BMW dealer parts department - some thoughts on finding your part there

coupelady

coupelady

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I have had the good fortune to have befriended a couple we met through the car world who has a son working for a BMW dealership in the parts department. Since he was brought up around many different great cars as his Dad and Mom are true enthusiasts (Ferraris purchased 20-25 years ago, 507, Arnolt Bristol prototype to name a few), he understands the passion we have for our cars. His Dad has created his own parts (especially for the Arnolt) so he is aware of the frustration of parts availability. I asked him to offer to us a few words that could help us when we call upon our fellows at the parts counter:

>I can totally understand the frustration that other club members are feeling. I know that I'm not unique in the BMW parts world, but those of us who are fans of the older cars are definitely on the rare side in the parts departments across the country.

Many people in the club know and understand the parts catalogs for their cars, but the problem is, a good majority of parts personnel do not. Most dealers are focused on vehicles from the past 20 years and even BMW has classified the E36 and Z3 models as 'classic' cars.

Basically, the parts department employees need to have an understanding of the older vehicles and a willingness to take the time to look up parts for the older cars. It's all there, it just might be more challenging to find. Additionally, the people at BMW corporate in the Part Consultant Group struggle with the older vehicles. If it's not in the parts catalog, it's not always accessible to them either. This is especially notable in the case of trying to find electrical connectors and wiring.


One of the things you can do is arm yourself with the information available on the web, use sites like http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do to see what parts are still available and to help the parts department locate the part you need. You know your car better than anyone and sometimes what seems obvious to you can be foreign to someone else. BMW has a good system but it is not always obvious what part is what, especially with the older models.


As for the VIN number issue, most parts departments will automatically default to asking for the VIN. With vehicles built before 1980 or so, this will give conflicting information. Just make sure that the parts person that you are working with understands that the VIN on an older BMW won't translate and you can start working together to find the parts you need.<

I hope that this info will be helpful on your journey during your coupe ownership. I am spoiled in that my restoration was completed 24 years ago so we did not have the net. It was the time of ordering catalogues, belonging to the CS Register magazine, some command of the German language, many phone calls but the most important thing is that the BMW parts department men were more aware of the CS model then. I even found some parts on the shelf as some parts were still available at the dealer! (These days, I have found if you have the part number, it can be searched easily) Ah but I am a dinosaur. -Amy Lester
 
It's much fun to simply give 'em our 7-digit VIN, say "E9" and let 'em stumble. Sort of levels the playing field, until the price comes up and there they get the last word.
 
Hi Amy -- some comments on my recent experiences with BMW parts. First off, I have been to two of the BMW "certified" dealers who are supposed to be trained to help with vintage BMWs. I could not discern any difference between their parts departments and others. In both cases, the people at the counters did not know that prior to 1981 there was no federal law dictating 17 digit VINs, and so they looked at me like I was crazy when I told them my car has a seven digit VIN. We would go back and forth, and they would insist that the only way to get the correct part was for me to give them the last seven (only seven) digits of my VIN. Then, they would tell me I had the wrong VIN when my number pulled up a Euro e21 323 in their system. Ugh.

I now almost exclusively with Penske parts in RI, Lisa their parts manager has been great. She also is on some sort of US BMW parts board that interfaces with BMW AG on parts issues, so she is interested in hearing about our issues. I recently purchased a clutch slave cylinder, and received a plastic part! I complained to Lisa that while it may be that this part is as good as the metal one, I have no way of knowing. I also have to wonder why BMW would now redesign and recertify a part designed for cars manufactured from the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. I then reiterated that people who own older BMWs and who buy parts from BMW are seeking to get the best quality part. We would go elsewhere if we were trying to keep our cars running on the cheap. I often convey these things to Lisa, she tells me she values the input and passes it along to BMW.

Lisa offered to take the plastic part back; I told her I would give it a try. I response to her comment on the two year warranty, I reiterated that I am seeking a quality part and the cost of buying a new part is modest compared to downtime and having to redo work that should have lasted a long time.

I frequently find part numbers on REALOEM before contacting the dealer, and I sometimes seek supplier part numbers and cross references to other sources where their parts were employed on different makes and models of cars.
 
+1 for Lisa Disaia at BMW of Warwick. Very, very helpful, quick, good pricing, and always willing to work for you re: a parts search.
 
Most if not all of us expect some sort of discount from our local BMW dealership. I think we owe it to them to do our part in supplying them with the information they need. These guys cannot be experts on every single car BMW has ever produced; so they can only concentrate on the last 2 or 3 generation of cars. Providing them with a part number or numbers via email not only helps simplify the relationship and their job it helps us as owners get better oriented with how our cars are built and locating the parts on the ETK or in the parts books.

Here are a few key things:
*Talk to the parts manager and ask them who is most likely going to respond to your emails asking for pricing and availability of parts.

*At the same time ask if they would honor the same 20% discount that Tischer offers.

*Be sure that you are quick to pick up the parts that you ordered. Get them out of their inventory and off of their books.

*There are quite a few people out there that order parts and never pick them up which is why some dealers require payment up front for special order parts, such as e9 parts.

*The dealers get charged a restocking fee and part of their profit margin is based on keeping a lean inventory, quick rotation short shelf life=bigger profits to them.

*Asking the dealer to look up several part numbers is time consuming when there's a line of people waiting to be helped. Especially if you only order 1 of the 10 parts you had them look up.

*Go to www.getbmwparts.com (tischer) type or paste your part number in to their system and see what pops up. They post retail and discounted prices on their site and they also list if an item is marked NLA.

*BMW has been gauging interest in NLA parts. Some of the parts they plan to reproduce will show as being available but with ZERO inventory. The system will also show a date that the part will become available, this date is not necessarily accurate and can change. If you want the part, order it and hope and pray that it goes back in to production. Ordering the part puts you on a priority list should the part come available and it gives BMW a clear indication of the demand. If 200 people have ordered the part then it might warrant them to place an order for 500 or more of the same part.

I think BMW had a rude awakening this past year with the 100th anniversary when they started receiving so many requests for parts that had become NLA and they were not able to supply them. Big let down to them and us.

Most BMW stores will ship to you so internet sales or not you can still order directly. They will take your credit card info and ship direct. Often times they will put you on their mailing list. I get offers for free shipping from my local dealer all the time.

Main point of all of this is- Become a good partner with your dealer. Be loyal, make it easy for them and don't bog them down with questions and parts look ups. We are the ones that are supposed to be experts on our cars, not them.
 
I live a few miles from Penske in Warwick. The prices for parts that they charge are so high that, even with a BMW CCA discount, it is less expensive for me to buy parts at Tischer and pay the shipping. The last time I was there the discounted price that they gave me for a roof rack was higher than the MSRP on the BMW NA WWW page. Lisa said that she would look into it, but never did.
 
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