[AndyinHou]

Originally Posted by nd.point

Dude I totally take you up on that I am in Houston and Cedar park every other month for work.

I run a bar downtown, in Lyric Market food hall.

Damn good cocktails, great bourbon selection, free 2 hour parking and some great food.

[m20e3087]

I remember when ppl used to make fun of made in USA BMWs in the 90s when I was a teenager. “US makes ugly, un-reliable and shit” cars. Now the same ppl drives X7s. Lol.

[T_U_D]

Originally Posted by m20e3087

I remember when ppl used to make fun of made in USA BMWs in the 90s when I was a teenager. “US makes ugly, un-reliable and shit” cars. Now the same ppl drives X7s. Lol.

True.

The E36 318i was the first BMW produced in the U.S. at Plant Spartanburg and the build quality and QC were subpar bar to those manufactured in Germany. The E36/7 Z3 was the first all new model solely produced in the United States, also at Plant Spartanburg. The E53 X5 followed.

[Carefree]

Be careful folks, if you respond to a provocative post in what moderators deem an “insulting” manner you will lose scoreboard points and spend time in the penalty box. The children at the editor’s desk are watching you.

[c1pher]

[c1pher]

The M2 I saw at the dealership looked pretty impressive. I would have pitted the exterior quality against a 718 or 911. Very tight and consistent panel gaps. Use a Telsa or Corvette for comparison and you will immediately understand the difference. Opening and closing the door sounds very solid and luxury like. Although the interior isn't quite as nice, everything looked properly aligned, stitching looked straight, not wavy (again look at a C8 stitching). So I don't think there are any concerns from my perspective.

Don't forget that Japan and Korea all were known for building shoddy cars, then became top of the heap quality-wise. I suspect it's Mexico's turn even if not a Mexican brand.

[Ravenseal]

Originally Posted by LCDRJohn

My main peeve on a car are: Rattles!

Nothing can make an awesome car feel like trash faster than a dash rattle. Years ago I bought a Audi R8 (w/gated shift..save the manuals!) and one day after delivery was beset by all sorts of rattles. Fortunately, the dealership fixed all in one visit, but man, the car felt like I bought a used Yugo!

As kids we used to drive MK2 GTIs, and those things were held together with pop-rivets. We used to take the whole interiors out and silicon and screw everything back together. I never want to do that again! LOL!

Must be an Audi thing, lol. My RS5 rattled like a box of screws. Thing went to the dealership like 5 times in 6 months for quality issues. That car was a huge disappointment.

[M_Power Rob]

Originally Posted by Ravenseal

Must be an Audi thing, lol. My RS5 rattled like a box of screws. Thing went to the dealership like 5 times in 6 months for quality issues. That car was a huge disappointment.

Ditto with my B9 S5...I have just learned to deal with it.

[Werkz12]

If you have a g87 M2 take a paint meter to the car.
All BMWs typically range 3.9 to 5.6 mills with fairly consistent readings between panels. The made in Mexico g87 m2 I just inspected metered 8 to 11+ mills. This was a brand new car with 50 miles.

Seems quality control is an issue and the car was sprayed multiple times before being assembled.

Maybe not an issue for some, but if you ever intend to sell your M2 down the line - an enthusiast, a dealership, or BAT users may question why your cars paint is so thick that it appears to have been resprayed and not factory.

[iifymbro]

Originally Posted by Werkz12

If you have a g87 M2 take a paint meter to the car.
All BMWs typically range 3.9 to 5.6 mills with fairly consistent readings between panels. The made in Mexico g87 m2 I just inspected metered 8 to 11+ mills. This was a brand new car with 50 miles.

Seems quality control is an issue and the car was sprayed multiple times before being assembled.

Maybe not an issue for some, but if you ever intend to sell your M2 down the line - an enthusiast, a dealership, or BAT users may question why your cars paint is so thick that it appears to have been resprayed and not factory.

video of the paint process in Mexico, no need to guess about "being sprayed multiple times with 3+ mills disparity in panels" like it's some tequila-soaked Mexicans hand spraying the cars or something lol:

[ScottyRyan2019]

Cheese and rice! Don't you guys know they hired illegal American immigrants to work there because no Mexicans wanted the work? 🤓

And the quality of my M2 is outstanding!

Carry on....

[LCDRJohn]

I will say tho, my M2 had a bunch of defects in the paint. BMWUSA was very interested in them and had me take pics of it from all angles. I got the feeling they take it seriously.

Here is a close up of one of the spots. The detailer said it is below the clearcoat. Sorry for the wet pic. The rep asked for it that day and it was pouring.

[Werkz12]

Meter the car and let me know the results

I know what the car I inspected showed

Possible it’s a one off but I doubt it

I’ll take my BMW M car manufactured in Germany

[M2 SoCal]

I can safely say after having many cars from the German factories, my G87 actually has a better build quality. No squeaks, rattles, etc. gaps and paint are perfect. There was an engineer review on YouTube about this saying it’s so hard to get gaps and paint perfect on the G87 lines and they perfected it.

BMW has invested millions in the SLP factory and it has the most advanced equipment out of any factory they have as they will be making most cars there in the coming years.

This is just my personal experience of 10 cars both M and non M.

On that note the one thing they did mess up, and is quite common with any car manufacturer having some factory issues is the factory alignment. There were a lot of G87’s with this issue, but I’ll take that anyday over bad paint or squeaks and rattles since an warranty alignment fixed the issue.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Werkz12

If you have a g87 M2 take a paint meter to the car.
All BMWs typically range 3.9 to 5.6 mills with fairly consistent readings between panels. The made in Mexico g87 m2 I just inspected metered 8 to 11+ mills. This was a brand new car with 50 miles.

Seems quality control is an issue and the car was sprayed multiple times before being assembled.

Maybe not an issue for some, but if you ever intend to sell your M2 down the line - an enthusiast, a dealership, or BAT users may question why your cars paint is so thick that it appears to have been resprayed and not factory.

Your car was most likely resprayed at port unless you really have that thickness across the entire car, which I find hard to believe.

[LCDRJohn]

Originally Posted by Autobahn SoCal

I can safely say after having many cars from the German factories, my G87 actually has a better build quality. No squeaks, rattles, etc. gaps and paint are perfect. There was an engineer review on YouTube about this saying it’s so hard to get gaps and paint perfect on the G87 lines and they perfected it.

BMW has invested millions in the SLP factory and it has the most advanced equipment out of any factory they have as they will be making most cars there in the coming years.

This is just my personal experience of 10 cars both M and non M.

On that note the one thing they did mess up, and is quite common with any car manufacturer having some factory issues is the factory alignment. There were a lot of G87’s with this issue, but I’ll take that anyday over bad paint or squeaks and rattles since an warranty alignment fixed the issue.

I'm with you on that. My car is built great, but they can't get the alignment right. It is annoying on an otherwise brilliant car!

[Geighty7]

The only persistent problem I get is my carbon bucket seems to make a cracking noise when I sit back in it or get pushed back. When I move it, it sort of stops.

My handle also doesn’t push the seat forward on driver side so I think the 2 problems are related. But I’d say that’s the only real issue I get from the car. Besides that, I love it.

No rattles, very firm. Paint looks great, I don’t stress the small stuff as I have stealth PPF on it. Body panels are mostly aligned.

Oh also I’m not THAT fat so I don’t think it’s me- 210lbs.

[xps]

I can't think BMW would intentionally cut manufacturing costs and quality because the laws allow them to in certain country. They are much more responsible than that. Also every inch of manufacturing process is standardized and have strict quality control. This whole "made in country" should make no difference on the final product unless there are some unintentional negative effects of bad local labour or some local parts sourcing. Which is hard to believe.

[RockCrusher]

No issues with my 2023 M2, a HEA car bought April 14, 2023.

Paint is blemish free.

Body panel fits are good. (You want to see bad body panel fits walk onto a Dodge dealership lot. My 2020 Scat Pack's hood/front bumper cover/fender fit was atrocious.)

No squeaks, rattles. Car feels solid.

I'd buy another car no hesitation.

[Werkz12]

Originally Posted by chris719

Your car was most likely resprayed at port unless you really have that thickness across the entire car, which I find hard to believe.

What port? G87 was made in Mexico - doesnt stop at port like german cars coming to US, right?

And yes ALL panels read 7 to 11 on the example I just metered. I was shocked.

I hope all of your cars are perfect- Im not suggesting this is an issue on all g87 cars- however I suggest owners get a paint meter and look into it…when you go to sell down the line an enthusiast or dealer will call out the thick paint as respray or damage etc. Find out while you are under factory warranty and “if” your car doesn’t meter as it should well…

[JABCAT]

My M2 has excellent build quality and paint, much better than many other new vehicles I've had. The only issue is the swirls in the paint from the dealer running it through the auto car wash during pdi & before I picked it up. Nothing I can't fix with my DA polisher though. The paint and panel fit on my 330e was also excellent as well as my wife's X3MC.

[iifymbro]

Originally Posted by Werkz12

What port? G87 was made in Mexico - doesnt stop at port like german cars coming to US, right?

And yes ALL panels read 7 to 11 on the example I just metered. I was shocked.

I hope all of your cars are perfect- Im not suggesting this is an issue on all g87 cars- however I suggest owners get a paint meter and look into it…when you go to sell down the line an enthusiast or dealer will call out the thick paint as respray or damage etc. Find out while you are under factory warranty and “if” your car doesn’t meter as it should well…

Mexico cars are shipped to ports via boat, the car you metered could've been damaged in transit and resprayed.

you sure your meter isn't malfunctioning or something lol, these cars are painted by state of the art robots I highly doubt they are whiffing thickness by 4 mills across different panels.