BMW car in Doha

jkostop
By jkostop

Hello everybody

Does anyone have experience with European cars here in Doha? I am interested in a BMW X3 but I am not sure because of:

1. service cost?

2. type of car is "strong" enough for Qatar?

3. Each how many kilometres need service?

4. General impression of the car?

5. Why everybody told me to buy a Japanese car here (TOYOTA, NISSAN, HONDA etc?)

Thanks

By jkostop• 17 Feb 2024 12:34
jkostop

Pajero sold 5 years ago and another Pajero with me now....

Parties welcome anytime....

By Molten Metal• 17 Feb 2024 12:01
Molten Metal

So 9 years gone, we need a belated party for Pajero.

It should be urgent , yes, yes . . . . . ..

By jkostop• 17 Feb 2024 09:28
jkostop

It has been many years after but I need to reply for closing up this thread: No, I didn't buy a BMW at that time. After asking many friends with experience, I concluded that BMW aftersales is not good in this area. So, I bought a brand new Pajero which I never regretted.

By CountingStars• 18 Jan 2016 00:15
CountingStars

jkostop: interested to know how you got on with your search. Did you buy the BMW? There certainly are some german bargains on the used car market here.

By jkostop• 28 Aug 2015 17:29
jkostop

Not actually, I need feedback in order to finalize. i am still searching...:)

By dohaplanner• 27 Aug 2015 13:44
dohaplanner

jkostop: You seemed to have made up your mind and concluded to get the BMW already. Your requests showed that u need advise on 1. service cost? 4.General impression of the car?. I guess britexpat just gave u all u needed to know. Yet.......................... Best of luck

By britexpat• 27 Aug 2015 12:29
britexpat

jkostop: Send us a picture of the car and have fun with it

By jkostop• 27 Aug 2015 12:23
jkostop

In Europe German cars have resale value, but here no! Why? that's my concept, that you can find very good opportunities in German cars if you are searching in years 2007 or older. Come on! I cannot believe that it is more reliable (better generally) to buy a Tiida of 2012 than an X3 of 2006 in 30.000QAR!! IF you can find a Tiida of this year in lower price than 35.000QAR.... Even if X3 has 150.000km the value for money is much better!!

By JonSnow• 27 Aug 2015 08:53
Rating: 2/5
JonSnow

*before -> while

By JonSnow• 27 Aug 2015 08:52
JonSnow

If you want BMW you'd best buy a new one and then sell it before the free warranty and service package still active.

By yacine.h• 27 Aug 2015 08:08
yacine.h

Here is the ranking of the most reliable cars in the UK. The first German brand is Mercedes at number 11

http://www.reliabilityindex.com/top-100

By britexpat• 27 Aug 2015 08:01
britexpat

I think you're wrong..

In Europe. European cars fare much worse than Japanese when it comes to reliability. However, they score much higher in resale value and brand image.

By jkostop• 27 Aug 2015 07:49
jkostop

The main point is reliability. OK, After 10-12 years and 150.000 a NISSAN TIIDA maybe is ready to retirement. But this is not the same with a BMW. As far as I know BMW has the highest resale value in Europe because of reliability. After all, I could give 50.000 and a new car like TOYOTA YARIS.

By yacine.h• 26 Aug 2015 23:13
Rating: 4/5
yacine.h

I think your logic is completely flawed here. If your budget is 30k then you should be looking at the best deal for that amount. The best deal would be a 2012 Nissan Tiida/Toyota Corolla/Mistubishi Lancer with a mileage not exceeding 50k. But a 2004 BMW X3 or a 2003 VW Touareg with a mileage above 150k is a complete waste of money. Starting from a certain age and mileage, many of the elements in the car die or reach their last moments.

If you are insisting on a German brand, with 30k you will be able to buy a clean 2010 VW Jetta

By yacine.h• 26 Aug 2015 23:13
Rating: 4/5
yacine.h

I think your logic is completely flawed here. If your budget is 30k then you should be looking at the best deal for that amount. The best deal would be a 2012 Nissan Tiida/Toyota Corolla/Mistubishi Lancer with a mileage not exceeding 50k. But a 2004 BMW X3 or a 2003 VW Touareg with a mileage above 150k is a complete waste of money. Starting from a certain age and mileage, many of the elements in the car die or reach their last moments.

If you are insisting on a German brand, with 30k you will be able to buy a clean 2010 VW Jetta

By britexpat• 26 Aug 2015 19:43
britexpat

To be honest, your logic escapes me.

If your budget is around 30,000 , then i'm assuming you are looking for value for money.

yes, you may get a BMW or a Porsche Cayenne with high mileage. It will look nice, but if anything goes wrong (after all its a mechanical beast), then you might end up spending a lot more than you could afford to repair.

Buy something that you know you can afford to run.

By jkostop• 26 Aug 2015 18:04
jkostop

Thank you both for your comments. I don't care about space at this moment, I don't care about resale. I am looking a cheap but good SUV below 30.000QAR and I don't want to run for service all the time. I was looking for RAV4 (year 2005-2007), but i really cannot find. I think BMW is reliable enough and if I keep it more than one year, I earn the money of rent and I can sell it in whatever price. Do you have other suggestions in this price and with these criteria? (

By britexpat• 26 Aug 2015 17:36
Rating: 4/5
britexpat

BMW build quality is great. Resale for some models including X3 is horrible. Servicing costs and parts are expensive.

X3 is not worth the price. too small for what it should be.

By osec• 26 Aug 2015 16:52
osec

Generally the European cars like Benz, BMW, VOLVO, VW are more expensive to buy and costly to maintain than Japanese cars more so they don't have second hand value like the Japanese cars.

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