BMW's M3, 4, and 5 Series models are renowned for good-looking and fun-to-drive cars. Metallic colors have become increasingly popular in the U.S., such as 354 Titanium Silver Metallic, but others remain popular, such as 668 Jet Black.
It has been producing automobiles for over a century and is one of the oldest manufacturers in the world. Their current production exceeds 2.5 million vehicles per year, which is enormous considering they used to build plane engines. Many people are unaware that BMW's logo and colors pay homage to their Bavarian roots.
If you notice a scratch on the surface of your new BMW, don't panic. Consider doing the touch-up paint yourself before spending hundreds of dollars on a BMW touch-up. Finding the paint code makes it easy to identify the exact color of paint you need.
To do a touch-up paint job on your BMW, you need to know the BMW paint code for your vehicle. BMW paint codes are three digits, but some are four or five digits. There is usually a dedicated sticker on BMW vehicles with the paint code and sometimes the name of the paint as well.
How To Find BMW Paint Code
Check the driver's door jam or the hood of your BMW for the paint code sticker. Here are a few likely locations:
- Below the hood of the driver's side
- By the strut towers
- On the edge of the fender
- On the vehicle identification number (VIN) sticker in the driver's door jam
How To Find Your BMW Paint Code Using The VIN
A perfect touch-up paint job starts with the correct BMW paint code number. Even if you have your BMW VIN, the paint code can still be determined even if you can't find your paint color code sticker. You can find the VIN in the following locations.
- On the driver’s side door jam
- Located on the front of the dashboard, visible through the windshield on the driver's side.
- The engine block on the underside of the hood
- Documents about insurance or registration
You can get your car's paint code by contacting your local BMW dealer once you have the VIN.
Used BMW Cars
There is a possibility that your BMW does not have the original paint job if you bought it used. The color of the car's paint may not match the paint code, so you may need to contact the previous owner or ask an expert with a spectrometer to determine the color.
No matter how certain you are that you have the right code for your touch-up paint, it's always a good idea to paint a test strip and compare the color to the color of your actual car before you start painting.
What Does Your BMW Paint Code Mean
It is one thing to locate the code, but understanding what it means is more complicated, as they vary depending on the manufacturer. Most vehicles have paint codes three digits long, such as the 5 series and 6 series. However, in some cases, the third character is followed by a slash and then the fourth digit. 300/0, for instance, represents Alpine White, which is not a typical BMW four-digit color code. The three-digit codes A52 Space Gray Metallic and 475 Black Sapphire Metallic are two examples.
Numbers, letters or a combination can be used to code BMW colors. Most BMW models have a separate sticker attached to the manufacturer's tag with the color code. This sticker appears above or below the information about the vehicle. In general, the label is black and will often include the name of the color in German.
Are you interested in learning more about cars and their maintenance? Head over to the KeepDriving website and check out our blog post on how to replace the rear window wiper blade.
