BMWNA we need a dealership on Long Island

BMW is missing the boat on dealership location. We are in desperate need of a dealership on Long Island. There are 8 million people between Suffolk, Nassau, Brooklyn, and Queens Counties, with no dealership other than W57th Street in Manhattan. I'm looking for a suggestion on how to best get BMWNA's attention regarding this issue. I have spoken to countless people who agree with this position, so anyone with a suggestion please chime in.

Gold Coast Motorsports in New Hyde Park opened a while back. You may have missed that. They are now the only authorized BMW on Long Island. I still prefer to deal with Manhattan or Cliff's, but there you go. Hope this helps.
Larry

Apples,

I'm sure BMW is aware of the hole in the dealership network. The problem they have is the investment required to become a dealer, the faltering economy (and decreasing bike sales) and available capital.

Someone said once "There is a small fortune to be made in a BMW dealership.. if you start with a large fortune.." - and more than one dealer has found this true.

What you might do is try to convince an existing BMW dealer to expand their operation to your area (avoiding some of the costs for parts/tools inventory), or convince another brand motorcycle dealer to approach BMW about adding BMW to their line (the major capital investment can be shared.)

Or if you have a large fortune you feel like gambling with - approach BMW directly.

Thanks, and I'm aware of Gold Coast just this past summer becoming an authorized BMW dealer. I have visited them several times, and I have seenthe same GT on the floor since June. They only have 3 or 4 bikes from BMW the rest are Ducati, Aprillia, and Moto Guzzi. They seem to have some apparel, and good stock of BMW oils and filters, but not feeling real comfortable about there expeirence level yet. I like the idea of getting a BMW car dealer to carry a bike line.

Habberstad in Huntington was negotiating to open a bike dealership but negotiations fell through. I think it was part financial, part political, and the fact that they're almost done building a new building for a new car dealership in Bay Shore. If Arthur had played his cards right, he could have had a real goldmine in Precision. But it is, what it is.

I'm happy with what's here now. Just because a dealer exists doesn't equate to the dealer being any good.
aaaaaa

Lawn Guyland real estate is $$$

Long Island is so expensive in terms of overhead and real estate it would be really tough to open a solo BMW dealership there. Only way is a multi-brand entity that already has some infrastructure ... and deep pockets. (and helpful if they'd have the management/marketing expertise a la Cliff's)

Manhattan is owned by BMWNA and subsidized. The auto retail mindset doesn't generally gel with what one would want from a euro motorcycle dealership.

Kevin said:

Long Island is so expensive in terms of overhead and real estate it would be really tough to open a solo BMW dealership there. Only way is a multi-brand entity that already has some infrastructure ... and deep pockets. (and helpful if they'd have the management/marketing expertise a la Cliff's)

Manhattan is owned by BMWNA and subsidized. The auto retail mindset doesn't generally gel with what one would want from a euro motorcycle dealership.

Click to expand...

It seems to me that Max BMW is doing it no problem. Number one is sales, tremendous selection, and it's not a factory store. IMO they put Manhattan to shame. Rallye BMW in Westbury is hugh, and would be a great location. I have traded e-mails with them about this and they are considering it. They hired some company to do a market survey, and were blown away by how many BMW bikes are registered on Long Island. I'm hopeful they advance the idea with BMWNA

apples said:

It seems to me that Max BMW is doing it no problem. Number one is sales, tremendous selection, and it's not a factory store. IMO they put Manhattan to shame. Rallye BMW in Westbury is hugh, and would be a great location. I have traded e-mails with them about this and they are considering it. They hired some company to do a market survey, and were blown away by how many BMW bikes are registered on Long Island. I'm hopeful they advance the idea with BMWNA

Click to expand...

I agree Max is well run and does pretty high volume. Genuine enthusiasts too. The issue is with overhead ... it's much higher in Long Island than Troy. I wouldn't be surprised if real estate costs 4-5X for Long Island for an attractive location. Perhaps someone in the real estate commercial industry can chime in. Note Westchester BMW was also corporate subsized, great location and couldn't make a go if it. Someone knowledgeable in the industry once told me ... if you don't already own the property, owning a solo dealership in the NY Metro area is prohibitive if you expect a decent ROI. Bergen county, NJ has a pretty good demographic as well ... BMWNA couldn't find anyone to invest there. (plus you'd be competing w/ Cliff's, Manhattan and Max)

You might be surprised at the profit margin for a bike (if memory serves < 15%). Very optimistically sell 200 bikes/year. Do the math ...