Sad Day For Little Rock BMW

[davidsl7]

Hello. Just learned that Little Rock BMW will be closing it's doors on February 27,2010. This is very sad to see a well established Dealership close.. My prayers go out to it's employees and owner..

[indygt]

Dang! There's nothing about it on their web site.

[indygt]

Yep, you're right. I just called them and confirmed it. They lasted 6 and a half years.
If it weren't for Grass Roots BMW in Cape Girardeau, I'd be SOL.
They're sending all of their inventory back to BMW rather than try to blow it out on sale, the guy at the dealership told me.

[Motodan]

They are closing everywhere...fun vehicles market is really taking a hit. The $20,000 admission ticket is quite sobering in today's current high unemployment plus the highly questionable financial future for just about every segment of our economy other than insurance and oil companies...they just raise their prices to cover what ever bonuses they owe.

[osbornk]

They are closing everywhere...fun vehicles market is really taking a hit. The $20,000 admission ticket is quite sobering in today's current high unemployment plus the highly questionable financial future for just about every segment of our economy other than insurance and oil companies...they just raise their prices to cover what ever bonuses they owe.

Some of the Insurance Companies are sucking air. We just don't hear about it. I retired from theinsurance industry and I have a lot of friends who have lost their jobs.

[naddy100]

This is too bad. I kinda needed some work done, and Little Rock said that they could do it. I hadn't gotten around to getting my bike up to them. I guess I need to think about somewhere else.

Noel

[PGlaves]

Some of the Insurance Companies are sucking air. We just don't hear about it. I retired from theinsurance industry and I have a lot of friends who have lost their jobs.

Certainly not a surprise. AIG was/is an insurance company. They have two primary sources of revenue. Premiums and return on investments. They combine to be reserves or payments of expenses and "losses". When the return on investment sucks, they turn to their other source of revenue. Premiums. Hang on folks. Here they come.

[Motodan]

Some of the Insurance Companies are sucking air. We just don't hear about it. I retired from theinsurance industry and I have a lot of friends who have lost their jobs.

I retired from the largest reinsurer of life insurance 6 years ago. I agree, that industry has downsized big time...lots have lost their jobs, but greed, in many cases, is what started the ball rolling.

[Motodan]

Certainly not a surprise. AIG was/is an insurance company. They have two primary sources of revenue. Premiums and return on investments. They combine to be reserves or payments of expenses and "losses". When the return on investment sucks, they turn to their other source of revenue. Premiums. Hang on folks. Here they come.

I was involved with the third factor....underwriting, there money can be made through quality selection and correct pricing based on sound actuarial applications. However, the never ending competition for new business, at the cost of future positive revenue, created part of what we see today. In many ways it is the same mindset (greed) we've seen in the housing industry...keep lowering your standards and known thresholds for profit, in order to attract new business and short term revenues.

The sad part is, it may be 5, 10, 20 or more years down the road, but it will all happen again...there will be the same cycle...we just never seem to learn...blinded by the BIG bucks?

[JAMESDUNN]

Certainly not a surprise. AIG was/is an insurance company. They have two primary sources of revenue. Premiums and return on investments. They combine to be reserves or payments of expenses and "losses". When the return on investment sucks, they turn to their other source of revenue. Premiums. Hang on folks. Here they come.

Paul, they (AIG) are hinting at the need for another govt. bailout. Motodan is right, greed started the ball rolling. Where will it stop?
JD

[36654]

Certainly not a surprise. AIG was/is an insurance company. They have two primary sources of revenue. Premiums and return on investments. They combine to be reserves or payments of expenses and "losses". When the return on investment sucks, they turn to their other source of revenue. Premiums. Hang on folks. Here they come.

Paul,

The strange thing about AIG was that they started the lay-offs in the insurance sector at least a year before the financial meltdown. The insurance policies on the derivatives and bundled mortgages were a product of the financial side of the business. It was those insurance policies on high risk, zero value securities that were a root cause of the meltdown. When market dropped, AIG had no assets to cover the loses, so the Gov't had to step in to stabilize the stock market and our pensions.

Jon

[milo]

Sorry to hear of another BMW dealer closing. There isn't a dealer anywhere in the state of WV so we're used to limited access.

[TED]

There isn't a dealer anywhere in the state of WV

My sympathy is somewhat tempered by the awesome roads you get to ride to make it to the ones in the neighboring States

[BUDDINGGEEZER]

I was in LR BMW about a month ago. They had just expanded their showroom and really had a nice dealership. They also sold Triumph, Vespa and just acquired Ducati.

Carpet floors, top of the line but for a dealership selling high end motorcycles they had the worst location. They were in an old run down inner city location. Also there was really no other business around them.

A few months ago they had an attempted burglary. Some guys drove a car through the plate glass windows to break in. Their mechanic lives (yes, I said lives) in the dealership and foiled the burglary with a shot gun.

Would they have survived in a more up scale part of town?????????????

Ralph Sims

[k75s]

I went to the "Little Rock Beemer Bash" in 2006. The Little Rock dealer provided a lunch on Saturday plus test rides.

Seemed like a nice dealership, what a shame.