New BMW Stores?

[cjack]

There seems to be some intense pride in getting value without giving back.

The old adage I like is the one where "If you have to ask, you can't afford it".

[GSFORNOW]

Where any individual chooses to shop is their personal decision. But it is the height of hypocricy when the same individual gripes about how few dealers there are and how far away they are and then hypes the great deals they can find from some far-away big warehouse that sells everything from chinese tires to Belarussian chrome.

I tend to agree but like Wally World and other box stores the big parts warehouses are like a turtle on a fence post - They did not get there by on their own. Someone is shopping there. Why do people buy at a motorcycle parts warehouse instead of their "local" (where ever that may be) BMW dealer? When looking for my bike the first BMW dealership I went to I vowed I would never set foot in again. I tend to be curious so I looked futher and found other dealers ranging from OK to very good. Maybe people get too much of the BMW experience and not look elsewhere. The dealer I presently go to, a BMW only dealer by the way, gets some flack on the BMW sites basicly I think for being successful. I never get an email or mailing from the dealer where I bought the bike and had it serviced for three years. The dealer I presently frequent is very proactive with promotional material, service, and events. I think some of the dealers crying foul just need to perhaps work their market a little more. Loyalty is a two way street give most folks a good reason to shop at your store and they will.

[ragtoplvr]

BMW is part of the blame here.

some of the common service parts prices are unreasonable.

Now i like to support my dealer, I have them do the annual, and I buy parts from them.

However, $16.00 or more for an oil filter, and almost $20.00 a quart for oil is excessive. I do not play at that price. I could live with Mobil 1 at $9.00 and BMW at $12, I could live with oil filter at $10.00, even $12.00 but....

some sanity is needed.

Rod

[LONERANGER]

I guess I have always been the "oddball" when it comes to motorcycles. Sure I have had Yamaha's, Honda's and Kawasaki but my last few bikes have included Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and now BMW so I am used to driving for hours to get to a dealer. I will be taking my RT to Gina's in May for a brake fluid change and Gina's is about 100 miles from my house.