The BMW Drivers' Club of Australia was formed in 1979 by a small group of enthusiasts and has grown to its present size with Chapters in most states and territories of Australia. In 1981, the BMW Drivers' Club of Australia joined the International Council of BMW Clubs, a unique organisation based in Munich which fosters affiliation with BMW clubs in most of the countries where BMW sells it's products. The Australian state clubs formed BMW Clubs Australia as a single national organisation in 1990.

Of course, the 02 Register shares the same basic aims as BMW CA, but has the following specific objectives.

• To create a body of owners recognised by BMW as having very specific requirements and problems not necessarily relevant to today's technologically advanced vehicles;

• To liaise with Registers and Special Interest Groups worldwide and, via the BMW CA Australian Delegate, the International Council of BMW Clubs;

• To encourage BMW Australia to maintain an adequate supply of essential parts and other parts as required from time to time;

• To encourage BMW Australia and it's Dealer Network to rationalise their practices in disposing of ``dead stock'' and to advise the 02 Register of impending stock clearances;

• Together with other Registers and Special Interest Groups, encourage BMW AG to remanufacture such parts as are needed to maintain our vehicles;

• To promote the enjoyment and preservation of unique vehicles from which BMW's present day reputation were derived.

The title ``02 Register'' is not meant to be restrictive in its scope. We are chartered to BMW CA to meet the requirements of all owners with vehicles ranging from 1500s to 2002s and, of course, all their variants. If your vehicle doesn't fall into this category and you believe you can benefit from our activities, please let us know.

It is the aim of the 02 Register to obtain as much information as possible about the vehicles currently in circulation as well as providing our members with as much information as possible to allow them to keep their vehicles on the road. In so doing, we want as much information as you, the owner, are able to provide. We need to know the vehicle history so we can inform the next buyer if you decide to sell. We ned to know what work you do yourself, the problems you encounter and the solutions you find. We want to know if you have difficulty in obtaining parts abd wgucg oarts are the most important to you. We want to know your sources of parts supply. We want to know if you use service agencies (either BMW or third-party) and the success or otherwise of your dealings with these people. All such information will go on standard forms, building a library of technical information useful to our members.

We will be supplementing your information with extra data from sources here and abroad. Items will include brochures, service bulletins, handbooks, articles from magazines, parts microfiche, service manuals and tips from overseas registers. We have already scooped information regarding the tii injection pump that is not available overseas. We hope to be able to manage and maintain some form of Spare Parts Bank and we currently have a group working on that proposal. It is our aim to collate the technical tips and supplier details into a reference handbook for 02 Register members.

We also need to act as a ``lobby group'' to BMW Australia, the Dealer network and BMW AG so that we can advise them of problems with parts supply and, in concert with Registers worldwide (through the International Council of BMW Clubs), highlight problems to BMW AG before those problems grow to affect us. Other Registers organise the remanufacture of parts needed in their regions. We hope to establish reciprocal arrangements with them and, because our dollar is at a favourable export exchange rate, perhaps organise manufacture of some parts locally to meet our needs as well as theirs.

The register is currently co-ordinated by Gary Speechley. Please feel free to contact us by calling or faxing (02) 9570-3870 or write to our postal address.

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Alan.Hargreaves@Aus.Sun.COM
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