[Notens]

Mrs. Notens and I were down at the pub (O'Connells - where the service is excellent) discussing the AUTOBAHN BMW car-trashing mess specifically with regard to BMW NAs handling. I cannot get my head around the complete negligence of BMW NA toward the situation - it is impacting my view of the brand and certainly reinforcing a lot of existing perceptions about the absolute lack of care provided by some (many?) BMW dealers.

It then occurred to me that they might be treating us that way on purpose. While we believe that we purchase a high-value, high-visibility marque from BMW, but we might be more trouble or less value than we think. Is it possible that:
1) M cars are expensive to buy, but are also expensive to make. Are M car margins lower for dealers or BMW NA?
2) M cars have a longer deal cycle, meaning that even if the margins are higher they sit on the lot longer before converting to profit?
3) M cars are expensive to maintain, require the most senior level technicians and a largely under warranty. Is there little-to-no money in maintaining the vehicle
4) The M car halo reflects well on BMW AG but has no impact on BMW NA or dealerships (i.e. I don't buy my 135 from a place because they lead in M5 sales)
5) M drivers are more hands-on and enthusiastic than the average customer, making them a pain in the behind to deal with

Basically, I don't understand why M car owners are treated so terribly and so I am trying to determine if there is a business driver behind it.

Don't spare my feelings - all are welcome to respond. The key question is: Are M car owners more trouble than they are worth?

 

[BMWNTHZST]

Interesting observation and questions??????

Subscribed...I want to see where this goeshmmmhmmmhmmm

 

[ideliver]

I just dropped a grand at my stealer getting service (brake fluid/SMG/coolant/PS fluid and Diff oil)that was needed (IMHO) and not covered by the bare bones maintenance plan...

Plain and simple autobaun simply does not care about a few customers...the plain truth is that as long as people are coming in the door...they do not care about the people going out of the door...also with national sales from the internet...they can sell all of their cars

My local stealer took a cherry E46 M3 in on trade from a local customer...they called me to come down and look at it...and before I could even get in to see it 8 hrs later...it was sold for their asking price, sight unseen by an internet customer

 

[Notens]

Plain and simple autobaun simply does not care about a few customers

Granted. No argument.

The broader question is not just about them, however, but more to the question of why some BMW dealers (and there are a ton of stories out there) treat M owners poorly. Is it just a dealership culture issue, or are we just not high-value customers?

The upshot is that if we are high-value customers, and the M5 Board represents a high concentration of high-value customers, why isn't BMW NA doing anything about our concerns?

 

[bmwe63fan]

I think you need to understand that BMW NA can do nothing to compel a dealer to do anything -- although they have stepped in on my behalf (and for many others) before as an advocate they actually do not have any real power to compel a dealer do something -- it is just the way BMW is structured in the US. BMW NA is essentially a marketing / branding company, while the dealers are the ones that sell and maintain. I do know that BMWNA does care VERY much about the M customer, and based on my local dealership the M customer is probably the best and most profitable they have -- and also the highest maintenance. I can't tell you if that is true nationally - but at my local dealer they are truly valued...

 

[DHoang]

I think you need to understand that BMW NA can do nothing to compel a dealer to do anything -- although they have stepped in on my behalf (and for many others) before as an advocate they actually do not have any real power to compel a dealer do something -- it is just the way BMW is structured in the US. BMW NA is essentially a marketing / branding company, while the dealers are the ones that sell and maintain. I do know that BMWNA does care VERY much about the M customer, and based on my local dealership the M customer is probably the best and most profitable they have -- and also the highest maintenance. I can't tell you if that is true nationally - but at my local dealer they are truly valued...

I concur.

 

[Corinthian]

I don't have an answer to your original question.

But to put things into perspective if BMW treats M car owners like Kings, what Porsche should be doing then for their customers ? an X5M is about the same price as a Cayenne S, and a fully loaded Panamera is about 200K, almost twice as much as an M5.

I have followed the Autobahn saga from the first post and my personal feeling is that BMWNA finally decided that it is too messy of a situation for many reasons to step in. They are probably waiting for the court verdict like everyone else. Then we will see.

 

[khyber]

I don't have an answer to your original question.

But to put things into perspective if BMW treats M car owners like Kings, what Porsche should be doing then for their customers ? an X5M is about the same price as a Cayenne S, and a fully loaded Panamera is about 200K, almost twice as much as an M5.

I have followed the Autobahn saga from the first post and my personal feeling is that BMWNA finally decided that it is too messy of a situation for many reasons to step in. They are probably waiting for the court verdict like everyone else. Then we will see.

Coming from the Porsche family, if you even drove a base Cayenne or Boxter they still treat you like a "King" or "Prince" but again I feel it depends on the dealer, there policies and more so your attitude towards your SA. I treat each person who handles my car with the utter most respect even if I am unhappy cause they have possession of it for that short period and can help me at the end of the day with a warranty claims or whatever.

To be living in Southern California I am blessed to have many great dealerships but we have horrible ones also, lol

 

[shezmon]

well if you follow my post "De Javu" regarding my issues with this dealership in NJ, you'd see that at the end of the day bmw of na did come through for me and so did the dealership. But yes it sole responsiblity of the dealership and bmw of NA cannot make them do things. I am so far treated pretty fair, i guess they can't have too many bad customers at one time. I bought my car 2 months ago and they have promised to take it back yesterday. Follow my post.. Best of luck to Tommy in his case.