BMW parts made in China...WTF!

I picked up my parts at the local BMW dealer today for my swingarm/clutch/tranny repair. I took the bearings out of the BMW bags to check....and saw the dreaded "CHINA" on the bearings! At $30 and change a piece they want to give us Chinese bearings! Have you ever seen a Chinese factory!?! Open windows, no glass, tolerances varying greatly throughout the day as the temp fluctuates in the building....and that was an aircraft parts factory I'm talking about. I know, Chinese parts are everywhere....often causing mechanical failures due to poor metalurgy, sloppy tolerances and heat treating etc. But does BMW have to go there now to stay in the black? At the price we pay for their bikes (and parts and clothes...) we should at least be getting the good solid German product that they tout! Maybe my input shaft was made in China, and that explains why it is toast at 43K miles? Arrgggg.

air conditioning and metal parts does not equal quality



I've never worked in an air conditioned shop and held tolerances?

BMW parts made in china, hmmm

Not all Chinese manufacturers are the same. One can get quality products out of their if one writes a well formed specification and is willing to pay for it.

Chinese parts...

The plant in China I mentioned is a plant that Pratt and Whitney Aircraft sent technicians to, to train Chinese workers to make aircraft engine replacement parts. There is no glass in the windows. As the warmer air comes in during the day and heats up the machines and fixtures..... metal changes size. Like when you heat a case to insert a chilled bearing easily. When the temps normalize, the fit is tight. I never mentioned AC. But I'll bet NASA parts aren't built in a building that doesn't have stabilized (constant) temperatures. Would anyone prefer to use Chinese made tools to work on their BMW? Wanna buy some band-aids? What I am getting at, is that if I am paying the premium price of BMW ownership, and I buy parts at the dealer to support them, I expect GERMAN parts. Seems I am paying a premium price for Walmart quality. Maybe that's why I have to replace the mainshaft at 43K miles, which seems to go against the idea of German reliability. How many of the parts on a BMW are actually made outside of Germany? That would be interesting to find out. Anybody have any insights?

I dont like BMW parts being made anywhere but Germany.

Maybe its the attitude of the company in general that is changing, but I certainly agree if I am going to pay the premium prices at a BMW dealership, I ask for two things for my money: 1. German engineering, and 2. Loyalty to the customers that love BMW motorcycles. I was at the BMW dealership in Aurora, Ohio today with my 1988 R100rs to check out some accessories. I saw a nice set of Motolight driving lights and asked the salesman for price and whether that would be easily installed on my 88 airhead. He replied that my alternator may not be able to handle the extra juice the lights would probably need. I asked if there is a way to upgrade my alternator to accomodate the lights. he said "yeah! you should trade that thing in for a real bike." I wanted to punch the guy in the face...but he he was about a foot taller and a buck heavier than me, so I just stared at him in awe that a BMW motorcycle salesman could have the audacity to say one of the longest lasting designs in motorcycle history is not a real bike. I was very dissappointed. I hope this guy was just a mistake, and that BMW is not at the verge of alienating their most dedicated fans. In short, I hate that parts are made in China....its the beginning of the end.

german steel only also

china parts

I lived in Beijing for 4 years 96-2000. In the early days, quality control and consistency was a problem. We used to call it "the land of almost right". We learned to question everything. Ever seen a fake Coke? But now...all the fancy machine tools in the world are going to China. They are the largest scooter manufacturer in the world and their new 650 SV650 suzuki look-a-like is pretty neat. The intellectual property issues are still a big problem. There are 30 year olds who have never bought legal software and movies and see no reason why they should have to.
Sure, there are some Army plants that still use the "resident" work force, but these are falling by the wayside. I was around in 50's when Japanese meant crap. The Chinese are hard working folks who you have to show how to do a task once.. But... the Chinese part should be cheaper.. I have a problem with a bearing sold at German prices... but I suspect it all evens out..

Hardley

Much of my prior ride, HD Road King, was made in China. Global economy is here, like it or not. My friends in the construction industry constantly lament the steel and copper prices, as China eats up all the raw materials the world can produce.

jshuck said:

But now...all the fancy machine tools in the world are going to China.

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Excellent point. The factory that builds stuff for my company in China has all the newest production tools.

Intellectual property issues are a nightmare, especially now that folks are job hopping every year over there for 15% raises.

jshuck said:

...But now...all the fancy machine tools in the world are going to China... The intellectual property issues are still a big problem. There are 30 year olds who have never bought legal software and movies and see no reason why they should have to....The Chinese are hard working folks who you have to show how to do a task once...

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Hi John:

I've never travelled to China so take my obervations with a grain of salt as they are all second-hand. Speaking as a manufacturer in the USA who is adapting to the global economy, I am forced to deal with Chinese vendors, Chinese component parts, and Chinese finished goods on a daily basis. IMHO, all the fancy machine tools in the world can't fix the "problem" (or "issue" or choose your PC term) of culture. The Chinese are creative, resourceful, hardworking, and self-reliant. They tend to approach all problems with lots of manual effort and very little else, because, of course, what they have over there above all else is lots and lots of cheap labor. Beyond that, I personally believe you not only have to show them how to do a task once, you also need a supervisor who truly "gets it" to make sure they keep doing it the way you showed them. IMHO the highest quality goods coming out of China get that way and stay that way because the Chinese management has been made to understand and appreciate the demand for consistency, tight tolerances, high quality. They CAN do it, no question. Getting them to do it is a neat trick.

Just my two cents worth:

Have you bought anything lately that wasn't made in China??? I am astounded at the amount of consumer goods made in China. I fear that if we ever get into another "Great Conflict" that we (the USA) will be toast when it comes to manufacturing ability since we seem to have outsourced nearly all of our production capability to China and other third world countries.

But; like it or not, your $30 bearings would have probably cost twice as much if they had been made in Germany.

The only hope I see in all this is that the nations of the world become so dependent on each other for goods and products that they don't dare risk war.

Blaze away!

It wasn't so long ago that a "Made in Japan" label would have elicited the same response. I think we can all agree that items made there can be among the highest quality in the world.

Expect to see the same progression with the Chinese.

Eureka said:

I fear that if we ever get into another "Great Conflict" that we (the USA) will be toast when it comes to manufacturing ability since we seem to have outsourced nearly all of our production capability to China and other third world countries.

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We need to be worried about the manufacturing overcapacity issues that China are looking at around 2009.

When a German business friend first saw my R100 he beamed and told me about the Berlin factory. He was from Berlin and returned regularly to visit family on the other side of the Wall. He described the plant on the West side as assembling parts made with cheap labor, in poorly maintained factories and on WWII vintage equipment on the East side. I do not know if he was right. He went on to say; "But they still have GERMAN quality (emphasis was his along with a big smile.) "

Where ever the stuff is made, it is still up to BMW to do some quality control and make certain that what they are selling is what was designed and ordered. China, Germany or the US it is about the job and we had best figure that out. JMHO

BMW parts made in China

We better get used to BMW parts being made in China, and for that matter in other countries we used to laugh at. I don't like either, but as some people say... "Them are the facts of life". Harley has been having this problem for a number of years now. I guess it's our turn to face the China part problem. I remember when we used to laugh about cars being made in Japan. Now they make some top of the line products. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that China makes, or ever will make, top of the line products, but the world is changing, and changing fast. Frankly, I don't think you will ever see reliable top of the line products come from a country that doesn't have the moral backbone to respect intellectual property rights. Call it what you will: globalized economy, cheep labor, intellectual property theft, sweat shops, Americans and Europeans not willing to work for lower wages, or even out-sourcing, but unfortunately, the situation is not going away any time soon. In fact, it seems like our government, by omission, is encouraging it.

Easy
Big Empty, Texas

My toughest fight was with my first wife.
Muhammad Ali (1942 - )

Why would anybody buy bearings from a BMW dealer when they can get quality bearings at any bearing house for a quarter of the price? BMW buys cheap, puts a roundel on the package and charges LOTS for the "service." (PT Barnum must have observed the BMW MOA.)

agree with sofflier

My wife was in a big management position with a major company in China. Her feelings are that they are very hard working.. she has never worked harder. But the gang is not too intuitive. They can do that job with no question, but when asked what they "think" about somethig, you get some blank stares. Again, all that is changing too...real fast.

Friends with manufacturing facilities in China also had problem with sliding quality. Things would start out great, but months later things get put aside. I noticed many rubber trim items on my new CJ motorcycle looked great for about 6 months, but they forget to put the stuff in the rubber that protected it from UV light.. probably because it was cheaper. But like I say... that has changed greatly. A friend who used to work for Pratt and Whitney built turbine blades that were man machined better that the automated machines.

flash412 said:

(PT Barnum must have observed the BMW MOA.)

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Nice way to talk about your fellow club members.

Thanks Hugh for reminding me of the copper issue. One day in June the price of copper tripled, and the timing really screwed the numbers on a job my little 2-man company was doing. Some subcontracted plumbing was sold at $4600 and wound up costing $16000 because of the copper tripling. We're trying to figure out other ways of getting the difference out of the client, since the client is a hospital and therefore doesn't like to pay for things.
[/hijack]

Seems like some people need to wake up and smell the global economy. It's naive to think or care that your German bike is 100% German made, and believe that it really matters. American made, German made, Made in Japan, they are all technical terms now, as parts and pieces are made where ever the labor is cheap, they are assembled here and there, and through some technical mumbo jumbo are allowed to stick the preffered "Made In" tag on them.