What's up with dealer closings?

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PHALEXAN
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What's up with dealer closings?

Post by PHALEXAN »

My dealer in Indianapolis closed up last year and so has the nice brand new dealer ship in St. Louis. And the one in Cincinnati. Its getting really hard to find a place to see the new bikes or get mine serviced.

Is this a nationwide trend or am I just living in an unenlightened area?
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gelbe Kulter
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Post by gelbe Kulter »

I think it is hard to be a one-marque dealer.
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Post by big papa »

Now my dealer is selling scooters!! WTF??
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Post by Airman »

PHALEXAN,

There does seem to be some pressure from BMW on multi-bike dealers. They want the BMW shops to handle BMW only. I think it's more then that though. We had a nice llittle BMW dealer in Tacoma that I think was forced to sell (in my opinion) because they would not bring the shop up to "corporate image" It was a small homey kind of place.
I don't know how many dealers you have in your state. There are 3 in WA state. I'm pretty happy about the layout because 2 of them are close to me.
I had a conversation with one of the ladies on here about dealers in MN. I think she had 3 options and didn't like any of them. I guess we're stuck if there's a warranty item, but other then that these bikes are easy to work on. Do it yourself and buy your parts from Chicago BMW.
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Post by MikeCam »

BMW AG franchises to North America via BMW Motorrad NA and charges them a hefty fee, minimum and percentage of total volume while demanding that certain levels of inventory be accepted for bikes, accessories, parts, and clothing.

BMW Motorrad NA passes that along to the 'new' franchisees in North America and takes their own hefty bite. The dealer is left with a slim margin and a high carrying cost for mandated product lines. He either sells volume or fails. Older franchisees fair only somewhat better.

I looked into applying for the BMW franchise in two cities - offers by BMW NA prospecting for new dealers. This happens only when the existing BMW auto dealer declines (for a reason) and the nearest dealer(s) geographically usually get first refusal as well. Neither newer market could interest them and I couldn't get the probable numbers to work for my situation either.

Like many things: the big owner at the top of the pyramid gets the most benefit. it trickles down from there.

Probably more info than you wantedd, but there you are.
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Post by rdsmith3 »

What Mike said makes sense. However, I still cannot believe that there is not one BMW motorcycle dealer in northern NJ, which is part of the greater NYC metro area and one of the most densely populated areas of the country. It is also one of the wealthiest areas of the country. In addition, BMW's North American HQ is in northern NJ.

That is pathetic, IMO, and an indication that there is something wrong with the economic model they are forcing on dealers.
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Post by beemer-biker »

Airman wrote: There are 3 in WA state. I'm pretty happy about the layout because 2 of them are close to me.
Airman, I know of the 2 in the Sea-Tac area, but where is the third one? I thought there were only two here.
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Post by DJ Downunder »

I think BMW set very high standard for dealers to sell their bikes...and if they're not met..good-bye BMW...it's as simple as that...IMO.

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Post by rdsmith3 »

What is your definition of close? In NJ, the "closest" ones are each about 50 miles from me. Neither has loaner bikes. Therefore, if I leave the bike and I ask my wife to give me a ride, she would have to do two 100 mile round trips. Or I could wait around for hours at the dealer. Or I could trailer the bike. Or I could do the maintenance myself (but I have no time these days and not confident that I can bleed ABS brakes and do some other maintenance items.)

It is not a good situation.
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Post by yjleesvrr »

My dealer in Lynchburg is 90 miles away. Hammersley BMW Motorcycles is part of a Mercedes/BMW/Lincoln auto dealership. So even with a general lack of customer base, they can stay in business.

It seems that finding a BMW dealer is a hair easier than finding a Triumph dealership. I'm sure BMW doesn't want to attract SQUIDS to their dealership by allowing Beemers to be sold alongside Japanese sportbikes, but they're not going to be able to sell their motorcycles in the U.S. if people like us find it difficult to get our bikes serviced.

The D.C. area only has two dealers that I'm aware of, and that's pretty bad given that there are nearly 7 million people in the D.C. - Baltimore metro area. Getting to either is a pain in the rear for most people in the area.
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Great topic of discussion

Post by hotzuk »

Hey RD,

I used to live in NJ around the Flemington area. The most desnsly populated stated in the nation now has three BMW dealerships. What is up with that? Garden State BMW has been gone for about five months now with no replacement in site.

I now live in the Syracuse, NY area. My closest dealer is 82 miles away but they do give loaners (if one is available).

BMW NA has to see the dealerships they are losing. Are they not concerned?
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Post by fnfalman »

Motorrad USA had been pushing the dealers into either having a "boutique" dealership that deals in BMWs only, high-class appearance, etc. Or if a multi-brands dealer then they want the BMWs to be segregated in certain ways from other bikes and this and that. Consider that BMWs aren't big sellers, the multi-brand dealerships would drop the brand. Motorsports of Albuquerque dropped BMW because of the latter issue.
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Post by Deano »

yjleesvrr wrote:My dealer in Lynchburg is 90 miles away. Hammersley BMW Motorcycles is part of a Mercedes/BMW/Lincoln auto dealership. So even with a general lack of customer base, they can stay in business.

It seems that finding a BMW dealer is a hair easier than finding a Triumph dealership. I'm sure BMW doesn't want to attract SQUIDS to their dealership by allowing Beemers to be sold alongside Japanese sportbikes, but they're not going to be able to sell their motorcycles in the U.S. if people like us find it difficult to get our bikes serviced.

The D.C. area only has two dealers that I'm aware of, and that's pretty bad given that there are nearly 7 million people in the D.C. - Baltimore metro area. Getting to either is a pain in the rear for most people in the area.
There are three (Bob's, Morton's and Battley's), but one is a multi-line shop (Battleys).
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Post by Airman »

beemer-biker wrote:
Airman wrote: There are 3 in WA state. I'm pretty happy about the layout because 2 of them are close to me.
Airman, I know of the 2 in the Sea-Tac area, but where is the third one? I thought there were only two here.
Perhaps closer to you then Ridewest and South Sound. Mac's is in Clarkston. If it's too small on your map, it's just south of Pullman.
http://www.macscycle.com/welcome.cfm

Practically in Idaho. Looks like Mac's is a multi-brand dealer in a small town. Probably not the place to look at all the newest bikes, but they might work for parts and service. Not an option for me as it's 250 miles from my place.

I need to make a run down to the dealer in Portland some time and see how that's developing. I haven't been down there for a couple of years.

You may know this, but when it comes time to buy new bikes, or at least to look at them, the big dealer has the edge. The way it was explained to me is that BMW works on a system that allocates new bikes according to how many you sold last year. So the big dealer can order more bikes and give you a wider selection. Plus, and I have to admit believing this, a place that only works on BMW's should have a better service department.
The downside will be the $100 an hour shop rate.
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Post by sjbmw »

My BMW dealer took over the Victory and Ducati franchises from another dealer last year. Now they are EXPANDING the enterprise and moving into a larger location.

BMW NA has seen the writing on the wall and I expect them to back down from the exclusive boutique requirements.
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Post by rdsmith3 »

sjbmw wrote:My BMW dealer took over the Victory and Ducati franchises from another dealer last year. Now they are EXPANDING the enterprise and moving into a larger location.

BMW NA has seen the writing on the wall and I expect them to back down from the exclusive boutique requirements.
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Post by ebiker »

"sjbmw": My BMW dealer took over the Victory and Ducati franchises from another dealer last year. Now they are EXPANDING the enterprise and moving into a larger location. BMW NA has seen the writing on the wall and I expect them to back down from the exclusive boutique requirements.
Let's all hope they wise up and do just that! I'm blessed with a very fine BMW motorcycle dealership in Tucson who's service department pulls in work from Mexico, West Texas, New Mexico and even from Phoenix area two BMW dealerships. New and used bikes sales at IronHorse BMW are brisk! Of course, local gasoline prices at $2.70@gallon are helping, too.

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Post by MattPie »

sjbmw wrote:My BMW dealer took over the Victory and Ducati franchises from another dealer last year. Now they are EXPANDING the enterprise and moving into a larger location.

BMW NA has seen the writing on the wall and I expect them to back down from the exclusive boutique requirements.
BMW of Cherry Hill?
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Post by Slipstream »

The HUGE dealership in Springfield, OH used to sell BMWs, next to the Ducatis, the Indians, the Yamahas, Suzukis, and Hondas. They had a re-org, some new owners, and that's when BMW NA levied their "new" requirement to have a stand-alone bldg, with dedicated sales, service, and parts. (Since it had new owners, the grandfather clause for exception to those arcane rules was null and void.) The new owners told them to pound sand. I got this straight from one of those new owners.

I spoke to a different BMW Ohio dealership's (who shall remain nameless) service manager that had nothing but BAD things to say about BMW NA. "They're a bunch of snotty p@#%ks" and other nasty things, indicating that they were extremely hard to deal with, wouldn't pay the dealership back for warranty work, etc.

A sorry state of affairs.
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Post by sjbmw »

MattPie wrote:
sjbmw wrote:My BMW dealer took over the Victory and Ducati franchises from another dealer last year. Now they are EXPANDING the enterprise and moving into a larger location.

BMW NA has seen the writing on the wall and I expect them to back down from the exclusive boutique requirements.
BMW of Cherry Hill?
correctamundo.

now called Desimone Motorcycles. They are moving to a new location in May, 3 times the space. it's comforting to hear it. 25 minutes from home.
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