Enthusiast Auto Group - ///M Dreamland

[nyc_dude]

Who knew Enthusiast Auto Group (EAG) in Cincinnati. Ohio has a youtube channel?

http://www.enthusiastauto.com/

Yes, apparently they make an ///M3 embroidered trunk mat.

EAG HQ

If you need a M3 CLS LTW like Paul Walker's F&F whip or a funky Z8...this is the place.


Cheers


PS See the red vintage E30 M3 in the background against the wall.

[shimmy23]

I think most knew? Someone also posted the estoril vid about a week ago

[Cyberdemon]

Yeah they post stuff on FB/Instagram too.

Seems like they have a bad rap with some people but I had a friend pickup a beautiful E91 Msport from them and he was very happy with it, wound up selling it for almost what he paid.

Their prices are high, but they certainly have a very OCD level of documentation they provide when buying a car (oil analysis, detailed high res photos of every blemish, service records, refurbishing anything that isn't close to perfect) - so for people that are willing to pay to play you can definitely find a pretty nice example.

The flip side of course is they are probably single handedly responsible for inflating the used car values. People saw them able to rake in massive premiums on E46 cars and now finding a decent E46 for less than $25k is basically impossible and everyone wants to flip them like they're small houses.

[Sandye90m3]

... I hate this group with a passion. Literally buy the cars and hoarder them and then years later sell them lol.

And then create hype over a color and options. Like sometimes I think this is extremely wack.

[GRUESOM3]

This is where most likely slick top , no navigation, cloth seats originated. Can't fault them for making a business out of it.

[DRLane]

I think they do a real service preserving special cars.

I understand we all want deals, but if 1 of 1 or LRP is sought after, shouldn't it go to the individual that's willing to pay the most for it?Also, they do a beautiful job restoring the cars to near perfect condition for their customers.

[Epoustouflant]

Originally Posted by DRLane

I think they do a real service preserving special cars.

I understand we all want deals, but if 1 of 1 or LRP is sought after, shouldn't it go to the individual that's willing to pay the most for it?Also, they do a beautiful job restoring the cars to near perfect condition for their customers.

I'm mixed - I do think they provide a service, there's value to both sellers and buyers.

I also think establishing such a high price ceilling to the market probably entices owners to properly maintain cars, which is ultimately great for the community.

The question I'd ask is this; is EAG following the market or creating scarcity to inflate prices?

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by Epoustouflant

I'm mixed - I do think they provide a service, there's value to both sellers and buyers.

I also think establishing such a high price ceilling to the market probably entices owners to properly maintain cars, which is ultimately great for the community.

The question I'd ask is this; is EAG following the market or creating scarcity to inflate prices?

How are they creating scarcity? They have a supply they're willing to sell?

[Epoustouflant]

Originally Posted by DRLane

How are they creating scarcity? They have a supply they're willing to sell?

They take cars off the market at lower prices, and resell at higher prices at a later date - they're creating scarcity in pricing segments.

They frequently buy cars off BAT, a platform that should already be reflecting the market of enthusiasts.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by Epoustouflant

They take cars off the market at lower prices, and resell at higher prices at a later date - they're creating scarcity in pricing segments.

They frequently buy cars off BAT, a platform that should already be reflecting the market of enthusiasts.

BAT is just an auction site. Highest bid wins. If the enthusiast in question wanted the car they could bid until EAG doesn't have the requisite margin to cover their resale investment (transporting, cleaning, replacing parts, etc).

If they were taking cars off the market, and shelving them until a later date that would be creating scarcity. They just want a return on their investment while offering a premium purchasing experience for those willing to pay.

[Epoustouflant]

Originally Posted by DRLane

BAT is just an auction site. Highest bid wins. If the enthusiast in question wanted the car they could bid until EAG doesn't have the requisite margin to cover their resale investment (transporting, cleaning, replacing parts, etc).

If they were taking cars off the market, and shelving them until a later date that would be creating scarcity. They just want a return on their investment while offering a premium purchasing experience for those willing to pay.

True, I understand that.

My point, up for our discussion and for which I'm not entirely convinced myself, is that EAG can afford to be the highest bidder as they can resell at higher prices, because they have created that ultra high end market.

It wasn't there before. Enthusiasts didn't push the market that high up - which is what BAT should be all about. Enthusiasts don't bid it up beyond EAG as they don't have a market to resell it to - they want to own it.

EAG created a new market through their value added services, though in a market with a finite amount of supply - is it really a value add or simply market manipulation?

If we look at the actual EAG services, they're pretty standard, I'm thus leaning towards the latter.

[akkando]

Originally Posted by DRLane

I think they do a real service preserving special cars.

I understand we all want deals, but if 1 of 1 or LRP is sought after, shouldn't it go to the individual that's willing to pay the most for it?Also, they do a beautiful job restoring the cars to near perfect condition for their customers.

Or it could just sit in a warehouse I guess.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by Epoustouflant

True, I understand that.

My point, up for our discussion and for which I'm not entirely convinced myself, is that EAG can afford to be the highest bidder as they can resell at higher prices, because they have created that ultra high end market.

It wasn't there before. Enthusiasts didn't push the market that high up - which is what BAT should be all about. Enthusiasts don't bid it up beyond EAG as they don't have a market to resell it to - they want to own it.

EAG created a new market through their value added services, though in a market with a finite amount of supply - is it really a value add or simply market manipulation?

If we look at the actual EAG services, they're pretty standard, I'm thus leaning towards the latter.

It's not market manipulation if you believe something is undervalued and are confident in your ability to find a buyer. Further, I'm sure they're a pleasure to sell your car to vs random strangers.

I went to school with the younger brother at Xavier back in 2003-2007. While we were by no means friends, I remember when they started EAG. They operated more as brokers finding highly desirable BMWs for clients. I'm sure it evolved as they generated enough commissions to start buying inventory of select models to widen their spread.

If you want a car, you can outbid EAG. Yes they potentially have more purchasing power but there is a price point at which it makes no sense for them to buy it.

Sadly, that's probably at or close to the true market value of said vehicle. If you are a diehard enthusiast for said model, that's the market price. It's not manipulation of supply when you have equal opportunity own said supply.

[XKxRome0ox]

Originally Posted by Epoustouflant

They take cars off the market at lower prices, and resell at higher prices at a later date - they're creating scarcity in pricing segments.

They frequently buy cars off BAT, a platform that should already be reflecting the market of enthusiasts.

EAG does not have a monopoly on selling anything
there are plenty of E9x M3's for sale with prices all over the place
if EAG can find a buyer to pay even more than what it paid at BAT or other places, more power to them

[XKxRome0ox]

Originally Posted by DRLane

If you want a car, you can outbid EAG. Yes they potentially have more purchasing power but there is a price point at which it makes no sense for them to buy it.

exactly
EAG is a business
EAG isn't going to flex its purchasing power just to outbid someone
it will only buy a car if it can resell it for a profit
and no one is forcing someone to buy any car at EAG prices

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by XKxRome0ox

exactly
EAG is a business
EAG isn't going to flex its purchasing power just to outbid someone
it will only buy a car if it can resell it for a profit
and no one is forcing someone to buy any car at EAG prices

Damn. Just put me out of business! Well said.

[JRF]

It's called capitalism and they are good at what they do.

[PYE46M3]

EAG..... the same guys who claim restoring a modern BMW bumper to factory condition is a hard thing to do in north america.... I'm convinced these guys are honest people.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by PYE46M3

EAG..... the same guys who claim restoring a modern BMW bumper to factory condition is a hard thing to do in north america.... I'm convinced these guys are honest people.

Where/when did they claim that?

Can you cite your source?

[mgmarsh39]

I'm jealous of their collection if anything. Would love to have that Estoril blue e92, but don't want to pay 997 Turbo money for it.

[Sandye90m3]

I mean, what baffles me is people want to play a premium on a car because of the options like EDC and Competition Package.

At the end of the day, the M3 without these packages is 95% of the same car as the M3 with those packages, yet people pay +30%+ for the car.

And lastly, like guys we are just driving an M3. Don't get me wrong, great great car, but like this isn't no Bugatti or Ferrari special edition here...

[Merlin_83]

You guys see the 8k mile E30 M3 on BaT (Bring a Trailer.com) that went for $250,000?

I've known about EAG since 2014 - and I don't know how they do it, but they find incredibly low mileage M cars, often finding many 'unicorns' per se. And they do fetch a premium for sure, but I tend to agree that EAG may actually be helping to keep prices elevated. This is good for M car owners in general, but the flip side is they do overprice cars - in some cases insanely overpriced.

BaT has become my go-to in finding cool or unique BMW's, and I missed the chance to get a very nice 2009 E92 335Xi a few weeks ago. It went for an unreal low price (for the car) - final bidding sold the car at $7300