[papacruz]

I'm looking to change my grille, boomerangs, side vents, and mirror caps to black on my 2019 m40. I understand IND is the top standard but this would all run $1000+. Those of you who have purchased "knock off" grills and other trims from eBay and others, any regrets or downsides? Do they not last as long, easily get damaged, etc?

[Stone_M6]

ND has very high shipping costs, but many of its items are on AutoTecknic. People order from Aliexpress, but not me. If you're looking to stick with gloss black, it's ABS plastic, so damage-wise, it depends on how hard you clipped it. Mirror caps I ended up going with the complete F97 housing retrofit but did clip something, and it scratched, but I was replacing it with carbon fiber caps anyway, so I didn't stress out about it. Do yourself a favor and think long-term here because if you want to switch to CF later, save the money and spend it later. The one downside with the cheaper stuff is fitment.

[dinan5m3]

Unless paint is required on these trims, there are alternatives that probably source to all the same places. These places all get from probably same source, from China, difference say from Aliexpress is IND and others, eg. RW Carbon, AutoTecknic and like have better quality control, so you tend to get "better" parts of same stuff say compared to Aliexpress, eBay.

If paint is needed/required and pre-paint is of thing then IND, hands down.

Otherwise, shop around.

[Spacecoast]

Originally Posted by papacruz

I'm looking to change my grille, boomerangs, side vents, and mirror caps to black on my 2019 m40. I understand IND is the top standard but this would all run $1000+. Those of you who have purchased "knock off" grills and other trims from eBay and others, any regrets or downsides? Do they not last as long, easily get damaged, etc?

Prices (not including shipping) for 51-13-5-A36-BD0 black grill for the '22 LCI M40i:

OEM part from https://www.getbmwparts.com/ (BMW dealer in Maryland) - $150
Black grill from IND (OEM?) - $206

IND is overpriced IMO.

[Jen4BMW]

OP- you might try these guys:
https://www.getbmwparts.com/

I ordered M side vents and they processed and shipped my order super fast. The vents look great. I know they have black grill, not sure about boomerangs. Let’s see before and after pics once your projects complete. I’d spend $1K to do the swap. The black shadow line is the way to go in my opinion for most exterior colors.

[lakerzfan_24]

I have bought things from IND and Autotecknic as well as Etsy. IND is absolutely overpriced. Yes the quality is good but that's the BMW part that has the good quality, not necessarily their added value.

[IND-Distribution]

All our BMW parts are set at BMW's retail pricing. We do not go over it, however since we are not a BMW dealer we dont have the margins to discount the parts so heavily as their other online BMW dealers can.

With that said, its rare you will receive a part from us that isnt inspected by us before shipping out. We do not simply slap a shipping label on the BMW OEM box and send it out. Everything is repackaged so it arrives safely.

[dinan5m3]

I do know this to be somewhat true.

If you are individual, then typically one can ask for 10% discount off the BMW "retail" price from your "local" dealer. If you are paying full retail at BMW local parts counter, then more power to you. I've had as high as ~15% off but that required some "extortion" technic. But once you have this % discount, it should be in their etk system for all future purchase discounts.

What i notice is usually, "typically" a shop gets ~25% discount off the BMW "retail" price from the local parts counter (and i'm sure purchasing volume also helps to get that % discount). So i tend to "piggy" back on those shops (i do business with) on getting "big" ticket items".

Shops that purchase at least 25% discount "could" afford to pass on "some" discount to the shoppers, if they so choose to do so. I don't know what IND gets for discount on BMW retail pricing but i have to think at least 25% off.

So, yes, there are (big) margins between retail and what typical shops buys for.

[dmanb2b]

Presenting your BMW CCA cards at the local dealer parts counter will usually score you a 10% discount.

I use Ben r33_RGSport for IND type items. He's active on the forum and pretty competitive on pricing.

[gramboda]

I think there are some things you can skimp on and not go with IND. They are the gold standard in quality and I have always had great service. I would not skimp on a grille, mirror caps or marker/reflector deletes. Basically anything painted that isnt an emblem or roundel. In fact, the cheapo markers are just painted markers as opposed to IND who sand the texture off before painting so they are a smooth fit. IMO you CAN skimp on painted roundels and emblems. Hope this helps.