Taking a Mercedes in a hot climate - need to do anything?

[6CylinderMerc]

Someone on here may know the answer to this....

I have been working in Malaysia for the past 4 months flying back and forth. The plan is to move there in March 2009 and live there full time. My dilemma is that cars in Malaysia are damned expensive unless you want a Proton or Perodua. Now, after driving my C240 for the last year, that is too bitter a pill to swallow. The problem is that my car in Malaysia like for like is worth around £16,000 . Value in the UK is around £5,500. I know that I will get clobbered on import duties in Malaysia but the cost of shipping, the depreciation since I bought it added to the difference in value would suggest that it will be beneficial to ship my car over there (they drive on the left as well!). The upshot would also be that I do not have to drive a Proton!

While I am gathering information regarding how much it will cost to ship, import duties, etc, my question is this:
Do I need to do anything to my car in order that it is prepared for use in a hot and tropical climate? Typical daytime temps are around 32deg and night-time temps are around 25deg with humidity around 85% constant. Not too dissimiliar to a rare summers day here really.

Any one know if Mercs need 'Tropicalising'?

 

[mattc]

Not really. Keep the coolant at the correct %'s. Ensure your A/C works! Dont worry about rust too much as cars dry off in no time over there despite the humidity. Get one of those super soft car dusters on a stick for keeping the car clean - dust pollution is a real problem.

Other than that enjoy.

 

[6CylinderMerc]

Thanks for the answer.

Aircon is ice cold and rust is being sorted under Mobilo cover as I type. I'll find out about coolant %.

When it comes back from the MB body shop it should look brand new, which makes me even more determined to keep it.

Perodua or Merc? Mmmmmmmm, let me think for a nano-second

 

[mattc]

Where in Malaysia are you driving as my experinece in the cities is that some of them drive by feel! Hope your Merc stays pristine. Also do you have off road parking?

 

[grober]

A couple of things. One- have you found a good garage/dealer to look after your car and can supply you with parts locally? I guess you can still do things mail order but that might take time.
Two-I am unfamiliar with the level of crime in Malaysia but driving a Mercedes might raise your profile over the proton/perdua drivers and make you a potential target. There are parts of the world where people who can afford a Merc prefer to drive a low profile model to protect themselves and their family from the attentions of criminal types?

 

[6CylinderMerc]

Mattc - I'll be staying in the outskirts of KL (most likely Damansara) and yes, you are totally correct the driving is by feel but there are remarkably few accidents considering. Yes, I will have off road parking. As for staying pristine, we'll have to reserve judgement on that . I will have to travel to work in KLCC so that fact alone should be interesting....

Grober - I haven't found a good dealer yet but I know of one in KL city centre. Even with the unfairly excessive import duties (up to 300% on new Mercs, BMW's, even VW Golf's) there are still plenty of Mercs there. The crime levels in KL are on a par with most big cities and there are some areas where driving a Merc will raise ones profile undesirably. Needless to say, I won't be living in such areas and will unlikely even drive through them. I take your point though and thank you for raising it.

Footnote - The Malaysian car industry is heavily subsidised by the govt, therefore they impose excessive taxes on imported cars to protect their own industry and jobs.

 

[Vlad]

Hey if it works out financially, ie its worth exporting a Merc to Malaysia, then let us all know and we can send you our Mercs and you can sell them on for us!!...lol

 

[bolide]

If you're going to do all the hard work to import one car you might as well import two and sell one to cover your costs

Take advantage of the low prices over here now...

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[mattc]

Hey if it works out financially, ie its worth exporting a Merc to Malaysia, then let us all know and we can send you our Mercs and you can sell them on for us!!...lol

If you're going to do all the hard work to import one car you might as well import two and sell one to cover your costs

Take advantage of the low prices over here now...

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

Might find you can import one for personal use at a certain rate of duty and there after you would be charged a higher rate. Do you have a partner with you who can import a second one?

 

[C240Sport97]

Malaysia has plenty of Mercs. It is one of South East Asia's biggest markets.

You may want to upgrade your a/c compressor to cope with the much higher temperatures and humidity. Locally sold MBs have the "tropics pack", which includes much higher cooling capability.

Importing cars for resale will not really work. Import taxes are very high (even if you can show you have owned the car for at least 6 months, or is that a year).

 

[C240Sport97]

Footnote - The Malaysian car industry is heavily subsidised by the govt, therefore they impose excessive taxes on imported cars to protect their own industry and jobs.

Yes, Proton is protected/insulated from real competition because it was a former PMs grand (but stupid) design.

However, the main reason for high car taxes is tax revenue. Petrol is subsidised, and personal taxation is quite low, so the money has to come from somewhere else.

 

[Mudster]

This might be useful...

http://www.malaysia.alloexpat.com/malaysia_information/bringing_your_car_to_malaysia.php

With import duty and excise duty amounting to close to 200% it's not looking good.

Also you're never fully aware of what percentage this is taken of...i.e 200% of list price when new or 200% of second hand value?

Sell it...buy something out there.

 

[jsl]

Do I need to do anything to my car in order that it is prepared for use in a hot and tropical climate? Typical daytime temps are around 32deg and night-time temps are around 25deg with humidity around 85% constant. Not too dissimiliar to a rare summers day here really.

I imported to Spain which endures similar temps for 3 or 4 months "in the shade" in full sun it is much higher. Today we have 16C but 28C in the full sun.

The car was fine for 18 months then the laquer failed and the bonnet, roof and boot decayed down to the primer within a couple of months. Car interior temperatures can reach upwards to 50C if parked in the sun and you cannot always escape this situation. The leather seats dried ( I should have treated them more often) but ignorance and hindsight is a wonderful thing/excuse!
Question? Do MB use different paint properties for different market locations?
I dont know if any members with more knowledge would suggest additional protection such as Diamondbrite or even if this would work to protect from UV.

 

[6CylinderMerc]

If you're going to do all the hard work to import one car you might as well import two and sell one to cover your costs

Take advantage of the low prices over here now...

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

Problem is folks, the Malaysian Govt normally impose a restriction that the car cannot be sold for up to 24 months.

Nice idea though........

 

[6CylinderMerc]

This might be useful...

http://www.malaysia.alloexpat.com/malaysia_information/bringing_your_car_to_malaysia.php

With import duty and excise duty amounting to close to 200% it's not looking good.

Also you're never fully aware of what percentage this is taken of...i.e 200% of list price when new or 200% of second hand value?

Sell it...buy something out there.

The question of what is the percentage based on is one I'm waiting for a reply from the Malaysian Customs from. I'm hoping it is current UK value but I have a sneaking suspicion it will be current Malaysian value.Easy option is to buy something out there but buy what? An 8 year old C class for £16k?

 

[6CylinderMerc]

Yes, Proton is protected/insulated from real competition because it was a former PMs grand (but stupid) design.

However, the main reason for high car taxes is tax revenue. Petrol is subsidised, and personal taxation is quite low, so the money has to come from somewhere else.

I don't entirely agree with this. Personal taxation is similiar to the UK system with a sliding scale. The top rate is 22% but salaries reach the tier almost immediately therefore there is no real effective sliding scale as most people simply pay 22% flat, unlike the UK where there is a tax free amount and realistically tiered. Petrol is subsidised but only because they produce enough crude to just about supply their own market. Without excessive taxes imposed on imported vehicles, the domestic market would simply collapse. Nearly all Malaysians would much prefer to drive a European car but simply cannot afford to buy one. Having said that, there are certain parts of Malaysia which are tax free, Langkawi for instance.
An interesting note is that the taxation level is much lower if vehicles are assembled in Malaysia - some models of BMW's are shipped in almost a 'kit frm' and assembled by local labour.

 

[Dryce]

.Easy option is to buy something out there but buy what? An 8 year old C class for £16k?

It should sell for a reasonable amount if/when you move on. Traditionally in M'sia the depreciation rate is low because of the proportion that is tax and the relatively low labour rates (ie. servicing costs).

An automatic is just about a necessity in KL.

Have you thought about hiring a driver? When we're out there we either use family cars or come to an arrangement with a local taxi driver for being picked up and ferried about (not expensive if you think in UK equivalent rather than local rates).

 

[Dryce]

Nearly all Malaysians would much prefer to drive a European car but simply cannot afford to buy one.

Japanese makes and Korean cars are wiping the floor with Proton these days. The government has had to relax its control on the car market a bit in the last few years. It has also messed up the lower end of the used market a bit as well because of the relative uncertainty of the effect of future changes.

 

[6CylinderMerc]

It should sell for a reasonable amount if/when you move on. Traditionally in M'sia the depreciation rate is low because of the proportion that is tax and the relatively low labour rates (ie. servicing costs).

An automatic is just about a necessity in KL.

Have you thought about hiring a driver? When we're out there we either use family cars or come to an arrangement with a local taxi driver for being picked up and ferried about (not expensive if you think in UK equivalent rather than local rates).

I know but I just cannot bring myself to buy a Proton.
An automatic is an absolute necessity in KL.
I've thought about the driver option but I would like the freedom to take off at weekends and drive to the likes of Penang or Langkawi. I have a good driver there already and he is cheap (£6 per hour). His car is classed as a 'limosine' (and I use the term very loosely) but no prizes for guessing what make it is

 

[Dryce]

Yes, Proton is protected/insulated from real competition because it was a former PMs grand (but stupid) design.

I disagree. It was a good idea.

But they messed up the window of opportunity by the mid-nineties. They failed to innovate their own designs. The protection meant that they focused on their own market - which they milked. And they clung on to their old designs - the original Saga was still being made 15 years after it should have been dropped. And in their local market they're a damaged brand. The cyncism of the locals means that there are persistent stories that the Protons that used to be exported to the UK were of a much higher grade metal and with additional strengthening compared with those for the local market.