Al

I use a question mark because I'm not sure what to call the part. I took my car to the mechanic's today, and he said that was what was wrong. Apparently, the plate that holds the shift linkage tight to the tranny tunnel broke off of it's mounts, and now is swinging around, interfering with my shifting. Then he said he'd need to keep the car for a week, and get all the parts from BMW directly, and it would cost in excess of 400 bucks to fix. Does this sound like a correct diagnosis? My father stole my only jack, so I couldn't get under the car to see if anything else was more obviously broken. Any suggestions on 1) if this sounds like the correct diagnosis and 2) Where I can get these parts? I might be able to post a diagram that my mechanic gave me if anyone's confused as to what parts I'm refering to. I'm at a loss as to what to do right now, but at least I still have 3 gears!..ha. TIA everyone!
-alan
83 320i
79 320i
74 02