[egal]

When locating a recent E90, I was searching for only German assembled 335xi's and were harder to come by. Around here, South African assembled vehicles were plentiful.

I am considering doing an ED vs PCD for my F30 just to make sure the assembly is German.

**I think** that I will get a better quality product from Germany.

Am I off my rocker?

Is there ability to specify where the F30 will be built when placing an order?

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by engelbert

When locating a recent E90, I was searching for only German assembled 335xi's and were harder to come by. Around here, South African assembled vehicles were plentiful.

I am considering doing an ED vs PCD for my F30 just to make sure the assembly is German.

**I think** that I will get a better quality product from Germany.

Am I off my rocker?

Is there ability to specify where the F30 will be built when placing an order?

It's a question I've wondered about as well.
I really don't think it makes much of a difference for a few reasons.

Regardless of where the final assembly is, the design and parts are identical, so I don't see any difference there.
Also consider that much of the assembly work is handled by robots, and that indicates equal performance in the quality of assembly.

As far as the parts that are assembled and installed by human hands, these workers are BMW trained and do the work in a BMW designed and equipped facility. I'm sure BMW trains the workers equally in any BMW plant.
For those reasons I wouldn't think that there would be much variability in the final product.

Perhaps you are like me and you expect your German automobile to be built by Germans. That then leads to the question you asked.

In the Chicago area I haven't run across many BMW's built in S. Africa.
The vast majority were from Germany.
I would think that there are a lot more German built BMW's for the
N. American market, and the S. African built BMW's are mostly for the mid. East and Asian markets and Aussie land.
Seems that would be likely due to transport needs.
But, that's just my guess.

[David328M-Sport]

My 2005 built E90 325i was proudly built in South Africa. It is still going just perfectly since the day I took delivery of it. Still feels and drives like a new BMW.

Remember, the factory might be in South Africa but it is still a BMW factory with many years (officially BMW since 1973) of assembly experience.

And yep, my proposed F30 328i M-Sport will, in all probability, come out of Rosslyn as well. Looking forward to that.

[SCOTT26]

Every BMW whether manufactured in India , China , South Africa or the USA is built to the same quality standards, uses the same materials and production processes as a BMW assembled in Munich or elsewhere in Germany. The only thing different is country of origin.

Production, and every aspect of assembly processes are designed in Munich and then transferred to the BMW worldwide manufacturing network.

[justinnum1]

didnt know the f30 was being built other than in germany...

[Yobyot]

Originally Posted by engelbert

When locating a recent E90, I was searching for only German assembled 335xi's and were harder to come by. Around here, South African assembled vehicles were plentiful.

I am considering doing an ED vs PCD for my F30 just to make sure the assembly is German.

**I think** that I will get a better quality product from Germany.

Am I off my rocker?

Is there ability to specify where the F30 will be built when placing an order?

I'm with you: I want a German car built in Germany. When I bought my E90 in 2005 on ED, I asked if it was possible the car would be built in SA. I was told ED cars are always built in Germany. That's why my newly ordered F30 will also be picked up in Munich next summer.

[Cski1]

Off Rocker.

But emotionally, it matters to me.

[Drivaar]

Well, it's kind of like saying the techs in the US and the techs in Germany are the same... I think cars are taken MUCH more seriously in Germany, and far more qualification is required to work on them there. So... I would take a car made entirely there if possible. Though I agree that over time, automation is increasing so much that it matters less and less.

[E90Fleet]

South Africa always beaten all the German factories in BMW's internal quality audits except the year Leipzig came online with E90. The next year SA was ontop again and then later Leipzig stopped making E90.

The cars are made at a slower pace in SA which helps the quality

When Japan switched to SA 3 series sourcing they reported a far lower defect rate than from the German factories.


Capacity is being increased at the factory for the new F30 and im sure as soon as full production volume is underway in the next 2 months SA will again lead the way for quality
And with the capacity increase you will see many more South African made cars in the USA

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by justinnum1

didnt know the f30 was being built other than in germany...

The F30 is currently being built in both Germany and South Africa

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by RPM90

In the Chicago area I haven't run across many BMW's built in S. Africa.
The vast majority were from Germany.
I would think that there are a lot more German built BMW's for the
N. American market, and the S. African built BMW's are mostly for the mid. East and Asian markets and Aussie land.
Seems that would be likely due to transport needs.
But, that's just my guess.

Around 60% of the 330 or so E90 made daily in South Africa went to the USA
Expect more with the F30

The other big markets for the factory are Japan, South Africa, Australia, rest of Africa

[StewartM]

Wasn't there a time when all right hand drive 3 Series Saloons came from South Africa ?

For a while I was led to believe that Plant concentrated on RHD production, though I have recently been led to believe SA is making more LHDs and Germany is making more RHDs.

Stewart.

[Yobyot]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Around 60% of the 330 or so E90 made daily in South Africa went to the USA
Expect more with the F30

The other big markets for the factory are Japan, South Africa, Australia, rest of Africa

Hello, there E90Fleet! I was hoping you'd be back, active in the F30 forums. You were a source of much valued (and accurate) E90 info when I was more active here in '05 after I bought my 330i via ED.

Say, I don't want to hijack this thread, but can you definitively answer the question of whether or not one can order an F30 with 2TB but NOT ZSL? IOW, is 2TB only available with Sport line?

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by StewartM

Wasn't there a time when all right hand drive 3 Series Saloons came from South Africa ?

For a while I was led to believe that Plant concentrated on RHD production, though I have recently been led to believe SA is making more LHDs and Germany is making more RHDs.

Stewart.

No, they never made all RHD vehhicles.
They make many more LHD vehicles than RHD ones with most LHD ones going to the USA

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by Yobyot

Hello, there E90Fleet! I was hoping you'd be back, active in the F30 forums. You were a source of much valued (and accurate) E90 info when I was more active here in '05 after I bought my 330i via ED.

Say, I don't want to hijack this thread, but can you definitively answer the question of whether or not one can order an F30 with 2TB but NOT ZSL? IOW, is 2TB only available with Sport line?

Thanks for the kind words

Those options are mostly regulated by each country and BMW USA info on the F30 is still scarce.
They may also change their specs and possible options after the first few months of production

Will keep a lookout for more info on this and post if I find

[Robin_NL]

Welkom terug E90Fleet.

Waka waka voor Suid Afrika.

(Not very good at Afrikaans, but it's a bit similar to Dutch lol)

Groet
Robin

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by Robin Hood

Welkom terug E90Fleet.

Waka waka voor Suid Afrika.

(Not very good at Afrikaans, but it's a bit similar to Dutch lol)

Groet
Robin

Dankie

Not too bad Afrikaans

[ppatel223]

In my experience, it does make difference. I bought two new camry's in 03, american made and japan made. I drove american made, which had bit rattle and noise on rough roads. Gap b/w parts were not precise. My younger brother drove japad made, which looked to build more correctly as in alignments of gap b/w panels and parts. So I don't know if this true among other brands and countries.

[ska///235i]

I'm going to be honest so don't flame me for it
I will not buy a bmw thats built in the US or China for many reasons...not going to explain

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Drivaar

Well, it's kind of like saying the techs in the US and the techs in Germany are the same... I think cars are taken MUCH more seriously in Germany, and far more qualification is required to work on them there. So... I would take a car made entirely there if possible. Though I agree that over time, automation is increasing so much that it matters less and less.

That's quite an assumption. Do you have any evidence for that?

Please don't compare US cars to German cars as that is no indication of "far more qualification" for as assembly line.
Engineering is what determines how a car will function.
An American automobile built by US workers is not designed by those workers, they assembly what they are given, just as a BMW line worker assembles what he/she is given.

As you've already pointed out, automation is huge with BMW.
But companies like Hyundai and Kia have some of the most modern assembly plants in the world and their automobiles demonstrate the modernity of assembly. Those cars are built to a price point, just as a BMW is built to a price point.

So, what evidence do you have to support your assertion that German assembly line workers are better trained or take it more seriously?
We all know that reliability is not a BMW winning point. So, is the fault with the design/engineering, the assembly, or the workers putting all that together?
As a whole, in 2011, the German brands are in the bottom half of reliability ratings, the US brands towards the middle, and the Asian brands towards the top.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Around 60% of the 330 or so E90 made daily in South Africa went to the USA
Expect more with the F30

The other big markets for the factory are Japan, South Africa, Australia, rest of Africa

That's an interesting statistic given my experience with what is available in the Chicago area market.

Still, of all 3 series built, what percentage are built in Germany and what from S.A.?

Maybe this area gets a larger percentage of German built 3's.
Could be, I don't know.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by RPM90

That's an interesting statistic given my experience with what is available in the Chicago area market.

Still, of all 3 series built, what percentage are built in Germany and what from S.A.?

Maybe this area gets a larger percentage of German built 3's.
Could be, I don't know.

SA built around 330 Sedans a day
Germany built around 1,100 Sedans a day between the plants

Munich will reach 680 F30 Sedans a day
SA plans around 440 F30 sedans a day
Regensburg will make the rest