard 170k.

That torque n efficiency is really something to shout about. And diesels are now RM1.30/litre!

Agree, RM8.5K gross isn't really BMW material. Based on the rule of thumb that the car you buy should cost about the same as your annual income this means a RM100K car or non-luxury C-segment level only. Maybe you can push to non-luxury D-segment like Accord or Camry that's about it. My own rule of thumb- if you can't afford to buy it new you can't afford the second hand maintenance.

As a owner of F30 328 Luxury 2012:

1. How is your experience having the car?
I am pretty happy with the handling, horse power and pickup. For suspensions, unlike the M Sport (which is adaptive), mine were too soft. So, I changed stock to Bilstein B12 and the performance is good. 328 has sport+, which is not available for 320d and 320i. Also, there is sport display for 328, which allows you to view the torque and horse power.

2. What are the problems that you have faced with the car?
For the initial batch of CKD, a lot of problems. However, I managed to get SC to fix them before the warranty expired. If you get a second hand, check the mileage. Under-utilized may not mean good news - probably the previous owner hardly drove the car and did not notice the problems.

My current problem is the squealing noise from dashboard - probably due to the poor quality of CKD.

3. How many time did you send your car for maintenance?
BMW offered different BSRI for different batches of F30. Those cars before 2013 were given only two free services or 25,000 km intervals (which include replacement of brake pads/discs, wipers, brake fluid, filters, and etc). I sent my cars for change of lubricants every 12k km and since mine is 2012 I had to pay for extra services not covered in the original scopes. Those after 2013 until Jun 2015, get free BSRI services around 12k km.

4. What is the cost of maintenance?
For normal oil services at authorized service centre, it is about RM 600. Cheaper than Mercedes Benz. It is better to send to SC if the car is less than 5 years old. You might get free parts replacement (due to a recall) and software upgrade. I had several free updates despite the warranty expired.

5. What is the cost of petrol full tank?
This is least concern for me. F30 is very efficient and the petrol consumption is ok because of new technology. For a consistent 110km/h, I can easily achieve 6.5l/100 km for highway. For city, my average is 9.5l/100 km.

6. Do you normally send it to the authorised service center or normal mechanics outside?
Yes, I continue to send to authorized service centre though my warranty expired two years ago.

ongss, so can he or can he not afford instalment + maintenance for a BMW 328 on RM7K Nett a month?

Car with less problem make life easier, lesser worried of stop in the middle of road and causing traffic jam...=P

p/s: alternative way, Lexus?

There was a long debate (27 pages) for someone with 5k nett + wife's 4k income to get a F30 316:

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3742661

Guess TS should have noticed that discussion.

If I post my answer based on his finance, I am sure many will shoot me. There are many like to claim "You Only Live Once (YOLO)". I answered with rational mind in the F30 316 thread. This round, I try to answer in different mindset. So, if TS loves BMW so much, I guess no one can stop him. Only a painful lesson, then one will learn: the most important thing is to boost own earning power and not car's horse power.

This post has been edited by ongss: Mar 14 2016, 12:57 PM

To be honest, after reading all the replies, I went down to mamak to smoke.

As i was sitting down, i asked the mamak guy to give me a pack of ciggarates.

when he told me the price, in my heart i was cursing it was expensive and irritated.

Then i stopped and it hit me....

The realisation that I would probably would never be able to own or experience driving a well renowned car due to my financial standing.

It took me 23 year to reach where I am now financially and i realised that i have always been and will always been an average mediocre person in this world.

The truth hurts. it does. heartbreaking.

With my 8K of earnings, logically speaking i should not and must not be even considering a car with a price tag above 100K.

with the 1/10th rule of thumb....i guess i will always be stuck with proton.

I might be wrong but sometimes i have to be grounded to the ground. reality hits.

Thank you for the replies I have received here.

a Final thought given by my friend while having the mamak session:

"Bro, I understand how you feel and what you want. But think about it for one second, Can a peasant be a king?"

I replied "yes, why not??"

His answer: "Nope, a peasant will always be a peasant no matter how much you clean, teach and mask him with the kings clothing's, he is still a peasant."

"strive and work harder. put more effort. this is what people normally say. what people dont tell you is not all gets to make it in this world. There are some whom no matter what would just be .... . Thats life"

THREAD CAN BE OFFICIALLY CLOSED

This post has been edited by anonymous4privacy: Mar 14 2016, 01:13 PM

Work harder bro, I am sure you can achieve your dream car goals one day

Yes, I agree, everyone can buy dream cars by working hard and smart.

I come from a poor family. My father worked very hard and my siblings work harder (and smarter). One thing we believe is the most important factor: financial planning. Put the priority right first and one can drive any dream cars sooner or later.

Would't say the first table would be the best, I assume that that's in USD right?

Car's in US are dirt cheap, you can't compare it against us

Yup, got see one youtube. 2016 BMW M5 F10 4.4 Twin Turbo with Optional Package - USD104,000, if work there and get US5,000 salary, that means it price lower than Honda Civic in Malaysia.

If item no 5 in your list, dont bother to own this car.

Yeap, I actually couldn't believe how cheap their car is haha

But have to take into account the taxes that they have there too, afaik it's quite high.

Good that you realize this!
Just keep trying, work harder and smarter, you will surely improve.
And always remember there's always some one else higher/richer than you (unless you're Bill Gates at the moment), so don't get depressed, accept reality but stay positive and motivated. Even when you finally can be regarded as quite well to do/successful, still remember this so that you still stays humble and not show off with your success!

buy pre reg la
i got a few friends buy from bmw premium selection

At 7k nett, you cannot afford one. My nett more than your nett also I'm not touching those cars.

7 k he can buy if he have enough down payment for a new BMW but 2nd hand one if his luck is good he will be OK ...but just wondering if it's such a good car why people are selling after just 2 or 3 years of driving it

Yea..2nd hand cars have the risk thr..As for BMW, the maintenance and repair cost are not cheap. Tbh with 7k nett..I also dun dare to buy new BMW

Those driving a bmw on the road majority not even own a 1m house or having it with the financial support from FAMA.
Those who driving Toyota,Honda,Lexus, many of them sit on multilple assets who get retired early.

buying car is not an investment

Usually 2 kinds of people :
1) so rich that change car like change fashion out of mood
2) pretend to be rich but end up unable to afford the total cost of ownership

A small risk that there maybe something wrong with the car that is significant but not noticeable, so dispose first before ending up in money pit.

Or the car involved in accident before and the initial owner feel the car damn pantang.

This post has been edited by wkc5657: Aug 29 2017, 03:54 PM

8k salary why not? Get the 118i from BMW Premium Selection, pay the longest instalment, house pay 35 years, both around 4k, another 4k for your petrol, road tax, insurance and daily expenses, pay parents, medical insurance, etc etc... quit smoking can save a lot...

Get it if you wish, if I am so rich like you (I mean young), I won't think too much, fight for it, chase your desire dream, success is just at your door step. Think too negative eventually you have nothing plus no achievement in your life.

A lot of people say this, but I wonder where they get their stats. Would b interesting if Hp loan officers share what is the average income of people who take loans to buy bmws.

Not sure about that brother ...but I think those really rich ones who buy the Beemer and never ever speed ...just buy for prestige they got money LA. ...I don't think all got BMW all just wayang only LA brother ☺

Depends what are your commitments ...if 7k net no much commitment why now ...rm 2500 max for new bmw...4500 more balance ....why not..unless this person every week shopping on branded stuff or has a materialistic girl than sorry LA than ya not enough

1 year old thread resurrected from the dead!

RM2500 monthly for a 9-year loan sure can Lol very top cake YOLO lifestyle one

Ya LA brother like I said depends on the commitment ☺

It's a way of life bro, some prefer to get a "nice" car first before they plan for a property... some even prefer to buy properties after properties and sit on their Toyota/Honda .... neither of them is right or wrong .. my 2cent

Must make clear of bmw and benz and lexus
And also the key words Majority
Cheers

I came across this thread now because i am now looking to upgrade my ride. Aiming for a used entry level luxury car. Probably Audi A3, A5, Mercedes A250 or BMW 328i M Sport.

Currently driving Honda FD Civic 2.0 (Overall quite reliable, power is enough for daily use)

In the dilemma of "Try to save up" and "I only live once"

And its been re-activated another year after. LOL.

So, just asking, is 2012-2013 bmw 320 or 328 better? Maintenance is another thing, question is does it breakdown halfway like some of the conti car?

Got budget of course pick the 328i xd