The BMW 4 Series, like the 3 Series before it, is a must have entry-level premium-luxury car and most popular with drug dealers… Just kidding. (The 3 Series BMW 328i remains one of the most popular vehicles found in America’s richest neighborhoods.) It’s not hard to see why. For one, it’s a BMW. And as an entry-level premium luxury car, it doesn’t exactly break the bank for those so inclined to drive these things. That being said, they’re hardly cheap. It’s still expensive enough for even the most minor of cosmetic problems to take on a terrifying weight in the eyes of the owner. This, naturally, leads some people to do everything they can to keep their BMW 4 Series at the quality level it had when it emerged from the factory. This is, of course, an impossible task. Factory quality, taken literally, isn’t something you can really achieve once the car has, you know, left the factory. But that’s nitpicking, I’ll admit. The real question is, how close can you get it to ‘brand new’ quality? Well, if you know who to turn to, you can get pretty damn close, actually.When people think about restoring a vehicle to any point of its glorious past, they usually think first and foremost about the paint job. Not only because it seems like the easiest thing to sort out, but because it’s often the first thing that is noticeably affected by wear and tear. Of course, people think that fixing the paint job should be simple, but you need to be extremely careful. You’re dealing with a BMW, here. You want it to meet BMW standards – high standards indeed, as I’m sure you understand. It’s why you need to be extremely careful about who you work with, here.The first thing I would recommend would hopefully go without saying, but you never know: don’t attempt to touch it up yourself. Sure, maybe you’re incredible at touching up cars. But you want to work with professionals in the field of touching up a BMW to BMW standards. This is a much more complex job than simply seeing if the color matches. Look for professionals that can perform auto touch up paint jobs to a high standard.The cosmetics, as I said, are usually the first thing people think about. But a BMW is more than its paint job. What a lot of people driving a BMW 4 Series are really going to care about is the inside of the vehicle. This is where things can get a little more tricky. Of course, getting your regular fixes and tune-ups aren’t any more of a problem than with any other vehicle. But if we’re talking about full-on restoration? Then we need to get more serious.You need to know precisely what engine you’re using. The odds are high, if you bought your car within the last decade, that you’re dealing with the BMW N47. If you’re lucky, you’ll have gotten yourself the newer B47. Whatever the case, you’re dealing with some of the best engines in the business. If you need restoration, then you might need replacement. And if you need replacement, it’s crucial that you work with the original equipment manufacturer. In other words, as soon as you’re dealing with the car’s mechanicals, you should only be replacing with BMW factory parts.
So that bring’s us back to the question in point, can a BMW 4 Series be restored to factory quality? If you choose not to use auto touch up pencils and opt for a professional re-spray, OEM parts then the answer is yes… But expect to fork out a bit of cash for the privilege. Honestly your better off buying a new car.
