BMW breaker that'll curiour needed - Recommendations?

JohnCleary

Hi all,
Mechanic is after noticing a twist in the front subframe of the E46 320d. Going to have it replaced to be safe. Mech recommended to try and get a 2nd hand one as there's no perishable parts on the subframe itself.

Can anyone recommend a breakers yard thats likely to have an E46 320d saloon (Don't know if any E46 will do?) and will curiour it?


Thanks all

joeperry

www.fabdirect.com

JohnCleary

Have sent them a parts request - Do you think i'd be better off to just deal with a UK breakers for a quick response?

joeperry

I'd say the best thing to do is ring them,i've sent them requests before but never got a reply :mad:. when i've rung them they answer the phone

JohnCleary

joeperry wrote: »

I'd say the best thing to do is ring them,i've sent them requests before but never got a reply :mad:. when i've rung them they answer the phone

Will do in the morning, doub't they'd be there this hour of the night Thanks for the tip

Lex Luthor

Traynors up north have a lot of stuff.

There is also a breakers in Kells that has a lot of BMW's

I find the towns around the country that have a big dealership near them will tend to have a better chance of stocking what you want from that dealership

JohnCleary

Yeah gonna ring Traynors first thing in the morning, if not there's a place in the UK that can post one for £20 - hopefully won't take long to get here

Thanks for the info

Captain Slow IRL

joeperry wrote: »

I'd say the best thing to do is ring them

+1

Parts request form is a waste of time.

JohnCleary

Thanks for all the tips guys. Traynors will be the first to be called in the morning, then FAB Direct, then Quarry (Who have already quoted me £70 delivered which I may just go with)

A bit of Googling reveals that the subframe is a common weakpoint in the E46 3Series Can't be bothered chasing BMW for it if it only costs me £70, car is well out of warranty. Still though good to know it wasn't anything I did myself

Mac 3

John,

Try Wyses garage in Clogheen co Tipp. They break mainly BMWs

052 65239. Dunno if he does deliveries but no harm in making a phone call.

Clogheen is about 8-9 miles from Cahir.

Hope you get sorted.

DublinDilbert

JohnCleary wrote: »

A bit of Googling reveals that the subframe is a common weakpoint in the E46 3Series Can't be bothered chasing BMW for it if it only costs me £70, car is well out of warranty. Still though good to know it wasn't anything I did myself

Out of interest, what part of the front sub-frame is weak?

Did your mechanic just notice it visually when doing something else?

joeperry

JohnCleary wrote: »

...then Quarry (Who have already quoted me £70 delivered which I may just go with)

I wouldn't go with quarry dude, i bought an M5 steering wheel of them and they said it was in good condition,when i got it,it was totally worn out the leather was knackered, i sent it back at my own expense....****ers!!

Also know about a guy who bought alloys off them and they wouldn't fit,they said "oh we must of marked them up wrong", i'd steer well clear off em.

JohnCleary

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Out of interest, what part of the front sub-frame is weak?

Did your mechanic just notice it visually when doing something else?

Aparantly it's just a weak point in the E46, sorry can't be more specific. I had my suspicions as the steering was a bit wobbly. I was getting an exhaust gasket changed and he spotted that it was twisted when he had it up on the lift.

joeperry wrote: »

I wouldn't go with quarry dude, i bought an M5 steering wheel of them and they said it was in good condition,when i got it,it was totally worn out the leather was knackered, i sent it back at my own expense....****ers!!

Also know about a guy who bought alloys off them and they wouldn't fit,they said "oh we must of marked them up wrong", i'd steer well clear off em.

Ah FFS now ya tell me! Ordered this morning I got the guys name who I was dealing with on the phone, and I specificly asked him was it in perfect condition ie. no twists etc. and he said himself that it wouldn't be sent out if it wasn't fine. I told him i'd be sending it back if it wasn't perfect and he said no problem that it won't be damaged - Let's hope that you (and your friends) experience was a once off

DublinDilbert

JohnCleary wrote: »

Aparantly it's just a weak point in the E46, sorry can't be more specific. I had my suspicions as the steering was a bit wobbly. I was getting an exhaust gasket changed and he spotted that it was twisted when he had it up on the lift.

No worries... was just wondering as I have an E46 myself... always like to keep an eye out for known issues when i'm doing other stuff... your mechanic will probably show you the damage to the old one once its off the car...

Did you find your car used to wander a bit?

JohnCleary

DublinDilbert wrote: »

No worries... was just wondering as I have an E46 myself... always like to keep an eye out for known issues when i'm doing other stuff... your mechanic will probably show you the damage to the old one once its off the car...

Did you find your car used to wander a bit?

My whole suspicion came from the car wandering all over the place. I put it town to Tramlining which is another known BMW issue but I knew that this wasn't natural. Mech rang me straight away last night when he had car up on lift saying to source a subframe ASAP as it was in a state.

I guess it's just made of thin aluminium and flex's quite easily? I have a diesel so maybe the torque is contributing to it... who knows

DublinDilbert

JohnCleary wrote: »

My whole suspicion came from the car wandering all over the place. I put it town to Tramlining which is another known BMW issue but I knew that this wasn't natural. Mech rang me straight away last night when he had car up on lift saying to source a subframe ASAP as it was in a state.

I guess it's just made of thin aluminium and flex's quite easily? I have a diesel so maybe the torque is contributing to it... who knows

Interesting... i would say the torque from the 150 hp diesel engine didn't help

So do the 2 wish bones have to be replaced also? Or can your mechanic get the inner ball joints out of the subframe without damaging them??

JohnCleary

I've just had the wishbones replaced. I bought the whole Febi wishbone kit which included inner and outer bush's already in place

Can't remmeber if there's bush's on the subframe itself - if so, i'll replace them before the subframe goes on