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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Specific discussion about the E89 2009 Z4 (sDrive35is, sDrive35i, sDrive30i, sDrive23i)
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mcbeee
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by mcbeee » Sun Jul 09, 2017 5:09 am

R.E92 wrote: Thu Jul 06, 2017 10:57 pm 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.
Sold the Z4 M Roadster and a 911 Carrera S now I have a 2021 Z4 3.0i
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by Ewazix » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:41 am

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:
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by MACK » Sun Jul 09, 2017 9:04 am

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
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by GuidoK » Sun Jul 09, 2017 2:40 pm

Valor1 wrote: Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:05 am

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)
Last edited by GuidoK on Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by markeg » Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:03 pm

Valor1 wrote: Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:29 am
markeg wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 7:55 am 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.
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by Kingfisher » Mon Jul 10, 2017 10:57 am

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.
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by willgill » Mon Jul 10, 2017 11:46 am

What a ridiculous thread :thumbsdown:
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by Bing » Mon Jul 10, 2017 11:46 am

Ewazix wrote: Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:41 am 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.
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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by sad_old_man » Tue Jul 11, 2017 9:37 pm

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

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BMW is not supportive of the Enthusiast Community

Post by mcbutler » Tue Jul 11, 2017 9:42 pm

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.
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Post by enzed4 » Wed Jul 12, 2017 1:39 am

Are you guys reading the thread? He wants to know how many of his exact spec were produced, not what spec he has.
He's pissed because BMW can't or won't give him that info.
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Post by PerryGunn » Wed Jul 12, 2017 6:29 am

enzed4 wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2017 1:39 am Are you guys reading the thread? He wants to know how many of his exact spec were produced, not what spec he has.
He's pissed because BMW can't or won't give him that info.
#FirstWorldProblem
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Post by SeanConnor » Wed Jul 12, 2017 8:17 am

PerryGunn wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2017 6:29 am
enzed4 wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2017 1:39 am Are you guys reading the thread? He wants to know how many of his exact spec were produced, not what spec he has.
He's pissed because BMW can't or won't give him that info.
#FirstWorldProblem
Well said that man ! :thumbsup:
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Post by enzed4 » Wed Jul 12, 2017 8:47 am

PerryGunn wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2017 6:29 am
enzed4 wrote: Wed Jul 12, 2017 1:39 am Are you guys reading the thread? He wants to know how many of his exact spec were produced, not what spec he has.
He's pissed because BMW can't or won't give him that info.
#FirstWorldProblem
I agree. I do like the OP's car, but (as has been pointed out by others) considering how many options were available when new, there are probably many many 'unique' Z4's out there. Perhaps having black wheel nuts instead of chrome makes your 911 more valuable, but not your Z4 :P
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Post by jabber » Wed Jul 12, 2017 11:32 am

I was warned but couldn't resist read this thread and wasted yet another 10 minutes of my life :x
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