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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum
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335i Production News
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02-16-2008, 03:28 AM | #45 |
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If the build quality is the same or better who cares where its made. There has been a lot of turkeys produced by car makers in their home countries. Bottom line is to get a vehicle in working order.
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02-16-2008, 01:31 PM | #47 |
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germany. i have a e39 built from SA and a e90 and e92 from germany...even the e39 built in germany, you can hear the difference by closing the door
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02-16-2008, 03:07 PM | #48 |
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I wonder what the stats are for all the cars that have Fuel Pump Issues. What percentage of those cars were built in Germany and what percentage of those cars were built in SA? I think that would be an interesting stat to know.
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02-18-2008, 08:12 AM | #49 |
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I work for a german automotive company that has many global production locations (also supply systems for the e90), so I know there will always be differences in quality plant to plant. However, generalizing quality of a product based off geographical location of the plant is so narrow minded. There are so many factors that come into play, such as worker training, implementation of the quality system, worker morale, etc.
my company has plants in Germany, South Africa and the US (to name a few), and all three places have different quality. It's not the environment/location that determines the quality of the product, It's the level of implementation of the quality systems within the plant. With Germany being the global headquarters, most of the advanced development and manufacturing techniques are investigated there. Most often, these standards are implemented in the local plants first, where it is easiest to integrate and audit the success of the changes. However, this is not always the case. A location, such as Germany, may not have the capacity to try new strategies, therefore South Africa (or another plant) may utilize the new techniques first, maybe because they are starting new production. Unless you work for the specific company, you can't make such generalized statements that the German plant makes better cars than SA. in BMW's case, since it seems SA has been a major build site for quite some time, I would not worry about quality. They most likely have installed the company's quality systems and processes. If there's a new China plant coming out, then I would worry - its not about the location, it's about how developed the location has become with the company standards. |
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02-18-2008, 10:57 AM | #50 | |
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02-18-2008, 11:04 AM | #51 |
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BMW will ensure it still delivers a quality product, as someone noted, it is a mindset. Look at Spartanburg....any big quality complaints about the X5 / Z4??
Also, if you are hell bent on a Hecho in Deutchland, try an Euro-delivery in Germany, whatever algorithm they will use to determine where your order is produced will sure output a German production facility (as long as German plants actually produce the model you ordered).
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02-18-2008, 11:14 AM | #52 | |
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02-18-2008, 12:03 PM | #53 | |
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If you're so worried about having a car built in Germany, pick a car that's is solely built there. There are people who buy cars for this reason only (think "buy american" supporters). |
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03-26-2008, 03:11 AM | #54 |
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I ordered a 335xi earlier and my sales emailed the VIN yesterday. I wonder which digits in the 17 digits VIN are those four manufacture plant belongs to. The VIN I have does not contain either 0880 or 0842. Thanks
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03-26-2008, 03:21 AM | #55 | |
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03-26-2008, 03:21 AM | #56 |
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03-26-2008, 05:00 AM | #57 |
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Production Quality
I've been browsing for two years and this is my first post. I worked at BMW for two years and can shed some light about the quality between the different manufacturing plants. After seeing this topic come up countless times, hopefully this post will clear things up. For BMW specifically, the quality of the final product when it reaches the customer's hands should all be pretty much equal, regardless of the plant in which the car was produced.
That being said however, the manufacturing process from plant to plant is slightly different. The German plants--Munich, Regensburg, and Leipzig--adopt the latest advances in manufacturing first. These technologies then filter down to the South African plant. One example is the painting process. The German plants have a more advanced paint and paint curing process that has probably just been adopted by South Africa. In addition, due to the nature of the workforce, German plants tend to produce cars with fewer errors than the South African plant. This means that the South African vehicles require more rework when the finished car goes through final inspection--this was also reported by a leading European newspaper about one year ago, I forgot the source. After the rework, all vehicles should be 99% perfect. Any imperfections are not discernable by the customer. There have also been years however, where the South African plant has produced more error-free cars than the German ones. Many people have mentioned that the SA plant won the award for highest manufacturing quality of European automobiles a few years back--when the e46 was being produced. For the e90 though, the German plants have traditionally been better. I remember one time a coworker was driving an SA-built e90 as an employee car. There were reported sealing problems in the interior that allowed water to come through. Other employees that drove SA-built e90s also reporter other minor problems along those lines. From a personal standpoint, I've heard less issues with German assembled e90s. In regards to the German plants, assembly quality also varies. Leipzig is the newest plant, finsihed in time for the start of production of the e90 in 2005. My guess is that it would take some time to match the error-free rate of the older Munich and Regensburg plants. Those two plants also have been consistent winners in J.D. Power's annual studies. Regensburg consistently ranks among the tops in manufacturing quality for all European automobiles. They produce all 3 series coupes and cabriolets, the M3, and some 328i and the 335i. Munich produces all the X drive 3 series along with the wagon and the rwd 328i and 335i. Leipzig produces 328 and 335i, along with our 1 series coupe. SA for many years produced abouy 25% of the US mkt 328i. As of February 2008 however, some 335i for the US have started to come from SA. To tell which plant in which your vehicle was built, look at the 11th character of your VIN. The following are the letters for each respective plant: A, F, K: Munich P: Regensburg N: South Africa V: Leipzig Hopefully this helps everyone! |
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03-26-2008, 09:48 AM | #59 |
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few, you guys have me worried for a second as my car just went into production and I didnt have a VIN yet. I emailed my SA this morning and found a P in the 11th char of the vin, so I guess Regensburg it is! While I wouldn't have been so mad I would have denied delivery I am very happy to know that my car is being made in Germany.
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03-27-2008, 04:04 AM | #60 | |
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03-27-2008, 08:28 AM | #61 |
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Wouldn't all of this be on your car's sticker as well?
Is the "final location of assembly" indicitive of determining where the vehicle was produced? My '08 335i sedan lists Munich.
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03-27-2008, 02:21 PM | #63 | |
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Many of you guys in your later 30's on up should remember the days when people wanted only to by US cars assembled in Canadian plants because the perception was that these cars had less problems than their US made siblings. Infact, I believe study did come out which, at the time, supported that ascertion. |
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03-27-2008, 06:38 PM | #66 |
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thanks
thanks for the warm welcome, guys. i like how this forum discusses meaningful and helpful information. looking forward to great discussions in the future!
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