First, here is a picture of the facilities. ModBargains has a very nice and spacious building with considerable office and storage space. The storage space being why they are able to keep so much inventory in stock and why they are able to offer such competitive pricing. The "Bargain" is not the in the quality of parts but due to the volume they order. VMR wheels in particular were everywhere, it seems like ModBargains literally has every VMR wheel in stock (my apologies on the one blurry photo):
In addition to having a very large inventory mostly catering to BMW's they are able to do installs. I specifically asked if it was just cosmetic items and was politely rebuked with the information that they are capable of installing basically anything. They have a lift, mechanics, and are able to accommodate whatever a customer needs:
We started discussing shipping and ModBargains ships out a large amount of parts but what struck was the care they took in the packaging. As you can see, very well packaged, wrapped, and insulated so the parts arrive perfectly:
And here is something I found important and offering insight as to the power forums have. This rim is destroyed as you can see. The customer "claimed" it essentially bent on its own due to a defect. It appears to BimmerBoost someone hit a significant dip at pretty high speed damaging the rim severely. The customer essentially said replace it or I'll give you a bad review on the forums. ModBargains whom BimmerPost chastised for customer service and specifically deleted all good review but left negative ones replaced the rim even though we all know what really happened here. Yes, people really make these kinds of demands and use the forums as weapons to save money on their own mistakes. A shame:
BimmerBoost was happy to learn ModBargains is expanding and what you see here is a sneak peak at MBR Tuning which will be a new tuning brand located directly next door. ModBargains purchased the warehouse next to them and as you can see, it's huge. They will have considerable space and right now it is being used to store excess inventory. Expect more on this to come soon, but just a sneak peak:
After I took my tour Mike and I went to lunch (excellent Mexican food place by the way). Mike was nice enough to pay for lunch as I, and I'm not joking, did not have my cards as the bank was sending me replacements due to a fraud claim. So I showed up without any cash for lunch and Mike behaved liked a complete class act. Next Lunch on is on BimmerBoost.
The reason for this article is so that people understand there is more to companies than they read on forums. What someone might say is a review designed to get them something or free parts. The people working at ModBargains are just normal car guys who love what they do. And as you can see, they do it quite well and have considerable business. It is important to keep in mind there is a real person on the other side of the monitor and in many cases the person there is doing their job well and just trying to make a living. So when a forum uses its power to attempt to crush a business, it hurts, and has real ramifications.
It is best to simply go down to any of these vendors and tuners to see for oneself. For those who can't, BimmerBoost made the trip and the impressions are posted as you see. Mike and I had a nice long discussion and I was very happy to see he is just as passionate about cars as I am. We discussed a mutually beneficial relationship and my goal is simply to work my ass my off to increase this Network's volume to help make up for the lost revenue of BimmerPost specifically targeting ModBargains likely over SoCal vendor politics and backdoor vendor deals.
I was very happy to see Mike fully understood what BimmerBoost is doing and supports it. With positive relationships like this working toward each other's mutual benefit everyone wins. No choosing one vendor over another, no shakedowns for more vendor money to delete/ban the competition, just honest hard work from guys who love what they do. And that my friends is exactly how it should be.
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