We ‘ve heard from several sources that BMW North American has ceased all sales of European parts within the US through dealers. Primarily that means things like euro rotors (for the E46), rear foglight switches and the like. The reason? Our sources are telling us that another automaker had an issue with some European parts failing on cars in the US and that BMW NA ‘s legal department made the move to quash all sales of non-US parts at US dealers.
What this means is that savvy parts departments (you know, the ones we all love) are frankly going to be hurting as sales of several key Euro pieces will be no more. It also means that those of us in the US who want these parts will have to rely on 3rd party companies and individuals selling often times over the web.
We ‘re hoping that someone at BMW NA legal comes to their senses but we ‘re not holding our breath.