Maybe OT but-

[TTTXGreg]

Thought I would share this. I have a 530xi wagon with the roof rails. BMW has a panel or strip on each side you can purchase to delete the rail for a smooth roofline. I had been entertaining this for long time but put it on the back burner. Was going to be time consuming pulling the inside apart to remove rails. Well, here is the news- these parts were at most US $115. each. I heard rumor of something to do with BMW parts price increase this month, so decided to poke at these for current price.
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You can locate them for a little as $525.+ each! WTF

How about our parts? Have not looked yet, still in shock!
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[toomanyparts]

I have seen 250-300% increases on a lot of E31 and even E39 parts in the past year or so.

[rogbmw]

Just ordered a front fender liner. They went just went up the first of the year.

[toomanyparts]

Just as an example, the windshield rubber (which is light-years better than the E36/E39) went from a somewhat expensive $90 to almost unreasonable $200.

[mikae31]

Off course prices increase because old cars needs to be off the road. It's politics and environmental issues. I'm pretty sure that in near future driving with these old cars, becomes so expensive that these cars just disappears.

[henryc]

I agree- it is disappointing to see the price increases on genuine E31 spares from BMW- and all genuine BMW spares as well. Part of my career was in purchasing for Volvo where I was a purchasing manager and involved in purchasing/engineering product development. Mikae31 may have a point that these price increases may be driven by political and environmental inputs, but the real reason is probably the cost to purchase what the industry calls "service spares". These are the purchase contracts from parts suppliers for automotive spare parts distribution, NOT current automotive production. For the most part, service parts volumes are considerably less than production volumes- that is parts used for current cars going down assembly lines at production plants. When a part is no longer in current production, the remaining inventory at car production plants is sent to parts depots to be sold as service parts. There can be a 'transfer cost' to the parts depot that adds to the cost of the basic part that production would have paid for said part or parts. Then, when the service part inventory falls to a certain level, a service parts buyer will look at the part's selling history to see if and what quantities should be on the next purchase contract to the supplier. Sometimes the supplier is no longer interested in low volumes requested by (in our case) BMW and will decline to supply the part or if they are interested in making the part in lower volumes than for production plants, the cost per piece will be higher. Basic economics of scale. Sometimes the service parts buyer will resource the service part to a completely different supplier- one who is more interested in low volume. Next.....Pricing- here is where the bean counters get involved. The buyers have to provide the current cost for each part from every supplier to accounting who then create for production facilities and parts depots something called a "standard cost". This is rolled up into the cost of components and then labor to assemble is calculated- and POOF- BMW (in our case) has the true cost of producing car "XYZ" or stocking a part in a parts depot. Again, the same process applies to service parts. Then the accountants determine the markup and with the assistance of sales set selling prices of cars/spare parts as the case maybe. Next comes exchange rate applied to each country the spare parts or cars are sold. In the world of spare service parts- even if you have old stock on hand and it is determined that new stock (on a new purchase contract) will increase in cost, the old inventory will see the new selling price per the cost to purchase replacement inventory. And. let's not forget there is a cost to warehouse old inventory of old car spares! Remember- some service parts sell in trickle amounts and (in our case) BMW may have to purchase several years of inventory just to get the supplier to manufacture the part. And again, since purchase volumes for service parts are much lower than for production of cars down an assembly line, the individual cost per part will be more for a spare part than when the part was in full production. Traditionally, there will be higher replacement costs for rubber goods as there is a shelf life for hoses, seals, gaskets, etc and these are purchased in much lower volumes than say metal parts, plastic or electrical service components. Lower volumes, equal higher purchase price to BMW and a higher selling price to retail to the guy on the street like you and me.

Here is an interesting example. E31 cabin filters from BMW have been relatively inexpensive for years compared to prices for cabin filters for cars long out of production. BMW design engineering decided to use the E31 cabin filter on the Z8 sports car- so BMW parts purchasing stocked up on the E31/Z8 cabin filters for production and service parts. Today, some 10 years+ after the Z8 ceased production and service parts have dwindled, a person in BMW spare parts purchasing was given the go-ahead to purchase more inventory. The purchase contract was for far fewer than previously ordered so the cost from the supplier increased accordingly, plus add for inflation. Again, economics coming into play. And now, that same cabin filter from BMW is double what it was a few years ago. And note- the old design was a cotton fabric; the one you receive today from BMW is cotton fabric with charcoal impregnation. Improved design- maybe; or was it the only way the supplier to BMW would now make the part as all the cabin filters the supplier makes today are charcoal impregnated?

Having recently visited BMW Group Classic in Munich, I would say they are doing their best to keep parts in inventory for the older, out of production BMW's. However, it is up to owners of classic BMW's to put the pressure on BMW to keep spares for our old cars on hand. The best way to do this is to put a single voice together with the backing of many- in my opinion the best way to do this is through joining a recognized BMW club like the BMW Car Club of America or BMW Car Club of Canada. BMW Classic listen to these groups. In fact, during my visit to BMW Classic, I saw several copies of Roundel in the reception offices. I might add that I didn't see club magazines from other clubs. If you are not already a member of BMW CCA and you are an E31 owner, you might give serious consideration to joining, and joining the specific E31 Chapter. A large group of model specific vehicle owners, rather than just individuals complaining about parts prices, have a more significant impact with BMW with regard to what parts are kept in BMW
parts depots.

OK- my two cents worth. Apologies that this got so wordy!

[rogbmw]

Well said Henry!

[killian665]

I’ve been collecting parts for a 6 speed swap on my 840, the selector rod alone for the shifter is over $500 now. That same part for my E39, $40.

[TxGR8White]

Henry,
That was very well said, and something that I have been trying to get E31 owners to understand. The BMWCCA E31 Chapter is the ONLY BMW car club that is officially recognized by BMW in Munich - all the others are just a bunch of guys that own the same car. When speaking with other E31 owners and trying to get them to become members, most all will say something like "what's in it for me, what do I get for joining??" - Well, what you get is helping us have a stronger showing for the folks back in Germany, and hopefully that will help with the spare parts issues that we are currently facing now. Either the part is NLA, or it is so expensive, that it might as well be NLA. For literally a couple of bucks a month, you can help keep this unique BMW on the radar of BMW Munich.