Since there are a few members owning E9x I thought I would start this thread to share our collective info, knowledge, experience, issues, etc. on these cars.
I know there are tones of online forums, videos, etc. with a wealth of info on these cars but sometimes finding the info takes time and I thought whatever we gather from those sources and sharing it here within our little community might have some benefits.
Being new to the brand/car, I've done a tone of research on known issues, fixes, parts, DIYs, etc to educate myself a bit and understand this car and it's specifics. I've also done a bit of wrenching on it so I became familiar with some areas of the car. Also done a lot of research on how/what/where to source parts for it and the costs as well as what's suitable for DIY for people with moderate skills/experience/tools/facilities like myself and what would require a shop.
Parts and sourcing:
As you probably know, the OEM parts are ridiculously expensive but on the bright side, most parts and in most cases, you can source for a fraction of the cost (ranging from a quarter to a half price) the very same part, from the same OE manufacturer (minus the BMW branding). Some of the brands I came across so far include Bosch (alternator, starter), Continental (belt, some sensors), INA (pullies), FAG (wheel bearings), Valeo (blower fan), Denso (A/C compressor), VDO (headlamp washer nozzle), VEMO, WVE (push button, VANOS solenoids (?)), Lemforder (all suspension/steering parts), Rein (aluminum bolts), Delphi (ignition coils), NGK (spark plugs), etc.... long list....
To find the right part and the best price, I "developed" a 3-step strategy for myself:
1. Find the OE manufacturer and OEM P/N - for this I use fcpeuro.com which has the best site as they give you the OEM part/PN and the OE equivalent part/PN for pretty much everything. Where applicable they give you other related parts/PNs for the hardware that should be replace at the same time or in many cases, they have the kits put together with all you need and list what's in the kit with individual P/Ns.
Unfortunately their prices and shipping are not enticing for us Canadians in most cases, but the info is the best I found. I also cross reference ecstunning.com which is another good resource for info but I find it not as good as fcpeuro.com.
2. Validate that P/N is correct for my VIN on shop.bmw.ca - make sure the P/N from fcpeuro.com is correct for my car on the Canadian BMW site and get an idea of the OEM cost just as an FYI and a good laugh.
3. Check local prices (germanparts.ca) and Rockauto - If Rockauto has the exact part I'm looking for, in most cases they have the best price including shipping (there is no duties). I only found few cases so far where the local option (including Amazon Prime) was better especially if you order small items by themselves (e.g. bolts, filters). Being cheap to begin with, the shipping cost negates the savings on the part itself in which case makes more sense to get it locally.
It may sound complicated or time consuming but in realty it takes me less than 5 min to find almost any part and if found on Rockauto typically it's the best price I can get it for (in my experience no one beats Rockauto prices - maybe same or close at most).
The only things I bought or will buy from the dealer are interior/exterior trim pieces, accessories and mounting hardware (bolts, nuts, etc.). I think every other part is available aftermarket at the same quality for much less; you just need to find it...
Two recent items I looked at as "what if" scenario are the alternator (might replace at some point as the bearings are making an annoying noise) and the blower fan (may get away with lubrication - known issue/fix). Both are easy DIYs and it if comes to replacement, Rockauto is the place to get the parts from.
For the alternator (new not reman), the price difference is significant compared to the local prices for the OE Bosh 180 Amp and so is for the blower fan which btw: OE brand is Valeo. You pay few hundred more locally for the RMAN alternator (155 Amp vs OEM spec 180 Amp) than you pay for a brand new one from Rockauto.
