What a relief; I got rid of my BM323i!!!

I finally got rid of my BM323i!

I sold my less-than-two-year-old 200A Benz last year to take over my son’s car, after seeing that he could not get rid of it at a decent price. It was bought tax-exempt in 2009. We thought the market value was about MYR125K. Alas, the highest offer we got was 90K. If we sold at that time, we had to pay excise duty of about 14K.

I decided to keep it myself. But it was a disaster from Day 1!

The air-conditioner was not working well, so was the cooler and the washer pump. A few thousands gone! Next we were advised the suspension had to be replaced, again a couple of thousands. Next the sensors, followed by ignition coil. I had to send it for “treatment” each time I came back to Kuala Lumpur. I even joked with the workshop owner William Ng that he had cast a spell on my car; it must visit him each time I was in town. (I decided not to go to Bavaria; they were just marking around each time the car was sent there for service. As a matter of fact, the car was all along maintained by Bavaria. How could they not detect all the impending faults? I have now come to understand that their service “consultants” are cons in the first place. Without computers to tell them, they are as blind as you and I in engineering matters!)

In that one year, I must have spent more than 20K to repair the car.

Chu, the dealer who bought my A200, could only offer 71K for the BM. With this I had to pay about 12.5K on excise and sales tax.

But I was most relieved! On taking delivery of the car, Chu gave me a lift to Cycle & Carriage to pick up a Benz C200 I had ordered. On the way, he noticed that the gear train was not smooth. Too bad, Chu; that’s your problem!

But BM is so popular; I suppose people buy it because many are “company” cars. BM appeals because their models look flashy. I will never buy one myself!

Yes, you can say Benz is old man’s car. If the batch can also be found for vehicles used in rough and tumble conditions, such as heavy trucks and commercial pick-ups, you can rest assured the engineering is first-class.

Try one yourself. Don’t go with the herd; be more discerning!