searching for B-pillar and rocker panel for F15

[yober]

I'm fixing my 2014 BMW X5 which had accident (impact was on right side doors). So the B-pillar and the rocker panel are bent. Was looking to purchase the B-pillar with the rocker panel from the dealership. But apparently they do not sell this body part separately.
The part that i need is shown in yellow on the attached diagram.
Any idea where this part can be purchased ?

[turboawd]

Have you tried a salvage yard?

[DuSh]

Here's a salvage yards listings database website: http://www.car-part.com/

Keep in mind not every part is listed there - salvage yard owners and workers are not your regular ebay store - they are slow. So best is to contact them and ask for spesific part number and availability. There's tons of salvaged x5 f15 out there and I doubt many people need that part - so it's just matter of putting a little work and finding it.

[yober]

In the past I bought lots of parts from junkyards via car-part.com
The dilemma with the junkyards is, they do sell the complete b-pillar and rocker panel which is much more then I need . All I need is the outer shell.
The junkyards sell the whole assembly, which ends up being very expensive plus the shipping is pricey due to the weight.
Unfortunately the local junkyards don't have in stock F15 cars.
I wonder if there are suppliers out there for the outer shell of the rocker panel and the center pillar?

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by yober

In the past I bought lots of parts from junkyards via car-part.com
The dilemma with the junkyards is, they do sell the complete b-pillar and rocker panel which is much more then I need . All I need is the outer shell.
The junkyards sell the whole assembly, which ends up being very expensive plus the shipping is pricey due to the weight.
Unfortunately the local junkyards don't have in stock F15 cars.
I wonder if there are suppliers out there for the outer shell of the rocker panel and the center pillar?

The thing is what you need is very specific and is unlikely anyone sells only outer shell. You can wait and search, bit imho it's better to expand search area and maybe even consider driving south from Vancouver and pick up the b-pillar and rocker panel. How much more expensive is it? As I understand without it - you will have no car - so it's either go big or go home. I mean if you look on some threads we had - cars get totaled for much less than b-pillar damage. Very rarely someone fixes that kind of damage in US/Canada unfortunately. Insurance companies don't want to have anything to do with it. So I'm just saying you might not get exactly what you want - only outer shell. Shipment from Latvia or Europe - might work, but it will be probably more expensive than paying for it here in US and picking it up yourself. I once traveled from NY to AZ just for fun and to see the country. If this is important to you - you'll consider it, if not - well good luck finding shell only.

[yober]

I did search in US junkyards closer to the border. At this time, they do not have in stock F15 cars as well. The shipping to the border from far junkyards costs almost the same as the cost of the part itself, which means I would be paying double price.
I wonder what's with Latvia, i.e. how come they do have so much parts for sale for F15 ? Are they manufacturing F15 parts in Latvia ?

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by yober

I did search in US junkyards closer to the border. At this time, they do not have in stock F15 cars as well. The shipping to the border from far junkyards costs almost the same as the cost of the part itself, which means I would be paying double price.
I wonder what's with Latvia, i.e. how come they do have so much parts for sale for F15 ? Are they manufacturing F15 parts in Latvia ?

Nah, Latvia is just a hub for all sorts of car related deals and parts. A good portion of stolen cars from all over Europe end up there to be disassembled and sold. A lot of damaged cars gets repaired in many many body shops there. It's like almost every family there has either a job or is somehow related to this business (no offense to Latvians lol). They buy 2 cars, one of which is stolen and another is half damaged. 3 days later you got 1 car with good VIN from damaged car and good parts from stolen car, ready to sell to unsuspecting buyer.

You know in US/Canada x5 gets totaled for a 5mph front hit and a cracked bumper, while in Latvia they repair them on a daily basis.
Here's a one example - what would be considered a totaled x5 like in neighboring thread we had on forum just recently. This guy repaired himself alone in 3 days. No big deal, he calls this easy repair and after watching what he can do to a really damaged car (not like this one, but really damaged) I agree this was an easy walk in the park for him:

[DuSh]

I'm not advocating for this kind of repairs in US/Canada. However, often we really need just a fix to a car that we invested a lot, modded a lot and I would like to have similar options here to fix the car and continue enjoying it rather than just total it. Of course here we can adjust this process, but all I'm saying is that good old body shop skills are almost non existent in US/Canada. They still do it for exotic cars, but I wish we had an option for BMW as well.
It's more about his skills and ability to work with almost any car and repair almost anything.

This one is a lot more damage. I just love sometimes to just watch that guy work lol:

[yober]

luckily we do have repair/rebuilder guys over here, that do same quality repairs like in those videos.
BTW and this video is exactly my car's situation...

[yober]

Found what I was looking for at junkyard across the border.

[DuSh]

Nice! That black running boards support plastic piece is ruined, they should have removed it before cutting (there's just ten 15mm bolts to remove it from the car), but you probably have your stock one anyway.

[yober]

My running board support was damaged, and no any junkyard would sell it separately.
So I had to purchase a brand new one from the dealership.
Now when I picked up the B-pillar/rocker panel part and saw that the junkyard folks
just ruined the running board support, I was speechless.

[DuSh]

Originally Posted by yober

My running board support was damaged, and no any junkyard would sell it separately.
So I had to purchase a brand new one from the dealership.
Now when I picked up the B-pillar/rocker panel part and saw that the junkyard folks
just ruined the running board support, I was speechless.

Yep, that piece alone they could have sold for $80 probably each side.

P.S. There's also a wire visible on the bottom below support piece - that's a comfort access antenna module lol.

[alphaod]

Originally Posted by DuSh

I'm not advocating for this kind of repairs in US/Canada. However, often we really need just a fix to a car that we invested a lot, modded a lot and I would like to have similar options here to fix the car and continue enjoying it rather than just total it. Of course here we can adjust this process, but all I'm saying is that good old body shop skills are almost non existent in US/Canada. They still do it for exotic cars, but I wish we had an option for BMW as well.
It's more about his skills and ability to work with almost any car and repair almost anything.
]

The reason everything seemingly gets totaled is because our cost of vehicles is so low compared to many countries.

For example last year our family purchased a Range Rover in China... and the price we paid you can buy two in the US.

[yober]

Originally Posted by DuSh

Yep, that piece alone they could have sold for $80 probably each side.

I bought brand new running board support from the dealership for $97US.