DLH said:
MACK said:
Gold you really are a grade A ARSE,
Firstly you bore the pants off us with mutliple posts of the SAME/VIDS pictures of your car and you must have told us you have owned 3 E46's about a million times. No one takes you to task on your boring/repetive crap, we generally are too polite and have more class.
But responding to the OP in your smug bastard manner, I really have to say it, the sooner you sell your car and disappear the better, just bore off! You really are a forum rash, you get everywhere and no one wants you. These sensors are £90+ from BMW and aren't really available elsewhere, whether in the trade or not. They certainly aren't £20. You say you work at a Volvo Main Stealers, well all that means is you know how to fill in a bonus sheet, know nothing unless a computer or scanner tells you and charge the earth for items not replaced! The fact you work at a Main Stealers should be reason enough to have the mods ban you!
I certainly wouldn't come on a car forum and admit I worked at a shower of sh!te Main Dealer, if you think it gives you credibility more fool you! Anyone who truly knows anything about cars knows just how appalling they are!
Thanks MACK.
Is it true that E46's are like Hemorrhoids in that, given time, every ar$ehole gets one?
I work in a garage, if we quote a price on a job using oem parts you get 2 year warranty fitted by an authorised dealer. Just like you would buying oem parts at BMW its no different. If the price is too high the customer may then ask for a quote on a non genuine part to suit their budget. New vehicles will be under manufacturers 5 year warranty and automatically get genuine oem parts as we claim the money back from dealer. As your part was not fitted by dealer you have a 12m warranty on a oem part. The same 12m warranty as a non genuine part but at fraction of the cost. BMW and VOLVO don't make oem parts there supplier will be a no frills company who supply many other manufacturers too the parts are just reboxed etc. Of course they will be aftermarket stuff out there which is a poor cheap standard but generally in the trade aftermarket parts are widely used being cheaper. A perfect example is a company called Roadlink in Wolverhampton they reline our Volvo truck oem brakes shoes. The castings are sent there, they reline them and a white Volvo mark is printed on them. We then sell it to a customer as oem part but the aftermarket ones we sell cheaper without the Volvo mark meet the same spec. Now in this same factory they supply all brands of brakes from pagid,jurid,brembo,mintex etc. Whilst you see the brand name you may recognise on the box they are made actually by these smaller less well known companies and just reboxed to suit customer. These big name brands will work alongside the manufacturer to make the spec brake shoe they require. So your oem sensor will be no different to a aftermarket one as these specs have to match on testing to be able to sell it. So the way i see it you have two groups of people, those who buy car for status and know very little how to maintain them so think a dealer is the only option. Then there's others who service their own cars and maintain them using the best parts doesn't mean they have to be oem. Take Meyle HD for example its a brand that offers a 4 yr warranty better than any bmw oem bmw part does being only 2yr fitted by dealer or 12m fitted yourself. Just because something has a bmw logo doesn't make it better doesn't even make it more reliable being more expensive either. Racing is a ood example, team engineers will take a car and make it better using upgraded aftermarket parts. I mentioned the sensor being £20 and you instantly dismissed it as being no good quite common bmw snobbery you see a lot mainly by owners that have this idea the dealer is best. This is why bmw owners get laughed in the trade and there's this stereotype of bmw people who don't really know much about cars or maintaining them they just want a bmw for status and dont mind getting ripped off by dealers. There will be times aftermarket prices ain't much cheaper so using oem parts is a no brainer. Something like a sensor though is debatable as the components wont really be any different. They both have 12m warranty, both do the same job just one cost a fifth of the price less. I actually work in warranty now for Volvo so I see plenty of failed oem parts Volvo parts which are made in Germany by same companies as bmw.
Q; if u bought a lamp for example from a shop it came with osram bulb then it blew up and needed replacing out of warranty, would you?
A; only source the osram bulb as thats oem
B; fit it the right spec bulb no matter brand
I understand you feel like oem is better but some aftermarket parts can actually be better as mentioned earlier with meyle HD parts. Yes I used Meyle on all my E46's over the last 10yrs because its so good. Perfect example take bmw oem lemforder brand control arm bushes/link arms etc which are well known and documented for years for failing every other year. Meyle Hd is aftermarket and is exactly that high durability range id argue it better. someone like you prefers paying more at the dealer for parts that are worse.
Sorry i can not conform to the way the fourm seems to be made up of disgruntled old men in their 40+ who seem to think its now their place in life to look down on others due to the price of their car or watch they wear its quite funny. I chose to own 3 e46's because i know the m54 engine very well and they are reliable cars. My car before that was a brand new financed ford i sold it and choose to drive a 12yr old bmw. Last time i checked it was a bmw too so where this upper class snobbery come from. Its terrible they way Z4 owners think there above their station. On track days fellow Z4 members just laugh at the types on here. This is a perfect example. Anyway sorry for boring you may your expensive trips to the dealer continue.
http://www.meyle.com/en/spare-parts/meyle-hd.html
Good job your a spanner and not in sales! 
