BMW Individual sill plates

[myndgone]

Originally Posted by summit425

I was in the market of BMW Power or BMW performance with LED illuminated and it costs me as much as $300 USD.

Did you buy them/get them installed?? Pics?!

[richie_s999]

I agree with Fel....When we picked up the wife's E36 325is the guy had put on an M3 front end (which is cool), and had the M3 badge on it(which isn't cool), the badge came off the second it was pulled in the driveway!!

[mazdaRXwhat]

Originally Posted by Fel

They say "BMW Individual" instead of just "BMW". That's about it.



Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be an ass or anything... I'm asking as a serious question.

I know what you're saying about performance. Hell, I have some M-parts in my regular E30. My shift knob and steering wheel both have an M-stamp, but they were bought for the sake of the part and what it contributed to the car. I would not, however, put "M3" on the back of my trunk lid, or buy any part that was identical to it's replacement save for the fact that it has "M3" or "M Power" or something written on it. There are parts that have benefits, and there are parts for show.

In my mind, the "BMW Individual" markings are for a very specific type of car. It comes with a meaning attached to it. In a way, putting "Individual" door sills is misrepresenting what your car is. If you have some wild plans for the car that will set it apart, and you feel that the Individual would help the look... by all means go for it. I'm only expressing an opinion.



Like I said, it's misrepresentation.

If he has a 540 with an M package, sure he could stick an M logo somewhere and no one would think twice. I wouldn't expect him to stick an "M5" badge on the back of it, however, because it means something different.

Same with the Individual program... it's for a specific line of cars that BMW produced, and a car either is or is not a BMW Individual car. If he puts the door sills on, and someone walks up and says "Hey, is that a BMW Individual", his answer would have to be no.

Well Fel..I dont entirely agree with you about this. Its not a misrepresentation. If that were the case, then one could argue my entire car is a misrep because its a 540i with an M package. Its not an M car but shares the same characteristics with the M, minus the engine and some interior/exterior trim. People on here who drop M3 bumpers on non M cars could be considered misrepresenting as well. In fact, I could go as far as to say EVERYONE on here is misrepresenting their car to some degree b/c i doubt (and I could be wrong being relatively new here) that you'd be hard pressed to find a bone stock bmw by someone on Max. So in the essence of keeping this sane, 4 door sill plates that state "Individual" vs. "BMW" is not a misrepresentation, for the simple fact that my car MY 540 will be undergoing some serious aesthetic changes, hense making it...u got...INDIVIDUAL.

[Fel]

Originally Posted by mazdaRXwhat

Well Fel..I dont entirely agree with you about this. Its not a misrepresentation. If that were the case, then one could argue my entire car is a misrep because its a 540i with an M package. Its not an M car but shares the same characteristics with the M, minus the engine and some interior/exterior trim. People on here who drop M3 bumpers on non M cars could be considered misrepresenting as well. In fact, I could go as far as to say EVERYONE on here is misrepresenting their car to some degree b/c i doubt (and I could be wrong being relatively new here) that you'd be hard pressed to find a bone stock bmw by someone on Max. So in the essence of keeping this sane, 4 door sill plates that state "Individual" vs. "BMW" is not a misrepresentation, for the simple fact that my car MY 540 will be undergoing some serious aesthetic changes, hense making it...u got...INDIVIDUAL.

I see what you're saying, but I also don't agree...

You're car isn't misrepresenting because it has an M package. That is a package that the manufacturer put on the car. There's nothing wrong with changing the appearence of your car, even if you use parts from another car. Where I would draw the line, however, is when you call that car by a different name. A guy can cover his 328 with M3 parts, but it will still be a 328. If it looks like an M3 and he calls it a 328, that's fine... but if he goes around calling it an M3 (something it is not), then that is misrepresentation.

To give you the benefit here, at least the BMW Individual program doesn't really carry the same stigma that people have with the M brand. Some purists just won't accept any substitute for the real thing, and other people just don't care either way. And hell, most people won't even know the difference, especially non-entusiast types. But ultimately, it's a name that means something and indicates something, not just a part that exists for performance or aesthetic purposes. That's all I'm saying.

[mazdaRXwhat]

Originally Posted by Fel

I see what you're saying, but I also don't agree...

You're car isn't misrepresenting because it has an M package. That is a package that the manufacturer put on the car. There's nothing wrong with changing the appearence of your car, even if you use parts from another car. Where I would draw the line, however, is when you call that car by a different name. A guy can cover his 328 with M3 parts, but it will still be a 328. If it looks like an M3 and he calls it a 328, that's fine... but if he goes around calling it an M3 (something it is not), then that is misrepresentation.

To give you the benefit here, at least the BMW Individual program doesn't really carry the same stigma that people have with the M brand. Some purists just won't accept any substitute for the real thing, and other people just don't care either way. And hell, most people won't even know the difference, especially non-entusiast types. But ultimately, it's a name that means something and indicates something, not just a part that exists for performance or aesthetic purposes. That's all I'm saying.

Fair enough. I agree with you badging a non M car as an M and calling it as such, is a misrepresentation. I also agree with you in THEORY about the Individual program aswell in respect to that it is a certain trim level that BMW offers. I am only doing this out of sheer personal preference.

But thanks for the mental sparring match.

[Fel]

Originally Posted by mazdaRXwhat

Fair enough. I agree with you badging a non M car as an M and calling it as such, is a misrepresentation. I also agree with you in THEORY about the Individual program aswell in respect to that it is a certain trim level that BMW offers. I am only doing this out of sheer personal preference.

But thanks for the mental sparring match.

Haha... no worries. Good luck getting the car how you want it. I'm sure it'll look good in the end. Ultimately, the car is yours and you are free to do whatever you want with it. I was just curious about the motivation.

[BlitzSix]

My mom's car has illiminated door sills. They look badass at night. I think it was part of sport package or the lux package, I'm not sure but I know they're an option.

[Quack]

Originally Posted by BlitzSix

My mom's car has illiminated door sills. They look badass at night. I think it was part of sport package or the lux package, I'm not sure but I know they're an option.

another thing Lexus copied from Mercedes, I remember installing illuminated door sills on S-Class Benz in 2000.