Strange option code?

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

I've decoded a VIN of a E46 I'm looking at. It has these option codes, can anyone tell me what they mean?

991 Pre-series Management

916 Development Vehicle W/o Conservation

[Dogballs 115]

991 = pre production vehicle, used for testing / demo / display etc etc

916 = "Without conservation" means that none of the shipping protection (cosmoline, etc.) is applied.

it will most likely have a early production date, before the official release date of that version.

[Olaf 3317]

Development vehicle - wow that sounds interesting. Care to share more details of the vehicle?

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

991 = pre production vehicle, used for testing / demo / display

it will most likely have a early production date, before the official release date of that version.

Correct on the pre-production part, but those vehicles are only used for testing. Demo / display vehicles have different 99x numbers, cars for use with press are 992, display cars are 997.

Not necessarily any early build date pre-pros are built all the time, to test new options and features before they are released, not just before a new version is released.

[hybrid 1043]

The press cars are the ones you want to go for ... non standard DME software runs rampant

[Matth5 471]

Hmm that software must be flashable via the BMW software though? Something the BMW specialists would have...

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

Development vehicle - wow that sounds interesting. Care to share more details of the vehicle?

This manual E46 320 Touring:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1019762328

[Olaf 3317]

ahhh! I saw that. looks like it was a tourist delivery jobby. pulled pretty good money for 170kms, leather, reasonably tidy, but just a 2.2l. interesting where they ticked the option sheet for some nice fruit; the seats, manual gearbox, sunroof, PDC, unusual wheels, but no Xenons!

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

ahhh! I saw that. looks like it was a tourist delivery jobby. pulled pretty good money for 170kms, leather, reasonably tidy, but just a 2.2l. interesting where they ticked the option sheet for some nice fruit; the seats, manual gearbox, sunroof, PDC, unusual wheels, but no Xenons!

It would have been cool on the 18 inch Style 135's that it left the factory with, though it is a bit of a strange colour. The Bluetooth is pretty cool. And the 2 factory 12V plugs in the rare.

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

I just came across another 991 coded BMW.

his time its a E91 335 Touring. It was parked opposite work. They cool thing about it was its manual.

I looked it up on carjam and it said it was an import. It was built 2006-05-22 but not registered until early 2008 and had only done 84km.

[westy 614]

The e39 540 had the '199 Equipment For Leaded Fuel' as well as the 991 option.

it also had "Kein Zugriff - Geschuetzte Fahrzeugdaten" or "Individual equipment No access - protected vehicle data".

[Olaf 3317]

it also had "Kein Zugriff - Geschuetzte Fahrzeugdaten" or "Individual equipment No access - protected vehicle data".

you'd want to be the first on your block to have that, eh!

sounds very James Bond. or at least, Jakob Bunt.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

It just means that the details of the Options added by the "individual" division aren't linked to the central vehicle database, nothing James Bond at all I'm afraid.

There are quite a few of the 991 optioned vehicles in NZ, we are about the only RHD country that has open border controls.

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

And heres another 991 coded car: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1040266559.htm

Is it common that they are manuals? Or is that Im only interest in manuals?

[Olaf 3317]

It just means that the details of the Options added by the "individual" division aren't linked to the central vehicle database, nothing James Bond at all I'm afraid.

oh man. where's the fun in that?!

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

Is it common that they are manuals? Or is that Im only interest in manuals?

A lot of these cars are manual, they can have some very unusual option lists.

Often they have quite low spec levels, but with a high-cost option as the one they were testing. For example saw one that had cloth seats, and no auto-wipers/lights but fitted with Professional Navigation Package..??