BMW open up shop on eBay – BMW Direct

BMW UK have opened for business on eBay, offering parts and a range of accessories with free post and packaging.

Remarkably, BMW are the first car maker to open up shop on eBay in the UK – BMW Direct – and although such a move would have been frowned on just a few years ago it now makes huge sense.

It’s clear that this is aimed at parts for older BMWs – where owners wouldn’t normally consider visiting a BMW dealer to grab parts to keep their pride and joy on the road – rather than aiming at the owner of a new M5 grabbing a set of pads to shove on over the weekend.

But the biggest scope is for accessories – genuine BMW accessories being the key – with just a mouse-click away from a buy for everything from a new set of 19″  alloys at £3,300  to a BMW Windscreen?/Window/Glass Cleaner + Telescopic Handle at £5.95. And it’s all P&P free.

We did ask BMW if they were planning on competing on price, or if they were viewing this as just a sensible extra outlet for their product. They told us that although they’re not discounting possible deals at some stage, the point is to make it easier for owners to buy BMW parts and accessories

All of which makes sense, particularly in terms of keeping the dealer network happy. BMW are feeding all the orders from eBay through BMW Park Lane, thereby keeping the dealer network in the loop – good business.

Although if it really takes off they may have to make other arrangements.