# Help- Recent ED Dealers or CAs



## Zeichen311 (Mar 31, 2011)

Jon Shafer said:


> After a long sabbatical (3 years) I will be rebooting and restarting my BMW sales practice again next week with a new dealership ~ BMW of Santa Maria.


Well that's good news! Welcome back and best of luck!



Jon Shafer said:


> I was speaking with my friend Jake at BMWNA who oversees the entire ED program now (as of the last 6 months or so I think), and we were brainstorming as to how we can revitalize the whole BMW ED phenomenon.. I will keep you all posted about that if I have more to report.


And that's even _better_ news! I've met and worked with Jake on several occasions (Street Survival & CCA events)--he's Good People and truly enthusiastic about the program. With Special Sales under his management and input from dealers like yourself, this could be the best opportunity in years to reinvigorate ED sales. :thumbup:


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

Jon Shafer said:


> I was speaking with my friend Jake at BMWNA who oversees the entire ED program now (as of the last 6 months or so I think), and we were brainstorming as to how we can revitalize the whole BMW ED phenomenon.. I will keep you all posted about that if I have more to report.


Wow this is great news. I have been on here since 2006 and read and learned about ED on these forums. I ended up getting my last 2 cars through ED (during Oktoberfest) and really can't imagine getting one any other way. I don't stay too active on the forums until it's time to start thinking about another ED (when lease is nearing its end).

My first ED was my first experience in Europe and I loved it. I loved it so much that I took an opportunity to move here for work over a year ago. I have not had a need for a car since my last lease was up (I live in very central London where my car is the tube and my two feet). Well my time in Europe may be coming to an end and I just started popping back on these forums as I will be looking to order a car soon when I return to the States. It saddens me to read that the ED benefits have deteriorated to the point many on here no longer think it is worth it. I sure hope you can reverse some of these cuts by BMW and restore it to the programme so many of us loved! Work fast though as I may be ordering soon! LOL


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## aardvark (Apr 15, 2002)

Very glad to hear that BMWNA is even talking about revitalizing the ED program. That in and of itself is good news, as many of us were starting to suspect that they really couldn't care less about the program anymore. And also very glad to hear that Jon S. is part of the brainstorming process.

I'm excited to hear what they come up with in terms of revitalization ideas. There are a number of factors at play, obviously, in why the program seems to have declined. The reduced discount (about 4 years ago, right?), of course, was the opening salvo that really got our attention. But the truth is that there were also a number of other factors at play, such as the shift away from mom-and-pop BMW dealers to large mega-dealer chains. With the mom-and-pops, an ED specialist could make a real difference to the store's bottom line. With the AutoNations of the world, the whole thing is so inconsequential in their grand schemes that at best it's an afterthought and at worst it's an annoyance.


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## pawarrant (Jun 15, 2006)

aardvark said:


> With the mom-and-pops, an ED specialist could make a real difference to the store's bottom line. With the AutoNations of the world, the whole thing is so inconsequential in their grand schemes that at best it's an afterthought and at worst it's an annoyance.


Agreed. When I moved to Vegas from Pittsburgh, Autonation would not work with me at all with an ED. Luckily my dealership in Pittsburgh helped me as they always did and ordered it through them. The funny thing was the car was shipped to the Vegas dealer as a courtesy delivery and they had to prep it without making anything off of it.


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## Jon Shafer (Dec 15, 2001)

aardvark said:


> Very glad to hear that BMWNA is even talking about revitalizing the ED program. That in and of itself is good news, as many of us were starting to suspect that they really couldn't care less about the program anymore. And also very glad to hear that Jon S. is part of the brainstorming process.
> 
> I'm excited to hear what they come up with in terms of revitalization ideas. There are a number of factors at play, obviously, in why the program seems to have declined. The reduced discount (about 4 years ago, right?), of course, was the opening salvo that really got our attention. But the truth is that there were also a number of other factors at play, such as the shift away from mom-and-pop BMW dealers to large mega-dealer chains. With the mom-and-pops, an ED specialist could make a real difference to the store's bottom line. With the AutoNations of the world, the whole thing is so inconsequential in their grand schemes that at best it's an afterthought and at worst it's an annoyance.


The thing I like best about my new dealership is that it is family-owned, and the dealer principals are two brothers who are very active in day-to-day-operations..

:thumbup:

I have not booked a single BMW European since I have been back to work these past few weeks.

I am eager to do one again!!

:bigpimp:


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## [email protected] (Jul 30, 2012)

BickUW89 said:


> Gluhwein is right, there aren't many left. It's not like the good 'ol days when Jonathan Spira started Bimmerfest, and there were lots of sponsors.
> 
> I did my first three EDs with a then-board sponsor (BMW of Salem), but they no longer sponsor, and my trusty CA couldn't match the deal I was able to negotiate both with Crevier and BMW of Seattle. I gave Greg Poland a crack at it, but I found him to be fairly unresponsive, TBH. Obviously others have had a great experience with him, and I'm not criticizing, but he also was not going to match the offers I got from other non-sponsors.
> 
> So, there you go.


I'm still here at BRAMAN BMW in W Palm BEACH after 21 years and I am still a sponsor of
this site.


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## Dave 20T (Apr 7, 2013)

[email protected] said:


> I'm still here at BRAMAN BMW in W Palm BEACH after 21 years and I am still a sponsor of
> this site.


Good to know!

It is conceivable that someday I might want to order from John in Florida and then drive the car to Washington state, seeing many sights that I wouldn't ordinarily fly to see. For example, there's an air force museum near Macon, Georgia where there's a C-130 transport that was modified with rockets to land and take off at a stadium in Tehran, Iran in 1980 when U.S. Embassy personnel were held against their will.

A number of years ago, I ordered a European Delivery car (not a BMW) from a Seattle dealer, drove it in Europe, then had it delivered to a dealer in West Palm Beach, Florida (same city as John at Braman BMW). After a year, I drove it to Washington state stopping at places such as the source of the Mississippi River.


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