You can't even trust BMW / Malaysia tak boleh

[baitianlong]

I am the medium-happy owner of a 328i from 1996.Recently, I had a weird experience where the car, after braking, didn't go smoothly into gear but seemed to be in neutral and then suddenly jump into gear with a hard sudden pull and tough sound.I felt a little strange/nervous about this, so I went to see my mechanic and he told me something interesting, though a little besides the point.A car like mine, late 90's 328, has been assembled in Malaysia and even though the specs call for a 5 speed automatic gearbox, the monkeys put in a 4-speed auto-gearbox for a 318i (with a few minor alterations) to save money or whatever. Of course this gearbox is not tuned to handle an engine almost twice as strong as the 318 engine and I have actually wondered why the car goes in unnecessary high rotations when you speed up or drive fast and why the gear-change is often quite rough. But there's the answer.I just don't understand that BMW, who has always been known for delivering solid engineering, can allow this to be the case. But I guess anything goes in this country.

 

[thule]

it's lemon on your case bro... not many cars have this problem...

 

[Hellraiser]

did you buy from an auto trader or are you the first owner? sorry bro. just wondering.

 

[bmw4eva]

Maybe the previous owner's replaced the gearbox from a 318i unit. Cases such as this happens more often than you think, and not just on bmw's, but other cars too where they put the wrong gearbox to because the right one simply isn't available.At least that's the only explanation I can think of,because my father's friend drives a '95 Mercedes S320 just like my father's.Both UK spec, but my father's friend's Merc has a 4 speed automatic, whereas my father's a 5 speed auto.

 

[loafer]

Blame the local setup for this, not the BMW brand.

This isn't only isolated to Malaysia. It happens all over the world.

 

[baitianlong]

I bought the car from a private person through Malaysian Motortrader. He said the car was in good shape/serviced and all, just the tires needed changing.

When I test-drove the car, it did feel a little strange, but my "expert(haha)"-friend was pretty sure that was only the worn down tires.

Since I bought the car for 39000, I have spent around 10000 to fix this and that. It was not only the tires. I've had to change or repair pretty much every part connected to the stabilizers, rear-arm, drive shaft and steering. And the best is yet to come as I will also need to change the shock absorbers, since I've discovered that they are long gone and have been tampered with (repaired by injecting oil and gas into them). My mechanic showed me the absorber when he was replacing another part and even though I am no expert, they looked very bad and they don't expand after you push them in. SIGH!

Besides that, I learned that the car has had 6 owners before me, and they probably all "burnt rubber" for a while and then sold the car when it was road-tax time! ...so it has had a tough life.

Of course this is a lesson to me and everybody else. NEVER buy a car without taking it to a good mechanic first...

All this bitching is of course besides my point here, but never the less reason for much annoyance.

 

[baitianlong]

I don't think the gearbox has been changed in the car, that would be the only thing changed then - ha ha.

And the info about the locally assembled BMW's with wrong gearboxes came from the mechanic, and I kind of trust / believe the guy.

 

[Hellraiser]

sounds like you got a 'lemon' bro. sorry to hear. for a moment i thought you had bought it straight from AB where you can sue their pants off since you said " you can't even trust BMW" in your heading. it should be revised to "you can't trust a second hand car seller" and the onus is on your side to check its road worthiness.

 

[baitianlong]

What I mean is that when you buy a BMW you expect the same high quality and level of engineering no matter where in the world you are, so the fact that they apparently ignore or are unaware, that local assembly-plants are tampering with their specs and thereby lowering the quality of the product, is rather disappointing.

What has happened to this car in the last 12 years and that I was "dumb" enough to buy it, is beside my point.

Like the comment by "bmw4eva", I think the dude with the 4-speed gearbox feels a little sad that his car is "faulty" compared with his friends car.

 

[Hellraiser]

bro, i totally agree with you if the car is straight from the furnace but it may have been tampered / modified or whatever from the previous owners.

so, is BMW Malaysia to be blame? If so sue them. It will be interesting to see how far this goes.

 

[jarance]

I bought the car from a private person through Malaysian Motortrader. He said the car was in good shape/serviced and all, just the tires needed changing.

When I test-drove the car, it did feel a little strange, but my "expert(haha)"-friend was pretty sure that was only the worn down tires.

Since I bought the car for 39000, I have spent around 10000 to fix this and that. It was not only the tires. I've had to change or repair pretty much every part connected to the stabilizers, rear-arm, drive shaft and steering. And the best is yet to come as I will also need to change the shock absorbers, since I've discovered that they are long gone and have been tampered with (repaired by injecting oil and gas into them). My mechanic showed me the absorber when he was replacing another part and even though I am no expert, they looked very bad and they don't expand after you push them in. SIGH!

Besides that, I learned that the car has had 6 owners before me, and they probably all "burnt rubber" for a while and then sold the car when it was road-tax time! ...so it has had a tough life.

Of course this is a lesson to me and everybody else. NEVER buy a car without taking it to a good mechanic first...

All this bitching is of course besides my point here, but never the less reason for much annoyance.

Bro,. 6 owners before you own it and anyone of them can make repair that dont follow proper procedure for repairing the gearbox.

Your title is misleading. By just looking on the registration card, you will know how many time the car have change hand.

You are crying over spilled milk. :stupid:

 

[Hellraiser]

sue! sue! sue!!!

 

[affan66]

i had a similar experience to you when I got my first BMW. got attracted to the brand and got blinded by it. Spent more than you trying to fix it up until I found the BMW club clans you see mostly in this forum today. Sold the car without a thought and got a better one. That car is now with another club member.

Ever since, I've been aware of these issues and will never buy a car, especially secondhand without a complete check by a competent mechanic. I blame myself for missing out the first time as I could have used that money for a reasonable car. I can't count the numerous times I saved my wallet from making stupid/ignorant decisions thanks to this forum.

I would say move on. If you can, find another one. Also, start looking for a competent mechanic who can help diagnose your problems or check prospects.

 

[Hellraiser]

Affan66,...true words bro.

i've been telling people to join the BMW club. We may not all be experts but at least we know some people who may have had their fair share of big and small experiences to share. tolong tolong lah...

bro baitianlong....there are really not much options here. one, bear with the car. two, sell the car without incurring too much expenses repairing it. you may hope the future buyer does not notice the defect. again, the onus is on the buyer to check and be satisfied with the condition himself. sorry to hear of your predicament.

Please join us for the upcoming teh tarik gathering this Friday. All are welcome, bro. Cheers!

 

[t2ribena]

in this case it is also not right to blame bmw as any of the 6 previous onwer might have changed the gearbox as pointed out by some of the forumer here...

A person has only himself/herself to blame for making a bad decision...

 

[Crymson]

in this case it is also not right to blame bmw as any of the 6 previous onwer might have changed the gearbox as pointed out by some of the forumer here...

A person has only himself/herself to blame for making a bad decision...

I agree. It's human nature to blame others (the brand itself) especially when you have high expectations of owning a BMW. But if you have some common sense, you would have taken precautions to actually get a proper mechanic to check. Not a "non-mechanic friend". I'm sorry for being hard but you ask for it with the misleading title.

I send my ride to do full inspection with a mechanic in jln klang lama, who produce a report, before I decide to buy and negotiate on the price further. Use common sense laa, if no service history and there are 6 previous owners ... :stupido2:

 

[bimmerdude]

stop bitching and do the right thing. SELL IT AND MOVE ON. dont blame the brand dude

 

[initialM]

Bro,

What do you expect for 12 yrs old BMW & 6 owners previously? Did the previous owner provide you wt service history & wear & tear maintenance? Some people only know to buy & drive BMW but dun know how to maintain it. E36 is a good car if got the properly maintain car. Sumore at RM36k even cheaper than Myvi. Stop grumbling & get the car repaired(changed). Used BMW are cheap but its not cheap to maintain it. 10k is nothing sumore wt lemon condition car. That's why I dun sell my car cheap. Dun blame the brand if u dun like it just sell & buy many more other brand.:love:

 

[baitianlong]

guys guys, I already admitted to being a bit of a sucker for buying this worn-out ride.

But my sentiment towards BMW stands. They should make sure that no plant that builds their rides cuts corners. This car had the wrong gearbox from day 1 (according to my mechanic, Optimum Automotive in Damansara Uptown).

And though I have some issues, I still enjoy driving in the car, and with all my repairs it has become quite an ok car. Of course it's nice to leave the Wira/Waja suckers behind in smoke after the toll, the engine is very good

Figure I'll have to dump another 10K into the car and it will be beautiful as a bimmer should be!

Don't get me wrong, I love the brand, otherwise I could have bought a Honda or whatever. But I didn't know german cars were assembled here and that the plant modified/reduced the intentional parts.

 

[initialM]

From my knowledge all E36 locally assemble are 4 speed & I dun think 318 & 328 share the same gbox. U may proceed to AB to have it verify. No need to spent 10k for E36 gbox. Better just get the 2nd hand 5 speed gbox from japan spec very cheap.
Older BMW are cheaper & easier to maintain compare to newer model. Glad u enjoy the ultimate driving machine:top: