[evanseric21]

I have been researching OEM Carbon Fiber parts for my 2024 X6 M Competition, which I have on order.

I've ordered a few items from IND Distribution and noticed several people mentioning them online. However, there are some parts I want that they don't offer, or their prices are much higher compared to other authorized BMW parts dealers I've found. The best prices I've seen are at GenuineBMWMiniParts.com.

Here are a few more dealers I've come across:

BMWPartsDirectUsa.com
BMWPartsDirect.com
BMWDirectParts.com
BMWPartsPros.com
GetBMWParts.com

Has anyone ever ordered from GenuineBMWMiniParts.com or any of the other parts dealers I listed above? They all seem to carry the same parts, but at different price points.

*UPDATE*

So, after a lot of digging and research, I found some very informative details. Most of the BMW Authorized Parts dealers you see on the web are "Powered by RevolutionParts." You will notice this mentioned in the footer of their websites. RevolutionParts is a company specializing in providing an enterprise-ready automotive parts platform for retail and wholesale. This explains why all of these sites offer a very similar experience. Chances are, if a BMW dealership has a parts website, it is powered by RevolutionParts. Also, if you see that the site is powered by RevolutionParts, you can trust its legitimacy.

What I also discovered is that some dealerships have integrated the ability to order parts into their dealership website, like BMW West Houston at bmwwest.com/parts-order.htm. These appear to be connected to the main BMW Parts Website at shopbmwusa.com. There's also a site run by RevolutionParts that allows you to select any of the participating dealerships and order parts. From what I can tell, the prices there are better: bmw.oempartsonline.com.

Now, moving on to the next piece: typedcl suggested searching the addresses on the parts website to identify which dealerships they belong to. I've done this, and below is the list. Hopefully this saves people a lot of time and builds confidence is ordering as I was concerned of the legitimacy of some of those sites.

BMW of Arlington
genuinebmwminiparts.com

BMW of Camarillo
bmwpartspros.com

BMW of Lincoln
bmwdirectparts.com

Advantage BMW Midtown
advantagebmwparts.com

Brahman BMW Miami
parts.bramanmotorsbmw.com

BMW of Ramsey
bmwpartsexpress.com

BMW of North Haven
buybmwpartsdirect.com

Flow BMW of Winston-Salem
bmwpartsdirect.com

BMW of Silver Spring
getbmwparts.com

BMW of Fairfax
bmwoffairfaxparts.com

Checkered Flag BMW
bmwparts.checkeredflag.com

Sandia BMW
bmwpartsuniverse.com

Zeigler BMW of Orlando Park
bmwpartsworldwide.com

Karl Knauz BMW
bmwpartsnow.com

[typedcl]

I recently did some comparison shopping and purchased OEM wheels. Unfortunately, other than getBMWparts, I didn't interact with any of these dealers.

Here's what I learned:

1. The vast majority of these websites aren't connected to the dealer's actual inventory. So even if they list it, quite often they still need to order it.

2. It's probably worthwhile to call or email them to find out if they have it or how long an order would take. Usually on the website, they will steer you to what they prefer. Some places never answer the phone but are great with emails... others may be the opposite (or not really good with either).

3. Nearly all of these places are just aliases for a BMW dealership somewhere. If you search the address you can find out which dealership it is.

4. A lot of these places won't charge sales tax if you're in a different state. Depending on price and shipping costs that may be decent savings.

5. Some places just won't ship certain items. Generally they tend to be bigger or heavier, but sometimes it's a bit random.

6. Shipping charges on the website can often be wrong. If something seems too good or too bad to be true, contacting them can clear it up.

7. Some places have much cheaper online prices and will charge you more if you pick them up. Others charge the same price for pickup.

GetBMWParts advertises in the vendor subforum. I've seen people say good things about them. They did quickly reply to my inquiry. But they're on the East Coast and they're weren't the best choice for wheels in my case.

One other option to consider if you have Costco membership is to get the 15% off discount parts coupon in their auto program. It will refer you to local dealer, and you can give them a call to see if they carry what you want at what price. Some dealerships are negotiable with pricing, so you might be able to talk yourself into a bigger discount or get them to price match some online prices. YMMV.

Good luck!

[evanseric21]

Originally Posted by typedcl

I recently did some comparison shopping and purchased OEM wheels. Unfortunately, other than getBMWparts, I didn't interact with any of these dealers.

Here's what I learned:

1. The vast majority of these websites aren't connected to the dealer's actual inventory. So even if they list it, quite often they still need to order it.

2. It's probably worthwhile to call or email them to find out if they have it or how long an order would take. Usually on the website, they will steer you to what they prefer. Some places never answer the phone but are great with emails... others may be the opposite (or not really good with either).

3. Nearly all of these places are just aliases for a BMW dealership somewhere. If you search the address you can find out which dealership it is.

4. A lot of these places won't charge sales tax if you're in a different state. Depending on price and shipping costs that may be decent savings.

5. Some places just won't ship certain items. Generally they tend to be bigger or heavier, but sometimes it's a bit random.

6. Shipping charges on the website can often be wrong. If something seems too good or too bad to be true, contacting them can clear it up.

7. Some places have much cheaper online prices and will charge you more if you pick them up. Others charge the same price for pickup.

GetBMWParts advertises in the vendor subforum. I've seen people say good things about them. They did quickly reply to my inquiry. But they're on the East Coast and they're weren't the best choice for wheels in my case.

One other option to consider if you have Costco membership is to get the 15% off discount parts coupon in their auto program. It will refer you to local dealer, and you can give them a call to see if they carry what you want at what price. Some dealerships are negotiable with pricing, so you might be able to talk yourself into a bigger discount or get them to price match some online prices. YMMV.

Good luck!

Thank you I appreciate the detailed info.

[chicagofan00]

As was said above, a lot of these places are just an online store front for dealerships parts departments. The savings between all of them can vary but usually all will be a decent amount cheaper than what your local dealership parts department will be at. Most won’t charge taxes unless you are local to the state they are in or are in a state that requires them to charge taxes. The places will also usually have some sort of % off sale around the major holidays like 4th of July or Thanksgiving but will typically limit it to being up to a certain dollar amount.

I used GetBMWParts.com to buy a set of wheels and tires for my G80 M3 back on Black Friday of 2022. Got a good price on them compared to the local dealership and the shipping charges were fairly low as well for a set of 4 wheels and tires to be shipped across the country. I did run into some quality issues with the wheels finish. The dealership was really good to work with and they did the best they could to make it right in the end. However, I will just caution that when it comes to a large purchase (not only in dollar amount but size and weight of the product) it is a bit of a logistical nightmare to straighten it all out. It wasn’t as simple as doing a warranty swap with the local dealership even though it was an OEM product.

[evanseric21]

Originally Posted by chicagofan00

As was said above, a lot of these places are just an online store front for dealerships parts departments. The savings between all of them can vary but usually all will be a decent amount cheaper than what your local dealership parts department will be at. Most won’t charge taxes unless you are local to the state they are in or are in a state that requires them to charge taxes. The places will also usually have some sort of % off sale around the major holidays like 4th of July or Thanksgiving but will typically limit it to being up to a certain dollar amount.

I used GetBMWParts.com to buy a set of wheels and tires for my G80 M3 back on Black Friday of 2022. Got a good price on them compared to the local dealership and the shipping charges were fairly low as well for a set of 4 wheels and tires to be shipped across the country. I did run into some quality issues with the wheels finish. The dealership was really good to work with and they did the best they could to make it right in the end. However, I will just caution that when it comes to a large purchase (not only in dollar amount but size and weight of the product) it is a bit of a logistical nightmare to straighten it all out. It wasn’t as simple as doing a warranty swap with the local dealership even though it was an OEM product.

Appreciate the info. I took Typedcl's advice and looked up all the addresses, which helped me figure out which site belonged to which dealer. I've sent a few emails to check for in-stock inventory and to see if they would offer a better discount for a larger purchase. I did find bmw.oempartsonline.com, which is slightly different from the others. They appear to service multiple dealerships and actually allow you to select a dealership and place an order. My dealership was listed, and the prices were cheaper than going directly through my dealer's parts website. I submitted an email and am waiting for a reply. It might be better for me to order out of state if I can save on taxes, even if the price is slightly higher. Braman BMW Miami has very good prices and is not too far from me in Houston compared to some of the dealer on the East Coast or in California.

[evanseric21]

After taking Typedcl's advice (thanks!) I was able to search the addresses of the parts dealers and found the dealerships they belong to. Found a lot of very useful information along the way. I will update the OP with the information.

[evanseric21]

So after tons of research I actually decided to order from IND. Great customer service and got a good price. These goodies arrived earlier this week.

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aqkh8koQVbTbspEB...nDUPg?e=2WCSDQ

[chicagofan00]

Originally Posted by evanseric21

So after tons of research I actually decided to order from IND. Great customer service and got a good price. These goodies arrived earlier this week.

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aqkh8koQVbTbspEB...nDUPg?e=2WCSDQ

Yours will be in Chalk right? The CF will look great against Chalk.

[evanseric21]

Originally Posted by chicagofan00

Yours will be in Chalk right? The CF will look great against Chalk.

Yes, I'm pretty excited! When you ordered your reflector deletes from IND, did they mention anything about BMW's inconsistency with the individual colors and that it might not be a perfect match?

[chicagofan00]

Originally Posted by evanseric21

Yes, I'm pretty excited! When you ordered your reflector deletes from IND, did they mention anything about BMW's inconsistency with the individual colors and that it might not be a perfect match?

No, not at all. IND has done a great job with the paint matching for my Java Green and my previous Twilight Purple M3. There will be some slight variances just due to the different materials being painted but it is nothing to do with the quality of the paint job itself. You can even see the slight variance at times between the hand painted bumper and the painted body panels of the vehicle itself from the factory, again just the nature of the material the paint is being applied to.

[evanseric21]

Originally Posted by chicagofan00

No, not at all. IND has done a great job with the paint matching for my Java Green and my previous Twilight Purple M3. There will be some slight variances just due to the different materials being painted but it is nothing to do with the quality of the paint job itself. You can even see the slight variance at times between the hand painted bumper and the painted body panels of the vehicle itself from the factory, again just the nature of the material the paint is being applied to.

Okay so maybe it's just the Chalk paint. Below was what I received from IND when I ordered.

"It's important to note that the Chalk color used in BMW G8x and F9x models never matches exactly. This inconsistency arises because BMW does not use the same paint mixture across different factories. In our experience with obtaining fuel doors in this color, we have observed that the mixture varies every time, leading to slight differences in the color shade. This variation is a common occurrence due to the unique production processes in different BMW factories."

I have already received them so won't know how well they match until I take delivery in a few weeks.

[chicagofan00]

Originally Posted by evanseric21

Okay so maybe it's just the Chalk paint. Below was what I received from IND when I ordered.

"It's important to note that the Chalk color used in BMW G8x and F9x models never matches exactly. This inconsistency arises because BMW does not use the same paint mixture across different factories. In our experience with obtaining fuel doors in this color, we have observed that the mixture varies every time, leading to slight differences in the color shade. This variation is a common occurrence due to the unique production processes in different BMW factories."

I have already received them so won't know how well they match until I take delivery in a few weeks.

Interesting! Definitely sounds like it is limited to Chalk (or at least not a problem with all individual colors). Hopefully it’s a pretty good match!

[evanseric21]

Originally Posted by chicagofan00

Interesting! Definitely sounds like it is limited to Chalk (or at least not a problem with all individual colors). Hopefully it’s a pretty good match!

I wonder what it is about Chalk? I remember a thread about two Chalk vehicles next to each other and them being slightly different shades. I can't recall if it was on this forum or another one.