I like the BMW parts store for online oem, Amazon for general parts like fluids, ngk, mahle, victor reinz etc, and shop the others like pelican, ecs, bav and so on for other parts. Local shops are just so much more expensive. Oreilleys, pep boys, and autozone are a joke around here.

I refuse to deal with rock auto due to the shipping games they play. I played with items in my cart once....6 total items in my cart- came from 5 different warehouses each with their own ridiculous shipping charge but together was almost $100 in shipping for only $200 in gaskets. What proved it was a sham was when I removed certain items and the source warehouse of the other items changed.

ecs is terrible for buying small things. I want to buy a couple plastic pieces for my car and the total was $1.50 and wanted to charge me something like $8 for shipping. but I agree with joshdub. u can basically get your parts from anywhere, you just have to know the brand. I just bought some bulbs for my cluster the dealer wanted $10 a bulb and I found the bulbs on ebay listed as an Mercedes Benz part for less than $3 shipped to my house

I have played this BMW, Volvo games (the parts games) for 25 years, here is my take...

1. Small parts (seals, gaskets etc.), I use BMW simply because:
- I don't pay shipping cost
- They are cheap, generally $5-$20 range. Plus I can ask their techs if I have any questions.
- They fit perfectly as these jobs (seals, gaskets) take a lot of labor hours.

2. "Other" parts (spark plugs, struts, oil filters etc.)...
- I use only brand-name companies such as NGK, Mahle etc.
- I stay away from URO etc.

My suppliers...
- Auto Parts at AutohausAZ - OEM Auto Parts - Discount Replacement Parts, Resources and Car Care Tips
- European Auto Parts - Wholesale Genuine and OEM Saab BMW Volvo Parts
- BMW Parts, Mercedes, Porsche, Saab, VW, Volvo, Audi and Mini Parts

^I do the same as cn90. I have a good relationship with my local dealer which gives great pricing (Open Road BMW in Edison)

the 3 local dealers always kill me with the prices. right now I'm looking for the clip that attaches the bumper and fender together realoem lists the part as $19.90 my 3 local dealers have it for $58, $48, and $42. average price I see online is around $35. the lowest I've seen was $16 but with $15 shipping which is still the cheapest genuine bmw part

You cannot use realoem for prices. It is rarely ever accurate.

it should atleast be in the same ballpark

It isn't. Realoem is a part number and diagram reference tool. It isn't designed to be a price comparison tool. It doesn't take into account supply and demand, or increase/decrease of manufacturing.

I paid around 80.00 shipping from ecs and because they don`t include duty charges I ended up paying around 150.00 for duty + 80.00 shipping total of 230.00 .for like 300.00 of parts I ordered. at least with rock auto they include the duty fees ,so you know how much its going to be. (no surprises)