other Amazing

[2002Targa]

So,

went to the BMW dealer yesterday...

"Hi, I'm looking for a clutch master for a 73 RHD 2002 Targa"...

 

VIN?

 

3595008

 

"Ok, that's a 5 series automatic, it doesn't have a clutch"

 

"they didn't have a 5 series in 1973"

 

blank stare  "what model was it again"??

 

"It's a 2002, a 1973 2002"

 

"a 2002 5 series"??

 

sigh...."no, the car was built in 1973, the model of the car is called 2002, see, here's a picture of it on my phone"

 

"Oh, wow.  I've never seen one of those"

 

"Ok, so now that we're on the same page, I'd like to find a clutch cylinder for it"

 

Ummmmm (typing into computer)  "Is it a 320i"???

 

another big deep sigh....

 

"Never mind, I'll go look on the internet"

 

 

[ray_]

Next time give him the part #.

 

Or order from BLUNT.

 

;-)

[mikebontoft]

according to realoem, the vin you provided says its an E34!

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do?vin=3595008

double check your Vin. They use the last 7 digits to check everyhing and they're not wrong. In our case, the whole Vin is 7 digits.

in my case, it worked:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do?vin=2366592

edit: however, please verify your month (I picked 03/1973) here's the diagram with oe part numbers.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=2573&mospid=47122&btnr=21_0101&hg=21&fg=10

Edited September 22, 2013 by mikebontoft

[Mike Self]

It's not just the dealer.  The great state of Ohio insisted that my '73 (258XXXX VIN, assembled in Dec 1972) was a '74 model, even after I showed them the factory parts book VIN breakdown, that 258/259 VINs were 72 and 73 models, and that 74s began with 422.  They said the parts book must be wrong! 

 

Fortunately this wasn't the title (I showed 'em that too--they said it was wrong), it was over emission inspection back when we still had it here in Dayton.  And mine passed with all the emission stuff removed and 190k miles on the engine.  Ya gotta wonder...

 

mike

[GregJ]

The VIN thing is wacky, but my guess is that if you went to a Ford dealer and asked for parts for your Granada or Fairmont or Maverick or LTD  the born-in-the-90s parts person would look at you just as blankly as the BMW guy.

[Stacey]

I dropped by one of our local BMW dealers yesterday to buy wiper refills for my E46, which are not readily available at most parts stores.  I was surprised to hear they don't sell them anymore, but they do sell replacement arms for $70 per set!  I really do try to support local businesses when I can, but they have to at least try.

[tbrduc]

regardless of the VIN, I get the same response.."OK, so it's a BMW 2002. What model?"

(chuckling with empathy)

[mikebontoft]

haha. I had to stop by oreillys the other day because our parts suppliers were closed. I said "hey I need spark plugs for a 1975 BMW 2002." he got that right without the least bit of curiosity.

[gliding_serpent2]

So,

went to the BMW dealer yesterday...

"Hi, I'm looking for a clutch master for a 73 RHD 2002 Targa"...

VIN?

3595008

"Ok, that's a 5 series automatic, it doesn't have a clutch"

"they didn't have a 5 series in 1973"

blank stare "what model was it again"??

"It's a 2002, a 1973 2002"

"a 2002 5 series"??

sigh...."no, the car was built in 1973, the model of the car is called 2002, see, here's a picture of it on my phone"

"Oh, wow. I've never seen one of those"

"Ok, so now that we're on the same page, I'd like to find a clutch cylinder for it"

Ummmmm (typing into computer) "Is it a 320i"???

another big deep sigh....

"Never mind, I'll go look on the internet"

I had to double take as this was almost a carbon copy of my conversations with my local bmw. This exact thing happened to me twice...

... And then the Last time (third time) i called i read the guy the vin directly from my car and he told me it was wrong. He said it was for an e32 and that i should check again. I laughed and said that was great, because the last time i was told i had a five series, so the computer upgraded me. When i said i was reading it from the car he said it must not be correct. I said the same vin was on the top of the steering column, and in the engine bay over the drivers side wheel well. He said bmw never put vins there... And that they sell parts for tii's "every day" and that i must be wrong (there is one more tii in the area and that is it). I think he was sour after a seatbelt from them took 2 months to arrive (the second did not arrive, so i cancelled the second as they said both would be two weeks) when walloth et nesch took three days, and i let them know...

Either way, after the same conversation happened three times to date with the same attitude...( Doesn't help that the above guy at our local dealer is a known jerk) I just frequent online retailers known around here.

Back to the bmw issue with vins, the problem goes away if the parts guy knows enough to switch over to the "classic" parts inventory system that uses the older vins. Another dealer i called knew to do that immediatly and never had an issue. My passive agressive side would love to get a bunch of tii owners calling in to that one guy "every day" requesting parts only to be told their vins are wrong.

Edited September 22, 2013 by gliding_serpent

[ClayW]

Yep. Realoem.com and other parts diagrams are confused when you enter your older, 7-digit VIN. When BMW progressed to using the standard 17-character VIN, I guess they didn't anticipate that the future would involve only punching in the last seven digits for a parts diagram. Consequently, our full VINs match the last 7 digits of newer BMWs.

 

Like others have said; look up your parts diagrams without using your VIN and get the part numbers that you need. The dealer or BLUNT will be able to look them up.

[Roundeie]

Because I've read of so many of these experiences on this forum I always print a copy of the realoem parts list, highlight the part numbers I want and hand it to the parts counter attendant. It seems to keep the confusion to a minimum.