Need help with door handle.. arrgh

[Wiseguy ON]

So tonight I go out to dinner with Gregg and I go to open my door, and...

Damn handle snaps off in my hand. Bastard! So after breaking the driver's door handle...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...26&hg=41&fg=40

Which one of those damn things do I need? Just the flip part broke.. is it the $50 part or the $200 part? Or do I even NEED to ask.. arrgh

[dwightf]

Was it teh cable or handle? Someone just had the cable break on Bimmerboard.

[M.Wong]

Usually you just need the exterior door handle... here was a post I saw before:

"I removed the inner door panel so I could see what I was doing. You have to release the door handle by sliding a small mechanisim forward toward the front of the car. You work through the small port that has a plug in it that is located near the latch on the door. Make sure you disconnect the battery if you have door airbags. Lift a small lever on the side to get it over the stop and then push it forward to get it to release the handle. Remove the handle by pulling it out at the bottom and then pulling it down.

I paid $50 for the handle from Hendrick BMW and $30 to get it painted. It took 1 1/2 hours to complete the job. The TIS says you can do this without removing the panel with some special tools. I think DIYers will have to remove the inside panel to see what you are doing to release the slide mechanisim."

And here was another:

"Got the damn door handle fixed.. I have to learn how to be a DIY man.
I got the part at Crevier BMW for $60 and painted for $56 then the Little Garage charged $170 for labor. All together over $300 for a damn door handle that should have never broke."

[Wiseguy ON]

Yeah, it was the outer handle that broke off in my hand... I was standing there, waiting for Gregg and this cute girl walks by and I am standing there with my door handle in my hand looking like a total jackass.

As always Mr Wong comes through

I'll order one up today... hope they have one in stock.

[M.Wong]

I can't find any pics, but here is one more person who talks about it:

Open the door (from the inside ). On the edge of the door, you will see an oval shaped plastic plug. Pry the inner portion of this plug out. Using a flashlight, look inside the hole, you should see a flat metal peice with a hole on the end. This is the latch that holds/locks the door handle in place. Now using a coat hanger with a hook bent on the end, pull the metal lever out toward the edge of the door. If you are lucky, it will move. If not lucky, you will need to remove the inner door panel, peel back the upper right corner of the sound/moisture barrier and use a screw driver to push a keeper on the latch to allow it to move to the right.

Once the lever is moved, the door handle simple lifts out.

Dave Clement said when he had this happen, his body/paint shop did the install for him after they painted the part, charging him a fraction of what the dealer was gonna charge.

It was not cold and the door was not frozen. I just pulled up and off it came. The handle is made with really thin "pot metal" and appears to be very poor quality and design. This does not seem to be a common occurrence, but I have heard it from others.

You will need to get a new door handle and have it painted body color. (I elected to get my side skirts painted at the same time!) My BMW dealer told me that it would take 2+ hours of labor at $90+ dollars per hour to disassemble the door to replace the handle. I know that this is not true. The dealer can unlatch the handle from the outside with special tools, which I know that they have.

The paint and body shop that painted the handle offered to install the door handle from the outside for half an hour at $44 per hour. $22 was certainly a better deal than the $200 some dollars that the dealer wanted. The kicker is that the paint and body shop is where the dealer referred me to have the handle painted!