Ethics poll - keep orginal color, other BMW color or non BMW color

[johanaxelson]

Looking for some guidance in my choice of color while repainting the car.

Is currently Sienna Metallic, or rather was since it is metal clean now.

This means I can choose color which is waaay easier said than done.

There are a few basic choices to make first:
- keep original color
- other E9 color is OK
- non E9 color is OK

And then there is of course plain vs. metallic.


So I thought I would get some input on that through a poll. Multiple choice.

Have a light brown leather interior so it of course needs to match that.

I find most E9 colors a bit boring to be honest, the car deserves more. I also think that since it has such classic lines the color should not be too light.
For example I like Polaris or silver but find them too light on the car, great on a 2002 but not optimal for the E9 since it is a bigger more powerful looking car.
This is why I am looking at non E9 colors but it may be too much of an ethics breach.


I do not mind the Sienna, I just find it a little too dark and dull. Want something that shows off the car.

British Racing Green (http://tinyurl.com/d4nz5ku) is an option but may be too dark, I like the Midnight Blue Scott did.

Kinda like this http://tinyurl.com/cyfs5c8 and this http://www.classic-auctions.com/Images/Report/127C/46999.jpg as well. Been browsing around the Aston Martin website, many nice colors there.


Some points to clarify based on replies below :

A few points to answer questions:
I have the car for me
I plan to use it regularly
Think I would prefer non metallic because you do get a different shine and
depth in those
I am not planning on showing it, well, I might just for fun but not for glory.
Have considered considered Colorado, Golf, Inka as they are fun and eye catching
but I am afraid I would tire of them.
2nd hand value is not a main concern as I plan to keep it for a long time.



Any input is appreciated.

 

[Bwana]

I think you have to be British to like those colours :razz:

I voted to stay with an OEM Coupe color

 

[gjensson]

In my opinion non e9 colors are perfectly OK, it´s your car, do what you want with it. What happens come resale time might be another matter but who cares...

I´ve been playing with the same question myself, keep it Polaris or go either Fjord or non e9.

There is one painted in a color similar to Aston Martin Sage Green, i think it´s very, very cool, with 16" Alpina wheels it would be awesome IMO. See pics below.

I haven´t decided what way I´ll go though, will probably stick to Polaris though I find it a bit boring.

Cheers,

G

 

[David]

Stay with a coupe color. Non E9 colors just look wrong, IMHO.

 

[jmackro]

What happens come resale time might be another matter but who cares..

I agree with gjensson, up to a point. As he notes, if your coupe is a non-factory color, you may lose some money at resale time. If you plan on keeping it forever, or can afford to take the "hit", then go for it.

Also, if you plan to show your coupe, a non-factory color is going to cost you points.

Coupe owners, myself included, aren't that hung up on originality. So no one is going to shun you for a (tasteful) non-factory color. I have to admit that the Aston Martin Sage Green on the car gjensson posted looks pretty darned good!

 

[Jellobmw]

My coupe was so far stripped whenI restored it 25 yrs ago that it didn't matter what color I painted it. Originally silver, it's now granatrot.

One thing I did forget was the underside of the sunroof......... I'm reminded everytime I look up!

 

[rb1971]

Do whatever makes you happy. If you make sure the car has a solid restoration then given the rust issues for a lot of cars even with a non-spec color I don't think you'd take a huge hit. But again, that's not that important if you are doing this for yourself.

However - I'm not sure all coupe colors are that dull. I think the coupe looks great in most any of the blues (Fjord down to Baikal). Although I sort of hear you on silver, silver (or white) with a red interior is a great combo. I'm running inka over a light brown (more Ferrari color than BMW) interior - I love it and get lots of compliments. There are a ton of options that are still coupe colors.

 

[IS3FIFTY]

I say OK to change color

Especially if the original color is not great. For ex. mine came in the ugly Nevada which, in my mind is not a good color for this body type. I changed it to Fjord and it suits it really well.

 

[CSteve]

I must confess my Polaris respray is actually an early Porsche Boxster color. Close but a little shinier. Only I and my body guy know. Oops, now the whole group knows.

 

[Ohmess]

I'm a rookie here, so perhaps I should learn the learn the lay of the land before shooting my mouth off, but I think you should paint the car to your liking.

Interestingly, according to this site - http://www.bmw-cscoupe.com/farben/farben.html - British Racing Green is a BMW color (which I think it would look spectacular on an e9).

 

[iconoclast6]

My car started out its life as Fjord, and I too was looking for what I then thought was Brittish Racing Green. During my due diligence, I happened upon Murray Fowler who quickly pointed out that there was no such color on e9 coupes..)!!

Though I've never seen a coupe that I don't like, I prefer the stock colors, and am partial to Agave with the contrasting interior.

If I had it to do over again, I would buy 2 coupes. The first would be Agave and the 2nd would be either Schwarz, Verona, Chamonix, Malaga, Atlantic Blau, Polaris, or Fjord...

http://www.e9-driven.com/RegistryView.asp?RID=27

 

[WALTER]

I feel your pain on Sienna. It's a tough color to live with. It looks good in sunlight, but in low light conditions it can look dull. Worse yet, it seems like it was a popular color in '74 because I have seen a bunch of them (ok, maybe only 5 or 6).

You might consider other, more modern brown that the German luxury car makers are putting out. BMW, Audi, and Porsche have all recently done some nice browns. I think one member, Cole, painted his coupe in the BMW color Macadamia Metallic, and it looks great. If brown is not your thing, BMW individual makes some really nice colors (do a goggle image search).

All that said, I am repainting my coupe in the original Sienna. It is just such a funky 70's color; it really fits the coupes era. Here are a few pics of the engine bay which was repainted. You can see that the new paint is much "livelier" than the old paint, hopefully, the whole car will turn out like this.

-Walt

 

[Stan]

Stay wit an E0 color

I love my chamonix but if I had another it would be ceylon or taiga.
Love those wild 70's colors!

 

[rsporsche]

stay with an e9 std. color

i agree with some of the bright colors on the coupe - taiga, agave, colorado, verona, inka ... they are fun and period correct. other than those, i like most of the blues - favorites would be baikal and atlantik, i am a fan of black and chamonix and of course polaris. to me the most common and classic are polaris w/ navy and atlantik / nacht with navy.

i think a few of the colors that i haven't loved would be sahara, amazon green, mint green, tundra. kinda on the fence w/ fjord and sienna

my car was originally baikal, it is now black (previous owner). i have thought about this on my car ... whenever i repaint it or restore it, would i keep it black, return to baikal ... or something new. unless i have it taken down to metal ... i will probably keep it black.

i agree very much with what your goals are with your car. if its a driver, even a great driver, do what you want. look at that recent non-standard sale, kind of a warm green beige ... it sold for over 50k if i remember correctly. it will never be a concours car, but it can still be worth a lot of money if done very well.

your mileage may vary,
scott

 

[johanaxelson]

Thanks for all the replies, was actually hoping for more votes. Would be fun what the collective board thinks.

A few points to answer questions:
I have the car for me
I plan to use it regularly
Think I would prefer non metallic because you do get a different shine and
depth in those
I am not planning on showing it, well, I might just for fun but not for glory.
Have considered considered Colorado, Golf, Inka as they are fun and eye catching
but I am afraid I would tire of them.
2nd hand value is not a main concern as I plan to keep it for a long time.

Maybe the word "dull" was a bad one to use because of its two meanings. But I do think several of the original colors are dull and/or dull. Some are boring and some have too little life in them.


@gjenssen - thanks for those pics. I do have the 16" Alpinas. The color looks nice but the dark interior works against it. I have a lighter interior though.

@rb171 - it is a very solid restoration. My interior is also more Ferrari than BMW.

@IS3FIFTY - this is my concern, I really want a color that works for the body type to really show it off. Like you say, Nevada doesn't.

@Ohmess - everyones opinion is valid. I did see that BRG pic but it looks like a
pretty dull BRG. I guess it should be be noted that BRG is a concept, there are
100s of variations of it, light, dark, metallic, non metallic. I would go for a
nonmetallic deeper green.

@iconoclast6 - agreed. But for the Agave is a bit like the Sienna, looks great in some light and in some not.

@walter - agree on the Sienna. Its main allure is that is a funky 70s color. When will your car be done? Maybe I can hold off until it is done to see.

 

[Lotuss7]

Gotta say I am an original color guy meaning to the specific vehicle. If I want a car and I have a strong preference on a color I wait until I get it. Crazy enough to pass up a potentially better car in the pursuit.

But there are 2 reason for this. First is originality and I suppose value, the second is if I were to repaint the car I would have to have it color match even if you popped off a door panel....so your talking about a bare shell job. Lot of work...lot of $$$.

Doing that right now, but in reverse. Putting a car back to oiginal color which I love. I'll probably never see my money back, but it will be the way I want it. That worth something.

If you are prepared to go the full nut on making the "cuffs and collars" match however I can get behind that. Just need to find the balance between a color that resonates with you and suits the car. Sometimes A tough thing to do.

 

[johanaxelson]

Thanks lotuss7, is is a bare shell job. It is primed and ready, waiting for me to make my little mind up

 

[deQuincey]

do whatever suits your likes
inmy case i would try to maintain original colours, but that philosopy comes with maintaining engine, and....in the original settings
just IMHO

 

[WALTER]

Johan,

My coupe is at Coupeking's shop. I am in Africa for the next 9 months, so the plan is to have it ready by the time I get back. Right now, my coupe is buried in storage at the shop, and I don't know when Eric will pull it out. Fortunately, it is a SoCal car from new, so there is minimal body work to be done which means that it probably won't be worked on until closer to my arrival.

When I visited the shop there were 4 Verona coupes, a few Polaris, some darker blues and whites; mine was the only Sienna. Definitely stood out. I have to admit, Verona is a nice color on the coupe if you are leaning non-metallic. I haven't seen it photo'd well; looks orangey or pinkish in pictures, but in person it is great.

 

[Wally Siswadji]

IMO keep E9 other color, how about Verona? Maybe next week you can see my painted E9 in Verona.