Unhappy Dealer

[Dragonrider]

Had an interesting discussion with my dealer (name withheld on request), and he is NOT happy with the new 2014 RTs - he still has new 2011s, 2012s, and 2013s. He thinks he will have to write off those bikes now. He's glad there were no major changes on the RS - he still has 09s for sale.

He also said that BRP won't let him discount the bikes at a price lower than their guidelines, so he can't dump them.

I suspect there will be a smaller number of dealers soon…..

 

[Bob Denman]

not to sound mean...
That's business... :shocked:
Perhaps he should try and trade them off to other dealers for some product that he can move easier.

 

[lookerjdc]

not to sound mean...
That's business... :shocked:
Perhaps he should try and trade them off to other dealers for some product that he can move easier.

also sounds like bad inventory management.... just saying...

 

[Dudley]

Sounds like bad management to me. To have that many past models is foolish. If he wanted, he could sell them in less than a month. He has waited so late to get every dollar he can out of a customer that now he will have to eat them. I sold motorcycles for four years and we never had any models on the floor other than current ones. When the year ended we dumped the previous models and both our customers and our dealership were happy.
Question...how does BRP know what he sells his Spyders for...does he have to send them the sales contracts?

 

[finless]

I disagree with inventory management.

1) BRP requires you to have stock! We know this already from post like 4 years ago on what it takes to be a BRP dealer!
2) If you walked into a dealer and they did not have a demo and NEW stock to pick from, would you buy? Many want to ride and buy something they can touch and feel! You don't go into a car dealership and ORDER a car you have not test driven. Yes some will do that if they are back ordered or in high demand, but that is NOT the norm!

I feel for the Spyder dealer here. I honestly do. Sometimes they get the cr*p end of the stick and with a limited market.... THAT's got to hurt!

I can see why some dealers only carry Honda, HD, etc... Being a BRP dealer I am sure has financial risks!
This entire 2013 to 2014 thing might make some get out of being a dealer. Risks aside you GOT to make a living!
They are probably compensated by seadoo and off-road sales is my guess?

Bob

 

[Dragonrider]

Don't know if he finances through BRP, and he is required to have a certain number of bikes to keep the line. He stated that he would lose the line, if he discounted…. This is not a Spyder intensive market…

 

[SpyderAnn01]

I believe that about not being able to discount below the price BRP sets I know that is true on parts and accessories as well. My parts/service guy has told me that when he sees dealers discounting parts on the internet he turns them in to BRP because it is not fair to him to play by the rules and lose a sale to someone who is discounting the same items. However, I see some dealers constantly offering BRP parts at discount pricing so maybe BRP looks the other way.

 

[scott16119]

Well I have a feeling being a Spyder dealer might of been the best career move for this gentleman. To say he is upset because the company came out with a new and better product makes me laugh.

 

[daveinva]

Just checked over on Cycle Trader... holy schneikes, there sure are a lot of 2012 (and even 2011) new Spyders still available out there. And those are just from the guys who advertise online.

I feel bad for dealers that get stuck with 2013 RT stock, I figure they're going to take a bath.

The saving grace for BRP is that shockingly so many people buy $20-$30K machines without doing even the most basic research.

 

[finless]

I believe that about not being able to discount below the price BRP sets I know that is true on parts and accessories as well. My parts/service guy has told me that when he sees dealers discounting parts on the internet he turns them in to BRP because it is not fair to him to play by the rules and lose a sale to someone who is discounting the same items. However, I see some dealers constantly offering BRP parts at discount pricing so maybe BRP looks the other way.

Ann, this is called MAP or what a manufacturer allows for "Minimum Advertised Pricing".

In the US, this can be pretty strict if a manufacturer supporting dealers tries to enforce it!

This is to stop low balling and bring returns to the company in the end! Companies want a minimum usually of 40% profit. So they control dealer sales to a minimum price to keep the long term price from getting so low that dealers want a lower price from manufacturers! It is all about controlling the market and MINIMUM PRICE allowed!

Now remember this. The dealer gets it at a price that in the end pays the manufacturer about 30% minimum to much more than that if the market allows. Again a good financial business man would say if your not making 40% over cost, it's not a valid business to be in!
So BRP gets the money. The dealer then also wants to make money. So they mark it up at it also could be another 40% or so! Chances are on a Spyder it's much less than 40% for a dealer. I would guess maybe 20% on good days.

If BRP looks the other way on dealers selling below MAP, all that does it piss off the dealer network. I know it happens! All markets have this problem especially a dealer that is getting out of selling and wants to dump inventory. BRP cant do anything about that. But trust me, many companies needing dealer networks do in fact try to enforce MAP!


Make sense?

Bob

 

[Spacetrucker]

Sounds like Sk in Portland to me?

 

[billrob71]

Think this would come down to maybe over stocking or dealer reputation , my dealer when I went to get mine didn't have the one I want just because he didn't sell a manual Rss the year before so he didn't order any but found one within a couple of days for me and if the rep of the dealer is poor why would you buy a bike from them?

I got a good deal on my bike but could of got a better deal 30 mile north but my dealer has a good rep and history so picked it up locally

 

[murphybrown]

Maybe I am unique or as you say "not the norm"

I disagree with inventory management.

1) BRP requires you to have stock! We know this already from post like 4 years ago on what it takes to be a BRP dealer!
2) If you walked into a dealer and they did not have a demo and NEW stock to pick from, would you buy? Many want to ride and buy something they can touch and feel! You don't go into a car dealership and ORDER a car you have not test driven. Yes some will do that if they are back ordered or in high demand, but that is NOT the norm!

I feel for the Spyder dealer here. I honestly do. Sometimes they get the cr*p end of the stick and with a limited market.... THAT's got to hurt!

I can see why some dealers only carry Honda, HD, etc... Being a BRP dealer I am sure has financial risks!
This entire 2013 to 2014 thing might make some get out of being a dealer. Risks aside you GOT to make a living!
They are probably compensated by seadoo and off-road sales is my guess?

Bob

Bob I respectfully disagree with #2....I did not walk into a dealership...I did not touch or feel....I ordered my Spyder based on what I found on this forum and the BRP site.....just sayin'

 

[bullant12]

I'm no expert here, but there is a lot of information that we don't know.

What we do know is that BRP's dealership program is not the best on the planet, and many dealers suffer because of this. Other manufacturer's (particulary the auto makers) would move the inventory to their faster moving markets and the dealer stuck with the slow inventory get a cut of that move. Also, BRP has some very "unique" ways to grant dealers their titles, like having to stock their store with a certain amount of accessories regardless of how many they can sell or have sold.

Maybe the dealer needs to be more agressive in their sales department. I know of one dealer that sells Sea-Doo's left and right, but still has 2012 Spyders in stock that he's had since they came out. Reason: the dealer is located in an area surrounded by lakes and rivers. Another dealer does ok with Spyders, but sells more ATV's and Commanders because he is located in the middle of farmlands. Then a dealer near a metro area (and across the steet from an HD dealer) sells a Spyder a day. This is a location, location, location example right here.

In conclusion... IMHO, a little bit of both: Better management and dealer-manufacturer relationship needed.

 

[SpyderDon]

I bought from a dealer with a demo, I get service from a dealer that doesn't, only because he's about 35 miles closer. The one that does my service has very little inventory on the floor probably because he sells so many, signs on all his bikes "please do not set on bikes", and he still has no problem getting rid of product... Webber Grills are an excellent example of price fixing, or whatever you call it, I don't care where you look they cost the same, even at Military PX/Exchanges...

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Not True

I bought from a dealer with a demo, I get service from a dealer that doesn't, only because he's about 35 miles closer. The one that does my service has very little inventory on the floor probably because he sells so many, signs on all his bikes "please do not set on bikes", and he still has no problem getting rid of product... Webber Grills are an excellent example of price fixing, or whatever you call it, I don't care where you look they cost the same, even at Military PX/Exchanges...

I bought my Weber from Amazon and saved about $600.00 over ant retailer!

 

[cuznjohn]

dealer

when i first ordered my 13 rt my dealer only had two bikes in his shop. one rental rs (13) and a 12 rt. he ordered mine from canada and it took a week to get. he does stock 4 wheelers but not spyders

 

[ScarMace]

I bought my Weber from Amazon and saved about $600.00 over ant retailer!

I own a hardware store and am an authorized weber dealer.. thats the problem i encounter i cant sell them for less than they tell me too and i can only mark them up so much.. wich means if u go to a big box store or local they should be about the same price.. online retailers sometimes dont have to abide by these rules and it hurts the mom and pop shops..they r either getting there inventory from a third party(closeouts and auctions).. the one thing u dont get is customer service. And depending on the model i can charge for assembly and delivery to hel off set costs..just so u know markups on weber grills are not more the 10-20%..its the extras we get u on (grill covers,tools)they r usually marked up 30-40%.. so shop locally i do

 

[WackyDan]

Sounds like bad management to me. To have that many past models is foolish. If he wanted, he could sell them in less than a month. He has waited so late to get every dollar he can out of a customer that now he will have to eat them. I sold motorcycles for four years and we never had any models on the floor other than current ones. When the year ended we dumped the previous models and both our customers and our dealership were happy.
Question...how does BRP know what he sells his Spyders for...does he have to send them the sales contracts?

He probably asked BRP via his local rep to discount his flooring price so he doesn't eat as much $$$ when he sells them cheaper... Basically, BRP would issue him a credit.

 

[Sny]

I believe that about not being able to discount below the price BRP sets I know that is true on parts and accessories as well. My parts/service guy has told me that when he sees dealers discounting parts on the internet he turns them in to BRP because it is not fair to him to play by the rules and lose a sale to someone who is discounting the same items. However, I see some dealers constantly offering BRP parts at discount pricing so maybe BRP looks the other way.

I was told that the dealers have tiers (such as Platinum dealer etc.) which change the rules by which they can price and sell vehicles, parts and accessories.

Also, to maintain their tier, they need to purchase X of each different BRP line... so X sleds, Y boats, Z spyders...

This is how they wind up with ones they have difficulty selling. They know their customers and what they want but BRP tells them they need to order (and pay for) 3 RS's... when the dealer knows he will be lucky to sell 1.

Unrelated but interesting fact, BRP pays for warranty labor at a rate set by their tier. The higher the tier, the more they pay per hour. This is one of the reasons to look for a Platinum dealer, they can afford to pay higher paid techs, send them to school more often and so on.

I'm sure this dealer with the old inventory has some skeletons in his closet. My dealer can't keep inventory around.