How can I replace a wheel arch moulding?
 

At the beginning of the year whilst on a skiing holiday we came back to find the rear left door handle and wheel arch scraped up - apparently someone else's car had slid and struck our parked car and they decided to drive off. Most of the damage to the handle was transfer and there's a small paint scratch where the metalwork meets the wheel arch but nothing too serious. The most noticeable part though is that the wheel arch plastic is completely scratched up.

I've got a replacement wheel arch from eBay (that alas is still scuffed a bit but nowhere near as bad) but can anyone suggest how I can fit it? I've had a look at the car and I've got no idea how I could go about it. There are five holes through which it's held on but I can't see any obvious way of undoing them on the car.

RealOEM.com * BMW E83 X3 3.0i M wheel arch cover/ sill
items 6 and 9 are plastic rivets , assuming your car has these , you can carefully pull the centre pin out until it stops which will allow the expanded outer part of the rivet to fold thus releasing it`s grip .
you could drill out the centre part if it gives you bother . replacements are cheap from a dealer , maybe you should buy some to give you an understanding of how they work .

You sir, are a legend. I've had a look at the car and I see what you mean although there's no way I'll be able to pry out the middle bit since it's too far in and is 'beneath' the outer bit of you can imagine what I mean so there's no way to grip anything.

I'll get some new bits from BMW parts and drill out the old stuff.

I finally managed to get hold of some rivets - I first tried getting some online but they sent me the wrong ones twice so I gave up and went to the nearest BMW parts centre.

Seeing how they worked, I quickly deduced how to get the old ones out, that took only a minute. Popped the old moulding off and put the new one on. Put the rivets in but now am completely unable to fit the rivets. Using plyers hasn't worked because of having to hold them down at the same time as pulling - I've managed to get three to pop just outside of the trim rather than inside. I'm guessing I need a tool for this but everything I've seen is for metal rivets and costs ~£25.

Any tips on how to pop these rivets without spending loads on a one use tool?

Use a pair of small vise grips in your dominant hand to hold the center pin as close as possible to the base. Use your thumb and forefinger of the other hand to hold the rivet in place. Pull the pin out with the vise grips, doesn't take much force. Trim excess flush with a pair of diagonal cutters or a razor blade.

One of these days I am going to try a generic pop rivet tool on one of these BMW fasteners - suspect it will work fine.

Had to replace the front inner fender liner once after hitting deer with X3. Have to give BMW credit for employing inexpensive and simple fasteners.

Ub