Parts Prices Feedback and Poll

[rogerspeed]

I'm late to this party, but where is the 3-pin delay relay relay for the wiper/washer combo. (pre-72?) If BMW is serious about supporting these cars why don't they have Hella make some? This is a safety issue. They all fail eventually and no-one is succesfully repairing them.

[02Pilot]

What about getting the MT guys to come to 2002Fest East? It's BMWCCA sanctioned, and it's at Lime Rock, of which BMW is the lead sponsor and official car. What better place to check out the state of 2002s in America and get an earful from the people who live with them?

[DanOKC]

On the topic of door seals, Besides lowering the price to something reasonable, why can't they make them 2 part seals like they used to be ? The part that goes vertical with the thinnest part along the back edge of the door window always deteriorates 1st.

[PatAllen]

isnt there any progress with this ??

does anyone at MT or at Max got a ring from BMW ?

[Ray-2002tii]

Max...ask them why they don't repro Tobacco (1973 tan) seat materials. There are plenty of us out there that want the stuff!

[jgerock]

Hi Max!

I'm somewhat considered a "newbie" but I've purchased many car parts over the years.

Thank goodness there is actually a place (close by) that we can still buy brand new parts for these cars. My hat's off to BMW MT for a great job. Yes, the prices have gone thru the roof for belt line trim, rubber seals, gaskets, hardware, door panels, etc. but other items are pretty reasonable. The individual packaging of parts and shipping most likely adds to the mark-up of the item purchased.

If BMW allows a 3rd party to begin making parts, then the quality may suffer (if not kept in strict compliance)- even if the part is offered at a low price. If the parts are sub-par and have a BMW sticker on them, then BMW will be perceived as a bad car/part maker. This exact thing has happened with air-cooled VW parts. Some parts I've purchased are horrible quality, even some that were supposedly made for VW's Mexico plant.

I've heard some good things about GM working with Goodmark for authorized replacement sheetmetal. Has BMW MT thought about working with an existing reputable manufacturer to reproduce some of the more popular parts? TMI for door panels and West Coast Metric for weatherstripping are (2) VW-based companies I can think of.

Thanks for asking us 2002 nuts for our feedback!

[jgerock]

Wow - I'm bumping this old thread up a few years. The belt line trim has gone up at least $ 300/set for 10 pieces of anodized aluminum, some clips and covers (I believe some of the nose pieces are NLA).

Bolts/nuts/washers continue to be overpriced - some are NLA like the pin bolt for the heater box water valve.

Chrome bumpers: Argggh. Re-chroming is most likely cheaper and better quality.

New dashes, fuel injection parts, wiper arms, door panels: All out of the average '02 owner's budget.

Still no Tobacco seat material :-(

Prices sure have gone up since this Roundel ad back in Feb. 1984!

[Scott Sislane]

after working for two audio electronic mfr's that tried to maintain all parts/service for all product ever made, I'm amazed BMW continues to provide parts like they do. I worked w/ Land Rover NA on stocking parts to product previously provided to them (relieving the mfr). Land Rover bought an enormouse inventory of parts (yea for me), and then decided to dump them months later (literally dumped) as they couldn't handle the added service.

Curious how other mfr's compare to old BMW parts prices, like Mercedes? Volvo? Porsche? Jaguar? I've been told those prices are even higher than what we're used to. (true?) Are '02 parts actually priced OK considering the original mfr dates? Does BMW actually make a profit by providing 02 parts? or does it just cover their cost of providing them?

[tiiCarrera]

I am a relative newbie when it comes to the 02 scene, having purchased my '72 tii last month. I can tell you from an outsiders perspective and someone who has owned vintage 911s for years that I am completely amazed at the level of attention BMW has given to still making parts available AND at non-exhorbitant prices. Sure, prices have gone up, but I have also been pleasantly surprised at a few price REDUCTIONS recently too. My left side door mirror I recently purchased from MT was a considerable reduction of the price of just a couple of months ago.

Now, tii fuel injectors.......totally different ball game. $752/piece.

I have to say that because of BMW MT, I have become a BMW driver for life. My Merc daily driver will be traded in soon for a contemporary BMW.

[andrey]

Some basic safety/functionality items like turn signal stalks and high-beam stalks are way too expensive and weatherproofing (door seals especially) also costs way too much. Trim parts such as headlight grilles and molding are absolutely insanely expensive now.

However my main gripe is the poor quality of some of the brand new MT parts I've received recently. For example,

- 2002 fuel filler rubber boot, brand new and cracking almost as badly as my old one after just a year of use. Thanks so much for offering this part but what the heck is going on here?

- brand new driver-side mirror came loose inside and rattles, I need to pull the glass out to tighten it and that may break it, maybe I should have looked for a good used one?

- E3/E9/E24 chrome arm rest caps are peeling after just a month in the car. I bought some new old stock ones (so also brand new but from an older production run, probably from the 80's) and they look better and don't peel.

Mainly I'm thankful that they still provide rubber parts (even if they're overpriced) and safety items like tail light lenses and turn signals (again, a bit pricey). I'm wary of the new trim parts.

[tiiCarrera]

I am a relative newbie when it comes to the 02 scene, having purchased my '72 tii last month. I can tell you from an outsiders perspective and someone who has owned vintage 911s for years that I am completely amazed at the level of attention BMW has given to still making parts available AND at non-exhorbitant prices. Sure, prices have gone up, but I have also been pleasantly surprised at a few price REDUCTIONS recently too. My left side door mirror I recently purchased from MT was a considerable reduction of the price of just a couple of months ago.

Now, tii fuel injectors.......totally different ball game. $752/piece.

I have to say that because of BMW MT, I have become a BMW driver for life. My Merc daily driver will be traded in soon for a contemporary BMW.

[JHG762002]

Unlike in Germany, I can pick up a pretty nice, shiny, runs and drives

2002 for $2500- $4000 around here any day of the week.

It'll need a few things, depending on the PO, but it'll be a complete, mostly- functional

car.

At that price, I can't spend $285 on a fan motor, $6-800 on door seals,

etc, etc, etc and have it make financial sense. The cars aren't worth

that much- yet...

I hope that this might help you explain to MT why pricing's an issue for us...

thanks, Max!

Toby

Still true several years later. The cost of these items alone have kept me from doing the body and paint work. My car would look that much better with fresh paint and seals....

[TobyB]

Back from the dead, thread, and the biggest bump I can see is for the

(wait for it)

OIL PUMP!!!!

heh

t

[cj]

Wow - I'm bumping this old thread up a few years. The belt line trim has gone up at least $ 300/set for 10 pieces of anodized aluminum, some clips and covers (I believe some of the nose pieces are NLA).

Bolts/nuts/washers continue to be overpriced - some are NLA like the pin bolt for the heater box water valve.

Chrome bumpers: Argggh. Re-chroming is most likely cheaper and better quality.

New dashes, fuel injection parts, wiper arms, door panels: All out of the average '02 owner's budget.

Still no Tobacco seat material :-(

Prices sure have gone up since this Roundel ad back in Feb. 1984!

Really?

I'm just glad BMW still offers to service the vintage croud. Yeah, prices have gone up, but what's the alternative?

Repop parts from that are less than ideal in quality?

Call me old fashioned, but i'd rather pay more, have it available and at least eaqual or better quality. I'm part of the do it once, do it right croud. I like spending what little money i have left once instead of twice to re-do a job done with junk parts.

You're just beating a dead horse.

You do realize that BMW does make these parts runs in smaller batches. '02 are'nt exactly in production anymore.

[BLUNT]

jim gerock do you need one of these??

"some are NLA like the pin bolt for the heater box water valve."

I have 1 brand new one with nut and washer here