Who is fastest seller out there?

[georgebest]

I'm using the usual bunch of online sellers (ECS, FCP Euro, BMW of South Atlanta, OEM Bimmerparts).
They all have some unique advantages, but I wouldnt consider any of them particularly fast.
I'm often placing an order on Sunday evening, after working on the car on the weekend. OEM Bimmerparts is probably the fastest, but they have a limited selection, they would actually ship it on Monday.
FCP used to be fast, but lately they only send the packages on Wednesdays.
ECS is probably the most transparent, cause they give you a fair estimate on shipping and can find you really hard to get parts.
BMW of South Atlanta is quite fast sending the packages, but they use USPS and you never know when you actually get it.

Anybody other out there shipping next day and really having on stock what they advertise as "in stock"? I have the feeling that many sellers mean by "in stock" that "we know somebody who has in stock".

Maybe there is somebody other that I haven't tried yet. Owning an E38 is a gift to the parts sellers!

Any tips?

[jp5Touring]

I've had good luck with ECSTuning usually shipped next day and I will get it the following,their in Ohio me Michigan. FCP takes at least two days sometime three days just to ship then another two,three days to my home. FCP prices are starting to creep up due to their lifetime guarantee. That could go away in a few years because of abuse just like L.L.Bean I think. Have good luck with rmeuropean and AutoHausAZ also.

[georgebest]

I've had good luck with ECSTuning usually shipped next day and I will get it the following,their in Ohio me Michigan. FCP takes at least two days sometime three days just to ship then another two,three days to my home. FCP prices are starting to creep up due to their lifetime guarantee. That could go away in a few years because of abuse just like L.L.Bean I think. Have good luck with rmeuropean and AutoHausAZ also.

Agreed on FCP, their prices have been going up, but I'm sure there is a lot of abuse with the lifetime warranty.
Maybe I should try ECS more, used them for hard to find items and they have always delivered on the promised time frame. I tend to replace bolts and nuts too and not many holds that on stock, BMW of South Atlanta is probably the best for those.
Any experience with Pelican Parts and RockAuto? RockAuto seems to have terrible online reviews but quite unique selection and good prices.

[cyclops2]

I think you can't really lock in on a single seller and get the best overall deal. you generally have to shop for the best price. sometimes you have to consider shipping.

I did work with Morristown BMW when I was doing a ton of engine work and got a little off, plus I had found they had the best price anyway. So I think if you are buying a lot, you can ask the seller for a better price.

You can also price match, nearly all sellers will do it.

To get the best deal overall is a lot of work and sometimes not really worth it.

I am surprised that these major sellers don't offer incentive deals to keep you loyal, but I've never seen it.

My final note, you have to watch out for cheapo knockoffs. there are places where OE is ok, but there are many parts that really need to be OEM.

There was a software/site where you could enter the part number and the software would search many sites at a single time. I used it back in the day and it wasss pretty cool. I saw one recently and I don't think it is current. But something like that could be sweet if it checked pricing everywhere and you knew it wasn't biased favoring certain sellers.

[clarkitect]

The price search website is furiousmethod.com.

I almost always by FCP, and the parts typically arrive two days after I order them. Fortunately I live within the one day shipping time area for UPS ground. If I need something very quicky though I will order from Bavauto. Orders placed by 1pm are typically shipped the same day, so I’ll usually get my parts in 24 hours using UPS ground. Bavauto is only 3 hours away so shipping is super fast. Wayne PA might be an extra day of shipping.

[georgebest]

The price search website is furiousmethod.com.

I almost always by FCP, and the parts typically arrive two days after I order them. Fortunately I live within the one day shipping time area for UPS ground. If I need something very quicky though I will order from Bavauto. Orders placed by 1pm are typically shipped the same day, so I’ll usually get my parts in 24 hours using UPS ground. Bavauto is only 3 hours away so shipping is super fast. Wayne PA might be an extra day of shipping.

Thanks, I will try Bavauto. Sometimes you just need one part fast to finish a job, annoying to wait 3-4 days for it and not have the car running. I also get UPS ground in 24 hours from FCP, the problem is they often send it only 3 days after the order.

- - - Updated - - -

I think you can't really lock in on a single seller and get the best overall deal. you generally have to shop for the best price. sometimes you have to consider shipping.

I did work with Morristown BMW when I was doing a ton of engine work and got a little off, plus I had found they had the best price anyway. So I think if you are buying a lot, you can ask the seller for a better price.

You can also price match, nearly all sellers will do it.

To get the best deal overall is a lot of work and sometimes not really worth it.

I am surprised that these major sellers don't offer incentive deals to keep you loyal, but I've never seen it.

My final note, you have to watch out for cheapo knockoffs. there are places where OE is ok, but there are many parts that really need to be OEM.

There was a software/site where you could enter the part number and the software would search many sites at a single time. I used it back in the day and it wasss pretty cool. I saw one recently and I don't think it is current. But something like that could be sweet if it checked pricing everywhere and you knew it wasn't biased favoring certain sellers.

Agreed, you need to check prices on multiple sites. To my surprise I got the best deal for Bosch ignition coils on Amazon ($44), so even Amazon is worth checking.

[740ilDuke]

I shop two places mainly. www.oembimmerparts.com (Max!) and www.getbmwparts.com - Ive had too much experience and conversation with using .. lets say alternates to BMW oe parts....and it always costs more in the in by time, money or both. Now I just buy BMW parts and suck it up. I figure if the parts Im replacing have lasted 15+ years, its worth it. I'll get some stuff from ECS time to time, which is always close to getbmwparts.com in price.

[dannyzabolotny]

None of them are fast for me because I'm out in Arizona... ECS, FCP, and Bavauto all take forever to ship because they're all in the eastern half of the US. AutohausAZ is the only one I can trust to get parts quickly, but that's also because they're 15 minutes from my house.

[Dking078]

None of them are fast for me because I'm out in Arizona... ECS, FCP, and Bavauto all take forever to ship because they're all in the eastern half of the US. AutohausAZ is the only one I can trust to get parts quickly, but that's also because they're 15 minutes from my house.

Same.

AutohousAZ is usually a go to for me, sometimes next day shipping to CA.

[georgebest]

and when I just praised ECS...they are still quite good and transparent about when something will be shipped.
But they use for smaller orders "Fedex Smartpost", nothing smart about that! Takes one week to receive it and I'm not even far from ECS. No other shipping option as far as I can tell.
Annoying when you are in a middle of a project and have to wait a week for a small part.
I wonder how long it would take to get a Fedex Smartpost from ECS to West Coast, probably 30 days

[ConvGeorge]

and when I just praised ECS...they are still quite good and transparent about when something will be shipped.
But they use for smaller orders "Fedex Smartpost", nothing smart about that! Takes one week to receive it and I'm not even far from ECS. No other shipping option as far as I can tell.
Annoying when you are in a middle of a project and have to wait a week for a small part.
I wonder how long it would take to get a Fedex Smartpost from ECS to West Coast, probably 30 days

There's nothing smart about SmartPost. I live in the same city as Overton's (a good supplier for boat and water sports) has their main warehouse and HQ. I ordered something small online because their online parts prices beat their in-store prices, plus you can use a coupon. Anyway, they routed my package through West Virginia (I'm in NC) and it took an extra week for a part to arrive, one that I could have driven to the warehouse (they do allow pickups there) and had within an hour.

As to BMW parts, Pelican always shipped same day for me, and parts would arrive either on the day promised or the day before. If I lived on the west coast, I'd probably shop there more, but their prices have risen and you have to order a lot to get free shipping, so I've been using FCP lately since the parts get here faster.

[georgebest]

As to BMW parts, Pelican always shipped same day for me, and parts would arrive either on the day promised or the day before. If I lived on the west coast, I'd probably shop there more, but their prices have risen and you have to order a lot to get free shipping, so I've been using FCP lately since the parts get here faster.

Even USPS is faster than Fedex SmartPost, it seems random when you actually get it. Especially cause they use USPS on the last leg.
Havent tried Pelican yet, but I'm sure my car will provide plenty of opportunity for such!
Trying to avoid FCP lately, they are unpredictable and you never know when they actually ship something, they used to be my favorite.
Lately I talked my local BMW dealer into price matching FCP on genuine parts and I can just pick them up next day, nothing beats that!

[740iSport303]

Along with searching prices on www.furiousmethod.com (some searches don't work because the website has changed and the search in furiousmethod.com has not. But one of the dealers that you used to be able to search with that site is Husker BMW but they have changed their website to https://www.bmwdirectparts.com/. For OEM/dealer parts, I haven't been able to beat their price at all. Most shipping is pretty quick, but they're in Nebraska and to CA isn't the worlds fasted. www.oembimmerparts.com has pretty good prices and I get most items within a day to three. The uses warehouses all over the US so they ship from the closest to you to get the parts to you faster.

[georgebest]

www.oembimmerparts.com has pretty good prices and I get most items within a day to three. The uses warehouses all over the US so they ship from the closest to you to get the parts to you faster.

He is great! Fast delivery and good prices, he only has a limited selection though but I always start searching on his site.

[740iSport303]

He is great! Fast delivery and good prices, he only has a limited selection though but I always start searching on his site.

If it doesn't come up, send him the part number and a lot of the time he does have it available, just not listed on his site.

[georgebest]

If it doesn't come up, send him the part number and a lot of the time he does have it available, just not listed on his site.

+1!

[Grady in Texas]

+1 for Amazon - I just ordered a Bosch MAF, $30 cheaper than elsewhere and delivered in 2 days. (Free shipping)
+1 for eBay - Bosch oxygen sensor, at less than half the cost from my local "foreign" cars parts store, ordered 2/27 arrived 3/3. (Free shipping)
Oh, and the fuel filter I ordered from FCP on 2/21 - it arrived on 3/3 (11 days). (+$5.50 USPS shipping)

[georgebest]

+1 for Amazon - I just ordered a Bosch MAF, $30 cheaper than elsewhere and delivered in 2 days. (Free shipping)
+1 for eBay - Bosch oxygen sensor, at less than half the cost from my local "foreign" cars parts store, ordered 2/27 arrived 3/3. (Free shipping)
Oh, and the fuel filter I ordered from FCP on 2/21 - it arrived on 3/3 (11 days). (+$5.50 USPS shipping)

Agreed, Amazon has some surprisingly good offers.