In the news; BBS goes bankrupt [again]

[01lexpl]

BBS is a staple. An icon. If you're into European cars and you're not aware of BBS wheels then you're not really into European cars. The German wheel manufacturer may not be the cheapest but it has represented high quality performance wheels for decades often with its signature mesh-style designs most iconically represented by the classic RS 2 (shown above). Alas though, it seems BBS could be one for the history books.

The Frankfurt Allgemeine's FAZ.net website is reporting this morning that the German wheel manufacturer filed for bankruptcy on December 30. Interestingly, this came as a surprise to employees and also apparently for corporate partner IG Metall whose CEO told FAZ just before Christmas that he planned a multi-million dollar investment in the firm.

Also potentially on hold apparently is the move to sell BBS' Herbolzheim factory employing 150 workers to Ronal AG, a move that was announced just last Thursday.

As you may recall, BBS filed for bankruptcy four years ago and has struggled ever since. Still, it survived that tumultuous period and, with luck, this much respected brand will survive another.

Thanks Hans for the tip.

Original link's fucked up. Its from some german site, but the above is a direct translation...

But what do you think? Is this the end of BBS? Are people going to have to settle for reps - ironically the ones putting them [BBS] out of business...

[Kielan]

If anyone says that buying reps doesn't hurt the real companies after this, you need to hit yourself in the face. HARD.

[northmiler89]

If anyone says that buying reps doesn't hurt the real companies after this, you need to hit yourself in the face. HARD.

problem is boss, those of us who on occasion buy reps either a. cant afford the real thing in the first place b. change our minds so often it will cost us 832u949823421$$$ c. change cars often, setups, the works...

I dont buy $3-5k sets of wheels because i dont usually keep my cars very long and have to deal with the hassle of trying to sell a set of wheels the cost of a lot of cheap cars.

Also, if you blame guys who buy reps, I blame guys who buy used wheels. If you dont buy them new from the manufacture then you arent aiding to their R&D. If they want to make $ bring the RS's back and allow custom everything for them like CCW so we dont all have to scavenge for 10-15yr old wheels.

This is no ones fault but their own. I know of very few guys on this board that have bought brand new BBS. Fuck, off the top of my head i cant think of anyone i know that has bought new BBS. Lots of used ones and lots of new rotas, VMRs, TR motorsports, etc.. I know a few guys who bought new works but thats about it

[J.Wolfe]

i had a set of bbs rs's a little while back. always wanted a set as they are the top notch wheel. got ahold of some and they were 15x6.5 completely redone to brand new. now with this said i was SO happy I got them as they looked sick...... i sold them away in a month. the sizing stock is nothing special and to get a "dope" set you have to pay over a grand for the wheels, then another 600 for some lips, and then another 3-400 on ok tires. they are not worth it in the end to throw all that money to one set, when quite frankly im a wheel whore. wheels alone makes a whole new car and its the easiest change to be made

[Kielan]

I refuse to get involved further than this. I always say the same thing, and it always falls on deaf ears. Buying used, is not NEARLY as damaging as buying replicas, period.

[Francois Dillinger]

i had a set of bbs rs's a little while back. always wanted a set as they are the top notch wheel. got ahold of some and they were 15x6.5 completely redone to brand new. now with this said i was SO happy I got them as they looked sick...... i sold them away in a month. the sizing stock is nothing special and to get a "dope" set you have to pay over a grand for the wheels, then another 600 for some lips, and then another 3-400 on ok tires. they are not worth it in the end to throw all that money to one set, when quite frankly im a wheel whore. wheels alone makes a whole new car and its the easiest change to be made

Anyone else see the self contradiction?

Anyway, in for future entertainment.

[Skibum291]

problem is boss, those of us who on occasion buy reps either a. cant afford the real thing in the first place b. change our minds so often it will cost us 832u949823421$$$ c. change cars often, setups, the works...

I dont buy $3-5k sets of wheels because i dont usually keep my cars very long and have to deal with the hassle of trying to sell a set of wheels the cost of a lot of cheap cars.

Also, if you blame guys who buy reps, I blame guys who buy used wheels. If you dont buy them new from the manufacture then you arent aiding to their R&D. If they want to make $ bring the RS's back and allow custom everything for them like CCW so we dont all have to scavenge for 10-15yr old wheels.

This is no ones fault but their own. I know of very few guys on this board that have bought brand new BBS. Fuck, off the top of my head i cant think of anyone i know that has bought new BBS. Lots of used ones and lots of new rotas, VMRs, TR motorsports, etc.. I know a few guys who bought new works but thats about it

i had a set of bbs rs's a little while back. always wanted a set as they are the top notch wheel. got ahold of some and they were 15x6.5 completely redone to brand new. now with this said i was SO happy I got them as they looked sick...... i sold them away in a month. the sizing stock is nothing special and to get a "dope" set you have to pay over a grand for the wheels, then another 600 for some lips, and then another 3-400 on ok tires. they are not worth it in the end to throw all that money to one set, when quite frankly im a wheel whore. wheels alone makes a whole new car and its the easiest change to be made

it is people like these guys that fucking kill me- as the ever popular saying goes- fake splits can fuck off- if you cant spend the money to get the real product then dont buy it at all- all it does is hurt the market for the real wheels, hurt your car when your rota splits in 5 pieces, and most of all looses any kind of respect for your car whatsoever

you could have the nastiest, lowest, fastest car around but if you have fake or knock off wheels- all credibility went down the fucking toilet

I would rather own stock wheels or steelies then ever be dumb enough to put fakes on my car-

still baffles me to think that people who actually think fake wheels are a good idea actually come on Stanceworks

/end rant

[Stike]

does bbs still make factory wheels for any companies?

[kartikeya]

That's what I was wondering too. Maybe certain manufacturers have changed suppliers for OEM wheels, because I reckon that was probably BBS' most lucrative segment.

[Stike]

That's what I was wondering too. Maybe certain manufacturers have changed suppliers for OEM wheels, because I reckon that was probably BBS' most lucrative segment.

me thoughts as well.

[J.Wolfe]

Anyone else see the self contradiction?

Anyway, in for future entertainment.

no contradiction...?

they were the wheels i wanted, but did not have the fitment and specs i would have ideally liked... so i got rid of them. doesnt kill the fact they were wheels i wanted. i just realized that even though i possessed them i still had not possessed the look without dishing even more money...

skibum291 why in the world did you quote me and say its people like these guys? did you even read what i said AT ALL? i didnt buy fake wheels. i bought real rs's from a third party seller that bought them, refinished them, and sold them...

I buy used because buying brand new bbs's online is just stupid when there are the same thing local to me for much cheaper and refinished to as brand new as before. Whats the difference? they were bought at one point in time from BBS or on a car that was bought so the debt was payed for... your logic i dont comprehend as how buying used is somehow damaging to a company... the name is still getting repped by the owner either way. sorry but who honestly buys new wheels now a days unless they are dead rich. NO ONE

[Ollie]

i had a set of bbs rs's a little while back. always wanted a set as they are the top notch wheel. got ahold of some and they were 15x6.5 completely redone to brand new. now with this said i was SO happy I got them as they looked sick...... i sold them away in a month. the sizing stock is nothing special and to get a "dope" set you have to pay over a grand for the wheels, then another 600 for some lips, and then another 3-400 on ok tires. they are not worth it in the end to throw all that money to one set, when quite frankly im a wheel whore. wheels alone makes a whole new car and its the easiest change to be made

Dude, should've swapped fat lips on those 15x6.5 RS's to make em 15x9.5s or wider. Your car would be ridiculous and as nice as it is now, the replica wheels are holdin' you back. Just something to think about.

That's what I was wondering too. Maybe certain manufacturers have changed suppliers for OEM wheels, because I reckon that was probably BBS' most lucrative segment.

Seriously. Plus who even buys BBS wheels new, ever?

[J.Wolfe]

15s are an no go on my teg, ill never rock 15's again as they are too small for that platform. its just a known fact for acura/honda owners. I already payed all my money for the wheels. to spend another 600 for lips, and then have to pay to get them taken apart/ re assembled is just not practical. Im a college kid. i dont need to be wasting my time and money with one set of wheels like that. yea they would have been "baller" but not for the price and having a size i dont even want in the first place...

[Ollie]

15s are an no go on my teg, ill never rock 15's again as they are too small for that platform. its just a known fact for acura/honda owners. I already payed all my money for the wheels. to spend another 600 for lips, and then have to pay to get them taken apart/ re assembled is just not practical. Im a college kid. i dont need to be wasting my time and money with one set of wheels like that. yea they would have been "baller" but not for the price and having a size i dont even want in the first place...

No doubt. I was thinking tegs were pretty similar fitment wise compared to EGs where I love 15s and 16s. I know phaze 2 runs 15s on the eg and 16s on the teg. Those 15x9.5s are what came to mind. So sick but 16s are deff the way to go for the integra. But anyway, reps are bad

[northmiler89]

That's what I was wondering too. Maybe certain manufacturers have changed suppliers for OEM wheels, because I reckon that was probably BBS' most lucrative segment.

I would highly look here ^ for the real problem behind the demise of BBS

it is people like these guys that fucking kill me- as the ever popular saying goes- fake splits can fuck off- if you cant spend the money to get the real product then dont buy it at all- all it does is hurt the market for the real wheels, hurt your car when your rota splits in 5 pieces, and most of all looses any kind of respect for your car whatsoever

you could have the nastiest, lowest, fastest car around but if you have fake or knock off wheels- all credibility went down the fucking toilet

I would rather own stock wheels or steelies then ever be dumb enough to put fakes on my car-

still baffles me to think that people who actually think fake wheels are a good idea actually come on Stanceworks

/end rant

fwd... not ment to be offensive, i just curse a lot, its late and im just trying to get my point across/devils advocate

I HAVE bought brand new "real" wheels before... worst $3800 ever spent.. They do the same thing as the "fake" ones... BBS wheels break too.. There are just as many pics around of bent and trashed BBS. Everyone sees pics of a broken rota here or there... yea because they are driven on constantly. Daily driven all year around, the works... They often see a lot more harsh conditions than the $4000 real wheels you "rock." And even the guys who really "use" their BBS motorsports wheels on the track and shit... well tracks are about the most well groomed roads around, no shit they dont hit a pot hole at laguna seca and break..

You go take your $1000 per wheel BBS and go hit a BIG FUCKING POT HOLE. Then take a $250 per wheel ROTA and hit the same hole. If there is a noticable difference, then I am convinced... But never once have I seen someone say "oh shit I broke the rota that was on my drivers front on a pot hole, but I hit the same bump with the BBS I had on my back wheel and it was perfect"

BBS can suck my balls and so can the guys who run "REAL" wheels. It isnt our fault they dont invest well and dont offer products that main stream consumers can put to use... We dont care how good of wheels you make, if your ass is out of business. Lets see BBS make some decent affordable wheels to compete with ROTA and I will start buying them constantly, but I DRIVE MY CAR..... A LOT and over everything in every condition all year around... I can either buy crazy expensive polished BBS that will get oxidized and beat to hell, because i dont have the time to properly care for them, or I can get some Rotas used for like $500, trash them, refinish them and then sell them off for $200 months later and get another set.

It makes no sense for me to buy real wheels... Now tell me why it makes sense for you to actually buy wheels that expensive, besides custom sizing and offsets.

Cliff notes..

I hit a big hole and crack a rota...cost me $250 tops... I can keep 2 spare rotas around the house in case for $500. I hit the same hole with my BBS and maybe crack it, but definitely at least bend it.. Im looking at $200 to repair it with a week or 2 downtime or $1k to replace it if the hit is THAT bad.

Plus, find me a company that makes me "REAL" VMR V710s.... I wouldnt trade the wheels that are on my car for anything else. I really like them. Granted, there is no "real" version of them.. but VMR is a "fake" wheel company.