[bizzleb109]

I have a 2007 335i m sport auto I need to eeplace my vanos solenoids only one is faulty but have been told to replace both. They are about a 100.00 from dealer on Amazon and ebay they are cheaper how reliable are the ones on Amazon and ebay has anyone bought theirs from there?

[thakid22]

Originally Posted by bizzleb109

I have a 2007 335i m sport auto I need to eeplace my vanos solenoids only one is faulty but have been told to replace both. They are about a 100.00 from dealer on Amazon and ebay they are cheaper how reliable are the ones on Amazon and ebay has anyone bought theirs from there?

I need to do mine as well.
Those $17 EBay units sure look tempting. I just can't bring myself to cheap out on them.
The Amazon units are a bit cheaper than OEM but there are numerous accounts of them arriving faulty (if you read the amazon reviews). However, most said they worked without issue.

Rockauto has some DORMAN branded units that are $75 a piece.

I'll pull the trigger on a set at some point... Wouldn't it be crazy if all of these were the same part with different brand labels stamped on them. That's a quite common occurrence. I can't imagine there are that many different factories/companies producing these.

Still, even when all of the parts come from the same factory, the lower priced brands usually get the units that scored lower during the factories quality assessment testing.

Who knows if any of this applies to N54 aftermarket vanos solenoids.
For $17 bucks, it might be worth it to explore the EBay units. If I try them I'll let everyone know how they work out.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by bizzleb109

I have a 2007 335i m sport auto I need to eeplace my vanos solenoids only one is faulty but have been told to replace both. They are about a 100.00 from dealer on Amazon and ebay they are cheaper how reliable are the ones on Amazon and ebay has anyone bought theirs from there?

I don't think you need to be looking at the seller, but the product maker. On EBay, buying from a power seller is usually a safe bet.

You need to buy something that is made by the OEM supplier vs BMW. Or you can pay double for the little BMW sticker/ stamp if you want.

Yes, you should replace them in pairs. Usually they last about 100k and that's it.

[bizzleb109]

On ebay I did find someone selling two OE vanos solenoids for 75.00 a pair free delivery. Ive emailed the seller for some more info just waiting for a reply will let u know.

[e36power]

Most people have a fine experience with the non-OEM parts. There was a thread not long ago about the eBay solenoids. FWIW, I bought a non-OEM solenoid and could not get it to install. Simply would not go in. Tried every trick in the book. I ended up going to the dealer and bought OEM part, went in on first try. My thought, try the non-OEM from Amazon. If you have fitment issues, just return it and go buy the OEM part.

[Gohan335i7]

Just get em from ECS or one of the vendors here. You get what you pay for most of the time with our parts... at least IMHO...

[Soul_Glo]

Go oem

[IllSic_Design]

I have a Dorman unit that I got about 3+ months ago for $75 that has worked perfectly for me

[335e92tx]

Used Ebay - 38$ for a set of 2. Still didnt fix my problem. Even cleaned the old ones and you really could not tell any difference in operation when actuated by 12v.

Aftermarket basically fit better and were easier to turn to get the bolt into.