Where are we going to source slicktop headliners?

[repoman89]

Yeah I wouldn't buy anything that company is making currently with the exception of an M2 variant.

They’ve even ruined those. The outgoing M2 I could have been interested in if I didn’t already have an E46 but the new one is hideous.

Re: parts availability I haven’t run into any problems yet for either my E39 or E46 Ms, but they’re both still pretty low mileage and only occasional drivers. If it continues to get worse I could probably convince myself to unload both while they’re worth good money and grab an air cooled 911. Porsche seems committed to letting their customers trade lots of money to keep their old cars on the road.

Makes no sense why BMW wouldn’t do the same.

[Casa de Mesa]

Who doesn't want a 3800+ lb 2 series, with dead steering, generic power delivery, shitty manual or automatic gearbox, that looks like it has downs, really.

Ha!!

It's really depressing, really.

[Obioban]

Yeah I wouldn't buy anything that company is making currently with the exception of an M2 variant.

I know some people that work with BMW directly (their company is partnering with them). Without getting into the details, from what I can gather, BMW is rather lost at the moment. It's apparently a bit toxic internally, which immediately makes me think / points to a leadership issue. The products they are putting out certainly speak to that. They are building for the masses, not for the enthusiasts. And even in the mass market, I feel like they have lost their way a bit.

The lack of parts thing mystifies me.

Who doesn't want a 3800+ lb 2 series, with dead steering, generic power delivery, shitty manual or automatic gearbox, that looks like it has downs, really.

[Sharocks]

I got one just laying around lmfao

Nice but also not nice, I have to now buy a CSL roof. Big sad.

[Casa de Mesa]

Yeah I wouldn't buy anything that company is making currently with the exception of an M2 variant.

I know some people that work with BMW directly (their company is partnering with them). Without getting into the details, from what I can gather, BMW is rather lost at the moment. It's apparently a bit toxic internally, which immediately makes me think / points to a leadership issue. The products they are putting out certainly speak to that. They are building for the masses, not for the enthusiasts. And even in the mass market, I feel like they have lost their way a bit.

The lack of parts thing mystifies me.

[robgill]

I order a lot of parts directly from Europe through Schmiedmann in Denmark.

https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/cata-ol?q=51447124314

[Obioban]

Part support is the main reason I'm selling our e39 M5. It's getting sketchy out there.

I'm not really sure why they're doing it. A friend of mine that works for BMWNA told me that parts is ~25% of their revenue, and more of profit. Do they think people are going to buy new BMWs if part support dries up for the old ones? I know nothing they make today interests me in the slightest, so they'll just lose my parts money if they stop making parts.

... at least they sold a shit ton of e46 M3s, so for most things there will likely be an aftermarket solution.

[Slideways]

I can confirm that the dealership is not allowed to order any euro parts for our US cars, was at the dealer today and was told the only way to get euro parts is if it's an import euro car, you need a ton of paperwork and you can't get any part you want only some parts can be sold in the US. He said the best way to get euro parts is have them imported using a 3rd party company.

Even when they would get most of the parts, they would tell everyone that. In recent years, it's been a bit more difficult.

[AWE46M3]

I can confirm that the dealership is not allowed to order any euro parts for our US cars, was at the dealer today and was told the only way to get euro parts is if it's an import euro car, you need a ton of paperwork and you can't get any part you want only some parts can be sold in the US. He said the best way to get euro parts is have them imported using a 3rd party company.

Must be a recent policy change. I bought a Euro slicktop headliner 51442699065 in February from my local BMW dealer. I asked about CSL roof rails last week and the dealership said they couldn't order Euro parts anymore. The part number wouldn't pull up in their system.

[ugaexploder]

really appreciate the discussion here

i'm thinking i might have to go ahead and pull the trigger via bmwpartsdirect...they seem to have a beige one for about $1k shipped to me in GA...

[Norocehcap]

I can confirm that the dealership is not allowed to order any euro parts for our US cars, was at the dealer today and was told the only way to get euro parts is if it's an import euro car, you need a ton of paperwork and you can't get any part you want only some parts can be sold in the US. He said the best way to get euro parts is have them imported using a 3rd party company.

[Casa de Mesa]

Well no one rat them out if they doing us all a solid!!! Ha

[repoman89]

Yeah I remember getting one of the last Euro headliners in the US in early 2021 so somebody is ignoring or getting around that rule.

[Casa de Mesa]

Interesting. My bumper, windshield, Euro headliner (no alarm dome) all supposedly shipped from Germany in early 2022.

I sourced mine via:

https://www.bmwpartsdirect.com/

...which is local to me so I just picked everything up from them. Some items took 6 weeks to get from Germany. Others took just 3 weeks. I didn't order everything at once.

[Arith2]

Is that a new thing? I've ordered a Euro bumper, for example, and other Euro parts through my dealer in NC.

If there is one in the US then you can still buy it. There will be items bought and never picked up. 2019 was the start of this bs rule, there was just plenty of stock in US warehouses. Now that has run out. BMW seems to be changing for the worst at the moment. This definitely reversed my decision on buying a new one a while back. There's a few other things I won't go into so I don't turn this into a BMW flaming thread. From the looks of it, only European shops are the answer for this unless someone wants to GB euro headliners. Not sure if that's even worth it.