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Old 11-09-2011, 12:06 AM
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TerminatorX5 TerminatorX5 is offline
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Location: Stafford, VA & Harrisburg, PA - USA
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4.6iS rear bumper wheel flares

Hello.

I have a 2002 4.6iS, and I got a recent problem: my wife had taken the car to PA this summer, and when she came back, the right wheel arch flare was gone. Of course she says it was like that all along, by I can reassure you - it used to be there, as I still have one on the other side of the car, and I am not going crazy...

So, if the pics uploaded correctly, we should see the original piece on the left and the missing piece on the right. The fender itself has holes and slits that match the arches, which on a normal E53 those would be just smooth.
Oh, please don't mind my 18" wheels, those are my winter tires...

So, this is just a piece of plastic that I need, and I looked up the part number on the RealOEM, which is 51127046920. I thought the $180 price tag was a joke, until I started to price it around - OH MY GOD!!! It is really around that price tag!!!

So, I thought I would outsmart the system and get the other part, that I looked up, 51127148518. I got the part for about $21 from the BMW of Fairfax, in Virginia, the part looked correct.

So, I got home, applied the part to the holes, it matched, but I did not finish the install, as I wanted to see how it compared to the other side...

Here is the shocker: the new part and the old part are NOT the same. The main difference, as seen on the pictures is at the bottom:

While the tops are the same,

the original one flares out at the buttom for a wider look,

while the new part tapers in at the button for a narrower look.

Here is the QUESTION:

How come that two similar parts, made from the same plastic compound, with approximately same material mass have a price difference of about $160???

Original part sells for about $180 and the other part, (original BMW part, by the way!!) sells for $20. where is that additional premium come from?

Or, better yet, where can I get the original part for a reasonable price, not exceeding $30-40 threshold (still a lot for a piece of plastic!!!)
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__________________
E53 X5 4.6iS
147K mi - Sold May 2013
Tireprints left in:
USA, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Russia

E53 X5 4.8iS built 2005-10-17
66200 mi - June 2012
96000 mi - June 2013
112000 mi - June 2014
OEM fire extinguisher
OE first aid kit
OE tow hitch
OE TV module
OE aspheric mirror
K&N air filter
black/white badges
rear camera
4-channel video recorder

Here is the list of things I have done to the X
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