BMW is in the business of selling new cars and the vast majority of the ones it does "sell" it leases. I don't know about your goodwill theory though. Imagine how much good reputation they would get if parts and repairs were cheap. I would think everyone would buy one, even if it wasn't the most reliable car on the block. But we all know they are not going to drop parts prices 90%, nor will an hour of labor drop to the 20's.
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Originally Posted by sunny5280
I know there would be some lost profit but I would hope the goodwill generated would offset those losses with happy customers who would advocate the brand.
As an example I have two friends who are interested in purchasing an X5. Both believe BMW has a great reputation for quality. I informed them the quality is good but it's not Honda or Toyota levels of quality and that repairs, and they will have repairs, are going to cost more. Now they're considering something else instead. If I could say to them "BMW has a reputation of performing goodwill repairs" that would probably mean something to them and keep the X5 under consideration. Yes these would be used vehicle purchases but a healthy second hand market is important for any manufacturer.
I've experienced this with other companies (non-car) and the goodwill it generated has made me an advocate of those companies products. Now when people ask how I like product X I enthusiastically sell the product.
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