A member on Bimmerforums is offering VIN decodings to anyone and at no cost(something kinda rare these days). If you have an account on bimmerforums, you just post your VIN and he'll send you a PM in a few days. Info includes production date, packages that came with the car, original colors, etc... Very useful if you aren't the original owner!
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=974206