Help decoding euro VIN

[96cali]

Anyone here able to help fully decode a gray market VIN? I just emailed member M535i as it looks like he had helped out a member waaay back in the day but he hasn’t been active since March of this year. I’d be after knowing if it really is a factory AC car and the interior code and color in particular. TIA for any suggestions!

[adam_poll]

This one just worked for me and my German market 525i, the option tab showed fog lights which is right for it.

https://bimmer.work/

[96cali]

Thanks! I just tried it and it did give me some info but not as complete as I had hoped. Hoping someone with a more powerful tool can help.

[96cali]

Update, I did get a reply email from Rob aka m535i with a bit more info than I had. This car is not heavily optioned but I was having trouble getting consistent answers online. I have also emailed BMW Classic to see if they have history of the car.

[vinceg101]

Believe it or not, but you should be able to take the VIN to any dealer (Parts Department usually the best bet) and have them do a print out. US, EU or Gray Market import won't matter; if the car is in the BMW system, they have access to it.

They will give you what is essentially a print out of the Build Sheet (an actual copy of which should have been inside the car somewhere when built, usually under the rear seat). It will list all the options the car was built with (code #'s and typically a German description).

[96cali]

Good info. I’ll give it a shot next time.

Is it odd CarFax does not recognize the VIN as valid? I’m sure I have the number right and the tag on the car looks 100% original with a build date right in the middle of the M535i registry. Has anyone successfully found registration info on euro cars either in the US or EU?

[Blue Shadow]

Carfax does not speak € cars very well. Lots of unknowns.

The build sheet was attached to main brace on the rear seat bottom cushion, frequently having fallen to the floor under the passenger side of the seat.

The SA codes are the options supplied and for the US cars, which came loaded there are about 15 SA codes that are not listed because they are part of the standard build for the US cars. Power windows and sunroof and others, all listed on € ASAP sheets (What the parts dept label for the build sheet is called) but not for US cars. For the E28 there are not many options available on any of the US models. This info seems to go back to 84 and then sputters to not available as you go to earlier build dates.

but this € car should have a handful or more.

[Mike W.]

Believe it or not, but you should be able to take the VIN to any dealer (Parts Department usually the best bet) and have them do a print out. US, EU or Gray Market import won't matter; if the car is in the BMW system, they have access to it.

I think I've done it twice and they grumbled and whined about it both times. They did do it, but they weren't happy. Not sure why, it's not that big a deal, but at least some dealers have issues with it.

[Blue Shadow]

Always nice to have a friend in the parts dept, a 'work' friend, one you talk to when you go to get something instead of just a parts sale experience. Never had an issue with any of the 4-5 guys I know by name and they know me. Not that I buy a lot but when I talk with them it is more than just about parts.

But wait there's more. My friend in Tulsa used to have a 328iC that he kept nice and had the dealer do the work and source most parts. He would talk up the service writers, service manager and the techs to the point he got deals on service that I would use if I could get those prices for work. I think the dealer let the techs do side jobs after hours or something.

Since his Bimmer was Jeeped in the rear the replacement '07 A6 4.2 is costing him some big bucks and he is working on getting deals at the Audi dealer. Done a fair job of befriending the guys and getting them to take on coupon savings and better parts prices.

[vinceg101]

It definitely is conditional on how cooperative a particular dealer is; not all are created equal (more to the point: not all treat potential customers the same and with respect).
I am fortunate in that I have many dealerships in the greater Los Angeles area, not that they are close to each other though. In my years owning BMW's I have had mixed results amongst the handful in my 'area'. And that experience has changed over time as different management have often changed the attitudes of the whole operation. You get a sense of the general attitude and disposition of the dealership typically by where they are located. For instance, BMW of Beverly Hills always carried the moniker of snobbery simply by the community they serve while Center BMW in Van Nuys (in the San Fernando Valley, yes that Valley) usually has a more down-scale clientele given their location. But that is not always the case, in fact in that instance I note it has sometimes been the opposite. This definitely has played out when I went shopping for those elusive E28 Windshields some years back and the prices were all over the map (I finally settled on BMW of Santa Monica which were excellent to deal with at that time).

This directly influences your experiences with the Parts Department techs when you sidle up to the counter asking for this print out. I've done this at least three times (one for each BMW) over time and it has ranged from grumbling (as Mike experienced), to indifference, to one actually offering to do it before I asked. As Blue Shadow notes, in the end it's all about a personal relationship.

Oh and I have YET to have any dealer honor the BMW CCA discount for parts; maybe they would for some detail spray and tie clip. Maybe.

[Blue Shadow]

Oh and I have YET to have any dealer honor the BMW CCA discount for parts; maybe they would for some detail spray and tie clip. Maybe.

I needed a Roundel for my car and called the local dealer and got a high price. Called the other two, one nearby one in the next state over and closer, lower prices on both. But since this was for the NCCBMWCCA Tri-Marques Concours and that is John in VA's gig, I spoke to him and he had one. Done.

When I got back I spoke to one of the sr parts guys at the local dealer and he adjusted my discount to 2nd tier. Not the cheapest but no matrix pricing, CCA discount not applicable because the price is too low. Done, Thanks. The newer parts guys would comment on the pricing tier I was on when I bought stuff. That price is usually B2B or better relationships. I don't know all the pricing levels that they had. I was happy with the price every time I needed something.

That lasted a number of years until they redid the dealership and the new computers reset everything and they were trying the new low parts and mail order thing. This meant generally lower than retail for all that used that service. Stocking location wasn't the dealer but a warehouse 70 miles away for next day or whatever for a good bit of available inventory.  

Under this new system where the dealer was looking for volume to get the BMWNA Discount I was able to get one of the last replacement windshields for 220 delivered to my door including tax. They ordered it, came in a number of weeks later from Germany after Covid started and they held onto it for me for a couple years. Anthony said it was tucked in by the soda machine in the work area, safe. Came to me during the weeks I was thinking about it and we arranged for their delivery driver to drop it off. The dealer is only 4 miles away but it was the personal, amicable relationship I have with them that got this done in the best way possible.

Another help they were was sourcing the last pair of M5 front sway bar mounting brackets. They were NLA but one of the guys I know did the search, found a pair at a dealer in Oregon and I was able to contact them and get them shipped to me for a fair price. They used that service before, seeing if a local dealer had a part I needed. This time they did the Germany search (BMW AG warehouses and such, a standard search really) and then a US search by dealer.

They have really been a nice place to work with when it comes to parts.

[Blue Shadow]

Back on subject. Can we get a list of the SA Codes on this M535? be interesting to see what level of gear it has on it.

Poverty
Performance
Luxury
Loaded.

Without the VIN, we can't hunt down a working VIN Decoder.

With the list we can translate the 'new descriptions' used for numbers that indicate different options for older vehicles as we have decoded that info pretty well.

The smoker delete or something SA 420 maybe on the E23 means Executive has nothing to do an ashtray installed or not. There are others.

[96cali]

It’s a very low optioned (poverty lol?) m535i. Here is what Rob Anderson was able to tell me:
Euro car
DC71 so high compression “dirty” motor
Manual
Left Hand Drive
Built 04.27.1986
Paint Arctis-blau
Upholstery code 0258 which I believe is pacific blue cloth

There are only 2 options listed
1 manually operated sunroof
2 option 311 electric exterior mirror

So unfortunately no factory AC

Classic BMW replied stating the car was delivered on May 2nd, 1986 to the German BMW dealer Friedrich Oster in Mutterstadt.