28k Service - I must rant about my experience

[BajaRon]

I wonder how many older model Spyder owners really trade in for a newer model. Can Am really only makes money on new sales, parts and accessories.

Most Spyder owners are older. Trading for a new Spyder is often not economically feasible for aging riders. We are aging out. We mostly buy a Spyder as the last Spyder we will buy. That leaves revenue from parts and service as we get towards the end of our riding days.

I think Can Am is missing an opportunity here, if older riders cannot get their aging Spyder fixed, they are a likely to hang up their helmets as buy a new one. If they do buy a more modern one, it’s likely from the used market where Can Am is not making money.

For motorcycles, side by sides and jet skis this might make sense of forcing new purchases, for Spyder riders and the aging demographic who came to the platform by advancing age, I think the policy is neglecting an important revenue source.

I have not found this to be true. We have a good many customers who are on their 4th or 5th Spyder. I don't have the numbers on the demographics that BRP would have. But I can guarantee you, they have their finger on the pulse of this aspect.

Of course we work on the older models, so our regulars are not necessarily obligated to trade up.

 

[Peter Aawen]

I wonder how many older model Spyder owners really trade in for a newer model? Can Am really only makes money on new sales, parts, and accessories.

Most Spyder owners are older. Trading for a new Spyder is often not economically feasible for aging riders. We are aging out. We mostly buy a Spyder as the last Spyder we will buy. That leaves revenue from parts and service as we get towards the end of our riding days.

I think Can Am is missing an opportunity here, if older riders cannot get their aging Spyder fixed, they are just as likely to hang up their helmets as buy a new one. If they do buy a more modern one, it’s likely from the used market where Can Am is not making money.

For motorcycles, side by sides, and jet skis, this might make sense of forcing new purchases, for Spyder riders and the aging demographic who came to the platform by advancing age, I think the policy is neglecting an important revenue source.

Beyond what @BajaRon has said above, to help answer that bit, just take a look at the number of members here who have a list of more than one Spyder owned in their sig lines, and you might be surprised! Maybe I get to see more of that sort of info than most, but it's always been a bit of a surprise to me to see how many here turn their barely run-in Spyders over for a newer (and often brand new!) model so often! And then bear in mind that those who mention this in their posts here or show their 'new purchases' in their sig lines are probably only SOME of the total number here who do that; and also, while this Forum might be one of the bigger internet gatherings of Spyder Lovers around, it certainly isn't the only one, so there's likely a lot more out there doing the same thing!

But I agree with you about the opportunity Can Am is missing here and the revenue source they are neglecting, altho I feel it's much broader than just not encouraging/wanting dealers to fix older Spyders, it's also their very lax attitude to providing good customer service and encouraging the same from their dealer network, maybe even demanding the same! They seem to be able to 'demand &/or require' a lot of things from their dealers (and they ARE 'their' dealers, every one of them is seen as actually being BRP, not just 'representing' them...), things that really only make it harder for/less likely that dealers will stay in the game long term, and they also don't seem to even vaguely encourage dealers to provide good customer service &/or competent techs!

As far as I can see, and it's certainly been a common theme reported here on the Forum from the very early days of Spyders and amongst pretty much all of the other Spyder Owners I've spoken to/run straw polls on over the years, BRP's 'Marketing plan' seems to basically revolve around not only themselves doing this, but also encouraging their dealers/dealer network to treat their customers/Spyder purchasers as gullible 'cash cows' who they should continually just milk for more cash, treat as second class customers for anything but new sales (and sometimes even then!), hold their Spyders for ransom for extended periods for service &/or repairs, and keep them in the dark about what's actually going on with their servicing/repairs/parts deliveries et al...

Orright, orright, I'll climb down off my soap box now, but sheeesh, it really seems to me that BRP has got some pretty backward ideas about improving their market share and their bottom line - after all, there's very few of us Spyder Lovers who aren't going to spread the word about how great these things are to ride (who amongst us hasn't been approached by people asking?) but instead of trying to make ALL of us their greatest tool for making more sales, BRP and many of their dealers seem to actively drive us, their 'customers', to tell the World how totally crap their customer service, servicing, and support network is!!

Can you imagine the market share they and their dealers would have if only, every time we told someone how much we loved our Spyders and the miles of smiles, etc, we'd also boasted about the great support & customer service we got from BRP & their dealers; if only we could say how timely and well their dealers/techs serviced, diagnosed, and fixed our Spyders; and if only we could pass on how much of a 'value for money' deal it was to buy their accessories & parts etc?? Can you just imagine...

 

[Mikey]

It's human nature to want the latest and greatest technology, heck I had a perfectly good running 2012 RTL, sold it to my brother-in-law and got a 2025 S2S, we are both happy campers! Working on these machines weather old or new are the same, you just need the parts, whether it's BRP's, parts, aftermarket, or from the salvage yard, it all works! It's the effort you put into it, that's where the rubber hits the road! And thank you Ron and Daneil for being one of the few that still want to do that leg work and keep our old iron ALIVE!!!

 

[BajaRon]

Like you say, Peter, as much as has been said, it's hard to cover it all.

Every business has their profit areas, and their sidelines. These machines are, without a doubt, front and center to us. But really, nothing more than a sideline afterthought to most dealers. I've mentioned it before, but we've got an excellent Spyder tech (trained by BRP) just down the street from us. He was employed by the local dealership, but he disliked working on Spyders so much that he quit and opened his own 2 & 4 wheel business.

From what I have seen, which is admittedly limited, tech quality has gone down substantially from the Spyder's initial beginnings. And while this may drive business to our shop, it's not good for the product. And in the long run, it hurts everyone.

But don't get me wrong. It's not all Doom & Gloom. Rather, a sober assessment of the situation. It's become apparent that this SpyderLover crowd is going to find a way to make things work for them. They may have a bad experience here or there. But they seem to find avenues to their goals. And that's where this forum comes in.

SpyderLovers helps bridge the gap between lack of service and success with the end results. And for that, I know we are all grateful.

If life were easy... Unfortunately, it's not, so why even go there?

 

[mecsw500]

Do you think the relatively high cost of Spyder’s, due to their limited production levels has a measurable effect on dealers treating then as a sideline due to relatively low sales volumes?

I bought a new 2026 Sea to Sky this year and the MSRP was $34,000. I noticed the even more specialized Canyon was about the same. This the same price as many very high end motorcycles, which are also seeing limited sales volumes. More entry level motorcycles in some cases are seeing an increase, like Kawasakis, but strangely in my area much lower price Rykers are seemingly shifting much more slowly than Spyder’s.

These bikes are the price of some compact cars and in these tough economic times buying a Spyder is a luxury few would choose therefore opt to put their money into?

I bought mine as I was an existing Spyder owner upgrading and my use of it in retirement is justified to my wife and I as a shared hobby.

I wonder how much the current economic pressure, especially for middle class tech and finance industry jobs, is affecting the sales demand?

Are we in a transitory period, or is this a trend that is going to stay over the longer term for sales volumes and hence servicing resources?