Bummer. Their DIY videos were very helpful in learning the E46 platform.

 

Wow, that sucks...

 

Pity. ECS always had a better website, but BavAuto always had better people.

 

For years the BavAuto website was the worst, and I mean horrendous. They just finally re-wrote it in the last year, and it was a lot better, but still not good. Good old Otto doing those repair videos was very helpful!

They had a pretty good crew of BMW vets always there for support.
https://www.bavauto.com/meet-your-advisor/

I bought a ton of stuff from them over the years and always looked forward to their magazine in the mail. Will be weird without them in the market.

 

Wtf....I order between them and fcp.

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Gotta be a tough business. I attached "Otto's Maintenance Schedule" for posterity.

 

That sucks that’s where I bought my first aftermarket BMWs accessories from back in 92 is when I started buying from them. In fact I bought something from them a month ago they had the best price on what I got


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They have great people/articles but I honestly think they didn't have that much business as compared to the competition. Sucks

 

That's a bummer. Overpriced but a staple of the BMW parts community.

I'm sure I still have a few of their glossy catalogs stashed away in a drawer somewhere...

 

Before the web, they were THE place to buy from thanks to their glossy magazine/catalogs. But, yes, they were always premium priced.

 

I'm hearing rumors that ECS bought them, I hope not.

 

why? ecs is my go to

 

Sad to see Bavarian go out of business after all these years. As more people buy from Amazon we will see more and more small retailers go out of business. In a few years the retail scene as we know today will be gone.

 

Wow, they were my go to Video DIY station. Although I admit I have been giving most of my business to FCP Euro the past couple of years due to the lifetime warranty.
Otto (not his real name) guided me through my suspension rebuild. Same personality on the phone as in the videos.

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100% this was due to FCP euro and their antique website and other bmw parts sites pushing better prices and shipping. They were in their heyday when mail order was big, but fell behind to the new age. I for one loved that it was close to me as I enjoyed the show n shine quite a few times.


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their antique website

They waited FAR too long to update their website. I think it was just in the past year or so that they brought it out of the 1990s... :tsk:

Before I knew about FCPEuro, I would shop at Pelican over BavAuto b/c of their website alone.

 

Wondered recently about viability of BavAuto given ECS/Turner and FCP expanding these last few years.

Let's hope that their staff find promising opportunity.

 

Too bad they closed up shop. Seems to be happening to many small businesses that are boutique or hobby oriented. If they have been around a while they owners may be getting up in age and may or may not have handed the wheel over to their children or others to operated. But many mom and pop business do end their run one day due the owners aging.

I do agree that their website was way outdated, but this was a flag they did not want to or have the money and man power to invest and keep up with the times.

Even larger companies have miscalculated and missed their mark. Just think about Montgomery Ward, Sear and JC Penny. These stores were the original Amazon.com's of their day. All catalog outlets that then added brick and mortar and somewhat abandoned their roots once their brick and mortar stores expanded. I mean you used to be able to buy a kit house online from Sears and have it delivered to the nearest train station. Walmart and Target have even been pushed into online sales and trying to keep current with Amazon.

One large online auto parts company that comes to mind is J.C. Whitney, they have officially been around since 1915 however, they have been taken over and morphed a bit. Started by a person, they handed over to his son, but as time went on the 2nd generation retired and they it seems the company was sold. Not sure how they are holding up against RockAuto and other large online auto parts companies, but they are still in the game and seem to have gotten away from the print catalog and more to an online presence. Big problem I see is Customer Service is out of the Philippines. I do not care how you do things, you need to keep Customer Service in house, in the US if you expect to survive.

I hope we do not see the demise of other great suppliers in the near future, but I expect it will happen.

 

One large online auto parts company that comes to mind is J.C. Whitney, .

I have not even heard anyone mention JC since the 1980s

 

WTF???? That's kinda sudden. I've bought lots from them over the years, and they've always been more than helpful. I bought my replacement radiator from them a few yrs ago, and it leaked from the upper hose fitting (shocker, I know). They sent a new one out overnight and didn't even want the old one back. Unfortunately most people who have BMWs these days barely know what model they're driving, much less how to wrench on it. Lots of women with huge sunglasses & Prada handbags is what I see almost daily. Or executives who could care less and take it to the dealer on expense accounts. Sad to see them go, I always had good experiences with them. Bon voyage Otto, we enthusiasts will miss you...

 

PS.... I should have thought something was up with them when I saw that their eBay account had no items for sale a few weeks ago, but I just figured they got fed up with the selling fees and gave up. Oh well, hope my BA Viteon OFHG holds up long term....

I'll always remember their phone number tho, its ingrained in my head forever....(800-535-2002)

 

Bav Auto was a ripoff.
I don't think I made one order from them.

Rip off prices, every time I looked.
Stopped looking years ago.

AutoHauzAZ, FCP, and ECS

 

Ever bought something from a BMW dealer? Thats a ripoff...


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Ever bought something from a BMW dealer? Thats a ripoff...

Certain parts need to come via the dealer, however, I order everything online and then pick up at my local dealer, typically about 25% of the counter price.

But when I can buy OEM parts vs OE parts that are virtually the same, often with the BMW logo buzzed off with a Dremel or the white painted BMW logo scratched off there is usually big savings

There are many dealers that sell online and ship as well if you are not near a dealer.

 

wow that***8217;s kinda sad to see another long time BMW specialty store go out. way back in the day there where 3 major BMW ones us bmw junkies would use: Bekkers.com, BMPDesign and Bavarian Autosport. now all three have closed up.

can honestly say didn***8217;t hear any buzz about them closing. usually they***8217;ll blowout a lot of inventory in huge sales before hand.

have a brand new unused pair of their BavAuto mechanics gloves in a box that I never got around to exchanging for correct size dang it

 

Opening the newest Roundel and this is at the end. Maybe it was to be..

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Very weird. Just bought their ignition coils and they reposted my turbo build on their instagram.

 

The newer guys are just much better at the Internet - you can tell when people get confused by the FCPEuro guarantee that folks really don't understand how incredibly hard internet marketing is. ECS set the standard with catalog design quality and breadth and FCP with service and a catalog that keeps growing. The rest are going to struggle unless they find a point of difference.

BavAuto weren't guys trying to rip us off, they were mail-order guys in an Internet era.

 

You never know. As J said, perhaps the second generation wasn't interested, or maybe third. Who knows? It does happen. I visited their shop some years ago (my ex was from NH and I went to their shop when visiting family). I have to say I wasn't impressed either with their website or their store. Their money flier was excellent though. Just not enough to get me to buy from them.

I sort of understand the animosity with ECS and sort of don't. About a year ago they really were sucking wind (or something), but then they seemed to get their act together. The second generation seems to really have a good handle on things. BUT, I really like having a quality alternative. That is FCP Euro. Pelican was another, but they have been assimilated. While I used to primarily only use ECS, not I split probably 60% ECS and 40% FCP. That said, if you truly want an alternative to ECS, then support them, whether FCP of someone else.

I have to say, we really do have some excellent vendors.

 

I have to say that Bavarian auto did the best CCV swap video which was available in youtube.

 

Link?