Dealerships vanishing

Mafesto · Feb 24, 2019

A dealer 50 miles away dropped SkiDoo a couple of years ago.
We are apparently loosing another SkiDoo and a Polaris dealer 50 miles away, and yet another SkiDoo dealer about 80 miles away.
Anyone else seeing dealers dropping sleds?

hamlin · Feb 24, 2019

A cat dealer about an hour from me is having retirement sale right now. It’s a small mom an pop shop. Doo dealer an hour away stopped three years ago but the pol dealer in same town picked them up. We’re they big dealers? The only ones around here that have stopped didn’t move volume. I think we’ll only see more of the same cuz everyone wants a deal (me too), and the ones offering the deals are the big guys.

89sandman · Feb 24, 2019

Used to be three in the town where I live, now there are none. Closest is 1.5 hours south or 2 hours north. It's a dying sport where I live.

turboless terry · Feb 24, 2019

Best service comes from the little guys. People going out of town for deals and not supporting local communities and then they wonder why they have to go out of town.

Sheer · Feb 24, 2019

My local yamaha dealer shut down about 2 years ago... was never picked up or replaced... and the artic cat shut down than was picked up by someone else about a year after

hamlin · Feb 24, 2019

Where I’m at the best service comes from the larger dealer. I can only speak for pol side of things though. I have a Polaris dealer 15 min away that makes you feel like you should feel privileged to be able to do business with him. My wife and I bought our first two sleds from him, and used to get all parts from him as well. Then I found m&m on cl back in 13 blowing sleds out in feb. so I called on a 13 pro and all my business since has been with them. I don’t think mafesto cares for them but they have been good to us. They delivered the sleds when we buy from them and anything under warranty they pick them up and deliver for free. We are just over an hour away from them as well. Just my experience, but these same big dealers drive profit margins down so it’s harder on the small shops. Imagine trying to start up a dealership to compete with the guys that have 250 sleds in inventory

AdrenalineAddict · Feb 24, 2019

After chatting with a local dealer and curious as to why we don't have a local dealership I was informed franchise requirements to maintain the sled line are approximately $250,000 min per year inventory (30 sleds I recall), $100,000 parts inventory, showroom minimum square footage + service department = $500,000, very close to a cool $Million in capital. Provided you already have the facility you're still looking at $350,000 to bring the sled line with no sales guarantee. A retired manger in Utah once told me the only way to make a buck is exceptional service with 4 to 5 mechanics pulling in $100/hr at a minimum of 30 chargeable hours per week with big volume on-line parts sales.
Sounds like great organization and being very well respected are key. I don't think we're going to see many new startups in coming years. Back in the early 70's, 40 or 50 G's in a rental makeshift garage would get you off the ground. One big benefit for consumers (such as I) is the purchase of holdover machines (lots of them available) at 25% less than current retail.

Blk88GT · Feb 25, 2019

The dealership close to my place shut their doors last year after Skidoo kept pressuring them about showroom requirements. They had been a dealer for decades.

Timbre · Feb 25, 2019

turboless terry said:
Best service comes from the little guys. People going out of town for deals and not supporting local communities and then they wonder why they have to go out of town.

You nailed it!!
Almost everyone is looking for the best PRICE!
Ever heard of the "unattainable triangle" . . . PRICE, QUALITY, SERVICE. You can never have all three.

Most don't realize the effect it has on the local dealer to have customers go elsewhere to save a few dollars on a sled or other powersports equipment.
Everyone has to make a profit to stay in business, it's just as simple as that! If we always beat the dealer down on price, there will no doubt be long term consequences. . . . one of them being the dealer closing up shop.

Build a relationship with your LOCAL dealer and support them.

revrider07 · Feb 25, 2019

How much is to much I'm 1.5 hours from two dealers from both I went with a the big dealer this year because of price and it wasn't chicken feed its was more than 1000$ difference. For the record I bought 2 sleds and 2 side by sides from the smaller one. If it would have been under 1000 I would have purchased there. I'm buying most of my parts online anyway. From free agent.

christopher · Feb 25, 2019

I count myself VERY LUCKY.
Our local dealer is a MONSTER SHOP.
they move HUNDREDS of sleds per year.

Have a HUGE service facility, massive showroom, and heavy internet presence.

Have bought 7 sleds, 2 Razors, 1 Motorcycle and 1 ATV from them

live2beel · Feb 25, 2019

One of the big problems is the MSRP on these sleds going up $500 or so per year. In 5 or six years thats going to put a Freeride somewhere around $20,000. The rebates are great for new buyers but kill the resale people who would like to upgrade. I have had 8 new sleds in the past 10 years, don't know if I'm going to keep playing that game anymore. And not to mention the years with minimum snow. Very hard on dealers.

Timbre · Feb 26, 2019

revrider07 said:
How much is to much I'm 1.5 hours from two dealers from both I went with a the big dealer this year because of price and it wasn't chicken feed its was more than 1000$ difference. For the record I bought 2 sleds and 2 side by sides from the smaller one. If it would have been under 1000 I would have purchased there. I'm buying most of my parts online anyway. From free agent.

Did you give the other dealer(s) a chance to lower their price to be under the $1000 difference? Almost always they can, and appreciate the opportunity to keep your business

Online buying . . .
This is another thing that is killing the local dealers . . .people buying their parts and accessories online. If there is a HUGE difference in price, i at least give the local dealer an opportunity to re-quote so i can keep the business local. I have been know to even pay a little more to buy from them.

Mafesto · Feb 26, 2019

Timely and efficient service, as well as maintenance of your product is a key factor to a positive ownership experience.The Dealer plays a significant role in your ownership experience and a Dealer located hundreds of miles from your residence or the primary use location of your product will be hard pressed to provide you with the service you deserve.

- Dealers in our Industry are not franchised like automotive dealers and therefore not obligated to work on your product when it is not purchased from them.

- Our Dealers are independently owned and operated businesses. Service and scheduling is at their discretion and priority is commonly provided to customers that purchased from their dealership.

- Pre-Delivery Inspections and the customer’s product orientation educating them on their new purchase are often more thorough and convenient for both the customer and dealer when performed by your local dealer. Proximity to your dealership determines the ease of follow up on questions that may arise.

- Your first uses may result in some needed adjustments and tweaks. Often referred to as “shake down,” these minor adjustments are much more easily addressed by your local (and selling) dealer.

- Scheduling timely warranty repairs and adjustments through your local dealership provides far greater flexibility and convenience to you the customer!

- Purchasing locally allows you to establish longstanding personal relationships with your dealer, enhancing your overall experience and adding value in future transactions from product to product.

- Local dealers are more readily available to assist their loyal customers with product questions, user tips, and are more knowledgeable regarding uses and regulations within the dealer’s region.

- Your dealer’s knowledge of how your product is serviced and maintained can help to enhance its value when you make a trade.

- Buying locally provides you a greater opportunity to develop relations not only with the dealer principal and managers, but also those team members at the dealership who actually service your product.

- Buying locally helps you support local businesses who in turn support your community by providing jobs and aiding the local economy.

revrider07 · Feb 26, 2019

Timbre said:
Did you give the other dealer(s) a chance to lower their price to be under the $1000 difference? Almost always they can, and appreciate the opportunity to keep your business

Online buying . . .
This is another thing that is killing the local dealers . . .people buying their parts and accessories online. If there is a HUGE difference in price, i at least give the local dealer an opportunity to re-quote so i can keep the business local. I have been know to even pay a little more to buy from them.

Nope I did not I told them best price bought enough stuff from them. I tell a dealer give me your best price and make my decision from there and I don't hagel either. Usually by my some accessories there also like new boots, maybe a new Klim coat. Sometimes I feel like you can be taken advantage the other way also. Oh he will just buy it here he doesn't shop around. I've also paid full retail on a few sleds to a dealer because he was just that good with everything. Ski doo took his dealership because he wouldn't build a new building.

donbrown · Feb 28, 2019

Mafesto said:
- Dealers in our Industry are not franchised like automotive dealers and therefore not obligated to work on your product when it is not purchased from them.

- Our Dealers are independently owned and operated businesses. Service and scheduling is at their discretion and priority is commonly provided to customers that purchased from their dealership.

I live in Southern California. 8 Hours away from a sled dealer. There used to be sled dealers in Los Angeles … now just Chinese importers.

Last local dealer 3 hours away closed doors and had terrible service. The 900 RMK closed the doors for them.

Instead of driving up north and pay FULL retail I drive a couple more hours out of state and bought a sled with over 2 grand off and dealer very nice to me.

Brought it back to California and made an appointment with the Calif dealer to get recalls done. Told me to take it where I bought the sled. Didn't happen … called manufacturer and now dealer will help because they are a dealership and contractually required to help an owner of the brand of sled they sell at their store.

Frankly don't trust them to touch my sled after they gave me crap for going out of state.

Will do a road trip to a larger dealer in ID or UT to get work done. Have a friend do it or do it myself.

89sandman · Feb 28, 2019

If you are going to be a dealer to sell the product of a company you should service their product if you sold it or not. If you don't then you should find another line of work. Funny how dealers always claim they make nothing on the sleds they sell only on the service, but then don't want to service a sled they didn't sell. Why would they care if they sold a sled they make nothing on??? Wow maybe it is they make money selling sleds. I believe every business sells a product for $10-15k and makes nothing on it, they just enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling they get when they sell stuff and get nothing for it...

slyrydr · Mar 3, 2019

small dealers competing against big dealers is only part of the problem...the small dealer i did business with was put out by arctic cat corporation making him buy more product of the wrong type for his area, when he couldn't sell the units, they pulled his franchise....no question it's tough for a one line dealer to make a go of it, need a diverse store to sell stuff other than just snowmobiles and for a dealer with limited investment money available and no crystal ball, it's a tough prospect...:face-icon-small-fro

Mafesto · Mar 3, 2019

So let’s say you're the person at a manufacturer who makes these decisions....
You have a dealer contemplating dropping out because he cannot comfortably agree to the volume you want him to take.
There are no other dealers within 100 miles.
Why wouldn't you tell him..."Sell whatever snowchecks you can, order a few stock if you want and we'll look at things in another year"?

Not only could this possibly salvage the relationship with an existing franchisee, it also prevents orphaning existing customers. There truly is NO DOWNSIDE to this scenario.

Will someone else pick up the franchise? Very unlikely.
How many existing customers will travel 100 miles to stay on that brand when there are other local options of competing brands? Some, but certainly will lose some as well.

polaris dude · Mar 3, 2019

Mafesto said:
So let’s say you're the person at a manufacturer who makes these decisions....
You have a dealer contemplating dropping out because he cannot comfortably agree to the volume you want him to take.
There are no other dealers within 100 miles.
Why wouldn't you tell him..."Sell whatever snowchecks you can, order a few stock if you want and we'll look at things in another year"?

Not only could this possibly salvage the relationship with an existing franchisee, it also prevents orphaning existing customers. There truly is NO DOWNSIDE to this scenario.

Will someone else pick up the franchise? Very unlikely.
How many existing customers will travel 100 miles to stay on that brand when there are other local options of competing brands? Some, but certainly will lose some as well.

They care more about the efficiency of things. economies of scale for them usually make the difference. There is a reason things like low volume pharmacies no longer exist either.

Dealerships vanishing

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