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Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 11, 2019 11:42 AM
by athayer187
BavAuto was always a great sponsor of driving schools in the Northeast too - always hate to see anyone who supports the community close their doors.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 11, 2019 12:19 PM
by T_C_D
Blue Shadow wrote:T_C_D wrote:Is there a negative opinion of ECS? Isn't it a family owned business that has had great success?
owners of ecs tuning
http://www.bertramcapital.com/portfolio
ABOUT BERTRAM CAPITAL
With over $1.4 billion in committed capital, BERTRAM CAPITAL is a private equity firm targeting investments in lower middle market companies. By supplying flexible investment capital and committing a wealth of operational and strategic resources to each investment, we make it our core objective to move companies, management teams, and employees toward unlocking their full potential.
Ah, the true American dream. Build a company with enough value to sell to Wall Street.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 12, 2019 1:26 AM
by wkohler
You should read the account of what happened when they took Turner over.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 12, 2019 2:05 PM
by tn535i
T_C_D wrote:Ah, the true American dream. Build a company with enough value to sell to Wall Street.
More than likely this ^^ is what is going on. Someone doesn't want the competition so they buy their competitor. I doubt the principles (of BavAuto) have been losing money and finally decided to stop the bleeding and call it quits. More than likely they've had a good run and now they have enough cash in hand to buy an island somewhere. I don't feel one bit bad for the owners but many of their employees might be looking for work soon. That's the ugly side of the American dream that rarely gets talked about... Build it on the backs of regular people then cut them loose.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 13, 2019 9:05 PM
by Geerhed
I had my head in the sand with work stuff the last week. Came up for air and saw a post on social media about the closing.
I'm STUNNED and very saddened. I work in Kittery, Maine, which is right across the harbor from Portsmouth, so BavAuto was always convenient to me to grab a part on the way home from work. It was great to be able to buy what I needed, AND what I "might" need and just bring it back the next day if it weren't necessary.
Mike Bailey, who worked on the showroom counter, was a great resource and loved to talk BMWs (so long as there weren't other customers in line) and gave me several tips when I was a new BMW owner (85 e28 535i). Mike left a few years ago.
I would spend some time finding the lowest prices on a part, then print it out and bring it in for their price-matching. No more, I guess.
Things aren't going to be the same around here!
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 14, 2019 6:37 AM
by slack
wkohler wrote:You should read the account of what happened when they took Turner over.
There's an account of the Turner take-over here in post #19:
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/1 ... tal-2.html
I didn't know that they bought Pelican as well.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 14, 2019 8:22 AM
by slownrusty
I recently bought an '86 E24 and purchased over $1,000 worth of stuff from BAV (literally a few weeks ago), I spoke to their Techs extensively (up to last week) and there was no indication that they were closing down, so they did a great job of not revealing this shocking information.
I liked their website, options for purchasing parts from other manufacturers versus OEM, I did notice that their prices were not the lowest but liked their free shipping over $99 deal.
I hope they keep the website up as a reference \ resource.
Yasin
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 14, 2019 12:52 PM
by B_Newman
It happened quietly Q4 2017 so there wouldn't be a repeat of the TMS fiasco. I've ordered from Pelican for years (BMW, MB, Volvo parts) and they've never skipped a beat. There was one hiccup: it was a package from ECS distribution center in late 2017. I called Pelican and they resolved it quickly. I asked about the ECs box and they said they were partners (that's all). Since that hiccup, everything has been perfect, fast, and from a Pelican Parts warehouse in CA.
I'm praying they do not mess with Pelican.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 14, 2019 1:35 PM
by John in VA
slownrusty wrote:I liked their website, options for purchasing parts from other manufacturers versus OEM, I did notice that their prices were not the lowest but liked their free shipping over $99 deal.
I hope they keep the website up as a reference \ resource.
Then you'll like AutohausAZ and FCP Euro. They have free shipping >$49, and offer parts from different manufacturers at different price points.
BluntTech.com is another option, offering great customer service.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 14, 2019 8:06 PM
by vinceg101
John in VA wrote:slownrusty wrote:I liked their website, options for purchasing parts from other manufacturers versus OEM, I did notice that their prices were not the lowest but liked their free shipping over $99 deal.
I hope they keep the website up as a reference \ resource.
Then you'll like AutohausAZ and FCP Euro. They have free shipping >$49, and offer parts from different manufacturers at different price points.
BluntTech.com is another option, offering great customer service.
These have been my go-to two parts houses for a while now.
Pelican was convenient when they were in their original warehouse in El Segundo (about 20min from my house so I could usually skip the shipping costs and the wait time). Then they moved to Harbor City (much further away so now I was paying both shipping and sales tax). Then they were bought by ECS. Not to mention AZ and FCP consistently beat Pelican's prices item for item.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 15, 2019 9:52 AM
by slownrusty
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I used to buy from Pelican back in the day, but find they are not as competitiveness as they used to be and from time to time I will buy from AZAutohaus. Its great to have these choices!
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 15, 2019 12:12 PM
by Beemernut
Man oh man oh man.
BavAuto was one of the few places that was more "local" to Michigan. RIP. I actually liked these folks, but I guess I'll jump on the FCP bus or something.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 15, 2019 6:22 PM
by John in VA
Beemernut wrote:BavAuto was one of the few places that was more "local" to Michigan.
BluntTech.com HQ is in MN.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 21, 2019 3:37 PM
by wkohler
BavAuto had this to say today:
After 45 wonderful years, Bavarian Autosport closed its doors on Friday, March 8th.
In the interest of looking after our customers and carrying on Bavarian Autosport’s proud commitment to BMW and Mini enthusiasts, we reached out to our friends at ECS Tuning to see if they could lend a hand.
ECS Tuning has agreed to honor Bav Auto gift cards, and will be helping to fulfill all open customer orders. Additionally, ECS Tuning is offering Bav Auto customers up to a 15% discount on their first order with ECS. Both of those offers are good through April 30th and are available by calling ECS Tuning at 330-331-2340.
ECS has agreed to carry on relationships with the BMW CCA chapters we’ve been proud to support. Further, they are working to maintain and continue stocking a number of the Bavarian Autosport branded parts that you’ve relied on for years.
ECS has been very supportive since we made the decision to close our doors, and we encourage you to consider them for your parts and service needs.
Thank you again for your dedication and commitment to Bavarian Autosport over all these years. We’ve loved being part of your community.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 21, 2019 4:18 PM
by SlickDizzy
I was initially pretty confused until I got to this part:
Further, they are working to maintain and continue stocking a number of the Bavarian Autosport branded parts that you’ve relied on for years.
Sounds like BavAuto is set to become ECS' newest private-label Chinese part brand.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 22, 2019 2:42 AM
by wkohler
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 22, 2019 8:37 AM
by BDKawey
ECS is just absorbing everyone. despite being somewhat local to me ive only used them once. still seems like most being dont enjoy their business.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 22, 2019 4:00 PM
by gray635
Just saw this article on the weekly BMWCCA email-blast:
https://bimmerlife.com/2019/03/16/bavar ... ame=member
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 22, 2019 4:13 PM
by T_C_D
I spied Bob's crazy twin turbo 635 in one of the nose photos. I never saw it finished in person.
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 22, 2019 4:31 PM
by Nebraska_e28
T_C_D wrote:I spied Bob's crazy twin turbo 635 in one of the nose photos. I never saw it finished in person.
m30?
Re: BavAuto closing their doors!
Posted: Mar 22, 2019 4:32 PM
by T_C_D
Nebraska_e28 wrote:T_C_D wrote:I spied Bob's crazy twin turbo 635 in one of the nose photos. I never saw it finished in person.
m30?
Yes.