[s-cars] My butt momentarily in a BMW

[Taka Mizutani]

Like someone else said, at least for the longest time, you couldn't get the
Dinan badge unless you accumulated enough "points" in Dinan stuff-
suspension was worth 4 points, wheels 2 points, etc. Once you accumulated
enough "Dinan points," they sent you the badge.

Dinan simply replaced the BMW-voided warranty coverage with their own and
you could take your car to a BMW dealership that had the Dinan franchise in
order to have warranty work done. However, the warranty is actually through
Dinan.

I have heard similar things- Dinan is terminating their partnership with US
BMW dealerships because BMW wants to sell more accessories and aftermarket
stuff on their own, kind of like Porsche Tequipment. I have also heard that
Audi wants to get in the game as well.

That can only help things with regard to aftermarket parts- if the
dealerships start selling factory-branded parts, then maybe the cops would
stop being such jerks about having an "illegal muffler" or an "illegal
spoiler." It would make it much harder for them to argue the point.

Taka


On Dec 18, 2007 9:07 AM, <theringmeister at triad.rr.com> wrote:

> Dinan has found a way to overcharge unsuspecting BMW owners for years.
>  They'll pay $10000 for a Dinan badge for the rear decklid (that's
> $2000/letter for your BMW friends).  I had heard that Dinan and BMW had
> parted ways and there was no longer a factory warranty on Dinan-modded cars.
>  ??
>