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Born again BMW

I viewed an unregistered BMW 525i SE Auto at Motorpoint yesterday (after seeing details on your site). There were signs that it had stood around for some time, but with £13k off list price it seemed a decent buy (quite a high spec. SE) at £21,999. However, I was suspicious when I saw the CO2 emissions figure of 272g/km. A 2007 brochure gives a figure of 178g/km. So I noted the VIN number and made a call to BMW. They eventually got back to me to say it was built in Thailand in April 2005 for the Thai market. I could not obtain any more information on the engine, but was told that the emissions warning light was disconnected. Where do you think these cars (Motorpoint have 20) have been for 4 years and would you buy one?

Asked on 9 May 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Interesting that they were assembled in Thailand. There has been a batch of about 50 of these cars knocking about for several years. They were hugely overpriced in Thailand at the equivalent of about £60,000 when Sterling was 70 baht to £1 (it's now 50 baht to £1). I can remember them being marketed in shopping malls there. I guess they didn’t sell, and as far as I know they were imported to the UK either last year or in 2007. I would treat them as 2005 used cars and price them accordingly.

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