Closure of BMW Leo Haese Pretoria

[CK4LIFE]

They shud be closing fountains club motors instead...where will we go now....not right so unfair..this is the best BMW dealership in PTA :smashScreen::smashScreen:

 

[Zound]

Are the staff perhaps moving to the new location in Centurion?

 

[uncle j]

Hi everyone, thank you for the kind words. Here is what will be happening.
The dealership will be losing the BMW logo and as a result we won't be a BMW approved service center after September. The business and most of the staff will carry on, Leo Haese WON'T be closing down, we just won't be BMW approved. Mr Haese will keep the business open. As a result after September we won't be able to assist warranty and Motorplan vehicles. The "upside" is we can now assist you with all sorts of alternatives. We will remain open as a normal workshop after that. We can now assist you with all your vehicles (all brands) for servicing and parts. So please feel free to contact us for any assitance.

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Why is it closing down ?? whats BMWs reason for closing it down ? What did they come down hard on His dealership for ?

This is so sad

It is all about New vehicle sales.

 

[444YYY]

All the best John!!

 

[TurboLlew]

It is all about New vehicle sales.

This is tragic - putting the burden on the dealers when it is a broader economic and market issue. This is particularly worrying in that one of the best dealers in the area from a service perspective is being impacted by what is surely a short sighted decision.

Many are underwater on deals and many more are waiting longer to switch cars. Pricing has become absurd not only for this brand but all others. Golf 7R new pricing is R650K for instance. Hope of having an M-car available under R850K brand new with the M2 didn't quite pan out that way... the people who could afford these cars in the past no longer can. It isn't a relatively small stretch like it used to be to get the newer model. At this point, just staying in the series is a stretch. Try selling the idea of a new car to your wife when your old one is perfectly fine and the new one is likely to be double (literally double) the price.

Not saying things are going to collapse immediately but we are seeing the effects of the residual bubble and in 3 years GFV is going to have its impact as many are out of terms and in similar trouble. There are no more band aids left...

 

[Sleepa]

:thumbdo: not good at all!

 

[adamr]

Sad indeed

Yeah friend did some consultation work at bmw towards the end of last year and things for the group were not good

Bottom line is sales ... And they were looking at new innovative ways of generating more interest in the brand. According to bmw they were not losing sales to like Merc or Audi ...But they mentioned brands like Kia etc

Interesting aside : they mentioned that most of their new 7 series sales were cash deals ... Tenders and corruption seem the only way these days to buy a nice car

 

[tman]

Bottom line is sales ... And they were looking at new innovative ways of generating more interest in the brand. According to bmw they were not losing sales to like Merc or Audi ...But they mentioned brands like Kia etc

Couple of year back BMW had the X3, X5, in the SUV department, that's it. One would assume with the development of new X1, X4, X6 (and a range of other models like i3, grand coupe etc) that BMW would either poach buyers from other manufacturers, or like in the X6's case, create a whole new market.

It's worrying that car sales are down, BUT in all honesty any business with 2 brain cells or half a decent strategy would have been able to predict this, months, if not years ago. By doing so, you can effectively plan and instead of relying so much on car sales, diversify by maybe expanding your service department (we all know BMW SA needs some improvement here), and keeping less (depreciating) stock on the floor?

Lastly, looking at "innovative ways" to generate interest in the brand. I really hope and pray that BMW refrain from offering attractive balloon & smoke and mirrors finance deals on the unsuspected public.

Sent on the move via Tapatalk

 

[adamr]

Bottom line is sales ... And they were looking at new innovative ways of generating more interest in the brand. According to bmw they were not losing sales to like Merc or Audi ...But they mentioned brands like Kia etc

Lastly, looking at "innovative ways" to generate interest in the brand. I really hope and pray that BMW refrain from offering attractive balloon & smoke and mirrors finance deals on the unsuspected public.

Scary enough this was it ... Looking at ways of sprucing those finance deals as she was a financial consultant

 

[Clint@MMS AUTO]

Sad to hear, thanks for always assisting me John... Much appreciated and all the best sir.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

This sucks.

why did they not rather close down the cancerous Leo Haese dealership in Centurion.

BMW seem more concerned about sales, than the value customer got from dealerships like Leo Haese Pretoria.

Good old fashioned customer service is what sells a brand, clients want to purchase value, to be able to associate with a brand.
GFV, huge balloon deals, will only grow your sales for one purchase, after that you have unhappy clients sitting with cars fro the next 10 years, cause they cant get out of them.

 

[tman]

Bottom line is sales ... And they were looking at new innovative ways of generating more interest in the brand. According to bmw they were not losing sales to like Merc or Audi ...But they mentioned brands like Kia etc

Lastly, looking at "innovative ways" to generate interest in the brand. I really hope and pray that BMW refrain from offering attractive balloon & smoke and mirrors finance deals on the unsuspected public.

Scary enough this was it ... Looking at ways of sprucing those finance deals as she was a financial consultant

I see Harley Davidson has a "special" now where one can purchase a bike for say R1000pm for the 1st 12 months. month 13 premium increases and so forth. End of term, massive balloon payment.

I wonder how long it will be before these type of deals hit the car market?

 

[ChefDJ]

In a way this opens up new doors for other brands.

If the workshop remains open under John's watchful eye, I will most certainly be using him for the Benz.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Bottom line is sales ... And they were looking at new innovative ways of generating more interest in the brand. According to bmw they were not losing sales to like Merc or Audi ...But they mentioned brands like Kia etc

Lastly, looking at "innovative ways" to generate interest in the brand. I really hope and pray that BMW refrain from offering attractive balloon & smoke and mirrors finance deals on the unsuspected public.

Scary enough this was it ... Looking at ways of sprucing those finance deals as she was a financial consultant

I see Harley Davidson has a "special" now where one can purchase a bike for say R1000pm for the 1st 12 months. month 13 premium increases and so forth. End of term, massive balloon payment.

I wonder how long it will be before these type of deals hit the car market?

In the current economical climate, those type of deals is reckless on behalf of such companies. People have a tendency to want the greatest and latest, and often fall for these deals, only to get burned later on.

Consumers are not innocent at all, in all this, but often are uneducated of the impact it will have later on. These dealerships should educate people on it, and in the end it will assist the financial well being of customers, and create a relationship, where customers will come back, and are able to buy again say in a period of 3-4 years, instead of once off sales, resulting in clients not being able to return.

The ever increasing prices of vehicles, and the rapid rate at which they are exposed to depreciation makes it impossible for people to upgrade, hence these deals being punted more and more.

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In a way this opens up new doors for other brands.

If the workshop remains open under John's watchful eye, I will most certainly be using him for the Benz.

And I will definitely support them as well in my american car.

 

[M135i]

Source of the problem is rising costs...how do you curb them?
Whats the real issue? How much does it cost to manufacture a vehicle, do their suppliers for parts also feel the pinch? I think so...i think if the focus was made on reducing manufacturing costs somehow, then the snowball effect wouldnt be ultimately to close business's down.
But i feel there is greed all the way at the top.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Source of the problem is rising costs...how do you curb them?
Whats the real issue? How much does it cost to manufacture a vehicle, do their suppliers for parts also feel the pinch? I think so...i think if the focus was made on reducing manufacturing costs somehow, then the snowball effect wouldnt be ultimately to close business's down.
But i feel there is greed all the way at the top.

I agree, good business practice would be to keep sales growing, and reduce manufacturing cost, so to keep your pricing competitive.
The reason they loosing business to companies like KIA, is cause people can no longer afford the premium brands like BMW, and with the Koreans cars being so well equipped, the only reason to look past their cars, is for the brand conscious people.

Same reason people get into trouble financially, cause its "embarrassment" to downgrade, what would the neighbors say kind of thing.

 

[richykuo]

It is going to become harder and harder for premium car brands to remain competitive in the SA market.
Looking at the base cost of BMW's bottom of the range car, the 118i without extras is R418,000. That is steep for most consumers is the market.

I used to see a lot of VW Golfs on the roads (mostly in DBN), but now I don't notice them as much. Seeing more Hyundai's and Kia's now.

Majority of the buyers in the market are low income earners who are looking at price above anything else. Service is important, but it comes at a cost that unfortunately most people cannot afford. In saying that, Hyundai and Kia's service has improved a lot of the last few years.

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

Aslo think of it this way:

So living cost increases every year, groceries, fuel, school fees, insurance, etc. With the economy doing as it did the last few years, most people got increases, that only saw a increase in pay, until Jan, when everything goes up, like medical aids, schooling, etc.

Thus in essence, the average Joe's income effectively decreases every year,despite the increase they get the year before.

Most people thus looking to buy a car, can no longer afford to buy the cars they used to, as their income reduces, but the car prices increase.
The "new" buyers, thus look for value for money, and customer value. This the Koreans seem to understand very well.

 

[JENICH]

Hi everyone, thank you for the kind words. Here is what will be happening.
The dealership will be losing the BMW logo and as a result we won't be a BMW approved service center after September. The business and most of the staff will carry on, Leo Haese WON'T be closing down, we just won't be BMW approved. Mr Haese will keep the business open. As a result after September we won't be able to assist warranty and Motorplan vehicles. The "upside" is we can now assist you with all sorts of alternatives. We will remain open as a normal workshop after that. We can now assist you with all your vehicles (all brands) for servicing and parts. So please feel free to contact us for any assitance.

---

Why is it closing down ?? whats BMWs reason for closing it down ? What did they come down hard on His dealership for ?

This is so sad

It is all about New vehicle sales.

---

Hey there John,
It is a blow for the Leo Haese name indeed,
and i always believe things happen for a reason.

If you ever need assistance with staying with the BMW brand, give me shout and i will see what i can do for you.

BTW, how is Des doing there? he is the type of guy thats getting used to

Let me know if i can help with anything

Regards
Jerry

 

[michael.joseph]

Im sure that there'll be plenty of us who will continue to support John.

Guys that go the extra mile to structure competitive pricing and offer excellent service aren't easy to come by