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I don't know what they build in SC but yours was made in Germany if it has a W first letter vin.
 
GaryBeu said:
BTW...I thought BMW's were made in England but now find out that they're German. Were they not "British Motor Works" at one time?? Or am I just stupid...?
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The "B" in BMW refers to Bavarian.
 
Gary if you're serious the answer would be BMW is Bavarian Motor Works.
 
judow said:
Gary if you're serious the answer would be BMW is Bavarian Motor Works.
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And they once made airplane engines (the "roundel" is a spinning propeller) but they never made cream filled donuts.
 
GregW said:
It is a "W". Had to look it up just now. Looks like they build the X series stuff now. In Spartanburg SC.
BMW USA
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I didn't know they made a M X series. I a lot of ways it does and doesn't make sense all at the same time.
 
GaryBeu said:
I thought BMW's were made in England but now find out that they're German. Were they not "British Motor Works" at one time?? Or am I just stupid...?
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O.K, I see what's going on now. Yes, you are absolutely 100% correct and not stupid. What you are thinking of is BMC, not BWM. The fact that the new Mini is made by BMW in the UK further compounds your brain substituting one for the other. So yes, BMW does make a BMC LBC in the UK...but not really...but it does.


Here: "The Mini Hatch/Hardtop, Clubman, Convertible, Coupe and Roadster are assembled at the BMW's Plant Oxford in Cowley, England,[8] and the Countryman and Paceman are assembled by Magna Steyr in Austria.[9]

"In February 2005, BMW announced an investment of ÂŁ100 million in the Mini plant in Oxford, United Kingdom, creating 200 new jobs and enabling production output to be increased by 20%.[23][24] "

"In June 2011, BMW announced an investment of ÂŁ500 million in the UK over the subsequent three years as part of an expansion of the Mini range to seven models.[27][28] "


So yes, you are 100% correct, just not all BMW's are made there and the "B" does stand for British, but in BMC not BMW even though BMW makes a British car in England. (which I had no idea they were made there till now, which makes you smarter than me. But that's not really saying too much. :highly_amused:smile:
 
kellysguy said:
I don't know what they build in SC but yours was made in Germany if it has a W first letter vin.
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Hmmm... My X5 was made in Spartanburg SC, and it carries a WBA vin prefix. All M Coupes were also made (assembled) in Spartanburg and carry the WBS (M GmbH division) VIN previx. I think the 4US prefix might have come along later.
 
Scott_Hower said:
Hmmm... My X5 was made in Spartanburg SC, and it carries a WBA vin prefix. All M Coupes were also made (assembled) in Spartanburg and carry the WBS (M GmbH division) VIN previx. I think the 4US prefix might have come along later.
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Stupid question, are sure about that, as in 100% made in SC or is just some of the parts are made and assembled on them there? I know when we were looking at Hondas and Subaru's that the US ones had the US vin and the Japanese made ones had J vins. All of the M's(3) I've ever encountered had W vins and had Germany listed as country of origin, same thing for diesel Vw's AND gti'S. (I don't know if that still holds true for VW). Every foreign car I've seen that was made here had a US vin. Do you have SC on the door tag and a W vin? From what I've seen before it wouldn't make sense to have a car built here not have a US vin. Otherwise what's the point.
 
My X5 most definately was made in the US and carries a WBA VIN; I ordered it new and tracked assembly at Spartanburg. The engine and drivetrain was made an assembled in Germany, but the final assembly/mating to the chassis happened in Spartanburg. The 11th digit ia an L. I'm thinking later X5s got the full on 4US VIN codes.
 
What year is yours?

I poked around on ebay and found some just like yours. I didn't see a 5 vin till '03. I'm wondering if the shell was made in Germany then sent here for final assembly. What could you see while tracking? I'm intrigued by this as I was told by a well known BMW guy one way to spaot fake M3's were if they had a US vin, that all M3's were made in Germany. Obviously that would no longer apply if the country of origin doesn't match the vin number. Matter of fact, all of the vin is now suspect. I can't see how or why a US produced car would have a foreign vin. I worked at the auction long ago and we had to check for swapped vins. I would sometimes see 50-100 vins a day and never once did I see a factory installed vin that didn't match country of origin. I don't doubt you at all, this is just a very strange case.
 
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Well Billy and everyone else...I've learned a lot by following this post :smile:. I DO have to admit to being totally ignorant with my original question but I appreciate the understanding from you Billy. Somehow, in the past, I got it in my mind that it was British Motor Works...so I'm definitely wrong. I've never paid much attention to BMW's because I figured #1 I'd never be able to afford one and #2 I thought they were just Yuppie status symbols and I'm not into status. Soo I'm totally admitting my ignorance and really do appreciate all the info being passed around here.Gary
 
GaryBeu said:
Well Billy and everyone else...I've learned a lot by following this post :smile:. I DO have to admit to being totally ignorant with my original question but I appreciate the understanding from you Billy. Somehow, in the past, I got it in my mind that it was British Motor Works...so I'm definitely wrong.
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(Shhhhhhhh, I think they bought it :wink:smile:
 
Certainly all M3's were made in Germany (I wish they still made them). All E86 M's (BMW just called them M Coupes) were assembled in South Carolina.
 
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3798j said:
Certainly all M3's were made in Germany (I wish they still made them). All E86 M's (BMW just called them M Coupes) were assembled in South Carolina.
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Cant be certain of anything anymore. You certainly can't tell by the VIN! :highly_amused:
 
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