Propshaft Parts BMW vs Others

[clarko74]

Morning,

I will soon be changing my engine and while I'm at it I thought it would be a good idea to change the prop guibo/coupling and centre bearing. I have got a price from Cotswold and (of course) it is rather high: £195 for the centre bearing and £111 for the guibo. I don't mind paying the extra for genuine BMW parts if they are the only ones available, however quite often good aftermarket parts are available for much less, sometimes they are obviously the same as the genuine ones (such as the Lemforder bits that have the BMW roundel filed off).

I am wondering if anyone knows of the best non-BMW brands for these parts? Or should I just stump up the cash and buy the Genuine ones? For example I have found a Febi Bilstein guibo for around £30 on Ebay, are these any good? There seem to be loads of prop centre bearings on Ebay for around £15-35, this is significantly less than the BMW price which make me suspect that all these are likely to be of cheese. Usually there is a middle ground somewhere between the cheap tat and the BMW price where you can get good parts for reasonable money, but I can't seem to find any for these parts.

I am half tempted to just buy the genuine parts as it's a reasonably involved job to replace these if the ones I do install fail prematurely.

What do you think?

[flybynite]

I did suggest a sticky with known good manufacturers for major rebuild items. @BrianMoore did say there was already a thread about it but I have not been able to find it.

[chatstar123]

I came across a thread by chance on here. Not sure how you link to threads but if you search "genuine or budget" in the forum search there is a post about manufacturers of aftermarket parts.

[tha881]

I would just go for Lemforder or Febi and save yourself at least £100

[flybynite]

I would just go for Lemforder or Febi and save yourself at least £100

The problem is Lemforder have stopped making quite a lot of E30 bits just recently. Febi have had quality control issues with some things.

I have had Swag recommended as a good alternative although I have not used them and I have been buying Metzger where Lemforder is no longer available because they are an OE manufacturer for some high-end car manufacturers.

An old thread is useful but things go out of date quickly May be worth resurrecting it I guess or starting a new one as people find good alternatives.