[romeo26]

seems like they are dissing the sa made bmw's

"Afro-Bimmers coming to North America
It has recently been reported that a large percentage of e90 3-series sold in North America will be built by Africans. South African 3 Series Imports Cut Costs for BMW. Edmunds.com. South African cars have "N" as the 11th character in the VIN. That's "N" for Not in My Garage! The best made cars (Lexus) are built by sophisticated robots, not by the world's cheapest laborers. You can make sure that your new BMW will be made in Germany by taking European Delivery.

US 2006 325i & 325i Wholesale Price List, Options & Packages."

the web site is
www.bmwtrack.com

[Mark]

well, i think most of us here know how high quality the SA built cars actually are. We were talking about it in the other thread.. I always thought my car was really special, but after hearing the stories from the other owners of SA cars, it seems that the factory down there is really one of the best. Im very happy to own a SA car and wouldnt mind my next BMW being from that plant as long as they keep the high quality going.

[timzerofive]

I'd be weary too about south africa made vehicle by the ways of cheap labor. Good thing my Vin has PD.

[shipo]

Hysteria aside, I've been communicating on 3-Series message boards since before the E46 came out, and I've never seen any evidence to suggest that the South African cars were of any less quality than the German built ones.

Whoever posted the above quote over on the other board might could well be equated to a RoadFly-Flame-Troll. Just my humble opinion. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

[Mark]

the other thread aobut this:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=953

[silverado]

Originally Posted by romeo26

seems like they are dissing the sa made bmw's

"Afro-Bimmers coming to North America
It has recently been reported that a large percentage of e90 3-series sold in North America will be built by Africans. South African 3 Series Imports Cut Costs for BMW. Edmunds.com. South African cars have "N" as the 11th character in the VIN. That's "N" for Not in My Garage! The best made cars (Lexus) are built by sophisticated robots, not by the world's cheapest laborers. You can make sure that your new BMW will be made in Germany by taking European Delivery.

US 2006 325i & 325i Wholesale Price List, Options & Packages."

the web site is
www.bmwtrack.com

Is it just me or does the text of this announcement on bmwtrack.com have an offensive slant? It's one thing to say that you want a German-made BMW, it sounds like quite another to say that you don't want a car made "by Africans", "the world's cheapest laborers".

For the record, I'm not African or a laborer. Just an offended human being.

[Stavros]

I agree with you silverado that is quite an offensive statement. I am sure the quality control in South Africa is identical to cars made in Germany.

[romeo26]

thats why i posted it, i was surprised that it said "Afro-Bimmers coming to North America" to me this is racist(allittle bit). why would bmw be making there cars in SA for the US market if they arnt good?

[E90Fleet]

If you think we have cheap labour you have NEVER seen our labour laws

We have cheaper steel, because we mine and refine it ourselves, we also supply a lot of BMW Germany's leather, so using it here cuts costs


We keep having problems with how cheap labour is in other countries driving manufacturing out of ours.


Anyway, just ask BMW who keeps winning their Internal quality award

[thx1138]

Just to throw in my comment about the subject...

My current E46 325i was built in SA. It's the same top quality my E36 328 built in Germany was. Quite honestly, the 325i has had less issues than my German built X3.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by thx1138

Just to throw in my comment about the subject...

My current E46 325i was built in SA. It's the same top quality my E36 328 built in Germany was. Quite honestly, the 325i has had less issues than my German built X3.

X3 is built is Austria not Germany

[a3ndy]

At the end of the day, you are still buying a BMW, and BMW have standards to maintain.

Associating the country in which your BMW is built to the quality of the car is just silly and somewhat xenophobic.

[thx1138]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

X3 is built is Austria not Germany

E90Fleet,

Thanks for the correction. I actually should have thought about that more since I read about the Magna Corporation (Canadian company) in Austria that is building the X3 for BMW.

Nonetheless, point is all my Bimmers have been well built no matter which country they originate from.

Happy driving.

[wannabe]

Originally Posted by romeo26

"Afro-Bimmers coming to North America
It has recently been reported that a large percentage of e90 3-series sold in North America will be built by Africans. South African 3 Series Imports Cut Costs for BMW. Edmunds.com. South African cars have "N" as the 11th character in the VIN. That's "N" for Not in My Garage! The best made cars (Lexus) are built by sophisticated robots, not by the world's cheapest laborers. You can make sure that your new BMW will be made in Germany by taking European Delivery.

US 2006 325i & 325i Wholesale Price List, Options & Packages."

the web site is
www.bmwtrack.com

That is the most ignorant statement ever made. How do they know that there aren't the same sophisticated robots in South Africa? Do they picture black people in tribal wear using spears to screw the seats into the car?

Idiots!

Not you romeo26...I know you don't think that.

[Armen52]

Seriously this is an offensive and racist comment.

What on earth is preventing BMW from setting up a factory with the same manufacturing tools and robots in SA as in Germany. In fact I am sure that they have! It would be too costly for them to do it otherwise, standardization is necessary.

[batmanwagon]

Funny how the same thing was echoed in VW discussions - some people had their VW's built in Brazil, some in Germany. Anecdotally, there didn't seem to be any difference in quality.

[wannabe]

Originally Posted by batmanwagon

Funny how the same thing was echoed in VW discussions - some people had their VW's built in Brazil, some in Germany. Anecdotally, there didn't seem to be any difference in quality.

That's funny because I would figure having your car built by hot latin supermodels might have an effect on reliability...I guess not.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by batmanwagon

Funny how the same thing was echoed in VW discussions - some people had their VW's built in Brazil, some in Germany. Anecdotally, there didn't seem to be any difference in quality.

We also build the VW Golf V here

[DaveCM5]

I don't think the "Afro-Bimmer" part is offensive at all, it's no different than saying Euro-Bimmer. It's the first four letters of the continent-dash-Bimmer. What's so offensive about that?

And saying that you wouldn't buy a BMW built in Africa is the same thing as saying you wouldn't buy a BMW built in China.

I don't think it's offensive, just ignorant. The fact is that no matter where BMW sets up thier plant, the quality control will be to BMWs standards or the people running it won't be working there long.

-Dave C. '06 330i

PS: Yes, I am a whitey.

[bozo5521]

What a load of crap...Those dudes have been getting all kinds of awards for years, since before they were making cars...They are renowned for quality production, because they are so dependant on these assembly line jobs to put food on the table!...The Germans can walk out of the Bimmer factory in Munich and probably secure just as good a job in hours...Just one award excerpt...And yes, the survey wasnt some tribal inspection result, it was an independent US sponsored survey

A South African factory has scooped a stunning award, with BMW’s Rosslyn plant near Pretoria winning for its Munich parent the vote of best BMW manufacturing plant in Europe and second-best vehicle manufacturing plant in the world in a major US ratings survey.

The Rosslyn plant was awarded the highly prestigious European Gold Plant Quality Award by the leading US ratings agency, JD Powers, on 31 May. Although the plant is in South Africa, it falls under the European parent BMW AG in Munich.

"This is a truly extraordinary achievement,” said BMW Managing Director Ian Robertson. “Not only has BMW South Africa been recognised as building the best quality cars "in Europe" but also, our record has comprehensively beaten major car manufacturing plants throughout the world. Clearly, BMW’s drive to achieve world-class quality here in South Africa is proving to be successful.”

[voltron1011]

I think the biggest reason for moving production to another continent is to get away from the Euro currency. Since it appears that the Euro has made itself quite the strong contender, all of the Europpean exporters are feeling the crunch. VW does the same thing with the Jetta, which is built in Mexico. Since the Jetta is N. America's best selling model, they are saving not only in labor and shipping, but also the horrendous exchange rate (thanks to the 'incredible shrinking dollar'). Does anyone know what currency S. Africa uses? I'll bet that this plant isn't a 'sweat shop' like they portray. I bet the employees get paid very well for their economic region.

[SCA]

BMW Tech friends seem to believe that SA built E46s are/were more problematic than the German produced cars.