It's time to do the sills.....

[Tim Davis]

Morning all and happy new year!

It's sill time...mine are going crusty in the usual places but I wont know how bad they are until removed from the car and my man with the blow torch may be able to work his magic and weld them up. So I thought I would look to buy a used pair anyway but all I can find look like they need open wallet surgery, too. Has anybody got a decent used pair for a 98 wide body, or recommend where I can buy pattern/re-made that may actually fit?

I did of course ask my local main stealer and their reply was: "The price per sill on your vehicle is £731 at retail price. However BMW are currently holding a 20% offer on these as they are trying to reduce older stock. So the offer price would be £585 per sill." I have pointed out that if they were, say £200 per side BMW would probably have us all queuing up for them. Whilst their (20%) generosity is overwhelming and the small matter of VAT on top(!), I still smile at the bare-faced cheek.

Any ideas, or has anybody got anything tucked away that they may want to part with?

Thanks in advance.

Tim

 

[colb]

The price you got quoted seems high to me, where in the World are you, UK or States?
If in the UK suggest you ring Sophers BMW at Lincoln and ask for prices with our Forum discount, if they are better the only snag will be you have to collect them as they only post out small parts.

 

[abh29]

I paid around £320 March last from Cotswold BMW (discount from BMWLand) delivered including plastic fittings. The plastic fitting were required as knew we would brake most of the originals removing cills

 

[Nodzed]

Never know anyone pay that much for sills from a dealer, last ones I bought from Cotswold BMW were a lot less than that for 2. Phone around the dealers. Personally I wouldn't bother with Sophers (though many would disagree) they have never be able to come close to Cotswold's on parts prices for me.

 

[MisterP007]

Welcome

 

[DomiMik]

Always worth to consider buying from german dealers, from what I've seen parts here are often cheaper. For example, both sills including shipping to UK would cost you 513€ / £430 altogether:

BMW 41218401406 Einstieg aussen rechts - LEEBMANN24

www.leebmann24.de

BMW 41218401405 Einstieg aussen links - LEEBMANN24

www.leebmann24.de

Don't know how expensive import charges would be, though.

Regards
Dominik

 

[Mr H]

and please keep us posted on how you get on ..........

 

[Tim Davis]

Thanks all. Plenty for me to get stuck into.

The stealer in question is...Rybrook, Shrewsbury.

Tim

 

[jonco]

Thanks all. Plenty for me to get stuck into.

The stealer in question is...Rybrook, Shrewsbury.

Tim

As others have said those prices are ridiculous for UK. I bought mine from Halliwell Jones, Chester in Aug 2020 - quoted price £160 a side (narrow body style). On collection one cover had a very minor stretch blemish and I accepted a reduced price of £287 for the pair. Good Luck.

Edit - worth having part number available when you ring so you know exactly what they are quoting for.

 

[petecossie]

This from my post on this very subject back in May/June 2021.

The only way to see how bad they are and hence see whether they are repairable is to get the rust totally cleaned off. I've just replaced my sills (they didn't look to bad on the car, but drivers side fell to bits when dismantled) cost me £330 for the pair including loads of new bolts clips etc. I managed to remove the front & rear wings so I could get them repaired and repainted. They were about 95% sound just that odd 5% needed sorting which was made possible by getting the affected areas grit blasted (in a big grit blasting cabinet) which meant my paint guy had rust free panels to work on.
Cost me £20 for the grit blasting then £500 for the wing repairs & painting all wings and sills. The wings and sills were all waxoyled and weather guard applied to arch edges.
Your sills will maybe cost £80 to £100 to repaint - you'd have to check with your local body shop if repairable, though they look a bit crusty to me from the pictures. Take you jacking pads off and check for rust underneath them. Mine had some rust there which cleaned up OK. Used DEOX-Gel as recommended by DrWong in his excellent write up on sill refurbishment.
Good luck.

I've just done a post with pictures on another thread. It might give you an incite into a sill replacement project.

Sill Waxoiling, an easy way? | BMW Z1 Z4 Z8 Z3 Forum and Technical Database - ZRoadster.org

 

[Tim Davis]

Hi Pete

Great, thanks. where did you buy your sills?

Tim

 

[Mint]

Hi and from me too in Stafford. Good luck with your project. New sills are the way to go, 2nd hand ones may be no better than your own. Even sills from one of the last Z3s made will be nearly 20 years old now.

 

[petecossie]

Hi Tim
My local BMW dealer, Vertu BMW Stockton-on-Tees. The spares department at the time (just taken over from Cooper BMW) seemed so unclear on discount. Unfortunately I didn't get BMWCC discount on the sills with first guy I dealt with, however I got better service on later transactions with another spare parts guy who gave me the 10% discount. I checked with one of the BMWCCNE members who deals with Vertu and he said I should have got 10% on everything.
Haven't been recently for any bits so don't know current discount situation.
Where are you based?

 

[Tim Davis]

Ironbridge, Shropshire...but will travel for the right deal. Thanks for all the tips.

Meantime, if anybody else is thinking about the same job, this is food for thought:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d99Ba7lictE


Happy new year everybody!

Tim

 

[Shelly]

 

[Nodzed]

How To Guide - MOD ..How to Stop the Dirt Getting into Your Sills (Maybe)

I've been doing some long overdue maintenance on the Titan over the past week in as much I have had the sills and wings off a job I have been putting off for the past two years, firstly to check out the condition and secondly to give everything underneath a darn good clean and several coats of...

zroadster.org

 

[Bonzeau]

The price you got quoted seems high to me, where in the World are you, UK or States?
If in the UK suggest you ring Sophers BMW at Lincoln and ask for prices with our Forum discount, if they are better the only snag will be you have to collect them as they only post out small parts.

Rybrook BMW mail order parts. They are great, Jason is very helpful. They are on 01926 333888



Bonzo.

 

[DaveP]

Hi, if you can’t find OEM and happy to look at left field options the guys at ClassicCoachWorks.org have pattern fibreglass sill covers.

Cheers, Dave

 

[Tim Davis]

Hi all - I am pleased to report that having contacted half a dozen main dealers within 100 miles, new sills are available at £408 per pair, incl VAT. Cotswold tipped the balance with the same price, less a Forum discount, bringing them to £387 all in.

Tim

 

[Mazza]

So glad I bought a brand new pair for £300. Now I know what to sell them for if I scrap the project car……