I was looking to buy the 525 in March but the sales told me that stock were all sold out and BMW was changing engine there were no 525 production in Jan and Feb. Even the test drive car was sold also so I hadn't even test drive the car. The production started in March and the cars arrived HK in May so I just bought it from the first stock of new engine 525. I think it's availability is pretty quick compared to other countries.

FYI, my friend bought one of their last stock of old engine 525 with huge discount $85000 and the sales told my friend that there would be no engine change!! (actually my friend wanted the new engine than the huge discount because they bought it last Dec which means they bought a 2004 car at the end of 2004, the resale value will not be as good as new engine 2005 car) So you know what they will do for 545 then.

Also the new engine 2005 525 has the same retail price as the old engine 2004 525.

Good luck.
[/quote]

I think the real problem for your friend is he/she brought an year end car, not because of the old engine.

Actually, my sales called in Feb, said the last batch of 525 (with old engine) was available and the price was around 499000 for 525i, 05 year production and 05 registration of course but old engine.

For me, I will prefer a 05 year production 530i (not 525i) but with old engine, the sales offer me around 560000, so the price for new engine 525i for the old engine 530i. WHile 530i have 231 bhp comparing to new engine 525i with 217bhp and 530i has bi-xenon light as standard. AND when you sell it, it is 05year production 530, better than 05 year production 525i (even with new engine). By the time you selll it, the second hand car market guy will not value the engine as much as you paid for.

[/quote]

When your sales offered you in Feb, I think the cars are 04 production/05 registration, not 05/05. Is this true? But anyway 560000 for old engine 530i is still the best buy.

 

I was looking to buy the 525 in March but the sales told me that stock were all sold out and BMW was changing engine there were no 525 production in Jan and Feb. Even the test drive car was sold also so I hadn't even test drive the car. The production started in March and the cars arrived HK in May so I just bought it from the first stock of new engine 525. I think it's availability is pretty quick compared to other countries.

FYI, my friend bought one of their last stock of old engine 525 with huge discount $85000 and the sales told my friend that there would be no engine change!! (actually my friend wanted the new engine than the huge discount because they bought it last Dec which means they bought a 2004 car at the end of 2004, the resale value will not be as good as new engine 2005 car) So you know what they will do for 545 then.

Also the new engine 2005 525 has the same retail price as the old engine 2004 525.

Good luck.
[/quote]

I think the real problem for your friend is he/she brought an year end car, not because of the old engine.

Actually, my sales called in Feb, said the last batch of 525 (with old engine) was available and the price was around 499000 for 525i, 05 year production and 05 registration of course but old engine.

For me, I will prefer a 05 year production 530i (not 525i) but with old engine, the sales offer me around 560000, so the price for new engine 525i for the old engine 530i. WHile 530i have 231 bhp comparing to new engine 525i with 217bhp and 530i has bi-xenon light as standard. AND when you sell it, it is 05year production 530, better than 05 year production 525i (even with new engine). By the time you selll it, the second hand car market guy will not value the engine as much as you paid for.

[/quote]

When your sales offered you in Feb, I think the cars are 04 production/05 registration, not 05/05. Is this true? But anyway 560000 for old engine 530i is still the best buy.
[/quote]

It is to my best knowledge true, unless all 5 sales I have checked with in different occasions have lined up to cheat me, which they usually do individually.

One of them sold me my last 318i. And I also checked the billboard in showroom. Anyway, the deal is off already. It is the price for Jan and Feb of 05 production and 05 registration of course.

 

This is a little bit off topic, but I would like to ask if there are any sites that has a listing of the second hand value of cars for Hong Kong. I find it very hard to find out how much current cars worth besides from going to car dealers, but that is often not very accurate since they will bargain with you when you really trade in the car. Thanks in advance.

 

Are you looking for these?

http://www.auto22.com/default.asp?lang=b5&id=cars

http://www.28car.com/

 

Hi Guys

Wow so many new posts while I was gone. Hey, mic325, congrats on the new ride. I so envy your new engine. Going to change those wheels soon? Does yours hv Xenon light? Mine doesn't, Im thinking of sticking one of those super bright after market bulbs in. (eg PIAA)

 

Hi Bunbun,

Nice to see you back. You should really envy the new engine, it is very smooth.
I don't have the bi-xenon lights, I wish I do have it, but they don't usually order then with a 523i. Still looking for some wheels, as they really runied they look of the car. Haven't find any nice & cheap wheels, not sure where I can find those take off wheels from 525/530/545. My sales say he will let me know if any of his customers is going to sell it, but I am quite sure he won't be looking it for me, so I am on my own.

 

long time no see, bunbun. i think it's better off with the halogen instead of after market bulbs for your headlights. that will make your car look cheap . or you can change them to hid kit. that's different story .

 

I've been following this forum for the past month and it has been very helpful, but why soo little posts in this topic?? Where's all the HK readers?? Anyways, I have a really specific question for Hong Kong. As I've been looking to purchase a new car, I started thinking about the depreciation level for vehicles in Hong Kong. I've heard that if you decide to change your car within 10 years, its better to change the car every 3-4 years since the vehicle will worth almost nothing by the time it is 10 years, where as the 3-4 year old car will worth about 50% of the original value. Does this sound accurate to you guys? What do you guys think the depreciation % is for vehicles in Hong Kong? Does depreciating 30% for the first year and then about 10% each for the next 2 years sound reasonable to you guys?? Thanks in advance.

 

HK readers are here!!

Here is my personal experience. I bought a demo 2002 318Ci for $300,000 in 2002, the car has been a demo for a month, racked less than 1000km on it, and they are selling it for 10% off the list price. 3 years later, in 2005, I traded in for a brand new 523i, and the took my car back for $184,000. So it is more than 1/2 the original purchase price. But my friend had a 2002 Mercedes C200 classic, same original price as mine, and sold it back to Zung Fu in May 2005 for $210,000. Mileage is almost the same as mine, around 14000km.

Here in Hong Kong, BMW tends to depreciate more than any Mercedes. And it really depends on the brand of the car. If it is a Alfa, Saab, Jaguar or even Audi, they depreciate even more. And from my observations, larger engine cars seems to depreciate much more. Take a look at those 96/97 528i & 540i, they are almost the same price now, and most car dealer will not even buy back the 540i, because it is very hard for them to sell them out.

 

i've heard from a friend of mine in hk who told me there is some sort of tax deduction for people who own the same car for 10 or more years. so after all, a 10 years or older cars still worth something, right ?