Coupe Left Rear LED Taillight Woes

[moproblems]

So, let me preface this by saying: Yes, I know genuine BMW is still an option (for now). But my car is a pile, cosmetically at least, and will never deserve the cost of a ~$750 genuine tail light. And yes, I could rebuild it. But the chrome is destroyed and I would not consider the unit a good core. In short...

Where did all the aftermarket assemblies go? Depo still makes the tails for prefacelift cars but no longer makes replacements for facelift coupes. ULO (the original manufacturer for BMW mind you) has discontinued the left side lamp. I emailed them and received back a simple "they will not be made anymore". 3rd party used supply via junkyards on eBay is completely dry outside of convertible lights.

It's to the point where I'm considering back retrofitting the car to incandescent and then using the junky prefacelift led tails just so I don't get pulled over.

I'm not looking for a solution, I'm just impressed that these are this hard to get on such a common model, and I'm sure the woes will continue when BMW finally runs out of whatever stock they have left on the shelf. Heck, you can still find E39 CELIS tails pretty regularly.

[sbay]

I was able to source one on eBay…luck of the draw. I had the search saved and would periodically check every couple days until one popped up that was in good shape

[cobra]

It's crazy just how cheaply made they are. I have worked on a few of them that I bought on eBay (trying to mix/match parts to make 1 good set) and they mostly just fell apart. The lenses barely stayed on, meaning the seal was no good and they got moisture inside, corroding the reflective surface. The LED's and circuit boards go bad randomly as well.

If I had a nice good set, I would strongly consider putting a bead of clear silicone around the perimeter between the lens and housing to seal it from water.