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12-27-2011, 03:41 PM | #1 |
Advanced Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Athens, GA
Posts: 528
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Kawasaki Dealership Bites the Dust
Just learned that "Top Gear Motorsports", the Athens, GA dealership, just closed its doors.
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Mike Bryant "CarolinaKid" 2007 Candy Red/Titanium Nomad VBA # 1203 AMA # 1088875 VROC # 30589 Patriot Guard Login or Register to Remove Ads |
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12-27-2011, 04:04 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Newmarket Ontario Canada
Posts: 35,387
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It appears that more are closing than opening lately. I think the only way for them to survive is to become a multi line dealership. HD seems to be the only one to make it on its own, and even some of them fail.
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2002 Nomad aka Bountyhunter VBA #27 VROC #18951 |
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12-27-2011, 04:29 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: kentville Nova Scotia Canada
Posts: 290
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Most Dealers only like their product under 1 roof. The problem is they force dealers to take so many bikes ATV etc.,even when they have products from previous years. Then after 3 or 6 months they have to pay interest on all new products that are not sold. Then they may lose the rebates which are only on for few months. Four small dealers have closed their doors in the last couple of years here.
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Keep your head up and your stick on the ice. |
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12-27-2011, 06:08 PM | #4 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: wheatland,wy.
Posts: 3,642
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this is what you get when so many folks expect dealers to match online prices from companies who have no store overhead expenses.the trend towards buying
online has caused many small bussinesses to close.i'm not pointing any fingers hear as i am as guilty as the next guy but if we want the convience of nearby dealers for service we had better find a way to support them.very little money is made on the sale of the unit and most dealerships are supported by the service and parts dept.
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bob wittman VBA # 745 COG #11621 wheatland,wy. rallies-custer 09,kalispell 10,crescent city 11,kanab 12,estes park 13,orifino 14.,red lodge 16 2015 ninja 1000 abs 2014 concourse 14 2012 concourse 14-sold 2011 vaquero-sold 2008 nomad-sold 2005 classic-sold |
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12-27-2011, 06:19 PM | #5 | |
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Scott "Cactusjack" Hanks VBA #00105 H.O.G. #4250060 2011 H-D Ultra Limited 103ci :: 2011 HD Electra Glide Ultra Limited w/Stage 1 :: Rallies: Mesquite '08|Custer '09|Cortez '10|Crescent City '11|Kanab '12|Antlers '12|Estes Park '13|Antlers '13|Orofino '14|The Dalles '17 Login or Register to Remove Ads |
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12-27-2011, 06:59 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Newmarket Ontario Canada
Posts: 35,387
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If dealers were to sell accessories on volume, perhaps online shopping wouldn't be as popular. and actually quite a few online sellers are dealers.
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2002 Nomad aka Bountyhunter VBA #27 VROC #18951 |
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12-27-2011, 07:18 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Montreal QC
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Norm Ward 2008 blue / silver nomad kawanow / VBA #01136 |
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12-27-2011, 07:51 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,286
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I went to the local Kaw dealer to pick up some parts for my bike. I needed some banjo bolt washers as I'm having a couple of lines made because of adding risers to my bike. Don't want to reuse the old seals. They had to order them then they had the gall to charge me a special handling fee on top of the part cost. It's no wonder everyone is getting their stuff online. These dealers are their own worst enemy.
DC DC
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Me and my 99 G1 Nomad on US 2 by the Lake Michigan Shoreline. Judge's Oil Gear failed and engine overhauled @ 35563 miles VBA/KawaNOW #01625 Christian Motorcyclists Assoc. Wheels Of Destiny Chapter #735 PA Wilds NE/Eastern Canada regional rally July 2012 Eureka Springs National 2015 Rolling Thunder Washington DC 2016 NE US / E Canada Rally - Mont Tremblant, QC 2016 VRA Eastern National at Maggie Valley 2017 99 Nomad G1 gone but never forgotten traded 4/8/17 for a 2017 Indian Roadmaster |
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12-27-2011, 08:33 PM | #9 |
Sr. Contributor
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Always hate to hear of a dealership closing. The dealership that I have now bought four bikes from through the years is located at Gadsden, AL. This is a 30 to 40 minute ride for me from my house. The first bike I bought from them was a new 1981 Honda 650 and they were in business years before I bought that bike. They are doing something right. It isn't their price so I guess it must be the good customer service they offer. They do offer Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki products. Most parts I need have to be ordered but they will be in the next day. I can even call them and they will order for me without me coming in. They will call and let me know the part or parts have arrived. Guess that is what keeps me doing business with them.
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12-27-2011, 09:10 PM | #10 |
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: SW Oklahoma
Posts: 189
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Dealers around the SW Oklahoma area normally don't want to deal on motorcycles so Kansas gets a lot of business from Oklahoma. As long as a person is treated fair, they'll be a repeat customer. Sad to hear of another dealership going under and it seems the trend is to have multiple lines of motorcycles these days. The local dealership here just took on Victory along with Kawasaki and Suzuki and in a different town they sell Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda.
I also heard, don't know if it's true, that Harley no longer allows dealerships to sell their genuine Harley accessories online anymore. I was told that if you want genuine HD accessories, you had to go to a shop.
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Brent Y. / SW Oklahoma 2015 Indian Roadmaster 2011 Kawasaki Voyager (sold) VBA #01900 VROC #25609 F.A.I.T.H. Riders (Central Baptist Church, Lawton) MSF Rider Coach |
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12-27-2011, 09:30 PM | #11 |
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: St. Peters, MO
Posts: 49
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My local dealer carries HD, Kawasaki, Star/Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki. However, they recently acquired the building next door (used to be a local hunting supply and gun store that got killed when Bass Pro and Cabelas moved nearby) and now they have converted it into a seperate HD showroom. I think they were the only or one of the only St. Louis area HD dealers that carried new metric lines as well in the same showroom. I wonder if HD was behind their decision to seperate the HD product.
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Joel Anderson '08 1600 Nomad - Diablo Black/Candy Fire Red VBA #01926 VROC #34332 |
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12-27-2011, 09:47 PM | #12 | |
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Scott "Cactusjack" Hanks VBA #00105 H.O.G. #4250060 2011 H-D Ultra Limited 103ci :: 2011 HD Electra Glide Ultra Limited w/Stage 1 :: Rallies: Mesquite '08|Custer '09|Cortez '10|Crescent City '11|Kanab '12|Antlers '12|Estes Park '13|Antlers '13|Orofino '14|The Dalles '17 |
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12-27-2011, 11:11 PM | #13 | |
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Location: Way East Valley
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I won't go out of my way to save a few hundred bucks on a new bike through buying it out of state, but I would for a couple thousand (whose money is it?). I don't use a dealer for anything but warranty service. On the other hand, I really don't hear from dealers after I've bought cars or motorcycles from them. If a dealer is smart, they work to keep a relationship with a customer too. For instance, in the last month I have been inundated with calls and mailings from the dealer where I bought my suburban that encouraged be to trade my 2009 Suburban in for a new as the values of used cars are up. Well, perusing their site, I saw that they had a bunch of 2011 high optioned Suburbans in stock they obviously haven't been able to sell. I hadn't heard from them in two and half years and now I do when it suits them? I don't need to trade the vehicle in for a new one and to be honest, it's the last GM I'll ever own from a quality/price/value proposition and I told them so and not to contact me anymore. The bottom line is that any dealer is going to have to figure out how to be competitive beyond their area code if they want to stay in business.
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Ponch VBA 0019 VROC 8109-R BMWMOA 162849 BMWRA 41335 BMW: When you care enough to ride the very best. My Motorrad Blog My Motorrad YouTube 2009 BMW R1200RT Previous bikes:2007 Nomad | 2001 Vulcan 800 Classic | 1984 GPz750 | 1978 KZ1000A2 Rallies: Custer '09|Prairie Du Chien '10|Crescent City '11 |
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12-28-2011, 06:08 AM | #14 |
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We had a great dealer with nice employees about 8 miles from me. They had Honda, Kawaski, Suzuki, and Yamaha motocycles, ATV's and snowmachines. They did have some accessories available and were dealing on-line. Sadly they decided to close this dealership and reverted back to having just their original dealership 50 miles from me. Money talks in this world.
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Gerry Martineau / 802 VT / VBA #0892 /[email]glmjgm@gmail.com[email] |
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12-28-2011, 10:35 AM | #15 | |
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Location: Newmarket Ontario Canada
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2002 Nomad aka Bountyhunter VBA #27 VROC #18951 |
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