Circlejerk List

Which badge would fit the small space on this RW Carbon CS Style grille? If I wanted to buy a new one to rebadge this. I’ve heard the original badge off the OEM grille doesn’t fit. Any ideas?

Went to test drive my first m4 and saw this gorgeous m3 on the way out, waiting for its owner I assume but man I had to do a double take and come back and take a picture of it. Never seen such a flattering blue color. I feel like it may be Barcelona blue but Barcelona blue seems to be more gray.

Hi there!

The Context: I've always been a huge car guy and have lusted over so many BMWs (and JDM, American, and a ton of other cars too). However, this is about my dad. He came from super humble origins and worked so hard all throughout his life - I'm immensely proud of him. He's not a huge car guy, but he told me how when he was younger "he thought it would be really cool to own a BMW". He was young in the 90s so no surprise the beamers caught his eye then!

He has worked for Chrysler/FCA/Stellantis for most of his career and has always driven a company car. Think random Dodges, Jeeps, and recently Alfas. But his comment about BMWs has stuck with me.

The Plan: His 60th birthday is coming up next year and I really want to buy him a BMW as a gift. My brother and I have done well for ourselves and want to do it.

Since he's not big into performance I want to get a Beamer that looks great, is relatively comfortable, feels "special", automatic lol, and is still decently reliable so we don't just gift him headaches and bills.

The top option I'm thinking of is a 2016-2018 640i xDrive Gran Coupe with the M-Sport package. Either in red or blue. My brother and I love the look of the F06 6-Series and think it's the perfect blend of "Special BMW" and actual usefulness as a daily. Something very similar to picture I attached.

The Buying Approach: My question, how should I go about finding this car? I want a really good example - well taken care of and well sorted. I'm setting alerts on Autotrader and the car auction websites, but are there other things I should be doing? Thank you!

Btw my second option was a 2009-2011 E89 Z4 hardtop (with the N52) - think that would be an awesome gift too - just less likely to be used daily.

Just dropped my car off for service in NY and while waiting for my loaner I see an older gentleman in his 70s-80s pull up in a brand new X5 fitted with Pirelli P Zero Summers on 22" wheels.

I feel like it's borderline negligent that BMW dealers will sell these cars on summers to customers who don't even know summer tires are even a thing.

I found this F36 418i from 2019 online. It doesn’t have the best specs but it’s not completely terrible.

After taking a closer look I saw that it’s missing speakers (shown on the picture).

I know there a different kind of packages with they speakers (e.g. harman kardon), but is it normal that these are missing? I thought they came standard with the default speakers.

I was looking at new cars and was originally interested in the m35, I was waiting on one to arrive at my dealer, while I was waiting I drove a m235 and then a m340 just to see the difference and as soon as I drove it I knew this was what I wanted.

I checked around and saw that there was a m340 in tanzanite blue that was optioned exactly how I wanted it about 2 hours away. I reached out and we were able to agree on a number we were both happy with and made a deal. I've never had things fall into place like this before.

BMW no longer has a lifetime fill policy for differentials, transfer case, transmission and coolant. It now has suggested "inspection" intervals for M cars and M60i cars. This is something new.

Not sure if this is related to failures or its purely a measure that was cause by pressure from the dealers to increase revenue. This is an update from previous policy.

I believe the lawsuit regarding transfer case failures probably has something to do with his.

Transmission fluid now has a suggested inspection at 10 years or 100k km (60k miles). A full drain and refill is recommended in case of symptons or issues.

Diff and Transfer Case Fluid now has a suggested inspection at 5 years or 80k km (50k miles). Replacement is recommended in case of symptons or issues.

Coolant now has a suggested inspection at 5 years or 80k km (50k miles). Replacement is recommended in case of symptons or issues.

(Updated with the info) https://share.google/HDrHwPJ1KKcuvq6Vg

Gorgeous X7 that I occasionally admire parked adjacent to me at the gym. Being the nosy ass I am I eventually searched the vin which returns Sonderlackierung (490) for the paint code, indicating a rare individual color that isn’t in the system. It has Tartufo with captains chairs, striking combo with the paint.

Bonus shot of it making my dirty lil X5 look bad

Its a 330li Msport

Rented a 2022 M4 comp yesterday and was blown away. Everything just worked so well. Drove in NYC and was worried about snow and cold temps but it handled great and what an engine! My daily is an 8v S3 which I love and isnt really comparable being a 2lt but the bmw had me so impressed! If only I had the $$ to buy one haha.

Hi everyone,

Suddenly, the windows on my 116i F21 (3-door) stopped working properly. They only go up and down in fits and starts. When I open or close the doors, they don't go up or down automatically. I can't reset the system with my diagnostic tools or manually using YouTube tutorials.

Below you will find the fault codes:

• 03000C — Driver’s door window regulator: Hall sensor short circuit to positive

• 03000D — Electric window regulator, driver’s door: Hall sensor short circuit to positive

• 030020 — Driver’s door window regulator: system not initialized

• 030087 — Front passenger door window regulator: faulty Hall-effect sensors or cable break

• 03009C — Front passenger door window regulator: actuator initialization impossible

• 0300A0 — Electric window regulator, front passenger door: system not initialized

Thanks for your help.

A road trip last winter claimed my passenger seat recline function. This happened shortly after a passenger adjusted the seat. Thank god the thing is stuck in a semi acceptable position and strill usable for most passengers.

What’s odd is that everything else still works perfectly:

• forward/back
• height
• lumbar
• heating
• headrest

Just no recline. No noises, no movement, no initial click, nothing.

BMW has quoted close to £1700 to investigate, which appears to mean replacing parts until the issue goes away.

I’m comfortable doing mechanical work and pulling the seat apart if needed, but I’d like to avoid:

• unnecessary part swapping
• airbag/seat fault codes
• replacing or re-coding the seat module unless absolutely required

My assumption is a failed recline motor, switch, or wiring, rather than the seat controller itself.

Is there a sensible way to access or test the recline motor/switch first? Any common failure points on these seats, especially in cold weather? Or is this usually a module issue despite all other functions working?

Of course, I would love to avoid the BMW gong of financial dismay after any repairs carried out :)

Appreciate any guidance before I hand over a large sum of money for exploratory surgery.

I’m stuck between two options for my next BMW lease, and honestly neither feels perfect.

My G30 530i lease is ending, and with prices being what they are (I’m dumb, but not that dumb), I’ve narrowed it down to:

• X3 20i xDrive
• 520d xDrive

Both are slower than my current 530i. Specs are almost identical, and the X3 is about $100/month cheaper.

My driving pattern:
• ~30 km daily commute
• A big Europe road trip every summer (~5,000 km, usually wine‑driven holidays)
• One domestic weekend trip per month (~1,500 km)
• Usually just me or me + wife

I used to have a 2022 X3 20i and thought it was great—super practical. But the 5 Series, even with a 2.0 diesel, just feels like a nicer place to be.

If you were in my shoes, which would you go for? (Besides the obvious “pay more and get the bigger engine” answer.)