Photo request VIN Plate

[TerryJenk]

3 years ago I bought a 55 plate E53 , transferred a private plate to it . Had a full HPI check etc.

2 months ago I had a request for a DVLA vehicle inspection. When I asked what the problem was I was told that another E53 had turned up in another part of the country with the same VIN , they checked mine and thought it was genuine , said it could be a clerical error .

A month later I had a request for a police vehicle inspection. They too thought the vehicle was ok but took details off various parts of the car to cross check with BMW UK.

I then received a phone call from the police saying it was a stolen , cloned vehicle !

They sent a low loader and took it away.

I have now purchased MY ! car back from the insurance company who it legally belonged to.
Not ideal but I know the car and it was the cheapest option !

However I now have to get the correct VIN number restored and have a VOSA vehicle identity check before I can get a V5 for the car.

I can get the VIN number stamped on the inner wing redone and the police have told me how to do the one under the windscreen.

My problem is the VIN plate stuck on the left inner wing - I can get one done but I don't know what information was on the plate -

I was wondering if someone with a 55 plate in the UK ( preferably silver ) could take a photo of their VIN plate ? My counterfeit one was stuck on the left inner wing approx 30 cm back from the front.

Please delete your own VIN on the photo - I already have 2

Thanks in anticipation

Terry

[TerminatorX5]

interesting - the VIN on these cars is stamped on the car and ALSO electronically coded in various electronic modules.

What VIN did you have before, and what is your "current" VIN? have you pulled the VIN from the cluster? was there a tamper dot next to the odometer reading? have you checked the built sheet to see if the items in the car match the factory options installed in that car against the VIN?

[TerryJenk]

It's just the physical VIN's that have been changed - one stamped on the inner wing above the top of the suspension strut , one under the bottom of the windscreen and a VIN Plate sticker on inner wing . The VIN it had was a clone from another X5 in the UK though why it took almost 3 years to flag up no-one seems to know .

The police have identified the vehicle from serial numbers on the wiring loom and various other parts and have confirmed the correct VIN for the vehicle with the DVLA.

No tamper dot against the odometer and the build matches the now correctly identified VIN.

I just need to restore the car to it's original VIN and then have it inspected so as obtain a new registration document.

[Qsilver7]

BTW...can you give us another translation of what a "wing" is...it's not translating clearly (for me) into US English.

DittoTX5...I was thinking the same things as far as checking the various locations for the vehicle's VIN.

The first screen of Test 1 (if you've unlocked your OBC) will reveal the last 7 digits of the VIN that is coded into the instrument cluster (look for Slick's posts...he has a link on how to UNLOCK the OBC/cluster to access these tests).

Not sure if all the VIN stickers are in the same location in the UK as they are here in the USA...but there's usually a sticker behind the rear license plate, the driver's door (is that what a "wing" is?), and there's usually someplace in the engine bay (or under the bonnet/hood) that will have the VIN either on a label, or stamped on a part of the body.

To be quite honest, I haven't yet looked for the VIN in my engine bay...but I've only owned my e53 since Nov/2012...but you can see in the pics below on various BMWs how the VIN is located several places around the vehicle:

(on my e39 the VIN was located on the right shock tower in the engine bay)


(VIN label located behind rear license plate on my e38)




(tire pressure and BMW MFG label w/VIN info located on driver's door jamb on e38...but I believe is located on the door (wing?) on the e53)

[TerminatorX5]

wing = fender

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by TerminatorX5

wing = fender

Ahhh...thanks...my first inclination was that it referred to the doors...since they open outward from the body of the car, similar to a bird's wings.

[killcrap]

Perform test function #1 in the instrument cluster, there is no need to unlock the cluster to perform this function as function test #1 it is always unlocked. The FGNSTR is the VIN numbe of the instrument cluster. Additionally, you may remove the instrument cluster, and check the production date to match with the production date of the vehicle.

If the vehicle has Navigation, look for the sticker that is on top of the computer in the cargo area, it will also show the FGNSTR if its original. If the vehicle is a M62TU or M54 and is equipped with an automatic transmission, remove the transmission control unit, and the FGNSTR will be on a sticker on it.. If you also visit a BMW dealership, they can also read the VIN number off the key, ews, dme, egs, lcm, ike/kombi.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by killcrap

...there is no need to unlock the cluster to perform this function as function test #1 it is always unlocked. ....

D'oh...I know this...guess I was having a brain fart. Thanks for the clarification.

Test 1, 2, & 19 aren't locked.

[TerminatorX5]

boot, bonnet, wing... funny names... lol...

so, the gov-t (the police) just came and took your car??? how do you know it was the real police? what if they just took you to the cleaners???

[TerryJenk]

Yeah , strange language english ! lol

Oh it was the real police! - I have had quite a bit of contact with them at County Police Headquarters over the last few weeks and also a lot of contact with the insurance company who paid out on the car, so legally it belonged to them.

The VIN as shown is engraved (stamped ) on the shock tower - can anyone tell me what size the characters are on on E53 X5 ? My son has a 5 series and they are 10mm on his but on my car they were approx 15 mm - i think that the thieves used larger number stamps to change and obliterate the original VIN . The sticker behind the rear license plate was missing . There was also a label under the hood with the VIN on but this also had various weights on it too. This is the one I would like a photo of ( I found some US VIN stickers on the internet but the UK one is different - mainly because the car is a 3 liter diesel.