BavAuto suspension parts - are they OEM?

[brianc]

I'm about to buy a bunch of suspension parts...control arms, tie rods, bushings etc... I noticed the prices at BavAuto are actually decent. Back in the day their prices were outrageous but I see with competition they've come down - so I'm considering buying from them for the first time in several years. Free shipping, no tax, sounds good.
Even with my discount at Pelican it looks like I can get the same parts for $620 versus $745 at Pelican. What I want to know is if the parts on bavauto are oem? For example the control arms and tie rods, I want to know if what they sell is Lemfoerder or if it's actually Meyle or other aftermarket. Same with the bushing I want to know if they are Sachs-Boge. I called and they said they didn't know but that "they are the same parts you would buy from the dealer". That would mean they are indeed OEM but I'd liek to make sure. Anyone?

[bmwpowere36m3]

OE, is what was installed @ the factory and OEM is an aftermarket company that makes the parts to the "same" standards (However some companies are better than others). BavAuto probably sells mostly OEM, nothing wrong with that.

Oh, for suspension components stick with Lemforder.

[CMG]

There's some company that sells oe parts, but they just scratch out the bmw part # and sell it cheap. I can't remember the name I've bought some stuff and it was oe.

[Stück]

BavAuto sells a lot of off brand junk, and at higher prices than everyone else. Take your business elsewhere, I'd recommend www.bmaparts.com

I've been doing business with them for well over 5 years and $8k. Not a single complaint.

[brianc]

thanks for the responses. When I stated I wanted oem, that's exactly what meant....I want it from the OE manufacturer, don't care if it says bmw on it or not since it's the same exact part. I was just wondering if - for example - the control arms sold by bavauto are lemfoerder or not. They wouldn't give me a straight answer except to say they would be the same ones sold by bmw dealer parts dept's. This of course would be lemfoerder but I just wasn't ready to take their word for it - especially since theprices seemed to be too good for those guys..

[whopwood]

www.rmeuropean.com has excellent prices and they have the brand names posted

[russde]

www.rmeuropean.com has excellent prices and they have the brand names posted

+1 for rmeuropean. I just ordered a huge suspension refresh order from them, pricing was $1044, every other vendor was at least $1250 for the same parts.
Russ

[WillTheGreat]

The parts at BavAuto, or any other "OEM" parts supplier are not necessarily the same as the BMW part. It is up to you to make sure you buy the part from the actual manufacturer of that specific part.

Another parts supplier that lists the brand is http://www.thepartsbin.com/ . I have ordered quite a few parts from them with good service. It seems their prices are not quite as competitive as they used to be though, but they do have free shipping for orders over $50. I also like Pelican because they list the manufacturers and they stock a lot of parts.

[BMP Design]

Honestly, sometimes it kills me when people receive parts from us and call back complaining that they are not BMW parts and since they don't have the BMW symbol, they want to return them... normally for me if its an item that we carry and this question is asked, one of two things will occur, first my system will tell me the manufacturer of the part, or two I will just go through 2 doors into our warehouse and look at the actual component... what most people don't understand is that BMW doesn't just contract to one manufacturer for a part, they use multiple manufacturers for different production runs and years, basically the the highest bidder of that fiscal year, I will tell you straight up, on the phone or in an email who produces the part, 9/10 times it is an OE manufacturer... if you have any questions on this type of matter, take a few minutes and give me a call 800-648-7278 ext 213 and just so it will be known I myself drive a Black '95 M3 that is my avatar, so of course I have a little bit more hand-on knowledge when it comes to E36 especially...

[bmwpowere36m3]

Honestly, sometimes it kills me when people receive parts from us and call back complaining that they are not BMW parts and since they don't have the BMW symbol, they want to return them... normally for me if its an item that we carry and this question is asked, one of two things will occur, first my system will tell me the manufacturer of the part, or two I will just go through 2 doors into our warehouse and look at the actual component... what most people don't understand is that BMW doesn't just contract to one manufacturer for a part, they use multiple manufacturers for different production runs and years, basically the the highest bidder of that fiscal year, I will tell you straight up, on the phone or in an email who produces the part, 9/10 times it is an OE manufacturer... if you have any questions on this type of matter, take a few minutes and give me a call 800-648-7278 ext 213 and just so it will be known I myself drive a Black '95 M3 that is my avatar, so of course I have a little bit more hand-on knowledge when it comes to E36 especially...

+1 is absolutely correct. Usually it's not worth paying the price premium to get the BMW "OE" part w/ BMW symbol. Case in point, Lemforder made tie-rods for BMW as the OE part, so when you get tie-rods from the dealer they are marked Lemforder & have the BMW symbol (not sure if they have the symbol?). But you can buy Lemforder tie-rods from online vendors for much less...same part minus the stamp.

The funniest case of this happens at my father’s garage…he works on Mercedes and when he needs to order a radiator, he usually gets one from WorldPac. Now, when you get the radiator from the dealer, it has a Mercedes "STAR" stamped on it and Behr stamped as well. Now for the good part...when you order thru WorldPac, you get a radiator with the Behr logo and the Mercedes one scratched out :rofl:. It's the same f*ing thing. Though this does not hold true of every part.

[ScotcH]

Yup ... just ordered a couple of things through WorldPac, and the BMW logo is scratched off. The parts were like 1/3 the cost.

Now when it comes to suspension and stuff, just stick with BMW or Lemforder, and you should be good to go.

[NollieStylz]

I've ordered some OEM lighting from them, highly below par to OE parts. Especially for something as simple as tail lights, corner and sidemarkers. They all started to leak water after some months of use. Not to mention the fitment for the sidemarkers... had to costum fit them so they'd stay in place.

That's my experience with BavAuto. Customer service was decent.

[Jrdeamicis]

+1 is absolutely correct. Usually it's not worth paying the price premium to get the BMW "OE" part w/ BMW symbol. Case in point, Lemforder made tie-rods for BMW as the OE part, so when you get tie-rods from the dealer they are marked Lemforder & have the BMW symbol (not sure if they have the symbol?). But you can buy Lemforder tie-rods from online vendors for much less...same part minus the stamp.

The funniest case of this happens at my father’s garage…he works on Mercedes and when he needs to order a radiator, he usually gets one from WorldPac. Now, when you get the radiator from the dealer, it has a Mercedes "STAR" stamped on it and Behr stamped as well. Now for the good part...when you order thru WorldPac, you get a radiator with the Behr logo and the Mercedes one scratched out :rofl:. It's the same f*ing thing. Though this does not hold true of every part.


FYI, I just happen to have a lemforder tierod sitting in my garage from RMEuropean.com No BMW Symbol.

[bmwpowere36m3]

FYI, I just happen to have a lemforder tierod sitting in my garage from RMEuropean.com No BMW Symbol.

I was saying if you get them from the dealer...obviously they wont have one (or they'll conceal it :shifty) when purchased "aftermarket".

[art@rmeuropean]

I was saying if you get them from the dealer...obviously they wont have one (or they'll conceal it :shifty) when purchased "aftermarket".

Exactly, only dealer items will have a BMW logo on them. A lot of Sachs, Lemforder, Behr parts will have a BMW logo scratched out, it must be a trademark thing.