Sri Lanka It's Happening

August 12, 2006

If you were offered a BMW 520i and a 525tds which one would you choose? They were both manufactured in the same year. Each has done almost as many kilometers as the other. The asking price is the same for both cars.

The diesel has been maintained by agents all it's life while the petrol version made it's last visit to the dealer's in April 2004. Since then it had been cared for by Milroy. The 525tds is a one owner car while the 520i is now with it's third owner.

The petrol has a septronic gear box, a sun roof, TV and a car phone. The diesel does not have any of these options. In addition to that the 520i has been fitted with a body kit and 'Angel Eyes'.

People in Sri Lankan are generally reluctant to by used diesels believing the cost of maintenance to be higher than for petrol cars. Balance that against the fact that diesel is about 35% cheaper than Petrol. It is unlikely that fuel prices will drop or even stop spiralling upwards anytime soon.

In Sri Lanka, resale value is an important consideration when you buy a car. For BMWs it's pretty low and for diesels it's a lot lower. That's why the 525tds which probably cost a lot more when it was brand new is available now for the same price as the petrol version. It is widely anticipated that the import duty for cars will be increased dramatically for the next years government budget. The duty rate for diesel vehicals will surely be raised much more than for petrols.

The 525 tds is currently with Prestige, the local agents for BMW. That really is an unfortunate choice of name. There is nothing prestigous about owning a BMW, it's all about driving. The 525 is a trade in and that means any repairs that need to be done will be done before it's released. On the other hand, with the 520i, the moment you take it to the agents or to Milroy you might get a thumping bill for a lot of minor repairs.

So ladies and gentlemen, which one would you choose?

Posted by raditha at August 12, 2006 9:03 AM