coupelady
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My good friend has offered to share with you thoughts that might make your efforts to find your coupe parts easier. So I would like to introduce Greg Howell and his comments:
>I don't doubt that classic vehicle owners can sometimes hit a wall at the local dealers. BMW training focus is entirely on what is new, not what was before, so training can be an issue in respect to older vehicles. Insistence on a VIN is often an excuse for not wanting to deal with older vehicles perhaps due to lack of knowledge, or the additional time it takes. Even models built from 1981 - 1995 are limited on what the VIN information can tell us and questions have to be asked. It's simply a training issue and each dealer is really on its own regarding training of their staff. Is it an excuse? No, there is no excuse for not giving every effort to help a customer and win a sale and company loyalty.
As for changing of parts, that falls under BMW corporate, and more often than not these are decisions made to reduce costs. BMW's extensive back catalog of parts is pretty rare in an industry that focuses on models 20 years old and newer. For instance Volkswagen has already dropped parts for vehicles only 10 years out of production, while BMW has nearly a full catalog for vehicles forty or fifty years old. This dedication to keep a huge assortment of obsolete parts can sometime force changes in design. If a part can be changed to fit multiple vehicles where before they were different, it makes sense to alter the older parts and only produce one item that helps a wider array of vehicles. It cuts costs, reduces inventories, and yet still provides a service to legacy vehicle owners.
Of course we realize that changing parts places a burden on customers who are trying to restore their vehicles to factory quality, and it can even cause concern over the quality of the parts like the slave cylinder, but isn't it nice that BMW even makes the parts still available? They don't have to for sure, and I know that it can be a financial burden as well in terms of production and storage of a brake fluid reservoir cap for an E9 that may only result in 1 sale a year. That said, even the best intentions can fall short if the customer is not 100% delighted and satisfied so I am happy to answer any questions or parts concerns you may have with your vehicle.
Feel free to email me: [email protected]
Greg Howell
Parts Inventory Manager
Don Jacobs BMW
2689 Nicholasville Rd.
Lexington, KY 40503
1-800-356-5366<
Please note that this is not an effort to promote sales. Under no circumstances was that the intent by Greg or I. He just volunteered to write this little primer to help with parts hunt frustrations.
Amy
>I don't doubt that classic vehicle owners can sometimes hit a wall at the local dealers. BMW training focus is entirely on what is new, not what was before, so training can be an issue in respect to older vehicles. Insistence on a VIN is often an excuse for not wanting to deal with older vehicles perhaps due to lack of knowledge, or the additional time it takes. Even models built from 1981 - 1995 are limited on what the VIN information can tell us and questions have to be asked. It's simply a training issue and each dealer is really on its own regarding training of their staff. Is it an excuse? No, there is no excuse for not giving every effort to help a customer and win a sale and company loyalty.
As for changing of parts, that falls under BMW corporate, and more often than not these are decisions made to reduce costs. BMW's extensive back catalog of parts is pretty rare in an industry that focuses on models 20 years old and newer. For instance Volkswagen has already dropped parts for vehicles only 10 years out of production, while BMW has nearly a full catalog for vehicles forty or fifty years old. This dedication to keep a huge assortment of obsolete parts can sometime force changes in design. If a part can be changed to fit multiple vehicles where before they were different, it makes sense to alter the older parts and only produce one item that helps a wider array of vehicles. It cuts costs, reduces inventories, and yet still provides a service to legacy vehicle owners.
Of course we realize that changing parts places a burden on customers who are trying to restore their vehicles to factory quality, and it can even cause concern over the quality of the parts like the slave cylinder, but isn't it nice that BMW even makes the parts still available? They don't have to for sure, and I know that it can be a financial burden as well in terms of production and storage of a brake fluid reservoir cap for an E9 that may only result in 1 sale a year. That said, even the best intentions can fall short if the customer is not 100% delighted and satisfied so I am happy to answer any questions or parts concerns you may have with your vehicle.
Feel free to email me: [email protected]
Greg Howell
Parts Inventory Manager
Don Jacobs BMW
2689 Nicholasville Rd.
Lexington, KY 40503
1-800-356-5366<
Please note that this is not an effort to promote sales. Under no circumstances was that the intent by Greg or I. He just volunteered to write this little primer to help with parts hunt frustrations.
Amy
