OE Front Bumper without freight shipping charge?

[Nate047]

https://www.schmiedmann.com/

I've ordered a bunch of stuff from them over the years, pricing is always fair and they don't gate keep EU vs US market availability. if it exists, they will sell and ship it to the US. Like you noticed, any and all dealerships in California are a waste of time for parts.

One other source you should check is BMW of South Atlanta, I have had good experiences with them in the past as well.

[Cubieman]

For some reason the dealer here didn't charge shipping on the bumper cover, lucked out I guess.

[liam821]

they quoted me ~$300 shipping :/ is this a recent screenshot? I'm guessing that they probably recently had a policy shift where free shipping doesn't apply to large freight items.

EDIT: indeed, from their shipping policy "Items marked as 'Free Shipping' may qualify for free standard economy ground shipping to the contiguous United States (48 states). Oversized products and direct ship products are excluded from this offer unless otherwise noted."

I tried to order new carpet from ECS a few months ago, and same deal, the shipping quote was INSANE (like $350). They said it had to be shipped freight because of the size of the box. Seemed ridiculously.

[bigjae46]

You can have it freight shipped terminal to terminal. Its been awhile but I used to ship freight for about $250 a pallet. The only catch is I had to pick it up at my local freight terminal. I used R&L Carriers - so you might want to contact a local freight terminal. It will be something useful in the future to ship and receive large items.

[Epoustouflant]

Get one from the dealership, I got a Euro bumper for $718 from the dealer about a week ago. It would seem the US bumper is about $100 more on the major sites vs. a Euro bumper, but you don't have the potential issues of the Euro bumper fitment.
Mine fit fine after the 4 unnecessary tabs were ground off.

This is the best answer for any large body panel or a headliner.

[mpower22]

they quoted me ~$300 shipping :/ is this a recent screenshot? I'm guessing that they probably recently had a policy shift where free shipping doesn't apply to large freight items.

EDIT: indeed, from their shipping policy "Items marked as 'Free Shipping' may qualify for free standard economy ground shipping to the contiguous United States (48 states). Oversized products and direct ship products are excluded from this offer unless otherwise noted."

Correct, large freight items have a ship charge no matter which online vendor was used. I should have noted in my $323 cost, I picked up locally from getbmwparts.com in Silver Spring MD because the freight charge added a lot to the cost..

[Kdubski]

Wholesale price for post-facelift bumper cover is $814 in CT from a BMW dealer.

[jet_dogg]

I don't disagree. Maybe it's a want what you can't have or bling thing...

The funny thing is EU (UK specifically) auto regs are significantly more harsh/stringent than US regs. So how it is that they didn't need the reflector but we did? Been ponderin' that one for some time...

It's because DOT is garbage. That's the reason why they have superior mirrors and lighting as well.

If it's EU approved, it should by default be good enough for the US.

[Mayan-Viking]

That's wild, everything us spec looks worse.

I don't disagree. Maybe it's a want what you can't have or bling thing...

The funny thing is EU (UK specifically) auto regs are significantly more harsh/stringent than US regs. So how it is that they didn't need the reflector but we did? Been ponderin' that one for some time...

[Casa de Mesa]

There was a time in my life when I was active duty and stationed in Europe with my E46 M3. Almost everyone I met in Europe preferred the US variant of the bumper to the Euro version. I thought that was a funny data point.

That's wild, everything us spec looks worse.

Came here to say the say thing and then I noticed you already did.

[jet_dogg]

There was a time in my life when I was active duty and stationed in Europe with my E46 M3. Almost everyone I met in Europe preferred the US variant of the bumper to the Euro version. I thought that was a funny data point.

That's wild, everything us spec looks worse.

[ATB88]

That was last year.

$300 shipping seems absurd, it came UPS like any other largish box. I doubt it costs them that much to ship it, maybe try emailing them. See if they can get you a better shipping quote.

At this point, I've already had my old bumper repaired and repainted. But for kicks I went and asked ECS and got back

"I don't see any recent orders in your account's or the part's history where it has shipped for free, most of our freight prices are well below our cost to be honest"

so, RIP.

[9kracing]

That was last year.

$300 shipping seems absurd, it came UPS like any other largish box. I doubt it costs them that much to ship it, maybe try emailing them. See if they can get you a better shipping quote.

[ATB88]

Doesn't ECS have this bumper for $700ish?

That's where I got mine. They were selling them on Ebay last year.

they quoted me ~$300 shipping :/ is this a recent screenshot? I'm guessing that they probably recently had a policy shift where free shipping doesn't apply to large freight items.

EDIT: indeed, from their shipping policy "Items marked as 'Free Shipping' may qualify for free standard economy ground shipping to the contiguous United States (48 states). Oversized products and direct ship products are excluded from this offer unless otherwise noted."

[9kracing]

Doesn't ECS have this bumper for $700ish?

That's where I got mine. They were selling them on Ebay last year.