Can't open passenger door either from inside or outside

[BMC530i]

The door unlatched itself !!!! . Today, while i was getting ready to try again to unlock the stuck door and to my up most surprise the door opened simply by pulling on the outside handle !!!! Crazy

It seems that when actuator goes bad, it locks itself and the door can not be opened either from outside or inside.

I've managed to remove the door lock actuator, but it the process I've scratched the hell of out of my window tint. Honestly, I'd rather pull the auto tranny out of my maxima in the driveway than mess with that door again.

I'm getting ready to buy new actuator and I'm wondering which online vendor you guys recommend as far as the price and quality service.

Local dealer sells them for $306 plus tax. ECS tunning sells them for $194.

Lastly, is there a way to "bench" test the actuator to confirm that it is actually bad? I'm almost sure that it is bad. I've noticed that with the actuator removed, the car locks 3 functional locks when taking off from the stop. With the bad actuator still in the door, the car will not lock the lock while taking off the stop.