Fuel pump E38, common problems and DON´T buy cheap ones

A fuel pump goes bad mainly because of age, wear and tear, running out of gas too many times. The pump is cooled and lubed by the gas so if you run a dry tank a couple of times, the pump might run hot and don´t deliver the correct pressure anymore.
However, my experience is that cheap pumps are just no good. I live in Europe and buy some parts of eBay. I take great care in trying to buy parts only manufactured in Eurpoe because I have, as you also have I guess, run into cheap Chinese knock offs that are so bad in quality you end up doing the job twice and not getting any refunds from the first seller. The Chinese have found this out and now sell f x fuel pumps stating they are made in Germany, which is not true. The plastic is so bad it is probably broken as the part arrive and the pressure is not correct anyways. Take a look at this video and you will hear why I now only buy from trusted brands, and NOT BMW.
Original fuel pump at BMW = 1.000 USD
Continental/VDO fuel pump = 200 USD

[@69oakfan]

Here's something to look into, when it comes to difficult parts to install that you want to last, obviously it's better to put original Factory BMW but like you said super expensive... so here is what I got going on here, at my local BMW dealer I have a specific guy behind the counter who actually gets me " any part I want" at wholesale price. He offered to do this for me because my car was a 2001 740i. He told me he could not in good conscience sell me marked up prices for such an old car. That is literally what he told me, and I was blown away by that, so BMW parts department have the authority to do wholesale prices look into it, quick example my water pump exploded on me, I was about to get a water pump at Napa for $200. the dealer cost the exact same thing two hundred bucks for a Factory BMW dealer pump... happy Motoring

[@drdragunov]

That is so cool! Thanks for sharing. My experience with my local BMW dealer is that practicly no one understands the M60/M62 anymore. They just guess and hope its right. I am "known" at the dealers by now so I am always invited behind the counter to have a look in their computers for specs and so on. But I garantue you that 99.99% of all BMW dealers will not be that helpful. I hope your contact stays there so you can access reasonably priced parts,

[@timurmuz]

Which brand should I buy?