Thanks Billy. Didn't know about the Beemer ones having inbuilt resistors. Sounds interesting .
its probable that the bmw ones have inline resistors. It would be more logical for the ecu to recognise the correct current tho. Back to vw's, you can buy leds for the rear numberplate's with resistors but they are expensive. You can get them from ecs but apparently the light output looks a bit cheap. I managed to get some festoon bulbs that give a great white output. And because they are bulbs, they draw the right current so no dash errors!