Alternator Denso or OEM BMW

Personally I’d go with a Denso 27060‑50230. More expensive but it’s an OE part not third party. The one in your car was originally a Denso and it lasted almost 30 years, right?

If and when it does replace it with a denso and enjoy another 200k+ miles of no problems.

Look into a Denso remanufactured alternator. They are the Honda OE brand and are designed to work with Honda's dual-mode charging system. You can find them for under $300 at places like Rockauto or NAPA. I recently replaced mine on a '13 Honda CRV with no issues.

I recently purchased parts from NAPA. Got a Denso reman alternator, water pump, and belt tensioner.

Buy off rockauto and go with denso brand

Alternator is easy. OEM or Denso for sure. It’s a super easy job.

My first car was a E46 316i, under 100tkm on odo, had it for 3 years, literally gave no problems.

Sold the E46 and got a E39 530D because I love them. Has been reliable so far, I've had it as daily for almost a year now and the only critical problems it has had are that the alternator gave out after a couple of weeks owning and EGR thermostat was bad.

This was the only non oe product in my car. When mine went it went . There weren\u2019t any bmw ones available for love nor money at the time. I get 13.8 out of mine as well. Can been fine for 12 months.

No, don't get the denso remanufactured, because I got mine and it failed right out of the box.

The Denso branded remanufactured alternator arrived from Rock Auto with a broken plastic socket. I arranged a return and replacement, but the second unit also arrived with the exact same damage. I believe the issue is with Denso's factory packaging, as the alternator is placed socket-down without cushioning. I returned the second replacement for a refund.