BMW Car Club of Great Britain

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Introduction

The Club was formed in 1952
by our founder, Ralph Hewitt, who placed
an advertisement in the "Autocar" magazine seeking persons interested in a Club for BMW cars.
Did he foresee what the Club would develop into today? In those days the only BMW cars available in the UK were pre-war models. Ralph's advertisement nevertheless produced responses and a Club was formed - simply known as the BMW Car Club. Owners of such examples (e.g. 315s, 319s, 327s and the legendary 328s) now form the Historic Section of the modern BMW Car Club (Great Britain).

The Club took off in the 1960s with the introduction of the "Neue Klasse" 1500, from which developed the '02 series of cars. The club continued to grow through the 1970s & 1980s with BMWs introduction of the 3, 5, 6 and 7-Series models. Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, BMW increased production by introducing new ‘niche’ models like the 3-Series based Compact and Coupe variants, the Z models and the 8-Series Coupes, plus the new 1 & 6-Series models and the X3 & X5 4-wheel drive SUVs.

As BMW production has marched on over the last five years, the BMW Car Club has also continued to grow, with thousands of members throughout the UK and Ireland. We can now proudly boast as being the largest BMW Car Club in Europe, and the second largest BMW Car Club worldwide behind our colleagues at the BMW Car Club of America.

Today the BMW Car Club GB & Ireland caters for all types of BMW both old and new.

Membership

Membership of the Club is open to anyone who owns or has an interest in BMWs, both in the UK & Ireland and overseas. There is an annual fee for membership that runs for 12 months from the month you join.

You may join as an individual or as a Family member with your partner and any children up to 16 years of age. There are specialist Registers for most types of BMW that you can join for a small one-off fee. This will give you access to specialist help and advice specific to your own car.

The Club is part of the international family of official BMW Clubs for both cars and motorcycles. As a Club officially recognised by BMW, we have their full support as well as access to technical and other information for the benefit of members.

Most of the clubs activity takes place within the Regions with over 100 events arranged annually. Such events range from pub meets to Christmas dinners and from informal car runs to large-scale car meets at venues such as Tatton Park, Goodwood, Beaulieu, and Harewood House. Our National Festival attracts thousands of BMW enthusiasts.

Click here to join the Club.

Benefits for Members

Club members benefit from discounts on parts at most BMW dealers and increasingly discount on servicing as well. These discounts alone would pay for your annual Club membership fee. Many insurance companies offer members rates that are hard to beat and the Club provides a valuation service where agreed values are required. A wide range of national companies provide members with discounts on parts and services. We arrange special visits to the factories in Germany that gives us opportunities to see the cars being built. We also arrange visits to BMW Mobile Tradition, BMW M Power, Alpina and BMW R&D, plus many notable German tuners including AC Schnitzer, Hartge and Hamann. We arrange visits to the BMW engine assembly plant in the UK, to other BMW-related car manufacturers such as Rolls Royce and Morgan as well as other places of interest such as Jaguar cars.

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Every month you will receive an award winning, full-colour magazine packed with features, technical advice, special offers and discounts off after-market parts and accessories. We offer a huge range of BMW books and workshop manuals as well as Club and other BMW clothing and merchandise. We have a number of specialists who can give advice on a range of BMWs both old and new. There is also a general help line run from the Club Office and a parts advice service run by a BMW parts specialist in a main BMW dealer

Events

There are over 100 events each year so you can be sure that there will be some local to you. Many Branches have monthly meets in pubs around the country. We attend many national shows organised to display our BMWs and promote BMW ownership. Our annual National Festival attracts over 2,000 BMWs and thousands of enthusiasts to the show, who enjoy browsing amongst the vast numbers of trade stands present. There is a huge Show & Shine competition open to both members and non-members and for those who specialise in this type of car preparation, the annual festival hosts the final of the Clubs National Concours.
Click here to see National Concours guidelines
Click here to see Regional Concours guidelines

Click here to see the events calendar.

Track Days

The Club organises several track days each year where owners can experience driving at unrestricted speeds to explore the handling of their cars and develop enhanced levels of car control. Expert tuition is usually available. These experiences are intended to develop driving skills and make you a better and safer driver on the roads.

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