BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

[Anonymous]

I thought vin numbers told you the spec..then compare that to model year and options

 

[Anonymous]

Bit like Rolex...tell you nothing. But if you go to Bob's watches

 

[Dav the wheel nut]

The guy is obviously an enthusiast and proud of his car so why knock him

 

[Tumnus]

BMW made more than 115,000 E89's, and I usually see at least one everyday on my commute to work (and not the same one everyday either!)

So I don't think it's either a collectors car or a super car, it's just a good looking mass produced roadster, nothing more. Oh and 'stick shift' is very common in the UK.

 

[GuidoK]

..and their cars will never attain the status of their prior generations of cars, collector-wise.

So an e30 m3, a 1m or z3m coupe were treated the same way by bmw, and look what that did to their collector status..... something amg can only dream about.
Also an e89 is not an /m, so comparing it to AMG or Lamborghini is ridiculous in the first place.
Looks like you got your facts mixed up :lol:

An e89 in low numbers because it has a different colour or different interior trim finish is not special. Its just an e89 and only special to the ones that like that colour or interior trim. You dont seem to get that. It'll never be a 250gto or Lambo.
If you want to have a special z4, buy one in urban green. Very special, very uniqe and dirt cheap because no one wants it :lol:
You'll be the only one driving it for sure.

If you want a unique car, then make it yourself just the way you like it. then you're not bound to the limitations that bmw offers, but only bound to your own imagination and skills.

The guy is obviously an enthusiast and proud of his car so why knock him

Because he seems to have demands that are out of proportion imho.
If he really wants to know how many cars bmw made in what configurations, he should hack the vin database. In theory that contains all production data.

 

[Kingfisher]

All sounds a bit anal to me ... I reckon the OP is a dedicated flouncer! ... :|

 

[Valor1]

..and their cars will never attain the status of their prior generations of cars, collector-wise.

So an e30 m3, a 1m or z3m coupe were treated the same way by bmw, and look what that did to their collector status..... something amg can only dream about.
Also an e89 is not an /m, so comparing it to AMG or Lamborghini is ridiculous in the first place.
Looks like you got your facts mixed up :lol:

An e89 in low numbers because it has a different colour or different interior trim finish is not special. Its just an e89 and only special to the ones that like that colour or interior trim. You dont seem to get that. It'll never be a 250gto or Lambo.
If you want to have a special z4, buy one in urban green. Very special, very uniqe and dirt cheap because no one wants it :lol:
You'll be the only one driving it for sure.

If you want a unique car, then make it yourself just the way you like it. then you're not bound to the limitations that bmw offers, but only bound to your own imagination and skills.

The guy is obviously an enthusiast and proud of his car so why knock him

Because he seems to have demands that are out of proportion imho.
If he really wants to know how many cars bmw made in what configurations, he should hack the vin database. In theory that contains all production data.

My "demands are out of proportion?" Out of proportion to what? Heaven forbid BMW take one minute to disclose such basic information to a Client who owns a Z8, Z1 and yes, an apparently mundane Z4. Not wanting to sound like a w***er, but with all due respect, I do have a collection of cars where I have either the only one or one of a very few ever produced. Not sure what you mean by it will never be a "250GTO or Lambo." That sentence makes no sense. Some Lamborghinis are rare, as was my 350GT and Islero S, and others are not particularly rare, such as a Gallardo. Putting a GTO in the same sentence with a "lambo" is simply illogical in this context.

The irony here is most of the Z4 owner's responses are actually undercutting their own car's prestige....which is very interesting.

As a collector, I will go out on a limb here and say N54 powered manual gearbox cars will retain their value better than folks here realize.

It's too bad the Z4 was not developed the way the 911 owners passionately developed their cars (and yes some of them began very rudimentary). I had a car at a show recently and overheard a man showing his son a 911 and pointing out how that was the only year the filler was located in that particular location. Oh, but wait.....911s appreciate in value.....and they just produced their one millionth example.

I guess its no wonder BMW stopped campaigning the highly successful Z4 race cars.

 

[Valor1]

BMW made more than 115,000 E89's, and I usually see at least one everyday on my commute to work (and not the same one everyday either!)

So I don't think it's either a collectors car or a super car, it's just a good looking mass produced roadster, nothing more. Oh and 'stick shift' is very common in the UK.

I am glad you see one every then surely you've seen one like mine?

Do you have the N54 motor, and if so, what mods have you done so far?

Of course not all E89s are the same just like all E90s are not the same. I wonder how many N54 manual gearbox E89s there are?

Yes. They made 115k E89s
But BMW made 197,950 of the prior generation Z4, and
BMW produced 315,088 Z3

Care to guess how many Boxers were made during the same period as the E89?

So purely on math the E89 Z4 is by production car standards pretty rare.

But how many of these cars have the N54 motor and then with a stick?

From everything I read, the N54 is tuner's paradise with some guys making 800 hp from these motors. Point being, this car has some serious performance potential with an N54 powerplant.

A Z4 need not be a hairdressers car but a hairy chested beast.

Nice video of an N54 335i beating a 911GT3
https://youtu.be/js1V13HYBzY
N54 taking a Supra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkKhArm8Ods
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bg2mCrs46U

 

[Valor1]

Or Alpina's. Much more specialist :wink:

Really bizarre that Alpina would not be supportive given their much smaller nature you'd think they'd be more geared towards customer service.

 

[Valor1]

Perhaps you should switch to collecting stamps

Or sell my Z4 and buy a second Z8 for a daily driver.

 

[mcbeee]

I'm pretty sure my Z4 is special edition too. How many people specced the ski loading hatch on a RWD convertible :slaphead:

i did, in 2009. put my rifles through it, worked great.

 

[Ewazix]

I can understand why an enthusiast is interested in the production and spec data but can see why BMW generally have a policy on not releasing it. Whilst it seems picky to refuse this one-off request, info about customer preferences is commercial gold in the era of 'big data' and companies pay fortunes to acquire and study it. Also it may not be as simple as you suggest to extract the data depending on how the database is set up.

Anyway when you come to sell, you can claim your car is unique or one of only ten etc and who can prove otherwise? :wink:

 

[MACK]

I think the OP has completely missed the point I made earlier. This info probably isn't simply available in seconds and would takes hours if not days of work for someone to compile. From BMW's point of view what purpose does it serve? Satisfy the whim of a customer or massage their ego. No profitability in that. Can you image what would happen to their staff costs if they got hundreds if not thousands of these requests a day! At the end of the day BMW likes to have customers think their particular car is special etc but the likelihood is the outcome of any such information trawl would have the OP in tears anyway when they discovered there are at least couple of thousand cars exactly the same as their "unique" car. What a shocker for a mass produced relativity run of the mill vehicle.

You might have had half a chance if you told them you were a motoring journalist from a well know publication, either that or writing a book on the "history of BMW Z cars" etc

 

[GuidoK]

My "demands are out of proportion?" Out of proportion to what? Heaven forbid BMW take one minute to disclose such basic information to a Client who owns a Z8, Z1 and yes, an apparently mundane Z4.

So do you expect VW to also give such info if you own a golf?
Even if you say you own a lambo or bugatti?
BMW doesnt do that because they'll also get this question from 116i owners etc.
So they have the policy not to do this. Live with it. If you think that that autmatically means that bmw is not supportive to the enthusiast community... fine. You know what they say about opinions....

Not wanting to sound like a w****r, but with all due respect, I do have a collection of cars where I have either the only one or one of a very few ever produced. Not sure what you mean by it will never be a "250GTO or Lambo." That sentence makes no sense. Some Lamborghinis are rare, as was my 350GT and Islero S, and others are not particularly rare, such as a Gallardo. Putting a GTO in the same sentence with a "lambo" is simply illogical in this context.

Just read my example about the urban green one. having something that hasnt been made very much doesnt make it special.
What I ment with it will never be a 250gto or lambo is that the general public will consider every Lamborgnini special. And no Z4 in urban green. The general public considers that plain ugly. The 5 year old son of my neighbour even could understand that example so I dont know why you cant.

It's too bad the Z4 was not developed the way the 911 owners passionately developed their cars (and yes some of them began very rudimentary). I had a car at a show recently and overheard a man showing his son a 911 and pointing out how that was the only year the filler was located in that particular location. Oh, but wait.....911s appreciate in value.....and they just produced their one millionth example.

So you dont think we know specifics about our cars?
So I dont know why I have a piece of perforated leather in my seats because it was only done in 2003-2005 and only in the combination of a certain seat, certain leather and certain package?
Or that the seatbelt guide on my seats is a little bit thicker than the facelift ones?
And these are quirks JUST ABOUT THE SEATS... that we can give as casual examples.
But if you need this type of info to make you feel special...lets say I'm not that kind of person.

Sorry that you think you can transpose your limited knowledge about bmws to my/our presumed knowledge about bmw's.
Like I said, if you want to know how much of every bmw has ever been made, just hack the VIN database. Its out there.....

I guess its no wonder BMW stopped campaigning the highly successful Z4 race cars.

Something else you dont know.... bmw started (and stopped) racing the e89 in gt3 because of a reglatory loophole that allowed them to fit a v8 in the car. And for the rest that gt3 had very little in common with a normal e89. Even things like suspension principles were different as the gt3 ran dual wishbone suspension....

Now they race the 6 series (but that also bears very little technical resemblance with the current 6 series)

 

[markeg]

Or Alpina's. Much more specialist :wink:

Really bizarre that Alpina would not be supportive given their much smaller nature you'd think they'd be more geared towards customer service.

Think you missed my point. Alpina do support their owners very well - the manufacturers are responsive to contact. Support to the UK owners through Sytners (the sole Alpina dealer) is excellent, and we have very active owner groups in the UK and Germany.

Part of buying into a specialist manufacturer, rather than trying to create a uniquely spec'd mass market motor.

 

[Kingfisher]

Have you got a nice pic of your Z4, Z8 and Z1 all together? It would be very interesting to compare then when they're lined up.

 

[willgill]

What a ridiculous thread :thumbsdown:

 

[Bing]

I can understand why an enthusiast is interested in the production and spec data but can see why BMW generally have a policy on not releasing it. Whilst it seems picky to refuse this one-off request, info about customer preferences is commercial gold in the era of 'big data' and companies pay fortunes to acquire and study it. Also it may not be as simple as you suggest to extract the data depending on how the database is set up.

This, and only this, is the answer to this thread. It's not a Lamborghini, or even an AMG, it's a mass produced car that competes with the SLK, the TT, and every other two seater roadster out there.

 

[Anonymous]

I just went onto BMW web site and entered my VIN No..........viola up popped all the spec about the car?

 

[mcbutler]

Google BMW VIN DECODER enter your VIN and it will tell you the build spec of your car as recorded by the factory.
You can also check for retrofit work carried out on your vehicle.