The Hazard of buying an Enthusiast Auto group Car (not an EAG hate thread)

[chacend]

From everything I have seen and read, EAG tends to sell excellent cars at a price premium. Regardless of the ire they tend to stir up when they scoop an enthusiast on a great deal and then mark it up, their are cars are generally great specimens with up to date maintenance and very good condition.

What I see as the hazard is for buyers that don't keep cars long (two years or less) or for someone that has to get out of a car for financial reasons, you will probably not recoup your money. A couple of cases in point are two cars listed in our for sale forum right now. Both were sold by EAG for around $18k+ within the last two years, both sellers started they're ads around the same price but have had to quickly reduce price (one almost $4k) to get any interest and are still not sold.

It seems to me if you want a beautiful needs nothing car and don't want to have to bother getting it up snuff, EAG can be a great thing, but while they command a premium when buying from them, that premium doesn't seem to carry over for the seller one or two years down the road. So unless your keeping it for the long haul - buyer beware!

[stephenkirsh]

I had to google what EAG is.

I doubt many people here have purchased from them. It's just one place and the pricing seems crazy.

[NYRhockey]

You buy a car knowing you'd lose money on it if you sold it the next day (for the most part), but yea, EAG pricing is very aggressive. If you're looking to hold the car for a while and want little to no maintenance in the next couple/few years EAG is a great buy if you're willing to pay the premium.

[QC_ZHP]

I had to google what EAG is.

I doubt many people here have purchased from them. It's just one place and the pricing seems crazy.

EAG is pretty popular. They catch alot of hate from the DIY/Forum community for their high prices and they buy up the low-mile M's quickly, but they are well aware that is not their target market. I say let them do their thing, I would only buy from them if, like mentioned above, I was looking to purchase my 'unicorn' that I planned on keeping forever.

[328ioc]

EAG is pretty popular. They catch alot of hate from the DIY/Forum community for their high prices and they buy up the low-mile M's quickly, but they are well aware that is not their target market. I say let them do their thing, I would only buy from them if, like mentioned above, I was looking to purchase my 'unicorn' that I planned on keeping forever.
I agree with this....they are a good source for unicorns.

If you want something rare it will be a premium, if you want low miles even higher premium....then if you want up to date maintenance it goes up more.

Then they add more because they tick those three boxes then add the convenience of not needing to shop around and find one...


Example... look for years for a 95 M3 LTW.....or pay a massive premium from EAG to have one NOW....

That's where they make sense.

[stephenkirsh]

They sold one for $200k. 104 miles. One hundred and four. 104.00. Crazy!

[Sockethead]

They are no different than any other dealer. Be it a major manufacturer or the guy on the corner. Bottom line is that they're in business to make money. Generally, any dealer car is going to sell for a higher price than private sale
I paid top dollar for my ZHP from a BMW dealer. They knew what they had, I knew what they had. I was ok with it because I had been looking for that particular color/option for 6 months...

[BADCLOWN]

theres a fine line between making a profit and driving the market up/getting your customers in the rear with no lube.


yeah, they're a business i get that entirely. ultimately, they can do whatever they want. i rip on them because of how expensive their cars are in relation to most of the market. especially when they buy them from customers at seemingly market value and then proceed to jack the price up through the roof. if i get in a position to buy my unicorns they have two of them right now that i would buy if i had the money to do so (black/black 2001 S54 M coupe and they just got in a alpineweiss/black e46 m3 comp)

[stephenkirsh]

You should rip on the people who continue to buy at the inflated prices. A business only exists if customers give them money.

It's like all the people saying Apple over charges for a computer. Well the millions of people who buy every month disagree.

[Jon D]

Or your like me who would want EAG to buy my car at a premium or another enthusiast that's willing to pay for very low mileage, right upgrades and all maintenance done at or ahead of schedule.

If I would give away my car it would be as a trade I where at least I get tax benefits.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[NickZHP]

theres a fine line between making a profit and driving the market up/getting your customers in the rear with no lube.


yeah, they're a business i get that entirely. ultimately, they can do whatever they want. i rip on them because of how expensive their cars are in relation to most of the market. especially when they buy them from customers at seemingly market value and then proceed to jack the price up through the roof. if i get in a position to buy my unicorns they have two of them right now that i would buy if i had the money to do so (black/black 2001 S54 M coupe and they just got in a alpineweiss/black e46 m3 comp)

The cars are worth what people are willing to pay for them. If people are buying the cars way above market value, either the cars are worth way more than market value or the buyers have no knowledge about what the car is actually worth. Most likely the latter case is not true considering they would be buying from the Enthusiast Auto Group. So are they really "jacking the price up"? Sure there is a heavy premium on the cars but they must be worth the money if the cars are selling.

[chacend]

Its funny, I started this thread with no intent to stir up the hate on EAG. Just more like what I see as a warning that if you buy from them you better keep it. I've considered buying from them numerous times, they've just never had anything I wanted bad enough to pay the premium.

[danewilson77]

....or the buyers have no knowledge about what the car is actually worth....

Which means the car is not worth what someone is willing to pay.

:dunno

[stephenkirsh]

Which means the car is not worth what someone is willing to pay.

:dunno

That's just one small part. I don't think that should distract from Nick's overall message (and mine): don't knock the business if people are willing to pay, especially something like luxury sports cars.

[danewilson77]

That's just one small part. I don't think that should distract from Nick's overall message (and mine): don't knock the business if people are willing to pay, especially something like luxury sports cars.
I don't think anyone is knocking it. We're just not fooled is all.

[NickZHP]

Which means the car is not worth what someone is willing to pay.

:dunno

Sorry I was a little unclear about that, I meant most people buying from EAG are probably more knowledgeable about cars and/or have at least done some research before making such a big purchase (hopefully). Now while I'm sure there are those who really don't know what they're paying for at EAG, I would have to believe that the majority of their customers are somewhat knowledegable about the car's worth. So unless all their customers are being duped, I would say that their cars are worth more than market value. Hopefully this gets my point across a little better. And of course I could be wrong, maybe all the customers are being ripped off but this is the way I see it.

[jiggz]

Hmm, I'm probably in the minority here but I like EAG. I've never purchased a car from them but I definitely would if I was looking. I like perusing their inventory just for fun. They're about the only online resource where you can find a nice collection of well maintained, mostly stock, low mileage, desirable BMW's. Maybe because I'm in a position to buy their cars the prices don't bother me? This thread is pretty tame….I typically chuckle at most EAG threads where people grouse and complain about their prices.

I guess I'd rather shop their site than scour the forums and online auto sites that quite honestly, are mostly littered with junk.

Just my .02.

[cakM3]

EAG does have a good collection of used BMWs in excellent shape which is why they sell for a higher premium... for some it's much easier for a person to just go to a web site such as EAG (one stop shop) and purchase a used BMW at their pricing rather than scour the internet/forum/classifieds and hope to find a car in similar condition.

With that said, if a person is patient he/she can find a BMW in similar or better condition by searching thru forum & CCA classifieds and end up saving thousands compared to buying from EAG. Yes, I agree that searching for a used BMW thru these means tend to turn up more cars that are in poor condition. It comes down to what that person really wants to do. There are so many variables that help determine how a person will go about shopping for that BMW... not everyone is in a position like jiggz to buy a BMW from EAG and that's okay. As long as the person keep themselves well informed they can find a BMW more suited to their liking. :thumbsup

I think the main point here is that like chacend said, if you buy from EAG then plan to keep the car for a long time since you're shelling out more money to pay their premium pricing...

[Sockethead]

Yep that's what my intentions were when I paid the premium price on My ZHP. I told the sales guy that I'd be keeping the car for a very long time and he looked at me like I had two heads... I guess there aren't many people that buy from a BMW dealership and then keep the car beyond the warranty...