FCPeuro for lifetime warranty on door panel?

[david2991]

So I am thinking about breaking down and ordering 2 front BMW door panels. They are horribly expensive but if I were to order them from FCPeuro, they would be covered by a lifetime warranty. Anyone have thoughts on paying so much for new oem door panels and has anyone else bought new ones? How well are they holding up? Thanks.

[shogun]

If you buy new ones, you do not have to worry for the next + 10 years.

Or you try to repair. I will do so when I have to. For sure it can be done but it is not as easy as a headliner repair.
The reason the leather has separated is because the glue used originally at the factory has deteriorated and weakened (the problem with the headliner is not the glue, but the deteriorated foam). When the leather separates, there is a coating of the old glue on both the leather and the panel. In order to make a lasting re-glue you have to remove the old glue from both the backside of the leather and from the panel. Otherwise you just have new glue sandwiched in between layers of old glue and the separation happens again because of the old glue.
Sanding of the backside of the leather is probably the toughest because there is no good way to hold it and you have to ensure you do not damage it in the process of sanding it.

What is possible, show these pics from Rick on an E34: My own custom leather package pics http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/707946/

his comments:
1)I had never sewn or stitched leather or anything else in my life before. I borrowed a 20yr old conventional Elna sewing machine from my mother and practiced with offcuts. I discovered one can turn it by hand doing literally one stitch at a time and get very straight lines this way. I used a Pizza cutter to score straight lines on the back of the leather as a guide and then glued the two pieces together on the visible side with contact, stitched it and used thinners to remove the contact once it was stitched. (The thinners did not harm the leather surface at all surprisingly)

2) The leather is about 1.2mm thick and the back was folded over both sides and glued down after stitching, used an old Coke bottle to flatten it. Leather compresses very well and stays that way when the glue dries.

3)The centre vent, upper vent, both speaker covers had to be sanded smaller with a belt snader and resprayed to fit the holes, wasn't too much of an issue. The cluster, I used an old one shoved in with leather offcuts and then heated the plastic dash with a hot air gun, this enlarged the hole enough that the cluster fitted the leather covered hole afterwards.

4) Gluing straight lines, used heaps of wet contact on the back, this gave me about 5 min to massage the leather into place allowing me to get perfectly straight lines and flat surface before the contact glue dried.(The trick is not to use it as contact, just a kind of setting slime)

5)I had a few dashes lying around, destroyed the first by trying to cut the surface off to give more space didn't work, second one (the one I used) I sanded with a handheld belt sander with 60 grit sandpaper to give a rough surface for the glue and even things out. I had eight door linings and destroyed about four trying to get them apart, found out lots of Acetone allowed me to get the vynyl off and then used the wet contact technique to shape the leather onto the panel. I did the sills first and then the door lining working top downwards. The front doors were Hell where the pockets are and took a few attempts. Fortunately one can drench the leather with thinners and retry.

All the separate little bits were all glued together before stitching and cleaned up with thinners afterwards. The door linings use two different types of foam rubber as the backing to get the surface flat. Special nylon thread was used. The leather was purchased from a local supplier called Woodheads. I used grain corrected leather (the grain is stamped on) as this hides any uneveness in corners.

If I can do it, you can! Just took lots of common sense thinking and a few retry attempts. No it wasn't easy, but if you refuse to give up, you will eventually get it right. (I gave up and got desparate a few times, had bits of car interior all over the house, and thought many times "Damnit I can do this, some guy in Germany or Italy did")

[pbonsalb]

If it is just the tops coming loose from the door frame, there is a repair kit someone sells. I used it and my panels are now secure at the top.

Not sure what FCP will do for you in 10 or 20 years when the new ones are broken and no longer available. Not sure the same warranty will exist either as some are returning oil filters and asking for new ones so probably limitations will be added. Not sure FCP will be there in 10 or 20 years.

[Braymond141]

New panels are likely to have very late production dates. Last set I saw was 2016 built. These are built WAY better than our shit original panels. Save the money for a warranty you’ll likely never use and order from schmiedmann

[FCPEuro]

Not sure what FCP will do for you in 10 or 20 years when the new ones are broken and no longer available. Not sure the same warranty will exist either as some are returning oil filters and asking for new ones so probably limitations will be added. Not sure FCP will be there in 10 or 20 years.

We've been here since 1986. Despite the warranty policy we have absolutely no plans on going anywhere nor does the warranty we offer have a negative impact on the long term sustainability of our business. In regards to parts we can't replace because they have been discontinued we will handle on a case by case basis. Generally speaking we would provide a customer credit if we can't provide a replacement because of discontinuation. But these types of problems are exceptions, not the rule.

[pbonsalb]

I have been buying parts from you for 20 years, but that does not mean amazon won’t wipe out more and more businesses every year. I would not count on a lifetime warranty from any company.

[mitch500]

I have been buying parts from you for 20 years, but that does not mean amazon won’t wipe out more and more businesses every year. I would not count on a lifetime warranty from any company.

Nice.........

[shogun]

If it is just the tops coming loose from the door frame, there is a repair kit someone sells. I used it and my panels are now secure at the top.

Did not know that such kits exist, thanks.
Googled for E36 door panel repair kit and found it, 1 set costs about $45, *bay offer copied: These Mounts are tested to fit with all E36 Coupes & Convertibles, if you have a sedan, Hatch or Station wagon variations and the mounts do not fit we will happily refund your order. Each Order contains 3 BMW mounts which will fix one door, so if both of the door panels in your E36 are in need of repair you would need to order 2 of these kits. FundThatPart dot com’s E36 Door mounts are meant to work seamlessly with any BMW E36 Coupe, Convertible or M’s series model. Quick Note about Pictures and Videos: The colored mounts that are in the videos and pictures were 3d printed prototypes, that to this day nearly a year later are still holding strong, the part you will receiving was manufactured in China through the use of plastic injection molds. They will only be sold in Black. some product videos
https://youtu.be/DYSkJWQxosc
https://youtu.be/ZCyaBT-FFtE
https://youtu.be/RVeawS72Dw0

[david2991]

Thanks for your input. I don't plan to put that much work into it as I'd rather have something new from the factory. But that is one heck of a good looking turn out for hand sewn dash leather application. The car i a garage sitter weekend cruise car so id like to think if I went oem new set they would last at a minimum 10 years not baking in the sun on and off.

- - - Updated - - -

New panels are likely to have very late production dates. Last set I saw was 2016 built. These are built WAY better than our shit original panels. Save the money for a warranty you’ll likely never use and order from schmiedmann

I'll see what Schmiedmann has to offer, I've never heard of the site.

[BMWManiac]

I've learned that window weld is THE glue to go with for all the plastic bits (5?) that get the white push in clips.

[SamGrant951]

Do you have to pay any import fees / customs on a a $1k purchase from Schiedmann? The door panels are about $100 cheaper from them vs ECS.

[FCPEuro]

I have been buying parts from you for 20 years, but that does not mean amazon won’t wipe out more and more businesses every year. I would not count on a lifetime warranty from any company.

It's hard to say with Amazon's business model but at the moment while they do sell automotive stuff they're still a mass retailer and don't specialize or offer any specialization with what they do. Issue there is in the world of automotive parts you can't just sell anything you can get your hands on. Where they do specialize is fulfillment and that's where we are looking these days.

[crqflier]

I've bought a fair amount of stuff from FCP. Would never consider returning a ten year old door card. And I'll always buy auto parts from FCP (and enthusiast competitors) before Amazon. Don't get me wrong, we use Prime almost weekly. But not for car stuff.

@FCPEuro - you guys selling the cards? I don't see them on your site.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[NeilM]

I've learned that window weld is THE glue to go with for all the plastic bits (5?) that get the white push in clips.

That's the most awesomely gluey stuff I've ever come across. Be sure to wear protective gloves.

It's been doing a great job on my replacement CF sunroof panel.

pbonsalb, thanks for that door panel repair kit tip. On my to-do list now.

Neil

[KnudsonsM3]

It's hard to say with Amazon's business model but at the moment while they do sell automotive stuff they're still a mass retailer and don't specialize or offer any specialization with what they do. Issue there is in the world of automotive parts you can't just sell anything you can get your hands on. Where they do specialize is fulfillment and that's where we are looking these days.

I've been trying to use you guys the most lately. Purchased a cooling system refresh for my x5 and 128i through y'all.

Im about to place a $1000+ order for my front end refresh

Needless to say, you guys are one of my favorites to use and I dont think amazon could compete since they're catering to the "throw away" consumer.