Boxerworks.com

http://www.chicagobmwmotorcycle.com/index.html

Having provided our customers with dedicated, professional service and great pricing on all your BMW Motorcycle needs since 1992, Chicago BMW is closing our doors.


I had heard they had changed their discount from 20% to 10%. I did not expect this, though. It's a bravenewworldorder knocking at your back door!

justoneoftheguys wrote:http://www.chicagobmwmotorcycle.com/index.html

Having provided our customers with dedicated, professional service and great pricing on all your BMW Motorcycle needs since 1992, Chicago BMW is closing our doors.


I had heard they had changed their discount from 20% to 10%. I did not expect this, though. It's a bravenewworldorder knocking at your back door!

Say it ain't so. I hope this doesn't mean that BMW part prices will go up even faster. One less big supplier to turn to and less competition for those remaining.

Another dealer succumbs to the Great Recession. That's a bummer. The BMW dealers that closed around here (SF Bay Area) seem to have either been purchased or expanded greatly right before the crash; as such, they probably had a high debt amount. I don't know what the case is for Chicago BMW.

Overall, I'm surprised there haven't been more closures/consolidations, and not just with BMW's. Unfortunately, I see more closures as dealers stuggle in the near future as our economy bounces along the bottom, since I believe we have a few more years of this before there is any real growth.

Jeff in W.C. wrote:since I believe we have a few more years of this before there is any real growth.

O.K., since Duane is out reading 'lectric meters in the hills, I'll pipe in for him.

You sure are optimistic, aren't you Jeff?

Supposedly, BMW motorcycles are selling well, so what's up with these dealers going away?

BMW Motorcycles: Record Half-Year Sales

justoneoftheguys wrote:

Jeff in W.C. wrote:since I believe we have a few more years of this before there is any real growth.

O.K., since Duane is out reading 'lectric meters in the hills, I'll pipe in for him.

You sure are optimistic, aren't you Jeff?

Actually, I view myself as more realistic. When looking back at the recession of early 90's, things started going bad due to Black Monday in 1987. Anyway, things really started going bad in 1989. I graduated college that year, and finding work was very difficult. The economy really didn't start going gang busters again until around 1995-96--at least that's the way I remember it. The economy kind of bottomed out around 92-93, and bounced along the bottom for a few years. With this recession and the one in the early 90's, the banking industry was affected. Granted far greater this time around. As such, I think it will take longer to rebound. If you assume a similar six-year time frame, the economy will be bouncing along the bottom until 2013 (2007 + 6 years). It's a bit simiplistic I agree, but I can't see the economy bouncing back quicker than what it did in the early to mid 1990's.

Jeff in W.C. wrote:Actually, I view myself as more realistic. When looking back at the recession of early 90's, things started going bad due to Black Monday in 1987. Anyway, things really started going bad in 1989. I graduated college that year, and finding work was very difficult. The economy really didn't start going gang busters again until around 1995-96--at least that's the way I remember it. The economy kind of bottomed out around 92-93, and bounced along the bottom for a few years. With this recession and the one in the early 90's, the banking industry was affected. Granted far greater this time around. As such, I think it will take longer to rebound. If you assume a similar six-year time frame, the economy will be bouncing along the bottom until 2013 (2007 + 6 years). It's a bit simiplistic I agree, but I can't see the economy bouncing back quicker than what it did in the early to mid 1990's.

I see myself moving to Idaho and working for the Chinese when they buy it. That is where most of the 'merican dollars are.

Wow. I was getting ready to order a large number of parts from them. Any suggestions on where to go for replacements?

justoneoftheguys wrote: I see myself moving to Idaho and working for the Chinese when they buy it. That is where most of the 'merican dollars are.

Well, if we go broke, so will the Chinese. They are more like the holder/lender debt (via T-Bills), so if we can't pay them, they're worthless. Good thing that they're unsecured.

What I see is that there have been business that operate on some pretty sketchy principles. If it involves "leveraging" and it doesn't involve an actual lever, then I think they are in trouble right now.

It seems that there is a general profit margin that business has had to operate under for many years. There are going to be those who try to undercut the normal profit margins and when they do, you won't hear people wondering about how or why that works. Well, it usually doesn't work for long. There probably are exceptions. In the long run, though, I'll try to do most of my new part purchasing from established dealers. That means I'll usually pay full price. Usually, that works out in the long run. Lots of people get to eat when that system is kept intact. That's just my outlook on the subject of discounters.

Chuey