I finally got my M3 from Texas. It's spectacular and the engine compartment is absolutely brand new looking- never seen anything like it. I've made a list of fixes needed and would like to get a good start.... most have been easy to find good prices on, but what gives with the door seals? Cheapest I've found is $280, and now I can't find the website. Most are $380 or higher. For a berkleying door seal? WTF? Anyone have any leads that might help?
Doors are odd on the coupe's as the glass rises and falls when the door is opened, making for a better seal.
Try a couple of the online vendors. Pelican parts is really good and they run the www.realoem.com site that allows you to find ANY part you need for the car. They may be a little more pricey (but cheaper than the dealer) but if it is still made, they can get it.
Try BMAparts.com . . they carry a lot of OEM stuffs for a reasonable $$$.
-=PJ
I dont believe that for a second. Everyone here says that BMW parts arent any more expensive than American or Japanese cars. 
Yeah, checked Pelican- they're advertising for $380. This thing is so nice it'd be hard to not do the right thing and spend the dough, but shoot.... I'll be looking at superglue until I can find a decent price. The cool thing is that so many parts are available.
Get a quote from zygmunt motors (http://bimmerparts.com). Good luck, that looks like a pricey part :)
You could also likely find someone parting out an E36 coupe and get used seals that are passable at a fraction of the cost.
If the car is like a mercedes aftermarket seals are a no no, you have to use OE/OEM seals or you are in for a world of hurt. 280$ for a window seal is a hell of a lot of money though.
People forget they are buying a 40k$ car with the associated parts costs of that. I feel your pain and good luck.
You are entering a world of pain. A world of PAIN.
It's just weird because the other parts I've found are so reasonable. Tough pill to pay 1/16th of what you spent on the whole car on a stinking seal.
Rubber = black gold. Not to mention just because you got new OEM seals doesn't mean they fit off the shelf, sometimes you have to shave them to get the things to fit correctly. Good luck!
You're right - most E36 parts aren't painful, but this one is.
You might try getting used parts from bimmerforums.com. Only other slightly better than $380 option I have for you is RMEuropean.com - $371.12 w/free shipping. Try ROUNDEL for coupon code for extra 5% off - or google for other possible codes. If you can, try talking to Art (owner). Nice guy, and he may be able to work with you (no promises - I don't know his margin on this item).
HTH
On the advice of a forum member I looked up cmuzy on the group buy section of bimmerforums.com and managed to get the part for $320. I hate to admit I spent that much on a part that isn't aluminum or steel... don't tell anyone.
https://secure.webmakerx.net/Default-2.aspx?hostname=parts.crownauto.com
Crown has them for around $280
every car has a couple of parts that seem overpriced... seems door seals are one of them
My '97 328is (coupe) needed a driver's side door seal, so I bought one off a local Bimmerforums member for $100. The part was in excellent shape, so that's why I paid the full $100. In decent shape they seem to trade somewhere in the $50 to $750 range. Once the weather warms up, I'm looking to swap in the new seal. I'm looking forward to having a window that will go all the way up without me having to open the door, hit the window button on the console, and then close the door when the window is all the way up. Combine that with a manual transmission, and it looks like some crazy gymnastics move each time I enter/leave the parking garage at work (card scanner).
The problem is that the door seals are a BMW-only part. Those you'll pay through the nose for! Mechanical parts are made by several different suppliers, which keeps the prices pretty low. However, BMW is not afraid to charge a premium for the parts that come directly from them.
Seat rails are another good example. Just look up a set for a driver's side power sport seat from a '97 328is. ~$500 is the cheapest I've been able to find one! I'll take some aftermarket seats for that price, thank you very much...
Back on topic, does anyone have any tips on replacing the door seal, or is it as easy as it looks?
Greg Voth wrote: I dont believe that for a second. Everyone here says that BMW parts arent any more expensive than American or Japanese cars.
Trim parts are always that way. I couldn't belive the price of the rubber bits for my FC RX7 from the dealer (the only place to get them at the time).
Don't even get me started on weatherstripping on a 90-93 Celica.... OH GOD THE HORROR.
To replace it all is more than i paid for the damn car. Screw that. Dry weather car, ONLY.
Sorry for the BMW stab. In my experience the prices are fair for most stuff but way inflated for others.
Maybe I am lucky. I got 79-85 RX-7 weather stripping for both sides off ebay for about $100. Fit great too.
Greg, you're definitely justified for the BMW stab. I've always couched my responses on BMW parts with the "there are some exceptions, notably on dealer-only parts." My feeling is that people should know what they're getting into. The relatively low prices on the mechanical parts were a plus, the inflated prices on exterior/interior prices were a minus. In the end, it evened out for me to the point where I'd say they're pretty reasonable to maintain (so far) if you're willing to have a less than perfect car. If you want everything to be perfect, you could very easily spend a fortune in a short amount of time. IMHO, if that's the route you're going to go, it's better to spend a little more and get an E36 that requires less restoration-type work.
I'd just try to find a good used one. You could probably find one at a junk yard for $20
Greg Voth wrote: Sorry for the BMW stab. In my experience the prices are fair for most stuff but way inflated for others. Maybe I am lucky. I got 79-85 RX-7 weather stripping for both sides off ebay for about $100. Fit great too.
No, youre not lucky. You merely are doing it NOW in an era when the internet is a great source of parts. Try doing that back in '93.
I used to have Fiat 124s and my folks still have their Renault 4CV they bought news in '61. It USED to be impossible to get parts for either, unless you knew someone. Now, I can have parts for either shipped to my door in 2-3 days for cheap from anywhere in the world, because it's easy to search for them.\
And of course, a good online community always helps, that was simply not available back then. A great example is for my BMW 740iL. The underdash cabin air filters need to be kept clean or the HVAC can fail. BMW units are $65 or more. But the online community has found that Home Depot sells the exact same filter material. Enough to outfit 10 cars is less than $20.
The door seal is a very large part on an E36 at least it is on my 4d, 1 seal covers both the front and rear doors for each side. Are they damaged or can you just adjust the strikers to make the doors close tighter?
Yeah, I noticed the engine compartment is very well sealed on these cars, my 92 looks only a few years old underhood, its nice to have things stay clean under there.
Nope, seal is toe up from the floe up (?). The tubular portion on the rear upper window interface has the outer face gone. I'd just glue it or some other half assed fix, but it's not going to work this time.
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