Experienced with Beverly Hills Car Club

[seoulshakers]

Hi all. Wanted to see if there was anyone on the forum that had a past purchasing experience with Beverly Hills Car Club. They currently have a car that I might be interested in. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Their reviews seemed to be mixed so I’d figure I’d ask someone here.

[roblav]

Go look at whatever you're interested in before buying.

[walt]

Pre-inspection is mandatory with their cars. Try a search should be lots of info there, they come up from time to time.

[wintersurf]

You might consider engaging the services of techweenie (find him on this site).
Super knowledgeable and thorough.
He has done many ppi inspections at BHCC.

[seoulshakers]

Originally Posted by wintersurf

You might consider engaging the services of techweenie (find him on this site).
Super knowledgeable and thorough.
He has done many ppi inspections at BHCC.

Appreciate all the input. Talked to techweenie and gave great insight. Definitely will be using him if I decide to proceed.

[Matt Monson]

You’ve been well guided. He’s the right way to proceed.

[seoulshakers]

[QUOTE=Matt Monson;12559234]You’ve been well guided. He’s the right way to proceed.[/

I was a tad late on your buddies guards red one. 😭

[wilhit10]

Do not believe anything they say, as they tend to hide a lot of facts. Their cars tend to bottom of the barrel even if they are low mile or look taken car of. Typically their prices are nuts.

Beverly Hills Car Club- Where dreams are broken.

[seoulshakers]

Originally Posted by wilhit10

Do not believe anything they say, as they tend to hide a lot of facts. Their cars tend to bottom of the barrel even if they are low mile or look taken car of. Typically their prices are nuts.

Beverly Hills Car Club- Where dreams are broken.

So basically stay away. Noted lol

[Matt Monson]

It’s a used car dealer, and not one for the novice buyer. They highlight the car’s assets, and just ignore their liabilities. They are as-is. One needs to know what they are looking at and looking for. That’s why a professional on the ground looking at it in person, closely, is strongly advised. They are not to be avoided so much as approached eyes open. They sell lots of project cars.

[seoulshakers]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

It’s a used car dealer, and not one for the novice buyer. They highlight the car’s assets, and just ignore their liabilities. They are as-is. One needs to know what they are looking at and looking for. That’s why a professional on the ground looking at it in person, closely, is strongly advised. They are not to be avoided so much as approached eyes open. They sell lots of project cars.

Understood. The car I was interested was sold the same day. If I see another from them that I’m interested in, I’ll definitely reach out techtweenie again.

[onboost]

Always lots of talk about Beverly Hills Car Club, especially by many that base their info on what's been said on the net, yet have never been there.

Here's my take - They have so many cars, of various marques in varying states of condition that most people think they're gonna walk in and get the deal of a lifetime. You can buy a mint car from them, a driver, or a project all depends on what they have at the time, and what YOU are looking for, can afford, or what you're willing to pay.
I think the issue most people have, that creates the bad reviews or stigma.. is that he/they want what they want for a vehicle and are willing to let you walk away with your offer, regardless of the condition of the vehicle and what you or the market say its worth.

Porsche? They have a whole room full Porsches of just about every description and condition, most of them air-cooled. Last year during my visit for Luft 10 - I walked through the entire Beverly Hills Car Club facility. The salesman was super-cool and spent at least an hour 1/2 with us answering questions and providing pricing. Did they have some nice cars.. yes, were there some needy pieces there... yes -question is what are you willing to pay? Are some above market for what they are?.. yes... but you are not obligated to buy. Of note, at the time, they had more 107 Mercedes SLs, Pagodas, and E-type Jags than I've ever seen in one place!

Yes, if you interested in something from them, and most other dealers in the market today, and you don't know what you're looking at, or how to evaluate your potential purchase, then by all means have a qualified pre-purchase inspection done. For a Porsche, Techweenie is a great resource as mentioned.

[techweenie]

Beverly Hills Car Club is not the same company it was 16 years ago when I started inspecting cars there. they do have the occasional concours-winning 911. Mostly they have cars with issues.

The way I describe their business model is that they are a deep sea trawler with giant nets catching all the fish that they haul up and as they dump out the net, they figure out (to the best of their ability) what they have.

Because of the volume of cars, they have become Market Makers, so the prices are up there with regular dealers who sell warrantied cars. But BHCC cars are basically as-is with some exceptions (I've seen them fix existing problems before delivery).

They are not Porsche marque specialists. They have some knowledge about Porsches, but it's limited.

At any given time they have 80-90 Porsches. They catalog them; give minimal descriptions and sell to (often distant) buyers from a handful of pictures.

They are not evil, but they lack in-depth knowledge about the cars they sell, and that can be painful for buyers.

And let's look at the person selling to BHCC: you and I and everyone we know has a circle of friends who are familiar with our cars and are potentially interested in buying them if we are selling. Once a Porsche owner discovers that no one he knows is interested in buying his car, he may try listing it a few places and get bombarded with ignorant responses or insulting low ball offers that create a quick burnout, which is the opportunity for BHCC to step in and make an offer for immediate payment and removal of the car. So basically my view is almost everything that's for sale at BHCC has failed to meet the criteria of local knowledgeable Porsche prospects. Sometimes for an obvious reason; but often this means a hidden problem. Hence my frequent journeys to BHCC to vet cars.

When I started going there about 16 years ago, the rejection rate was around 80%. Now it's about 50%.

What has surprised me is the willingness on the part of the dealer to cooperate in uncovering problems -- for instance, they perform compression tests now. And in the case of several 911SCs last year, they were willing to pop valve covers off so I could check for broken head studs, (They all had 'em.)

Funny thing is, they don't hate this discovery process. Their philosophy is that they would rather problems were revealed before purchase rather than after.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Here is the story that always sticks in my mind. A 914/6 that made it through Hurricane Sandy, salt water up to the top of the car, changed hands, ended up at BHCC as a restoration project. No mention of hurricanes or salt water....

Click the link below to read the full story.

914World.com - The largest online 914 community!


---Adam