Almost exactly two years ago, “2000mkoop” on Bimmerforums had a very talented friend of his, and College for Creative Studies graduate, create a painting of his M Coupe. As you could probably guess from the fanatical nature of the M Coupe community, everyone else wanted one too. His friend eventually opened an Ebay store where he sold paintings of many cars including the M Coupe. Eventually there were 5 different M Coupe paintings available. You can view three of the other ones on Jeremy’s Coupe A Day site.
My favorite, and the one my wife bought me for Christmas 2009, is the profile shot. I liked it the best because it looks like it’s steel gray and has stepped-lip wheels which I someday hope to have on my coupe. It has been hanging in my office just to the right of my computer monitor for the past year and a half to inspire me :). You know it’s good because it replaced the McLaren F1 LM poster you see behind me and not many things could do that.
These paintings are very well done and, as someone on the forums described, “inside the house worthy”. Here is a description of the process from the painter himself:
“The paintings are created using various techniques that I have learned in the automotive design field while also using traditional painting techniques. Airbrushing is used to establish basic gradations but is not solely used due to the cheap and fuzzy look that results. I use special oil pencils that are blended with various methods to maintain an Industrial artistic quality. The reason I do not paint much with traditional brushes is that they tend to make the lines on cars look lazy, eliminating the line tension that exists on the original car design. The quick gestures of the pencil I far prefer to the slow lazy look of a paint brush. There is no silk screen process. The final work is sealed with a high quality clear coat that is fade resistant and gives the painting a deep oil painting look.”
I would have shared this amazing item of “coupe stuff” with everyone earlier, but the painter’s online store was empty for over a year. I didn’t want to flaunt my goods and not tell you where to get your own. The good news is he is back! He currently has two M Coupe paintings listed on Ebay, but I’m pretty sure he would be willing to do the other ones as well. The best part is, each of these paintings is original (not prints) and signed by the artist. The very best part is they cost <$100 (edit: looks like they just went up). I’ve also heard he’s willing to do one-off, commissioned paintings for a little more if you just send him a photo of your car.
When I purchased mine, he had them available as rolled canvas or already box framed. I got the box framed one, so it would be ready for hanging despite the higher cost and additional shipping. It now appears they all come only on rolled canvases.
I think this is a must have item for any coupe fanatic. I’d love to sometime pick up the rear view painting of what also looks like a steel gray coupe to add to my original art collection.
For almost the last year, I’ve been able to post my comments on each of the M Coupes currently on the market. I realize that’s kind of selfish of me and other people have thoughts and information to share as well. So now it’s your turn. At the bottom of each of the sales listings there is now a Facebook comment box (don’t worry you don’t have to actually post your comments on Facebook if you don’t want to). Please feel free to share your thoughts, exclamations, additional details, etc. I just ask that you don’t post anything you wouldn’t want posted on your own sales listing.
One of the weak spots of the M Coupes and Roadsters (as well as some M3s) is undoubtedly their auto dimming rear view mirrors. No one knows the exact cause of the issue as it can occur at any age or mileage of vehicle, but most problems seem to occur following long term sun exposure. The dimming fluid within the mirror can start to bubble giving you a two-tone rearview mirror that is always halfway dim. This is the state I found my mirror in when my coupe arrived. It was not that way when it left the dealer, but I have no doubt sitting on the back of an open truck for 3.5 weeks after having been sheltered the rest of it’s life was the cause of the problem. Once the mirror is removed and you can turn it, it’s almost lava lamp-ish :). Just for fun I took a little video showing the interesting phenomenon. While entertaining, it’s not very practical.
Looking into the problem more, I came across a handful of stories of people detailing how the dimming fluid actually leaked from their mirror days after the issue first occurred, splashed on their dash, and stained it. Feeling fortunate that it had not yet happened to me but fearing the worse, I started wrapping my mirror with a gallon-size Ziploc bag whenever it was parked. It was not the impressive look I was hoping to present with my M Coupe :).
Out of curiosity, I asked the dealer what a new one would cost and was not surprised at the astronomical reply of $599. I then started keeping my eye out on Craigslist and Ebay. I saw a couple listed but always for $250+. They were also the more common black rimmed mirrors rather than the chrome rimmed one found only on the 2001 and 2002 S54 models. With either of those options, the same issue could always occur again someday. What I need was a fix. Some had suggested just prying open the mirror and draining the fluid. This would solve the issue, but I would lose the auto dimming functionality I was not willing to give up.
Then I found the answer; the original equipment manufacture of the mirror had at some point admitted the fault in the mirrors and would retrofit a new dimming system into existing mirrors for ~$100. While not as good as a recall, it was far cheaper than my other options and would provide the piece of mind of knowing it would never happen again. I contacted Sybesma’s Electronics of Holland, MI at 616.392.6911 or 800.456.4265 (tollfree). The receptionist asked me what model car I had, said they could fix it, and told me to remove my mirror and ship it to:
Sybesma’s Electronics
581 Ottawa Ave. Suite 100
Holland, MI 49423
She said she would call back once they received it for a payment of $95 (which includes return shipping). As this was hundreds of dollars cheaper than I had ever seen a nice used one priced for, this sounded pretty good to me. In the past Sybesma’s had a stock of mirrors they could ship right out and would then require you to send your broken one back in. They no longer offer this service, so it now requires a few days down time of your car. As it was the middle of winter here in Colorado, this was no big deal to me. I also was more than happy to keep my original mirror as I’m just like that.
The process to remove the mirror was surprisingly simple and literally takes just a couple minutes. I tracked down the official BMW Rearview Mirror Removal Instructions, but it makes the process more confusing if anything. Here are the cliff notes:
Aim the mirror down and away from you to give you greater access to the neck of the mirror.
Pop off the little plastic cover on the neck of the mirror by pushing the front side of it downward with your thumb.
Disconnect the plug connection
Twist the neck of the mirror 45° counter-clockwise (this is the part that made me nervous, but it worked very easily)
Once the mirror has been rotated it will slide right off into your hand.
A few days was quite literally all it took them. I shipped my broken mirror via USPS First Class on Saturday afternoon, she called for payment on Monday, and it was back on my door step, as good as new Wednesday morning. I was very impressed by the entire process, the fantastic results, and the amazing speed. Re-installation went very smoothly simply following the steps above in reverse. I now have my original mirror, still auto-dimming, looking as good as new, with no fear of further problems down the line. Now that is $95 well spent.
