Broken passenger door glass

[WilliamK1974]

A couple of nights ago, some thugs broke out the passenger side door glass of my 1991 318is :mad: Just as an aside, it seems odd what they took vs. what they left. In-dash radio (Kenwood) and the extra radio sitting in the floor (Pioneer) weren't touched. They raided the glovebox and took my GPS unit (older Garmin Nuvi 750). They also took a small lamp and package of lightbulbs that were in a bag in the back seat, and one of my favorite winter coats. I filed a police report and all that, but don't feel very optimistic.

Anyhow, I'm trying to track down a replacement window. A couple of glass places in town have quoted me around $225 just for the glass. One place initially seemed pretty reasonable at around $150 for the glass, but then called me back and said that the glass was having to come from a classic glass supplier, and that the price plus freight was going to be over $300.

The realoem.com website shows a price for the glass at around $145. So, I called the local BMW dealer to ask them a price since they seem to use the same price as that website. Their price came out to around $100, which seems almost too good to be true.

So, I'm thinking about ordering the glass and doing the job myself. Anyone out there ever done this before? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you,
-Bill

[DesktopDave]

The glass isn't hard to do at all.  Re-adjusting the window is likely the hardest part.  The power actuator will likely be the scissor type.  It's only connected to the window by two glued-on aluminum tracks.

Remove the door handle, lock pin, door card, speakers, plastic membrane, etc...then unbolt the gearbox and the power mechanism bolts.  I'd leave the tracks bolted to the door.  The whole mechanism comes out next, then the window will drop down.  Be ready for that as you loosen the mechanism...it's the only thing that retains the window.  Since yours is broken, I wouldn't worry about it.  The easiest way to remove/re-install the window is from the top.

Vac out the leftover glass & reinstall the whole deal.  It's not really a very difficult job, pretty obvious where everything goes.  Just take your time.  I'd also check the door lock switches while I was in there.

I'd also be tempted to pick up some replacement door clips, zip ties and maybe those annoying little rubber trim strips on either side of the window that tend to crack.  Great time to freshen up the whole door.

[DesktopDave]

BTW, isn't BMW great about replacement parts?  Sometimes they are expensive,  but they really do make an incredible effort to support classic models like ours.  I was researching a little 700 coupe a while back and found I could still order Isetta & 700 parts from dealers...awesome IMHO.  BMW Mobile Tradition FTW!

If you join the BMWCCA you'll get  another discount (15%?) too.

[bmwm42]

try a junk yard if you guys have those local or go to r3v im sure youll have a bump of people over there waiting to help if you were local i have like 4 pairs of each side lol

[WilliamK1974]

I went ahead and asked the dealership to order the replacement window. Tax and all, it's going to be just under $100US. The man at the counter said the order might not be fully finalized until Monday depending on part availability, but he thought I'd have the part in hand no later than Thursday. I'm just afraid I'm going to get another call about how the part has to be sourced from a classic supplier and it's going to be over $400...

As far as junkyards go, yeah, we have them around here and a few of them specialize in Euro cars. But none of them had any E30 coupes. Just the 4-doors.

Thanks for the advice on how to change out the glass. I'm looking forward to the job, actually, and having a car that's not freezing cold inside.