New license plate holder | Album

The first thing to tackle on the tall wagon is the crusty license plate holder. The top hardware was rusted solid, and the whole thing had seen better days.
Looking up an OEM replacement had me doing a double-take at the price. Normally BMW OEM parts pricing makes sense (even if not affordable) and I prefer going that route 98% of the time. However over $45 for a simple, common part shared across many chassis codes had me thinking I would repair my current unit with some new hardware, epoxy, etc.

Before doing that, I went off the beaten parts path and looked for deals on Amazon. Surprisingly enough, I found a well-liked aftermarket unit for much cheaper than OEM.
I took a flier on it, and was pleasantly surprised with what came in the mail. I think it is better quality than OEM in many subtle ways. The only thing missing was some additional padding/protection for the paint which I added myself.


Parts:
$14.03 | OxGord License Plate Holder for BMW E53 (and others) | LPBM-BMW-S1236 (compare with BMW OEM 51188238061)


Pics (more in album linked above):

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BenFenner's 1994 Black SE-R (given away)
BenFenner's 2000 Black M-Coupe
BenFenner's 2004 Silver SUV
BenFenner's 2008 White Wagon