how do i trace the history of a bmw?

[hoppo4.2]

looking at a nice m3 but has a stamp missing who do i have to call or go and see my local dealer says they can only trace it if it was done with them?

[falkster]

That's nads mate, as long as it's done in the network of BMW dealers then it will be on the system

[belleair302]

Walk into a main dealer with the chassis number and for a small fee I believe they can print out the full main dealer service history.

[jonttt]

Dealers can only see service history for work done within there own franchise. Only BMW UK can see all dealers.

Warranty work can be seen by any dealer.

I usually ask a friendly local dealer to print out a full warranty report from the VIN. Sometimes they are reluctant to do this but you can normally talk them round. If they say they can't print it just tell them they can screen dump ;-)

The warranty report is useful as it usually ties in with service work and so identifies dealers that have serviced the car in the past, so if you have partial service history you can make an educated guess who did the missing ones and do some phoning around. (also helps verify mileage as its all recorded on the report which can be quite an interesting read as also lists all part numbers replaced under warranty and labour codes).

If you still draw a blank you can phone a premium rate BMW numbers I think but check with BMW UK customer service (you can email them)

ps I already new this but was confirmed on a BMW club dealer visit to Synter in Sheffield last year when they gave us full access to their workshop / technicians (and unofficially systems ;-)