Black Grills

[jonw]

Hi Guys does anyone what the quality difference is like from the grills you can buy on eBay to the official BMW ones ?
Is there a huge difference ?
Thanks

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by jonw

Hi Guys does anyone what the quality difference is like from the grills you can buy on eBay to the official BMW ones ?
Is there a huge difference ?
Thanks

There is difference, but not the one you can see. My OEM grill vs a ebay black grill - you can only feel the difference if you hold it both in your hand and even then it's not much of a difference

[Kr0m3assass1n]

Originally Posted by DuSh

There is difference, but not the one you can see. My OEM grill vs a ebay black grill - you can only feel the difference if you hold it both in your hand and even then it's not much of a difference

Actually, there is but it's not visible. The quality of the clips and mounting is far superior on the OEM grille than cheap aftermarket ones from eBay. You may be in for a rough time if you get a bad piece from fleabay. Or you could get lucky and get a good piece. It's a wash. But you generally get what you pay for.

I used a cheap alternative on my F10 5 series and my fingers nearly fell off trying to remove it because the molding was not good quality. Learned my lesson and bought a genuine grille for my F15 X5 and they were installed in 15 mins flat.

[3X3=5]

I got my OEM set on eBay for $138 from BMW of Tenafly, and I had just missed a listing for $120. I don't know what the knock offs cost but is it worth the savings? OEM parts will almost always fit better than aftermarket, and personally I'd rather not to take a chance on dealing with a problem fit which leads to a hassle to return, if you even can.

[neverdone]

I bought aftermarket from aliexpress for 40 bucks. ya it's not OEM quality but when they're installed you will never tell the difference.

it was worth 40 to test them out and I have no regertz

[TheLastF15]

I ordered from ebay and received OEM Part

[OFFWHITEX5]

Originally Posted by 3X3=5

I got my OEM set on eBay for $138 from BMW of Tenafly, and I had just missed a listing for $120. I don't know what the knock offs cost but is it worth the savings? OEM parts will almost always fit better than aftermarket, and personally I'd rather not to take a chance on dealing with a problem fit which leads to a hassle to return, if you even can.

I did the same exact thing. Ebay bought from BMW Tenafly Dealership for $120.

I just installed them using the other write up on this form in 20 minutes. Also, they look great and are OEM.

[P1]

Stick with OEM...

[Fozzy]

for the incremental cost of a tank of gas for a part I'll have for years I went with OEM. Some of the aftermarket ones don't fit as well or have the same angles on the slats.