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body panel identification

I understand that from '87 on, BMW put VIN stickers on the body panels
(presumably to make it easy to tell if any had been replaced). I've been
looking at several E28 5-series cars lately and have found them on the
doors, front fenders, and hood.

Did these stickers appear anywhere else (such as trunk lid or rear quarter
panels)?
Where else should I be looking to determine a car hasn't been fixed?

I don't think I've seen a car that has all its proper stickers yet. Some
panels have stickers that say R-DOT on them (I believe this means
replacement panel), some have a ten digit number on a sticker, and some
have no sticker at all.

Do the stickers easily fall off?
Does anyone know the significance of a sticker with a ten digit number?

A particular car I'm looking at has no sticker on the driver's door and a
ten digit sticker on the left front fender, leading me to believe something
nasty happened and it's been repainted.

Is there any way to easily assess the extent of the damage?

Many thanks in advance.

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
John R. Allen                   jrallen@domain.elided
Bainbridge Island, Washington  (Also home to the Professor.)
USA