Someone just asked this same question this past weekend on another e53 forum...here's my reply:

Here's the three VIN sites I have bookmarked in case "the man" starts shutting them down (like they've done in the past). Always have a back-up site.

1. BMW Model Archive · BMW VIN Decoder · bmwarchive.org
2. BMWVin.com
   
3. w w w .rubmw.ru/vincode/eng/

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