A good friend of mine has one. They’re easy and cheap to fix, even if you use original Peugeot parts.
I use the chauffeur driven “266” or “Xinyi Line” 36 seater with optional shock absorbers, 3 stumbling grannies and assorted locals. NT$15 a ride and I don’t have to park. Borrowed a friends big black benz for a month and it was a total pain in the bum to get anywhere, park or not get hit by a litle blue truck or scooter.
I know what you mean about the X5 being a tight bumpy ride. Try test driving the non-sports package model. It is a little better, but still a rough ride. More like a sports car than a luxury SUV.
The RX330 is everywhere over here and they are popular. That could be the way to go. However they are not that over priced over here and they are plentiful so you may not profit as much. The RX400H is supposed to be quicker than a BMW X5 3.0, one of the fastest SUVs. I still think it might be popular here. What about the soon to be released Audi Q7 SUV or the Audi crossover a la Volvo XC70. They are super fast. Can’t remember the name. Is it the Quattro? Oh yea, and the VW Touareg seems to be holding value here in Taiwan last I checked. However, when test driving I thought the brakes were a little tight and it was too pricey for a VW, but many people love it. I kind of like the way it looks on the outside, but the interior is simple and clean but nothing luxurious to match the price.
The Chrysler Pacifica is available over here, but I am certain it will drop fast in value on the resale as do most American cars here, unfortunately. It is also quite wide and not that suitable for the skinny alleyways. Fatter than an X5 but more narrow than a Hummer.
Let me know what you think about the Land Rovers. I have never test driven or even visited a dealer before, but the latest one looks quite nice, especially the interior. Just noticed this article in the Taipei Times about Land Rover in Taiwan. taipeitimes.com/News/biz/arc … 2003245797 They price is more than double the price in the USA. NT$3.25 million is more US$100,000 and in the USA it starts at US$44,500. By the way, the article quotes the country manager as saying it is a tough sale to Taiwanese who are accostumed to buying mostly BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. 
[quote=“Hobart”]the Audi crossover a la Volvo XC70. They are super fast. Can’t remember the name. Is it the Quattro?[/quote]I think you mean the Allroad. Very nice.
For Land Rover, I’d wait a bit to see how the new Discovery pans out in terms of quality and reliability. In the US, the previous generation was horrible in those respects, so much so that for the new model, they dropped the Discovery name. It’s simply the LR3 now, because they want people to make no connection to the Discovery - that’s how bad it was.
Lexus is definitely a better value than Mercedes or BMW. After markups and taxes, they generally are only about 1.5x the US price, as opposed to 2x to 3x (a lot of that being additional markup on top of taxes). However, Lexus still has excellent resale value, as people begin to realize that it’s more reliable and better built than many Mercedes and BMW models (many of which are no longer built in Germany).
A good friend of mine has one. They’re easy and cheap to fix, even if you use original Peugeot parts.[/quote]
I saw a cabrio for NT$39k once - would be a nice little toy for the mountains.
[quote=“Ben”]Lexus is definitely a better value than Mercedes or BMW. After markups and taxes, they generally are only about 1.5x the US price, as opposed to 2x to 3x (a lot of that being additional markup on top of taxes). However, Lexus still has excellent resale value, as people begin to realize that it’s more reliable and better built than many Mercedes and BMW models (many of which are no longer built in Germany).[/quote] Ben, you didn’t read the original post. The guy can bring a car into Taiwan tax free. I assume as a diplomat or expat boss. He want to make a profit when he resells the car in about 2 to 3 years.
By the way, you are right about Lexus being a better value in terms of how much more expensive it is from the US pricing. I never noticed that before, that might make me buy one as my next car here in Taiwan, but for the O.P. he would want the opposite. He would want the car that has the most UNREASONABLE price in Taiwan and is marked up the most in terms of its US pricing.
Finally, don’t flame me for this, but I think only people in the USA think that Lexus (high-end Toyoto) is more reliable than a BMW or Benz. I personally don’t believe that US BS. I think Lexus USA does the greatest job at paying red envelopes to the USA “unbiased” testing and ratings like JD Power for one.
A good friend of mine has one. They’re easy and cheap to fix, even if you use original Peugeot parts.[/quote]
I saw a cabrio for NT$39k once - would be a nice little toy for the mountains.[/quote]Hey Mr. He, test drive it. The handling is not good for the mountains. The accelleration is also a joke. It only looks like it could handle the curves, it can’t really do it. Go for the Miata (MX5 in Taiwan). There are some used ones I saw a couple of years ago in excellent shape for about $50K or was that $80K. Opps, maybe too expensive. I guess for NT$39K it is not a bad price for what you get, although the reliability of French cars can be debated.
[quote=“Hobart”]
Hey Mr. He, test drive it. The handling is not good for the mountains. The accelleration is also a joke. It only looks like it could handle the curves, it can’t really do it. Go for the Miata (MX5 in Taiwan). There are some used ones I saw a couple of years ago in excellent shape for about $50K or was that $80K. Opps, maybe too expensive. I guess for NT$39K it is not a bad price for what you get, although the reliability of French cars can be debated.[/quote]
I have a fair bit of experience driving the 205… 40,000 kilometer or so in a red 1988 1.1… The acceleration was a bit below par, but you can’t have everything. The car was very reliable, only breaking down once, and then it was a 20NT part, so I was rather happy with that side of it, especially as the car was 9 years old when I got it.
The miata sounds good too… MX5… But would appear to me 200k or thereabouts for a MX5 and you have done very well… The cheapest one on Eauto starts at 200K, and the second cheapest one go for 300K… I think that you need to be a very excellent businessman to get it for 50K…
Not meant as a flame, but it’s my honest opinion. 
My comments were not based on reading reviews. They were based on real-world experience in both Taiwan and USA. The owner’s themselves know best. Mercedes cars are not what they used to be in the '80s in terms of quality. My family has owned multiple Lexus and Mercedes cars throughout the '90s until now, and the Mercedes were by far the most unreliable, problem prone cars we’ve ever owned (not including the '84 E-Class TurboDiesel we had, those things are bulletproof). The Lexuses were the most trouble free cars we’ve ever owned. In fact, at 20,000 miles, the '95 Mercedes was so problematic, we pushed Mercedes to take it back. They refused, and the magic words that changed their minds was “My wife drives a Lexus, and has has 0 problems”. We had a new '97 Mercedes within a week, and only had to pay for 20,000 miles of depreciation on the '95. The '97 was better, but still has it’s fair share of problems. Every Lexus vehicle we’ve owned (6 so far, including my past and current car in Taiwan), has had close to 0 problems. The 2 Toyotas we’ve owned in the past are among the most trouble free cars we’ve ever owned also. We’ve never been stranded in a Toyota or Lexus, while we can’t say the same for the Mercedes.
Many good friends also drive BMWs (Both Taiwan and USA), and they are always complaining about something breaking, having to goto the shop again, etc.
And, another point would be my old mechanic. I know him because he worked for the local Acura (Honda’s US luxury-line) dealership, and he worked on my 2 Acuras. After leaving Acura, he went to work at a BMW dealership, and he told me, among other things, “When you fix an Acura, it stays fixed” and “At BMW, we pull about 4 motors a week. At Acura, we rarely ever pulled a motor.”
A side business I used to have dealt with headlight upgrades, so I’ve worked with my fair share of OEM headlights. If you’ve ever taken them apart or worked with them, you can tell that the headlights units and headlight electronics coming out of Koito, Stanley, Ichikoh, and Matsushita (Japanese) are noticeably better in quality then those coming out of Hella, Bosch, Philips, Valeo, and NFL (European). Sure, it’s just the headlights, but I think it says a lot.
And, it’s true, many Taiwan spec BMWs are now built in South Africa, if I’m not mistaken, and several BMW and Mercedes models are now built in USA. That has led to some quality problems over the Germany built ones of the past.
It’s not just JD Power too. I believe Consumer reports had an article on reliability for 2004 models, and Lexus and Toyota topped the category in many classes, and BMW & Mercedes brought up the rear in many classes, finishing worse than even the American marques.
To be fair, most of the problems related to the European cars are electrical in nature. The engines and mechanical components are generally fairly reliable. The Japanese have got electronics design down pat, the Europeans are still catching up in that regard.
A good friend of mine has one. They’re easy and cheap to fix, even if you use original Peugeot parts.[/quote]
I saw a cabrio for NT$39k once - would be a nice little toy for the mountains.[/quote]Hey Mr. He, test drive it. The handling is not good for the mountains. The accelleration is also a joke. It only looks like it could handle the curves, it can’t really do it. Go for the Miata (MX5 in Taiwan). There are some used ones I saw a couple of years ago in excellent shape for about $50K or was that $80K. Opps, maybe too expensive. I guess for NT$39K it is not a bad price for what you get, although the reliability of French cars can be debated.[/quote]
Reliability aside, the 205 is a pretty fun car to drive. In fact, there was a British Magazine that rated a variant of the 205 as one of the 50 (or was it 100?) cars to drive before you die. The rationale being that it started the whole hot-hatch movement, which saw the introduction of the VW GTi, Honda Civic Si, etc. I wish I could dig up that old article now. I think the 205 was #18 on the list.
Would not mind the 1.9 GTi, which is likely to beat everything else on the road selling at a comparable price.
But if they are cheap to run, then I am in.
The Pug is a fun car, especially with a few mods. But IIRC, the 205GTi wasn’t imported into Taiwan. None of the 1.9 liter models were.
If he wants to bring in and sell at a profit, then I might suggest a full size crew cab pickup like a Chevy Avalanche, Nissan Titan or a Cadillac Escalade…
I’ve mentioned in a few other posts that this is a fast-growing segment of the car market here, as people can take advantage of large-displacement engines without the hideous taxes of big-engined luxury cars. 4X4’s tend to hold their resale value well, and there is a well-established niche market here for hard-to-find full size trucks. You’d certainly make a profit on resale, even if you ended up driving it for 5 years.
My next car most likely will either be the Forrester turbo or a Full-size Toyota pickup (Tundra).
Ben, I guess some people prefer German cars and others prefer Japanese cars. I personally don’t have a high opinion of Lexus compared to a Mercedes or BMW or Audi. Lexus just doesn’t seem to build performance cars. They are slow compared to BMWs and Mercedes and they don’t handle nearly as well. I think it might have to do with the fact that German cars are made to go on the Autobahn at over 200KM per hour and have to be engineered differently.
With the exception of a few purpose built niche models, I’ll have to agree with you on that.
Lexus/Toyota is not known as a builder of performance cars, rather as a builder of nice, comfortable, reliable, & boring luxury cruisers. Even in the home market of Japan, buyers looking for performance cars look towards Honda and Nissan. This fits the Taiwan market quite well though, as most Taiwanese (and SUV buyers) don’t care about performance. I’m actually not a huge fan of Lexus, but I will attest to their dependability and reliability. My choice of Lexus in Taiwan was due to the serious lack of choices in cars (compared to what I would have chosen in the US).
As far as the German brands are concerned, I tend to group Mercedes into the comfortable boring luxury cruiser category too. BMW and Audi are more known for performance. Now if they could get those electronics ironed out. 
I know that before they started putting all the electronics into cars, Mercedes of the '80s was one of the most reliable cars on the road.
Ben, never heard of the electronics problems. Lots of people I know here have Benz or BMW and never heard of this as well or had any trouble. Regarding Nissan and Honda as performance cars, I don’t understand? What Nissan or Toyota can compare to an M3 or AMG, or even 330 or SLK350 for that matter? SLKs and SLs, CLK and CLs don’t seem very boring to me. Did I mention Porsche?
With all of this said, I am still interested in the Lexus 400H hybrid LSUV, i.e., until a German automaker makes one.
My dad’s old 300E 1986 has gone 700,000 kilometers, and has so far only failed him once… I would happily buy a 1992 mercedes any day - and expect to drive it for a decade or so, with only 3-4 visits to the mechanic per year.
[quote=“Hobart”]Ben, never heard of the electronics problems. Lots of people I know here have Benz or BMW and never heard of this as well or had any trouble. Regarding Nissan and Honda as performance cars, I don’t understand? What Nissan or Toyota can compare to an M3 or AMG, or even 330 or SLK350 for that matter? SLKs and SLs, CLK and CLs don’t seem very boring to me. Did I mention Porsche?
With all of this said, I am still interested in the Lexus 400H hybrid LSUV, i.e., until a German automaker makes one.[/quote]
Regarding unreliable electronics from European manufacturers, it’s a well known fact in the industry, actually. It’s been talked about in industry trade journals, auto magazines, etc. Everyone I know with a BMW or Mercedes has had some sort of problem, even on relatively new cars, some serious enough to leave them stranded. The facts and data are there. If you choose not to believe it, then the best I can say is that we’ll have to agree to disagree. 
A BMW salesman that my father talked to last month even went so far as to say “If you want a reliable car, go buy a Lexus, but if you want a car with prestige and presence, then you’ll be back for a BMW.”
As for performance, ever heard of a car called the Nissan Skyline GT-R? It’s got one of the fastest laptimes of any car on the Nurburgring circuit. At the time it was set, I think it was the fastest, although it has since been surpassed. Stock for stock, it can take on any M3 or AMG. SLK350? It was recently bested by the Honda S2000 in a comparison test in Road & Track. It’s predecessor, the SLK320 was also bested by the Honda S2000 in a comparison test in Car & Driver. 330 is a hard act to beat in it’s class. Everything, including Audi, Mercedes, etc., in it’s class is always a close 2nd. Supposedly, the new 2006 Lexus IS350 is supposed to give the 330 a run for it’s money, but that remains to be seen. Other performance cars From Honda and Nissan are the Honda (Acura) NSX & Integra R, and Nissan 350Z, to name a few, although as per my previous statement, these are purpose built niche models. The Honda and Nissan for performance was in context to the Japan home market when compared to Toyota (and not the German brands), and to illustrate that even in the Japan home market, Toyota/Lexus is seen as reliable (but boring) transport compared to other domestic makes.
As for SLs, CLK, and CL, AMG models non-withstanding, yes, I would say they are kind of boring.
SL - nice GT cruiser, but many sports cars from various makers on various continents are more interesting
CLK - definitely less interesting than their BMW and Audi counterparts (as per my previous statement)
CL - a 2 door S-Class. We’ve owned S-Classes, and they are really floaty, disconnected luxo-barges despite the high horsepower engines.
Ahhh, Porsche. I agree, one of the holy grails of the automotive world. 
One ride in a 996 Turbo will make you a believer, as it did me. There’s a Carerra GT that drives around where I live often. 
As a sidenote, in the same Car and Driver comparison test referenced above, a non-S model Boxster was also bested by the Honda S2000. 
Yes, '80s and early '90s Mercedes are bulletproof and run forever. IMO, the golden age of reliable Mercedes ended after the W124 E-Class, W126 S-Class, and W201 C-Class models ended production. The W123 TurboDiesel E-Classes run forever, as do their W124 successor models.