The Ins And Outs Of Cars In Japan

[m3gtr]

People have been telling you that a European car does not ENSURE that you won't lose any money for the last 10 pages.

Just grow a pair and buy the car you want. Stop looking to everyone else for approval.

cereal, im not looking for everyones "approval". I don't need others to be happy with the car i choose. I have to be happy with the car i choose.

You missed the point. Which car is the right car?

I know just the thing!...

[Merli]

Merli, its not like I'm not listening to people, i am. You said you don't know if the car you mentioned sold after those 6 months you kept your eye on it. It very well may have but you cant confirm this. And the guy may have walked away with a big wad of notes stuffed into his designer briefcase. Then again, maybe he lost his home over it though i doubt that very much. I got the slightest suspicion that you were in fact jealous that i could get my hands on one for half the price you paid but id like to tell my self that's rubbish. I was already factoring in the wait and 6 months or more is what i am expecting more or less.

You said that i was way overestimating the prices of an M3. Please show me where. Every car i have looked at in the E46 range was priced between 80 and 120 thousand dollars. It sounds to me like you are of the opinion that no one is going to want the car. The thing is..only 1 person has to.

So mate, why don't you do me a favour and enlighten me. Please tell me what you paid for yours and why you didn't buy the grey import. I'm all ears, contrary to what you believe.

So you have all these people trying to help you, and giving GOOD advice, and this is the bullsh1t drivel that you reply with?

Fcuk me, why do we even bother?

Do you really think that after waiting 6 months with no buyers, and constantly lowering the price of that M3 over and over and over again, he finally hit the jackpot and sold it for a large sum of money? One word. Delusional.

I don't need to follow the sale of that car to know what happened. He got a lowball offer after trying to sell it for 9 months from someone who couldn't really afford a locally delivered M3, and he took it because it's all he could get.

Let me "enlighten" you. Buyers for these types of cars do NOT want a grey import because:

a) Lack of australian (any?) service history

b) Lack of warranty (this is HUGE)

c) Lack of BMW dealer support (I'm sorry Sir, where did you purchase this car???? Errr let me just check with my service manager if we can service this)

d) Horrible resale value - Sorry to break your bubble, but buyers of $80-100k cars are very much concerned about money. They worry about depreciation and resale value.

Why didn't I buy the grey import? Well, for all of the above reasons.

I wanted dealer warranty. I'm not sure if you realise how much repairs to an M3 can run you. If I didn't have warranty, I would already be about $3500 in the red because a simple, cheap, hydraulic arm on the convertible top started leaking fluid. Parts needed changing and you can't just get one part, it comes as a huge one-piece assembly from BMW running in the thousands. Plus exorbitant BMW dealership labour. Ouch.

And that's for a simple, small part. Can you imagine if you had to pay for a new navigation system, new engine, or even (more likely) diagnose complex electrical problems out of WARRANTY? Bend over and bite on this towel.

Buyers in the market for an M3 want to see dealer servicing records. They want a no-hassle ownership, and even though it costs more to get it serviced at BMW than at Ultratune, that's what they do, because they know that the potential buyers of the car will want to see that. Service history in ENGLAND??? Private IMPORT??? err no thanks. I'll have a look at that other one over there.

Even though it will cost the buyer $20k more for an Australian delivered European car, they will do so, because they'll be able to sell it more easily when the time comes and recoup that extra money. No biggie. Why buy a cheaper M3 and then sell it at the same difference? Pay a little more (that you'll get back when you sell the car) for piece of mind, and hassle-free ownership? That's what BMW M3 owners are looking for. Not a grey import with a HUGE repairs liability.

As for true value for the cars? 2001-2002 E46 M3 Coupes are now SELLING for about $60k, 2003-2004 M3s are SELLING for about $70-80k. Don't let your vision be clouded by the high asking prices advertised on websites. They don't sell for anywhere near asking price (especially private sales, with no dealer warranty). Truth of the matter is, it's now the previous model, and it's a buyer's market. Dealerships (and private sellers) realise that every single day that the car is sitting in their lot, it is depreciating. ESPECIALLY since the new model is now available. Amazingly in Australia, where we get REAMED on car prices, the BMW M3 still sells very well, and there are HEAPS of them to choose from.

It sounds to me like you are of the opinion that no one is going to want the car. The thing is..only 1 person has to.

See here's where you're going wrong. You want to make life easy for yourself. Why in the HELL would you buy a car that only has a small target market? You'll be waiting forever for that 1 person to buy it.

Doesn't sound like you're in the right frame of mind to be making money from this venture. Not sure what you lecture at University, but it sure isn't Economics or Finance.

Buy a car that you love and want to drive instead, and just enjoy it. When you ship it here, just try not to lose money on it. Done.

[m3gtr]

Point taken Merli. Theres no need to get so worked up over it. That "drivel" was a comment in reply to you and you alone.

Don't try and drag others into this.

You've stated your point and ive taken it into account.

While i appreciate your reply, you've no need to get so worked up over it.

As an M3 owner yourself, you have more right than many others to be commenting on this but lets get this straight...I was asking for advice. Yes some of it i didn't like but sense is sense is sense.

[m3gtr]

There were around 5 22Bs originally imported to Aus in 1999, but there'd be 10-15 in the country now. Might be difficult to sell... but guaranteed to make money.

Listen to Beer Baron about the enthusiast thing, he knows what he's talking about, anyone in the market for an '01-'03 CL500 would be very wary of a personal import.

There are plenty of enthusiast cars which would be MUCH easier for you to sell and have the added bonus of potential buyers expecting it to be an import because the car was never available on the Aus market.

Think of cars like the Forester STi, Evo IX Wagon and Civic Type R. AFAIK none of them are on the SEVS list, but all of them have a decent following back home...

Hey cereal,

This was way back on page 2 of this thread and lol, you mentioned 2 cars i was seriously looking at and one i actually bought. No need for the other 9 pages in that case yeah?

Funny that.

[cereal]

yeah, funny that...