Thanks will try, I contacted Tim Abbott(BMW uk MD) on Tuesday to ask for some explainations, he passed my email to customer services.I received a reply today,apparently BMW is a premium brand therefore only use quality materials. BMW dont recognise this as a common problem,and finally due to the age of my car I will have to order the part through a special order process through a registered BMW agent. Although understanding my disappointment they couldn't assist me in this matter any further.