Cars and Coffee in Dallas is dead...

[TxGR8White]

Met up with a few 8-owners Saturday morning to go to Cars & Coffee at Classic BMW in Plano, but the 4 850's were denied entrance by the pimple faced kid at the gate.

Reason: "we are only letting in Super Cars since they are paying for the parking spaces" - what the hell?? Apparently, according to Skippy, the Lambo and Ferrari owners pay to "reserve" their spaces so they don't have to wait in line at dawn to get in like the rest of us.

All was not lost - when life hands you a lemon, make some lemonade, so we decided to drive over to the brand new Sewell BMW in Grapevine and had our own mini C&C. They were very friendly, had free Starbucks for BMW owners and even had a bunch of M-Cars on the second floor showroom. We will return!

NEVER stepping foot in CLASSIC BMW's Dealership again.

I did contact the General Manager at Classic to let him know that his teenaged "gatekeepers" are selectively choosing cars based on what they want to see. We arrived very early, probably within the first 150 cars (the lot holds about 400-500 cars - my guess). His response was very nice, but was a typical customer service answer but did not address the concern we had with his ill-trained staff. It is not that we were looking for any preferential treatment, just wanted to show the 8's since we did arrive at the ass-crack of dark.


22279848_1678787362131993_6180443487954777637_n.jpg 22279610_1678787368798659_8941755333672502388_n.jpg 22281579_1678787342131995_6135724590855033586_n.jpg

[nrp22101]

Met up with a few 8-owners Saturday morning to go to Cars & Coffee at Classic BMW in Plano, but the 4 850's were denied entrance by the pimple faced kid at the gate.

Reason: "we are only letting in Super Cars since they are paying for the parking spaces" - what the hell?? Apparently, according to Skippy, the Lambo and Ferrari owners pay to "reserve" their spaces so they don't have to wait in line at dawn to get in like the rest of us.

All was not lost - when life hands you a lemon, make some lemonade, so we decided to drive over to the brand new Sewell BMW in Grapevine and had our own mini C&C. They were very friendly, had free Starbucks for BMW owners and even had a bunch of M-Cars on the second floor showroom. We will return!

NEVER stepping foot in CLASSIC BMW's Dealership again.

I did contact the General Manager at Classic to let him know that his teenaged "gatekeepers" are selectively choosing cars based on what they want to see. We arrived very early, probably within the first 150 cars (the lot holds about 400-500 cars - my guess). His response was very nice, but was a typical customer service answer but did not address the concern we had with his ill-trained staff. It is not that we were looking for any preferential treatment, just wanted to show the 8's since we did arrive at the ass-crack of dark.


22279848_1678787362131993_6180443487954777637_n.jpg 22279610_1678787368798659_8941755333672502388_n.jpg 22281579_1678787342131995_6135724590855033586_n.jpg

Their loss.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[bdiefAZ]

Come to Scottsdale, we had 5 Cars at Cars and Coffee this weekend. Lots of great cars of all types, this month's theme was red cars.

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[toomanyparts]

That's lame. Glad you guys found another spot that was more accommodating. If I got up that early, I would not have been as diplomatic.

[dragon850]

That's lame. Glad you guys found another spot that was more accommodating. If I got up that early, I would not have been as diplomatic.

Likewise

[TxGR8White]

Uh... 8-series ARE super cars. They just happen to be front engine.

The funny thing is... this was at a BMW dealer AND BMW is coming out with the 8 series again. "lets showcase competitor cars, Lambo, Ferrari..."

HUGE marketing mistake !!!

The irony here is the same guy was literally running after me at a C&C back in July 2013, because they had a press party for the i8 and they wanted my 850 in the showroom with another 850 and a couple of Z8's...

[PabloRock]

That's pretty stupid. Why wouldn't a place call Classic BMW not want one of the best Classics they ever made. Sadly for me (and gladly), I am usually the only 8 at our local shows. Just went to a local C & C at FCP Euro in Milford CT (great parts place if you need one). As usual, the only 8er, but he stopped me while pulling in to give me a good spot!

[Alec Cartio]

He was angry because he wasn't getting any Punani from his girl and released his anger on you.

[xeler8]

Plano C&C is odd sometimes. That front gate you went in is supposedly, from what I can gather, the VIP gate. The side gate lets everything in.....everything. I wouldn't let it get to you. I actually find that C&C over crowded and sometimes a little too much.

[Budget M3]

Sorry to hear this. I've heard others rave about the Classic BMW C&C, so am guessing this is correctable.

[bruinbro]

Trot on over to SuperCar Sunday in Woodland Hills. Better cars than C&C and it’s free.

[xeler8]

Trot on over to SuperCar Sunday in Woodland Hills. Better cars than C&C and it’s free.

Thats a long drive from TX

[bruinbro]

Isn’t that what e31s are made for?

[8eights]

Trot on over to SuperCar Sunday in Woodland Hills. Better cars than C&C and it’s free.

Wayyyy better!

[M TOPLS]

I'd like to jump in here and clear up a few facts. And here are my credentials -- I helped kick off Cars and Coffee Dallas in March 2010 and still volunteer my monthly time and efforts to this day in promoting and managing it. You'll usually find me selling C&C t-shirts in the main coffee tent if you'd ever like to come chat.

1. Cars and Coffee Dallas is not dead.
2. No cars, not even exotics or supercars, EVER pay to attend Cars and Coffee Dallas. The only time we request any form of "payment" for a show car to enter is during the December Cars and Coffee Dallas which benefits Toys for Tots - we request a donation of a new toy or $10.
3. Cars and Coffee Dallas is a charity event. All of the funds raised through donations for coffee, t-shirt sales and vendor spaces go straight to the monthly charity.
4. In good weather (meaning no rain during the few days before the event), the show can hold almost 1200 cars (we had that many in the most recent event). After that limit is reached, we must turn away cars, so get there early.
5. The event fills up very quickly. When it is almost full, typically only the exotics/supercars are let into the main front entrance on Spring Creek Parkway because they park closest to that entrance and it is difficult for other non-supercars to get past that area to the main parking lot area for the show, hence the recommendation by XELER8 above to use the other entrance especially when you arrive early enough to get a spot.

To the original poster, it is ashame you did not try another entrance for the October Cars and Coffee Dallas. We do hope you will come back because as all of you know, the 8 series is a big part of BMW and automotive history and is worthy of being at any car show.

We do understand that attendance at Cars and Coffee Dallas can be frustrating at times with the early hours on a Saturday and the long lines of cars waiting to enter the show - trust me it can be challenging to manage this enormous show on the back end, too (it takes many dealership employees, volunteers and Plano police to pull this off each month) -- but all of that is a testament to the event's popularity and significance in the community as a benefit to the charities we host each month and to the car enthusiasts, spectators and their families.

Karen OBrien
BMW CCA Member
M Gruppe DFW Area Director

[M TOPLS]

Below is a reply to this thread from John F. Kobell, General Manager at Classic BMW. I am posting this on his behalf at his request.

-------------------------------------------------

Dear TxGR8White and the others in this thread,

Steffen sent me an email after the October Cars and Coffee Dallas explaining his frustration that he and a few of his fellow 8 series friends did not get into our lot. He stated that the teenage gate keepers picked and chose who got in. In my email string to Steffen, I agreed with him that I saw way too many cars that where not show ready.

We opened the gates even earlier than we usually do because we had such a huge line of cars at both entrances. We at Classic BMW love cars, all cars, new and old. We want to let all the cars in but sometimes we get overcrowded with cars and it becomes unsafe for you and the spectators. We started planning for Cars and Coffee in May 2009 with the first event held in March 2010; we have raised a lot of money for charities over the years with your help. We are also human, we make mistakes.

In the letter I received from Steffen, he stated when given lemons, he and his group made lemonade and went to the new BMW dealership. The letter stated they would never be back to Classic BMW. I apologize to him and his group....again we are human and make mistakes.

Classic BMW was the first BMW dealership in Dallas. We are still family owned by the Maas family. We are committed to the BMW community and our clients. We love vintage BMWs - just come into the dealership for a visit/tour and you will see Issetta to 3.0 CI to 2002tii to M1's and BMW motorcycles. All of our employees and technicians know what an E26, E30 and E31 are; I seriously doubt many people at the other area dealers even know what those models are.

I do hope to see everyone at Cars and Coffee; it's a great show with a great cause.

Thank you,

John F. Kobell
General Manager
Classic BMW

[TxGR8White]

I'd like to jump in here and clear up a few facts. And here are my credentials -- I helped kick off Cars and Coffee Dallas in March 2010 and still volunteer my monthly time and efforts to this day in promoting and managing it. You'll usually find me selling C&C t-shirts in the main coffee tent if you'd ever like to come chat.

1. Cars and Coffee Dallas is not dead.
2. No cars, not even exotics or supercars, EVER pay to attend Cars and Coffee Dallas. The only time we request any form of "payment" for a show car to enter is during the December Cars and Coffee Dallas which benefits Toys for Tots - we request a donation of a new toy or $10.
3. Cars and Coffee Dallas is a charity event. All of the funds raised through donations for coffee, t-shirt sales and vendor spaces go straight to the monthly charity.
4. In good weather (meaning no rain during the few days before the event), the show can hold almost 1200 cars (we had that many in the most recent event). After that limit is reached, we must turn away cars, so get there early.
5. The event fills up very quickly. When it is almost full, typically only the exotics/supercars are let into the main front entrance on Spring Creek Parkway because they park closest to that entrance and it is difficult for other non-supercars to get past that area to the main parking lot area for the show, hence the recommendation by XELER8 above to use the other entrance especially when you arrive early enough to get a spot.

To the original poster, it is ashame you did not try another entrance for the October Cars and Coffee Dallas. We do hope you will come back because as all of you know, the 8 series is a big part of BMW and automotive history and is worthy of being at any car show.

We do understand that attendance at Cars and Coffee Dallas can be frustrating at times with the early hours on a Saturday and the long lines of cars waiting to enter the show - trust me it can be challenging to manage this enormous show on the back end, too (it takes many dealership employees, volunteers and Plano police to pull this off each month) -- but all of that is a testament to the event's popularity and significance in the community as a benefit to the charities we host each month and to the car enthusiasts, spectators and their families.

To answer your post point for point, I offer the following responses:

1. It is "dead" for the guys that I finally convinced to show up. I have been a supporter of C&C for a long time bringing my 850's as well as vintage C2 Corvettes, and other collectible cars.
2. We were told by the CLASSIC employees that were working the entrances, and I quote " The supercar guys PAY to reserve a space and we can't give those spaces away" Whether this is true or not, this is what we were told. The 4 850 owners actually exited our vehicles to talk to the kid that made that statement, so I am sure there was no "misunderstanding" on our part.
3. I am aware that it is a charity event, that is why we were going.
4. I also understand that there is limited room. We were there way before they started letting cars in.
5. In my estimate, we were in the first 200 or so cars that were in line. I will state this again: we were poised to enter, and then for some reason they started directing cars to a different entrance (6:45 AM), we proceeded to follow the directions of the event staff and when we got to the side entrance (Tollway side), they stopped letting cars in and told us to go around to the front entrance again. This is where it all ended for us.

So before you start saying it is " a shame" that we didn't try, maybe hearing it second or third hand might not have been a good barometer to what actually happened.

I also understand the effort that is needed to put one of these together, it is just as daunting a task as trying to assemble a handful of 8-Series cars to attend. Like I stated earlier, we will be looking at other venues to be displaying our automobiles.

Steffen Staiger
BMWCCA E31 Chapter President

[M TOPLS]

Thanks for you reply, Steffen. I'd like to address just one point in your note, Steffen, about #2 - the information shared with you when you tried to enter the main gate on Spring Creek Parkway. If the gatekeepers said that the exotics "pay" for those reserved spots, they were simply claiming what I have heard at many car shows where exotics get special treatment. The exotics "paid" for those reserved spots by the sheer fact they paid exorbitant amounts of money for their supercars; as such, they deserve to be parked there. This is a common way to phrase that someone has earned something by paying dearly for it beforehand.

So we are sorry for any misunderstandings. Please feel free to reach out to any of the exotic owners to confirm that we don't actually charge them money for parking in the supercar area of Cars and Coffee Dallas.

Karen Obrien
BMW CCA Member
M Gruppe DFW Area Director

[TxGR8White]

Everyone seems to be missing the point here. You, as well as John and CLASSIC BMW think all is peachy-keen at the C&C, and I am here to tell you that it isn't. Now you probably aren't aware of all that happens at the gate, but we were told that the Super and Exotic car owners pay CASH MONEY to reserve a space at the C&C. No disrespect here, but if you believe even for an instant that this is not what was "inferred", you are sadly mistaken. We all understood what the kid was saying - if you want an guaranteed space, you need to pay up. There was absolutely no misunderstanding at all. For all we know, it's a way for these guys to make some extra spending money. I do not need to reach out to any of the Lambo or Ferrari owners - they aren't the issue. The problem lies with the kids in their CLASSIC BMW shirts at the entrances - I don't know how to make that any more clear.

I reached out to John at CLASSIC and he sent back a nice response, but the issue was NOT addressed, which is: you guys have poorly trained individuals at the entrances that are picking and choosing - not really the spirit of the C&C (I have been to more than I can remember). You also attempted to give a nice "customer-service-oriented" reply. John was very adamant about how they support BMW's, especially vintage models, bleed blue, and are only human, but while that may be what he believes is happening, in reality it is not. No one has even acknowledged this occurred, instead I have been given such excuses as :"you need to get there earlier", and "you need to try the other entrance" - like I said before, I can understand if that were the case, but it just is not.

I was hoping to have monthly attendance at the C&C for the local BMWCCA E31 Chapter members, but after this fiasco, none of our members want to go through the trouble. Like I said before, if people think that E31's are not an everyday sight, they surely won't ever be spotted at the C&C.

Wish you all the luck in the future.


Steffen Staiger
BMWCCA E31 Chapter President

[garylafortuna]

It is a sad day indeed when we are required to present a statement of our net worth at the gate to determine if we are worthy of entering.

[M TOPLS]

It is a sad day indeed when we are required to present a statement of our net worth at the gate to determine if we are worthy of entering.

Nowhere does it say that you have to present net worth or the value of your car to enter Cars and Coffee Dallas. I will repeat - there is a reserved section in the show for a limited number of exotics/supercars. The rest of the show is open to any cars IF THERE IS ROOM AVAILABLE as deemed by the gatekeepers and organizers based on the number of cars that have entered in multiple locations and how crowded the parking lot and driveways are from a safety standpoint.

[TxGR8White]

So basically the E31 is neither an exotic, nor a supercar based on your statement, even though it was the first production V12 mated to a manual 6-speed transmission (long before Ferrari decided to do this).
From a purchase price standpoint, they were around $100K back then, which is equivalent to approximately $180k today.
From a production standpoint, only 6,788 cars made it to the US (includes 840's) over its 9-year run. There were 14,022 Lamborghini Gallardos that made it to the US (that's why you see them more often).

These are just a few examples. I agree that it really isn't a supercar in the modern sense of the word, but is definitely an exotic, even by Italian standards. Some of the things on this 25 year old car have just now started showing up in new vehicles.

The other interesting thing, is that apparently non-E31 owners have no concept of sarcasm. All in all, no one has yet to address the problem, but instead, offer up excuse after excuse - I find it rather amusing at this point...

Have to run and take my exotic out for a spin in the sea of common cars.

[TedBobo]

So basically the E31 is neither an exotic, nor a supercar based on your statement, even though it was the first production V12 mated to a manual 6-speed transmission (long before Ferrari decided to do this).
From a purchase price standpoint, they were around $100K back then, which is equivalent to approximately $180k today.
From a production standpoint, only 6,788 cars made it to the US (includes 840's) over its 9-year run. There were 14,022 Lamborghini Gallardos that made it to the US (that's why you see them more often).

These are just a few examples. I agree that it really isn't a supercar in the modern sense of the word, but is definitely an exotic, even by Italian standards. Some of the things on this 25 year old car have just now started showing up in new vehicles.

The other interesting thing, is that apparently non-E31 owners have no concept of sarcasm. All in all, no one has yet to address the problem, but instead, offer up excuse after excuse - I find it rather amusing at this point...

Have to run and take my exotic out for a spin in the sea of common cars.

Gr8 reply.

[cartoonz]

I have to admit - I'm surprised by the fact that, at every response, the organizers of this event just dig a deeper hole for themselves.
The fact that this is sponsored/held by a BMW dealership shifts the whole issue from just tone deaf to suicidal. This is how you respect the BMW marque? ...and disrespect those that own them?
Do these guys even sell Lamborghini, Ferrari, or Bugatti cars or parts?
Maybe they should look into doing that because frankly, I'd never bother to patronize such a place myself.

[TxGR8White]

Hey Cartoonz,
The C&C I went to a couple of months ago only had a small handful of BMW's there (unless you count the 500+ new cars the dealership is trying to sell).
It has gotten ridiculous and out of control, which is why my earlier statement of finding another venue, to meet up with other BMW owners is being pursued. Most E31 owners enjoy their cars way too much to have to put up with this kind of bullshit.

Here is a pic of some exotics, taken back in 2014:


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