Issue with Bavauto...any suggestions?

[E36 Fan]

This may seem like nothing but it kind of pissed me off. I figured I'd get some advice from the experts of BMW here at DTMpower.

I ordered 2 front foglights (replacements for shattered ones) amoung some other parts from bavauto.com this morning. They charged my credit card for the full amount of all products including the cost to have next day shipment (which I chose).
After charging my card bavarian autosports decides to email me telling me that I will recieve my parts in 2 days, except for my foglighst which are "backordered." They tell me that I have to wait 1-2 weeks to get them.

The moral of the story is that I paid for these parts in full, they gave me no warning that the foglights are not in stock, and charged me for next day shipping.


Should I tell bav auto to refund the cost of shipping and product cost for my foglights? I paid about $155 shipped. Can I get a better price somewhere else and have it shipped sooner?

I didn't know where else to get these foglights so I just bought them from bavauto. Is there a cheaper place to get factory E36 replacement foglights?

Sorry, I had to vent. And thanks in advance for the advice/help!


PS: I've always had good experiences with Bavauto...my car has even been In their magazine...not sure whats with the bad service all of the sudden..???

[Scorp965]

Are you looking for just the fogs, or the fogs & brackets?

I purchased a passenger-side foglight on eBay (I wanted a used one to match my driver-side), there are also people selling brand new ZKW replacements on eBay - were you looking for a new un-pitted foglight, or just an intact fog? the light & bracket can be had for $50 used, or around $75 new (rough guesstimate)

If you already have it ordered through bavauto and you want a new set of fogs I wouldn't go through the hassle to save $5-10, usually on the order page it will specify which items are backordered, if it didn't you could contact bavauto and demand a reduction in price, perhaps 10% of your order?

[E36 Fan]

Good call scorp. I guess its not worth it for a couple of dollars. I just wanted them to get here sooner...that was my main interest in possibly ordering somewhere else.

You think they would make a deal like that if I explained how crappy it was of them to do this? I ask because they did not, in any way mention that the foglighst were backordered.

I'm in retail as well and I know if I told a customer that their merchandise was not in stock after they paid me, and while they are made to believe i have it in stock, well I would get my a$$ chewed out and have to make some deal to please them.


BTW: I have a foglight kit allready. I had my fogs shattered by road debris so I need to replace them. Its an M3 front bumper which had stock foglights in it.
Do I just need the fog light? What is the differance between an un-pitted foglight and a normal stock foglight? How do i tell if I need brackets or not?

Pardon my ignorance but i just got this car.

Thanks again for the help!

[Scorp965]

Well the foglights on your car have glass lenses, when road debris hits the glass it 'pits' the surface, which ends up giving it a slightly foggy appearance. If you have one broken foglight and replace only the one side with a brand new light it will contrast sharply with the slightly pitted foglight on the otherside, which is why I wanted a used foglight. If you replace your foglights with new ones you should apply stoneguard to them (thick plastic covering that sticks onto the glass lense and prevents pitting), there is a site having a sale right now for $10 to get stoneguard for your foglights, they're a supporting vendor...

http://www.umnitza.com/product_info....roducts_id=119

As far as brackets are concerned...
Your car right now has little plastic brackets that are bolted into the front bumper, the foglight clips into these brackets and is held in place by them. Many times when you go to replace the foglight without reading up on the process you will break the small plastic arm that holds your foglight securly onto your car, this is why I needed to replace the bracket. If the foglights are still on your car and you have not damaged the bracket you only need to replace the light itself - the removal of the light is rather simple, although you may want to see some pictures first (they are easily searchable on google, etc.). Essentially there is a little hole in the bumper on one side of the foglight, insert a flathead screwdriver into this hole and you should be able to slide a plastic clip back, then the foglight simply drops out. This plastic clip plays a vital role in securing your foglight, and it is relativly easy to break (if you do the $tealer will charge you $80 for a new bracket, and you will have to take your bumper cover off to install it).

I would contact bavauto and explain your situation, if something was backordered and you were not informed about its backordered status (and you were charged without being informed of its status) I would be angry too, and I would be suprised if they didn't make an effort to 'make it right'.

[dave162]

I have ordered from bavauto.com before and have had a similar situation. It did not really worry me since they mailed all the available parts out to me, then mailed the backordered part about a week-and-a-half later. I was only charged the original shipping fee aswell.

If you urgently need the parts, then contact bavauto and ask them for a refund on the backordered items.

[E36 Fan]

Scorp- This was my brothers BMW and he removed the old broken foglights. I don't have the car in front of me but from what i remember I didn't see anything broken in the foglight area. Would I notice a broken piece? Also, my brother had replaced the foglights once before, meaning that he didn't break the brackets the first time. So I'm hoping/assuming that if he did it right the first time he probably knew what he was doing ( I hope). I tryed contacting bav auto today but they are closed on saturdays. I will call them on monday to complain.

Im just a little pissed that they charged my card, didn't inform me of the stock status...and then tell me I am screwed later down the line after the purchase is made. I rushed the shipment because I needed these pieces. They should have at least had the descency to let me know that they didn't have the parts.

PS: I ordered some of that stone guard plastic stuff from bavauto (haha...it will be here tuesday but the foglights its supposed to protect wont be here for weeks)