I am new to the BMW Club and this chapter. I joined BMW CCA back in March of '07 after purchasing a 2007 E60 - 530i. This is my third BMW, I had a 1982 320i that was purchased new and rolled at 100+mph December 19th of that year. That car had only 8,000 miles on it but it saved my life. Made me a German car fan! Next BMW owned was a 1994 530i with the small V8. I won the first ever BMP Design clean car contest in Div II in 1996 with that car. That was a fun weekend. I have owned a 2006 Audi A6 as well as our current car being a 1991 Mercedes 300E. I hope to enjoy some of the events soon. I see that this chapter does alot of driving/racing events. Not much in to that but would definitely enjoy helping with events in any way I can.

Doesn't look like many people come onto this forum on a regular basis but I wanted to broach a subject for all to consider. I have been a member of the Mercedes Benz Club since '92. Park Place Mercedes supports the MB Club in many ways with the most significant being a parts discount at their dealerships. they give all Club members "wholesale" pricing on over the counter MB parts. This works out to be usually anywhere from 20% to as much as 50% off list pricing. Not always the cheapest but when you add in the warranty and the convenience of buying now versus waiting for online parts it makes it worthwhile.

Last week I called Paul Ruth, the parts department manager at BMW of Dallas and discussed this scenario with him and asked if he would offer the BMW Club members a larger discount than the "customary" 10% they now give. We had a good conversation and he is definitely open to the idea. In our talk, he noted that for the month of May, a total of just $19,000 in parts was sold to BMW Club members. This contrasts with over $200,000 sold at Park Place Dallas to MB Club members for May. Paul stated that he would be open to offering a larger discount if more club members would buy more parts from them. So, I have to ask, what are the thoughts concerning this topic? I have recently purchased BMW parts online from Tischer BMW and looked at pricing from BMW of Lincoln. They both offer better pricing that Dallas. Would the present members buy more parts from BMW Dallas if the pricing was more competitive? Is anyone interested in this?

What say everyone?

Thanks for letting me ramble. I would sure like to get better pricing and support from our local dealers, wouldn't you?

Rick Hall

Rick Hall
91 300E - 194k
07 530i 48k

About the only way $200,000 in one month could even approach reality is if they are combining sales from all of the Park Place dealerships and I would still find that hard to believe.  Now if they were combining parts sold in the service department associated with a repair or service in house, then that number starts to make more sense.  I don't think BMW is counting those dollars if they even will discount parts sold on a service ticket.  As far as a 50% discount on any part just for being in the MB club, that is just without believabilty, unless...once again you are including parts on a service ticket and you are bumping labor $s to offset the discount.   I really wonder how these numbers really play out because Park Place is not that generous on any level.  Have you seen all of there properties....we are talking $15 to $20 million dollar properties.....thats a lot of overhead and you are not going to cover all of that overhead by selling parts at a 50% discount.  To be fair I would bet that "list" price that these percentages are based on is inflated.  That's a trick that a couple of the metroplex BMW dealerships use.  They will give a 20 or 25% discount off of a list price that is 10 or 15% higher than msrp.  So in essence you are getting a 10 or 15% discount off of the legitimate "list" price.  I would bet this is the case since I know that Park Place has two different "list" prices.  I used to get quoted different "list" prices  for the same part, when I bought from them, depending on who I got on the phone and whether I told them who I was or not.   

As far as BMW is concerned, I think all of the dealerships could do a better job but because there are so many wholesalers available via the internet, it hardly makes sense for them to try to compete.  Especially when internet wholesalers have no overhead, no brick and mortar location, no staff, no tech support or cust support when the crap they sell you isn't right or fails, and don't care if you are happy with your purchase or not.   

In the end you are right $ talks.  Whatever dealer you are trying to beat down on savings is going to want to see results if they are giving special concessions.  Even on the level we buy at we spent several years working on our local dealer and in the end it didn't matter how much we spent or stroke egos, we were told by several employees that our business didn't matter.  We ended up with Moritz in Arlington because they let us know that they wanted out business and has done an exceptional job proving.  With that said we also spend about 10k a month with them and that really matter.

Something you should know is that the Mercedes Club of America is dwarfed in membership by the BMW CCA so legitatemately I would bet that overall, BMWCCA members locally and nationally spend more gross dollars on BMW Dealer sourced parts.  I would bet they spend alot more than any dealership would ever admit and even then you would have to look at where those numbers are actually coming from....are they including parts sold in the service department and are they actually offering a discount there also.   

Where I am going with this....either a dealership wants the business or not.  There are dealerships that offer better discounts via the internet because they do want club business.  That is the great thing about free enterprise, someone wants your business and is willing to do what it takes to get it.  You shouldn't have to convince a dealer that they want our business, they should just get it.  My experience after all of these years is that many don't get it and flat out don't care.  And honestly some do prefer if you go elsewhere. 

Trent Cole
Lone Star Bavarian, inc
3800 West Vickery Blvd.

Ft. Worth, Tx 76107
817-732-4888
www.bmwfxr.com

BMW CCA Tech Advisor, Lone Star Chapter

Thanks for your reply. Looks like I touched a nerve with you, wasn't my intent. I'm not sure my questions to the LSC members really apply to you as it is apparent that you are a shop owner, are you not? I would expect that you have your sources for OE and OEM parts and they may or may not be different than what us owners/D I Y'ers have available. I certainly cannot buy from WorldPac and suspect that the majority of BMW owners can't either. The owners that can't/won't do any work on their own avail themselves of your services and expertise.

You make some valid points in your reply and some that have me raising an eyebrow. The dollars sold that were quoted to me DO NOT include parts sold in the service department. The discount in the service department is a flat 10% of the ticket. They enforce a policy of no "wholesale" parts being used in the service department.

Yes, Park Place has "fancy digs" and ,like Las Vegas, we the players have to pay for these palaces. I thought  individuals like us who drive high dollar cars would realize this. Park Place Dallas is in fact, tight fisted or what some would call "fiscally responsible". They have to make a profit and I for one do not begrudge them of this fact at all. If I would bring any of my cars to you for service/repairs/maintenance or anything else, I would certainly not begrudge you of making a profit. In fact, you HAVE to make a profit or we wouldn't have you around.

I called my contacts and reviewed the numbers that I quaoted so that I would be speaking with facts and not smoke. Park Place Dallas sells OVER $2 million dollars a month in Mercedes Benz parts. This figure comes from the Dallas location ONLY and includes over the counter wholesale,retail, service department and body shop parts. Any way you slice it, that's ALOT! Now, the MB Club, and I don't know how it compares in size to the BMW Club nationally, in Dallas averages about $15,000 monthly over the counter at the Dallas location. Last month was about 60% of that amount, NOT the $200K figure I was told. That is still alot of money being spent in one location by DIY owners who wish to twist their own wrenches.

To reiterate the intent of my original post, I am not trying to get BMW Dallas to give us the LOWEST price on parts, just get competitive. Should they do that on their own and come solicit our business as you suggest? In a perfect world, yes. When I can buy original brake rotors on line at $69 and over the counter at my dealership for $78 dollars (just random numbers) then I am presented with a choice to make. Buy them today so I can do my work on my time or buy them on line and wait to work on my car at a later date. If the parts are not correct, then the thrill of the lowest price is overcome by the agony of having to return them and start all over again. In my case, it is worth the small difference in price to buy from the local guy and leave with the correct parts in hand.

Trent, I am not your "typical" BMW owner who believes in the Factory Maintenance Schedule (or Lack of maintenance schedule) as it is espoused nowadays. I believe in Fluids and Filters, Maintain it before it breaks type of service. I replace my tires before they are bald and change my plugs and wires before my fuel mileage is 10mpg and I have a miss in the engine. By 100,000 miles, I will not have original struts, tie rods or any other "wear" items. Any of our other members who believe in this and want to keep their cars in like new shape for the long haul will need parts. My intention is to see if there is enough interst in the LSC to help us convince the local dealers to be more competitive in pricing.

Do we have enough interest from members to pursue this? I know Tim Jenkins at Moritz BMW and would not hesitate to approach him for support of our chapter either. I need to know if there is sufficient interest to warrant persuing this.

Thanks to all.

Rick Hall
91 300E - 194k
07 530i 48k

As far as you or any DIY buying from World Pac directly.....some of you are, maybe not directly but it doesn't get any closer without opening a business.  What do I mean....several of the well known websites that BMW CCA members use(not dealer sites) for discounted parts are SpeedDial sites.  Which is easily determined if you are a Speed Dial user.  SpeedDial is the web program that World Pac customers use to place orders.  Often the prices on these sites are only a few dollars more than what I pay, so you are getting wholesale pricing from these sites without bulk buying.  Additionally these parts are drop shipped from one of 30 World Pac warehouses nationally.  So legitimately you could be buying parts from some guy sitting in his boxers at the dining room table.  Speed Dial gives some crafty individuals the ability to sell volumn parts without any of the overhead of a legitimate business.   Because I have a fairly high volumn shop we have some of the best pricing you can get from World Pac and for anyone off the street to get pricing that is only about 5% over my discount is really impressive.  It is also far below any discount you will twist out of BMW.  It is possible to get up to 70% and sometimes more, of a discount over real "list" on common maintenance parts by utilizing the internet instead of dealerships, and they know that. 

And this is why I personally think it is a waste of time to pandor to the local dealers for a couple of points in pricing, but I have made that clear already.  As a shop we purchase from the dealer, only the items we can't get from anywhere else or items we know need the 24 month warranty they offer on all of there parts. 

I am referring to BMW in this post only!  I made my opinion clear on MB and their parts in the previous. 

That's my two cents, or there about.  And last night I slept at a Holiday inn. 

Trent Cole
Lone Star Bavarian, inc
3800 West Vickery Blvd.

Ft. Worth, Tx 76107
817-732-4888
www.bmwfxr.com

BMW CCA Tech Advisor, Lone Star Chapter

The moral of this story.....don't buy your parts from BMW of Dallas unless you like being fleeced.  Unfortunately we had no choice but we won't make that mistake again. 

Trent Cole
Lone Star Bavarian, inc
3800 West Vickery Blvd.

Ft. Worth, Tx 76107
817-732-4888
www.bmwfxr.com

BMW CCA Tech Advisor, Lone Star Chapter