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FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

If you are browsing through all the brands you may come across a brand listed as "OEM Supplier" Pretty vague, right? Well, yes and no. OEM Supplier parts on FCP Euro are the same part that is supplied to the car manufacturer but it is a part that is not normally available or sold to the aftermarket by the original equipment supplier in that application.

"OEM Supplier parts on FCP Euro are the same part that is supplied to the car manufacturer"

In this blog post I am going to give you a few examples of OEM Supplier parts that FCP Euro sells that I have had personal experiences with and I will also explain why we list the brand as OEM Supplier instead of listing it as the manufacturer of the part.

My first example is the ever so common E46 BMW expansion tank. Let's leave it at this, if you own, owned, or plan to own one this part is very common. In fact, this part is so common that you can get it in almost any brand you can imagine (even brands you've never heard of before). The reality is, when demand is high for a specific part, you're going to have a ton of available options. Aftermarket expansion tanks as a whole are not very good. The moldings used to make these tanks are often out of spec which means radiator hose quick disconnects do not seat correctly. The OE supplier for this expansion tank is Modine/CoolXpert. Modine/CoolXpert do not supply this part in their packaging to the aftermarket. If you look at the photos below you will see both a Genuine BMW expansion tank (has a BMW roundel and part number sticker) along with the OEM Supplier expansion tank we sell side by side. The OEM supplier version we sell has had the BMW roundel removed with a dremmel and the BMW part number tag has been removed. This part is identical to the Genuine BMW replacement in every way minus two details which have zero effect on performance or function. Those two details net a 50% savings for the same part.






Here is another very common BMW OEM Supplier branded part that we sell. This is a BMW intake camshaft position sensor for M52TU/M54/M56 engines. This is another common replacement item where aftermarket options are in abundance. This is also a part where cheaping out will save you a few bucks over a Genuine replacement but will more than likely result in early replacement later on. We have found that aftermarket sensors simply do not have the same resistance values that the Genuine cam sensors do. Since position sensors work by reading magnetic impulses it's safe to say that an out of spec sensor will likely not work very well or not work at all. In this particular application I can't say for sure who makes the sensor for BMW. More than likely it's made by VDO but I have not been able to confirm that. The identifiers on the Genuine BMW replacement and OEM Supplier replacement are in the details. The head of the sensor on the OEM Supplier part has had all BMW information dremeled off but country of origin remains. The connector grommet on the wiring lead however still has the BMW information affixed to it like the Genuine replacement. The BMW branding being removed saves approximately 60% on this particular application.






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Written by :
Gareth Foley

Gareth is the BMW Make Level Marketer for FCP Euro and has been with the company since 2012. Gareth's BMW obsession started with a hand me down E39 528i when he was 17. From this car he learned how to do his own repair work while also learning more about BMW. When Gareth was at CCSU studying Marketing he had the opportunity to go to SEMA with the college car club. This is where he developed his love of the automotive industry. Since joining FCP in 2012 Gareth has sought out to develop one of the broadest and most accurate BMW replacement parts catalog. he can be reached at gareth1@fcpeuro.com


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