[mugen_ferio]

Hi everyone,

First of all, I would like to introduce myself to you all. I've moved from Toronto to HK. I am looking to purchase a used car here, but I have a few questions:
1. I've been to DCH used cars, they seem to be trustworthy, but don't really have that many choices, what other dealers are reputable?
2. I've called a few insurance companies and none of them would give me a quote because I'm not 25 yet (I'm 24), are there any companies that are more young driver friendly?
3. Have anyone had the experience of carrying no claim discount from Canada to HK? If so, what is the process of doing that?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Hope to meet you guys in a meet once I get a car, although I'm not sure an e9x can fit my budget. Wish I could've shipped my e90 from Toronto here.

[superdx]

Cool, more people from Toronto...

DCH is probably a safe choice for used cars but you are right, they don't have a lot of options. Their prices are also a little higher.

I was a little scared at first to take a look at cars at the Kowloon Bay used car center, but they got way more options. My first car I bought here was a CL9 Accord and that turned out to be a really bad purchase. 2nd hand Japanese cars, even if they were directly imported from Japan, are driven to hell before they get exported. Had so many problems with it.

2nd time around, bought my E92 from the same Kowloon Bay center, but different dealer this time. This one only dealt with luxury cars i.e. Maserati, Rolls, BMW etc. and they only dealt with HK "local goods" and nothing was parallel imported. Had a much better experience, couldn't be happier with my E92, and it wasn't as bank breaking as I thought. The only problem I had was my license fell off because the guy only used double sided tape to slap it on =.=

You don't need to call directly the insurance companies. The people at the car places will help you get a quotation, if you're not too particular about going with a big insurance company. It just feels like insurance isn't such a big deal here but we Canadians seem to be obsessed with it

In HK the minimum legal requirement is "third-party insurance" which is really cheap, and only covers any third parties and not yourself. If you want full insurance with your car, it will cost more. If you are getting a E9x... you'd probably want to insurance your BMW...

You cannot "transfer" your NCD/NCB from Canada. Insurance companies here won't recognize it. You'll have to start your history from 0. I just passed 5 years and finally got my NCB back...

[alexckma]

bmwhk actually has a really long list of used cars lately.. you might want to have a look, if you want an E90, I think they have quite a few. But I don't think they have a single e92 right now.

[mugen_ferio]

Originally Posted by superdx

Cool, more people from Toronto...

DCH is probably a safe choice for used cars but you are right, they don't have a lot of options. Their prices are also a little higher.

I was a little scared at first to take a look at cars at the Kowloon Bay used car center, but they got way more options. My first car I bought here was a CL9 Accord and that turned out to be a really bad purchase. 2nd hand Japanese cars, even if they were directly imported from Japan, are driven to hell before they get exported. Had so many problems with it.

2nd time around, bought my E92 from the same Kowloon Bay center, but different dealer this time. This one only dealt with luxury cars i.e. Maserati, Rolls, BMW etc. and they only dealt with HK "local goods" and nothing was parallel imported. Had a much better experience, couldn't be happier with my E92, and it wasn't as bank breaking as I thought. The only problem I had was my license fell off because the guy only used double sided tape to slap it on =.=

You don't need to call directly the insurance companies. The people at the car places will help you get a quotation, if you're not too particular about going with a big insurance company. It just feels like insurance isn't such a big deal here but we Canadians seem to be obsessed with it

In HK the minimum legal requirement is "third-party insurance" which is really cheap, and only covers any third parties and not yourself. If you want full insurance with your car, it will cost more. If you are getting a E9x... you'd probably want to insurance your BMW...

You cannot "transfer" your NCD/NCB from Canada. Insurance companies here won't recognize it. You'll have to start your history from 0. I just passed 5 years and finally got my NCB back...

Thanks for all the info! I actually went to the Auto Forum at Cheung Sha Wan yesterday and had my eyes set on an imported CL9. But now I guess I should reconsider. What is the name of the dealer in Kowloon Bay you bought your e92 from? I'm planning to go to Kowloon Bay within this week to have a look.

Are the smaller insurance companies more lenient towards insuring drivers under 25? It's so frustrating to still be classified as a young driver when I have been driving daily for 8+ years with no history of accidents .

[mugen_ferio]

Originally Posted by alexckma

bmwhk actually has a really long list of used cars lately.. you might want to have a look, if you want an E90, I think they have quite a few. But I don't think they have a single e92 right now.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll have a look into that as well!

[alexckma]

btw, do you have a local driver's license?

[sleepergm]

I bought my E92 M-Tech 335i from Fair Win Motors in Kowloon Bay ... They also had an M-Tech 135i which looked really nice. So far so good with the car. You might want to check them out.

[Wolfman]

Here's my parting advice: Kowloon Bay does a have a few good and honest used car dealers. Unfortunately, alot of those dealers there are indeed rather shady characters that looks like they step right out of a triad movie, but if you know where to look, some of them are actually alright and you will actually get a very good deal, value for money-wise. I actually got my 325i at kowloon bay. The key is to know which ones are honest which ones are the nasty untrustworthy snake oil salesmen. It's best if you know a friend or relative who have previously bought a used car there and they have a good record so they can recommend you, otherwise, I would'nt really trust many of those "dealers".

[superdx]

Originally Posted by mugen_ferio

Thanks for all the info! I actually went to the Auto Forum at Cheung Sha Wan yesterday and had my eyes set on an imported CL9. But now I guess I should reconsider. What is the name of the dealer in Kowloon Bay you bought your e92 from? I'm planning to go to Kowloon Bay within this week to have a look.

Are the smaller insurance companies more lenient towards insuring drivers under 25? It's so frustrating to still be classified as a young driver when I have been driving daily for 8+ years with no history of accidents .

If you are really set on a Japanese import... poke around a LOT before deciding on a purchase. Do put the money in to get it inspected by either DCH. Do not let them test it for you. My CL9 had leaky headlights, relays that kept blowing, an alternator that died and clearly the previous owner was one hell of a chain smoker. When a shop doing a headunit install for me popped open the console, there was 2 inches of ash inside - the guy didn't even bother to use the ashtray. I couldn't see any of these prior to my purchase and I did not get it inspected, I was too jumpy about driving in HK

The Auto Forum is known for being crooked. I wouldn't try to purchase a car there unless someone actually had a very good recommendation for a particular dealer.

Also I wouldn't try to locate the dealer first - after all, they're selling used cars. You should find a car that you like, and then look at the dealer and see if they're on the level. If not, walk away.

The smaller unknown insurance companies in HK aren't going to be any more lenient, but they will be cheaper than say going to State Farm. They're pretty much the same all over the world, you're going to be bending over regardless.

I'm actually at Kowloon Bay nearly every day after work as my wife works there and I pick her up. If you need a hand looking around cars and trying to see if dealers are on the level, give me a shout. The first time I went to KB I also dragged one of my business partners to help me out, crooked dealers usually have a hard time dealing with a crowd

[J.]

Don't sweat the insurance in Hong Kong. It is so much cheaper then you will pay in Canada. Right now, Im only paying $8000 HKD/year in my BMW 320i for full coverage. I was paying around 5000 CAD/year just last year in my 335i.

Here are some of the adjustments you might want to factor in coming from Toronto.

1. Fuel $14+ HKD/L
2. Parking. *My apartment is cheap for parking space, only 200k HKD. Some people pay around 500-700k or higher depending of location*
3. Parking. I'm paying about 2.5k monthly for parking at work.
4. Fees for going on circuit. WOW. Stupidly expensive in Hong Kong. I can do a entire season of Canadian Touring Car Series for the price of a single lapping session in GIC, ZIC etc etc . *excluding maintenance*
5. New car pricing is virtually non-negotiable in Hong Kong due to Monopolies, (which I could be wrong if some of you have a some BMW sales who will give discount, let me know!)

[william_cwl]

looks like we also have CL9 lovers here
i also owned a 06 facelifted CL9 before. i think the leaky headlights is a known problem for pre-facelift CL7/8/9. mine was fine but there're other problems like rattling and a frequently failed fuel meter.
i got my car from kowloon bay also(never buy from cheung sha wan, it's common sense now!). u really need to get the car checked by your garage before making the final decision. buying a parallel import car is always risky. if i got a second chance i won't buy the CL9. though it's a great car, i just can't bear the risks of having hidden nasty surprises

[mugen_ferio]

Thanks everyone for helping me out! I decided to stick with purchasing from DCH to have less potential worries.