[G03RT2]

I'm still on my search for a 540i. This one has been for sale for a while now. It's about an hour away from me. I'm not a fan of the mileage it has, but I think I'm going to look at it regardless. Can anyone guess what BMW color this is?

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by G03RT2

I'm still on my search for a 540i. This one has been for sale for a while now. It's about an hour away from me. I'm not a fan of the mileage it has, but I think I'm going to look at it regardless. Can anyone guess what BMW color this is?

Looks similar to Aventurine Red Metallic, but the easiest way to know exactly what color it is, is to run a VIN decode. If the car is for sale, surely the VIN is listed.

https://www.mdecoder.com/

[G03RT2]

Vin decode will say that it's a special paint, but not the specific color. Hence the reason I'm just going to go look at it, the curiosity is getting to me.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by G03RT2

Vin decode will say that it's a special paint, but not the specific color. Hence the reason I'm just going to go look at it, the curiosity is getting to me.

What's the VIN? Let me have a shot at it. There are some other decoders that give more info.

[G03RT2]

Vin: WBAJE7C52JG892408

[Bob in IL]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Looks similar to Aventurine Red Metallic, but the easiest way to know exactly what color it is, is to run a VIN decode. If the car is for sale, surely the VIN is listed.

https://www.mdecoder.com/

That would be my guess too. The color isn't too accurate in that picture though.

[AP]

I had a quick look at a coupe of decoders and it didn’t state
When you look at the car , there should be a plate under the bonnet with what it is

You could also try the bmw individual website and see if the colour is there but 2 issues with that
The colour in the photograph may be misleading
Bmw may no longer offer that colour potentially

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by G03RT2

Vin: WBAJE7C52JG892408

Yeah, I am striking out too with all my advanced decoders. I don't think it can be Aventurine Red Metallic because this is not a "special color", but it is rare.

Definitely take a look under the hood on the driver side strut mount and let us know. I am going to go with Barbera Red. I had one with a cream interior.

[tsbrown]

Quick google search on the vin show 92k miles, 2 owners, 1 accident reported. On the surface doesn’t seem like a great option, but may be. Color looks like either Aventurine or Barbera red, but as AP notes, there should be a color plate under the hood. Plate will show it as “Aventurine Red Metallic Individual” or whatever color it is.

[AP]

Wouldn’t that be a great job?
Working for bmw individual and devising new colours for beemers!

Out of interest, how much is it for bmw to paint it in a colour of your choosing that is not offered by them?

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by AP

Wouldn’t that be a great job?
Working for bmw individual and devising new colours for beemers!

Out of interest, how much is it for bmw to paint it in a colour of your choosing that is not offered by them?

A lot of the individual colors are colors that were offered as part of the build palette at some point or as part of a special edition. For example, I would love an Imola Red M550, a color that was offered on LCI E38/39's. Imola Red is now an individual color, but they could pull it out again. I am also partial to Cinnabar Red (my first BMW E30), which I believe I can get via special individual order.

There are SO many individual colors to choose from, I am not sure you would need to bring your own, but yeah, something like bright yellow, you might.

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by AP

Wouldn’t that be a great job?
Working for bmw individual and devising new colours for beemers!

Out of interest, how much is it for bmw to paint it in a colour of your choosing that is not offered by them?

I think Porsche calls it Paint To Sample, not sure what BMW calls it. “Basic” Individual colors are $1950 instead of $650 for normal metallics. Individual Manufaktur colors are $5000, so slightly more than frozen paint. Then there is the F10 M5 that had Pure Silver Metallic at either $7500 or $10k extra. So a paint to sample type color would probably be the in the 5k-10k range of whatever your currency is.

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

There are SO many individual colors to choose from, I am not sure you would need to bring your own, but yeah, something like bright yellow, you might.

Great point and it probably saves BMW from doing paint to sample.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by tsbrown

Great point and it probably saves BMW from doing paint to sample.

Someday I am going to order an Imola Red BMW with Individual Caramel Vernasca Leather, right after the 911T in Chaulk.

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

Looks similar to Aventurine Red Metallic, but the easiest way to know exactly what color it is, is to run a VIN decode. If the car is for sale, surely the VIN is listed.

https://www.mdecoder.com/

Out of curiosity, I tried your decoder with my 2019 540xi VIN and it said "Vehicle Not Found". Used copy and paste and typing each letter. Then tried my wife's VIN and it said "You've used up your attempts, try again tomorrow" or something like that. Oh well, I have my detailed Vehicle Inquiry showing all the options and I also rechecked that my VIN is the same one that shows up on my service receipts. --Bob

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

Out of curiosity, I tried your decoder with my 2019 540xi VIN and it said "Vehicle Not Found". Used copy and paste and typing each letter. Then tried my wife's VIN and it said "You've used up your attempts, try again tomorrow" or something like that. Oh well, I have my detailed Vehicle Inquiry showing all the options. —Bob

You probably put it into the spam field. Lots of spam on that site. Need all 17 digits.

[G03RT2]

I appreciate the information everyone. As stated above, between mileage and history, I doubt I'll buy the car. It's optioned well, but doesn't have much else going for it. At this point I just want to see the color in person.

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

You probably put it into the spam field. Lots of spam on that site. Need all 17 digits.

Could be but it looked legit and asked me to confirm I'm not a robot. I will try again tomorrow. --Bob

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by G03RT2

I appreciate the information everyone. As stated above, between mileage and history, I doubt I'll buy the car. It's optioned well, but doesn't have much else going for it. At this point I just want to see the color in person.

And now we all want to see how sharp our eyes are!

[G03RT2]

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

Out of curiosity, I tried your decoder with my 2019 540xi VIN and it said "Vehicle Not Found". Used copy and paste and typing each letter. Then tried my wife's VIN and it said "You've used up your attempts, try again tomorrow" or something like that. Oh well, I have my detailed Vehicle Inquiry showing all the options and I also rechecked that my VIN is the same one that shows up on my service receipts. --Bob

I use that site a lot, and it does that to me for certain cars too. I switch to a different decoder at that point. I've been looking at a lot of cars lately and run a lot of VINs so I think it maybe errors out thinking I'm a bot or something.

[Chappers 71]

I also reckon it’s Aventurine Red, it looks the same as this Aventurine Red G31

[arkhi]

Sorry to say but the only way you can probably figure out the color for this is if you pop open the hood and look underneath to see if there's a "BMW Individual" sticker with the real color code on it.

I googled this car and saw the door side VIN sticker. The color code on that is 490.

From a BMW document:
Special request paintworks use the generic code 490. The specific colour code is then supposed to be filled into IVS. These exclusive paintworks require confirmation and pricing directly from the NSC.