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1.) Make a laughably small amount of money on large big ticket item in hopes of gaining a loyal customer that will purchase small ticket items in the future.
2.) Don't worry about stocking any small ticket items, the customer will be more than happy to order the item, pay more than online retailers price, wait for the item to arrive at shop, wait for hourly employee to call customer to let them know the part is there, then drive back to the shop to pick up item.
3.) Profit?
Dont get me wrong, I try to shop at the local dealer as much as possible. Hell I even drive past my brand's dealer to go buy parts at the Honda dealer because I like the people there. But with the business model in this thread I wouldn't be surprised to see people ordering bikes straight from the MFR, cutting out dealers in the near future.
Not to mention every boot, in every color way, from AStars, Thor, Garne, Fly and on and on in 8/8/5/9/9.5/10/10.5/11/11.5/12 on up to size what, 14?
What do you think these stores are, Macy's?
When it comes to parts, yes, they should have basics, but there are some pretty obscure parts and then to expect the local shop to have a flywheel key for your 1977 YZ80D is just silliness
It's unrealistic. You expect shops to carry millions in inventory that they're going to wind up blowing out at below cost, because it's "last year's"
The Shop
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Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
So take everything above, and make it all x2
But yeah, shame on me for not having all the parts for them in stock at my 5000 sq ft dealership...
Does anyone have any insight into how much money the manufactures make when they sell a unit to the dealership?
Of course, flarider mentioned that the dealers don't even own the bikes that are in their showroom...so this makes even less sense to me. If the dealer doesn't own them, then why do they have to pay interest on their loan/line of credit to have them in their showroom?
The small profit margins would be understandable if the manufacturers were simply using the dealers floor space to move inventory and it didn't cost the dealership any money to have them there, then $300 is fine with me. But to charge them a ton of money (and interest) on a bike they don't even "own" and then to only make $300 is crazy.
How do you explain my 2008, 2009, 2010 and both 2012's that I got crated.
Put your head further in that sand and pretend no dealer sells bikes crated, Jackhole.
This whole thing needs to be flushed. The amount of wrong info and people thinking they know what the hell they are talking about (but don't have a clue) is just amazing.
So, it's not the manufacturers making money off the interest, it's the bank
But go back to what I just said, everything you see in the Parts, Accessories and Service departments, are paid for assets out of that dealer's pocket, so if that clutch cable ordered for the 2013 CRF150 doesn't sell, he's stuck with it...he owns it. That bottle of Maxima? He owns it. All that gear and all that stuff you see other than bikes, they own. Think about the value of inventory of the 20-50 helmets you see on display, which of course it seems everyone wants him to stock in every size imaginable....you can have 10's of thousands of dollars tied up in helmets alone!!
athena usa emailed me and gave me a starting point. So I'll keep spending money with them too!
To Tie this back into to the topic: If you can make a social connection with people you're more apt to make a sale. The online bypasses the social aspect. They offer great deals. But once you have a problem its like squeezing blood out of a rock to get it right. (Especially from chap moto in my experience)
I see more wasted money at bike dealerships, what's up with the girl over there behind a counter that takes people's money? And the 3 managers behind the curtain like the Wizard of Oz acting like its some sort of car dealership game with 6 sales guys running the deals to them?
I just shake my head every time I go in these places, so much wasted money!
Pit Row
New kxf450 $7900 plus shipping give us a call at Cucumunga, Egypt, thanks for thinking about us call me Haboo if your in!
As for bikes, i have been out of the trade for 10 years or more now, but back when a CBR1000 was £9000 , the dealer in price crated was around £8200, plus delivery, and then build /PDI costs. That left you £500 to deal into a part exchange , of haggle , we used to try and take £300 a bike, which wasnt easy . but you could make £300 on a helmet and slip on can if you tried hard.
A friend of mine runs a multi site multi franchise dealership, selling cars.. lots of them, makes less than 1.5% profit , and he is one of the better ones,
Compared to cars , bikes make nothing.
To bolt on a tire and handlebars, add oil and gas, then start
A bike that carries no warranty!
If that is really a contract, it's a scam for the dealer to make money
And I still don't get how the manufacturers can justify the prices they sell the machines to the deals at??? Why would any manufacturer set up the dealership to fail. (Because I guarantee that the manufacturer is making WAY more than $300/bike). I'm not usually a "spread the wealth around" type of guy, so the answer to my question is that the manufactures do it because dealers keep buying them.
I have to ask people sometimes: How long would you guess it takes for one person to do all that? If you had to do that day in and day out, 9 hours a day, 6 days a week, how much money would someone have to pay you?
The manufacturer doesn't have the magic moto fairy drop off bikes all clean ready to go with the handlebar gently placed next to the bike with all the tools ready to go. Just to get the bike off the truck and on to the lift takes 15 minutes. Un-bolting the crate takes another 10, unwrapping the plastic takes 5, so already we're at a half hour just to get the bike on the lift and ready to be assembled. Then bolt the wheels on (10 minutes), bolt the handlebar on (5), fill with fluids (10), and air up the tires (5). That's an hour's worth of labor to have a bike that may or may not run yet. So, test ride it (5 minutes), clean it (20 minutes if you do a good job), inspect it (5), adjust the suspension and controls for the rider (15 minutes if they're not picky), and you're at a grand total of 1.75 hours (an hour and 45 minutes) to get this bike ready to go home, not counting clean-up. At our standard rate of $85 dollars an hour (which is the lowest in our area), that's $148. Subtract the mechanic's pay ($35), and our running costs ($52) and I'm left with a whopping $61.
So, you just got an $8000 bike for $7000 and I'm the one scamming people because I made an extra $61? Gimme a break man...
Not when Johnny Office Worker comes in and actually needs the expertise and help of the shop in selecting a bike. That's the main asset of a motorcycle salesman IMO- helping less knowledgable customers decide. And Johnny Office Worker will drop a HUGE amount on accessories too, and if you function as their guru they will buy from you again and again.
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