discussion Importing a BMW, but its miles per hour

[0j.venter]

Random-ish question, I have been in the UK for a couple of years now, and I am planning on heading back to ZA in the coming years.

Long story short, I am planning on brining by X3 with. Low milage and I think it makes sense at this point.

besides the process of getting it there, I have some questions that I am wondering if you guys can help me figure out.

1. Its speedo is mph based, there is an option to change units to Km/h but it just adds a little digital km/h unit on the speedo. Is it possible to fully convert it so the analog speedo shows km/h and not miles/h? (Attached is what my cluster looks like)
2. How would it impact resell value?

 

[Peter@AEW]

You can change the cluster and program the car to the new one.
As to resale value UK cars are typically not looked upon kindly given how everything rusts over there.
Just my 2c

 

[Solo Man]

My son brought his Golf 5 with him when he came back in 2013. I sold the car to a Forumite about six years later with no problem. His Golf always stood outside in the sun and rain and i can tell you it did not have much rust on it. Think it was a 2005 or 2006 year model. The same son then bought a 2006 120d car from a lady that also brought her car back from the UK and this car was even cleaner on the underside. The children had the 120d for about five years before i bought it from them and i did all the servicing, etc., on both cars and I had encountered no rust on the chassis or elsewhere. Just my personal experience with UK cars. As for the mileage in mph, both cars had kms marked on the speedo so was no problem getting them through roadworthy here in CT. Odo did read miles but that was no problem for us. Iirc, the distance (odo) meter can be converted to kms on the cluster via the computer stalk on the BMW

 

[TurboLlew]

The problem isn't usually the rain or UK elements. It depends heavily on whether the car was driven on salted roads or not. There was a UK E92 M3 I looked at and the underside was also perfectly fine from what we could tell, but it was also probably garaged during winter. It certainly wasn't a selling point being from the UK though. You'd be asked about this by anyone buying in future. X3s are also not in short supply so chances are that the average person would also prefer a local car just for those little things like not having MPH/miles on the cluster. It wouldn't stop me from bringing the vehicle to SA though. For some people it may not matter and for a few it may even be something quirky to have.

 

[0j.venter]

Thinking behind brining it over is that its paid off and the cost to bring it over is quite cheap compared to buying a new secondhand one.

But I do wonder about the resell value here vs in ZA and if ill lose a lot more due to selling there vs here it might make sense to sell at a higher value here.

Salted roads, cant avoid them here, so its a given. Rust, I have not see any. Miles per hour cluster, yes.

 

[TBP88]

Rather get something that end that is rare/Not available locally. An X3 is here in droves so no idea why you'd go through the hassle, the saving cannot be that big.

 

[YozTruly]

The G01 is BMWs best selling car in SA for the past few years. Your car will need to have a unique engine, something that wasn’t available locally, else it will be just another X3. I don’t think being a UK import will make it more or less attractive than any other car in the market. It will just be another X3 with one or 2 quirks on the dash.

I wouldn’t base the decision to import on resell value but rather on sentiment. Anything else will just be a bonus.

 

[FiRi@Rennzport]

Random-ish question, I have been in the UK for a couple of years now, and I am planning on heading back to ZA in the coming years.

Long story short, I am planning on brining by X3 with. Low milage and I think it makes sense at this point.

besides the process of getting it there, I have some questions that I am wondering if you guys can help me figure out.

1. Its speedo is mph based, there is an option to change units to Km/h but it just adds a little digital km/h unit on the speedo. Is it possible to fully convert it so the analog speedo shows km/h and not miles/h? (Attached is what my cluster looks like)View attachment 26918
2. How would it impact resell value?

723 miles....

Thats new..

Please bring me a m340i wagon.

 

[Benji]

Personally, it only makes sense to go through the hassle if you have something special/unique that wasnt available in SA. Something like a 340i wagon or 340d wagon, maybe X3 40d which I dont think was available locally.

End of the day, it is quite a hassle to arrange shipping and then get the cluster changed and coded, organize registration and roadworthy etc. That whole process can easily cost 100k and hours of your time

 

[FiRi@Rennzport]

Personally, it only makes sense to go through the hassle if you have something special/unique that wasnt available in SA. Something like a 340i wagon or 340d wagon, maybe X3 40d which I dont think was available locally.

End of the day, it is quite a hassle to arrange shipping and then get the cluster changed and coded, organize registration and roadworthy etc. That whole process can easily cost 100k and hours of your time

G01 x3 40d was available in SA. Scarce, but available

 

[M3boi]

Pretty sure you can change the units in the iDrive settings?

 

[modocrat]

Someone I know imported a M340d sedan

You need to bring back something cool and rare..

 

[individj]

I must agree with what was said above .... I would only bring over something special.

 

[0j.venter]

Thanks, everyone! Good insights

 

[Benji]

To add to this...the fact that you are considering bringing a car back with you, it would be criminal if you didnt bring anything special back...

Z3 clownshoe 3.0i
Any fast wagon...540i, 535d, 330i, 340i, 330d, 335d, 340d - bonus points for a manual
E30 wagon or pillarless
W123, W124 wagon
W210 or W211 AMG wagon
Something Alpina...E46, E90, E39, E38, E60 etc
E38 individual...740 or 750...first prize for a short wheelbase 750i with an interesting individual colour combo like purple over champagne and ofcourse Contour seats
E31 840Ci or 850Ci in a nice colour
E46 330Ci - bonus points for a clubsport
A properly specced Range Rover L322 - green on beige interior with light wood trim - TDV8
Volvo V70R in any flavor

I can go on...but even something as left wing as a VW Up! GTi would be "more correct" than bringing back an X3

In case it isnt clear; the above is my shopping list, bring any of the above and ill buy it off you at a handsome profit

 

[TBP88]

To add to this...the fact that you are considering bringing a car back with you, it would be criminal if you didnt bring anything special back...

Z3 clownshoe 3.0i
Any fast wagon...540i, 535d, 330i, 340i, 330d, 335d, 340d - bonus points for a manual
E30 wagon or pillarless
W123, W124 wagon
W210 or W211 AMG wagon
Something Alpina...E46, E90, E39, E38, E60 etc
E38 individual...740 or 750...first prize for a short wheelbase 750i with an interesting individual colour combo like purple over champagne and ofcourse Contour seats
E31 840Ci or 850Ci in a nice colour
E46 330Ci - bonus points for a clubsport
A properly specced Range Rover L322 - green on beige interior with light wood trim - TDV8
Volvo V70R in any flavor

I can go on...but even something as left wing as a VW Up! GTi would be "more correct" than bringing back an X3

In case it isnt clear; the above is my shopping list, bring any of the above and ill buy it off you at a handsome profit

Add a clean E36 318ti to the list (though I'd have a Z3 coupe 3.0si over essentially any other car)

 

[Mytfine]

If you owned the car in the uk for more than 1year i think its very easy to register it in SA when you come back, its not the same procedure as a regular import as it falls under personal effects which will be duty and vat free. Also yiu cant sell the car for 2years.

 

[MoeM2]

Personally, it only makes sense to go through the hassle if you have something special/unique that wasnt available in SA. Something like a 340i wagon or 340d wagon, maybe X3 40d which I dont think was available locally.

End of the day, it is quite a hassle to arrange shipping and then get the cluster changed and coded, organize registration and roadworthy etc. That whole process can easily cost 100k and hours of your time

Agree wagon 340i or 340d


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