With all of our coupes now at least 13 years old, there are a number of no longer available (NLA) or hard to find parts which happen to be the ones that break. Luckily, my friends at Niche Motoring are now working on some solutions. Not only are they replicating BMW parts with as good or better quality, but they are also providing options to make them better and more functional. They are going to start with an easily removable CD changer cover and the center console switch surround, but will be expanding their parts library from there. Send me any ideas for other parts that would be beneficial, and I'll pass them along.
The center console piece was originally my idea as all but one of them have had a crack in our Project Coupes. Because of that, Niche Motoring has offered to let me sell their parts through M Coupe Buyers Guide (with no mark-up) with 10% of the proceeds helping fund the next MCBG Project Coupe. Buy some parts and help save a Coupe!
Parts should be available in the next month or two. Niche Motoring is striving for better than OEM quality and durability for less money. They are reverse engineering the parts in CAD software, modifying them, prototyping (3D printing) and then using the prototypes to make tooling used to manufacture the parts. It allows them to control and customize the product at a very fine level and also gives them the option to use exotic materials like carbon fiber.
How can the Coupe Cartel help? They are going to need to start up an interior paint color library since nobody outside of BMW seems to know what the interior color codes mean. The paint codes will be available to everybody as they are added to the library. If anybody has had paint matched and mixed for their interior and still has the paint color code, please pass it along. If they don't have your color yet, they will offer a discount on parts to anyone willing to remove a part and either ship it to them or have it color matched and send them the details.
A quick 3D scan of the center console piece that they are using to build the CAD model.