Another one bites the dust
Discussion
milesgiles said:
Caddyshack said:
Would the manufacturer and dealer go hand in hand? I see lots of Triumphs on the road but maybe there were too many dealers to handle a slow down in the market?
Idk suppose we all shop differently these daysI felt very bad that I test rode a Ducati at one dealer but they couldn’t supply a bike for when I wanted it but I found a bike at another dealer and bought it over the phone. I will make sure the one who gave the test ride gets the servicing but not everyone thinks like that.
Caddyshack said:
Were they ones who had been taken over by a big group previously?
My local Suzuki dealer seem to have the same bikes for months and months, I would assume they needed lots of fast turnover.
I tried to book my bike in for service and nobody called me back?
Are you near me? The one near me is only interested if your buying a new bike on finance. Parts or service? No recall. My local Suzuki dealer seem to have the same bikes for months and months, I would assume they needed lots of fast turnover.
I tried to book my bike in for service and nobody called me back?
Hugo Stiglitz v2 said:
Caddyshack said:
Were they ones who had been taken over by a big group previously?
My local Suzuki dealer seem to have the same bikes for months and months, I would assume they needed lots of fast turnover.
I tried to book my bike in for service and nobody called me back?
Are you near me? The one near me is only interested if your buying a new bike on finance. Parts or service? No recall. My local Suzuki dealer seem to have the same bikes for months and months, I would assume they needed lots of fast turnover.
I tried to book my bike in for service and nobody called me back?
I suppose the only good news is that for every dealer that goes, it increases the pool of customers for the remaining ones. Does seem to have been a rash of failures in the last few weeks though, I guess cost of living increases and a bloody awful summer haven't exactly been good for business.
Plus, a lot of them seem to have followed car dealerships down the route of chrome and glass palaces in recent years. That ain't cheap, and may be biting them on the bum now.
Plus, a lot of them seem to have followed car dealerships down the route of chrome and glass palaces in recent years. That ain't cheap, and may be biting them on the bum now.
mikey_b said:
I suppose the only good news is that for every dealer that goes, it increases the pool of customers for the remaining ones. Does seem to have been a rash of failures in the last few weeks though, I guess cost of living increases and a bloody awful summer haven't exactly been good for business.
Plus, a lot of them seem to have followed car dealerships down the route of chrome and glass palaces in recent years. That ain't cheap, and may be biting them on the bum now.
Unfortunately that's not what happens. If a local dealer closes, more people just chose not to buy a bike - especially for the smaller capacity stuff. Who want to have to travel 50-60 miles, or more, each way to get a 125 serviced? Plus, a lot of them seem to have followed car dealerships down the route of chrome and glass palaces in recent years. That ain't cheap, and may be biting them on the bum now.
The chrome palaces are stipulated by the franchise – BMW, Yamaha, or whoever, will stipulate everything in the dealership from floortiles to lighting, signage to uniform, and charge them handsomely for it too. If you take on a new franchise and then have to spend £250k fitting out a showroom, you have to sell a lot of bikes to cover the costs.
boyse7en said:
Unfortunately that's not what happens. If a local dealer closes, more people just chose not to buy a bike - especially for the smaller capacity stuff. Who want to have to travel 50-60 miles, or more, each way to get a 125 serviced?
The chrome palaces are stipulated by the franchise – BMW, Yamaha, or whoever, will stipulate everything in the dealership from floortiles to lighting, signage to uniform, and charge them handsomely for it too. If you take on a new franchise and then have to spend £250k fitting out a showroom, you have to sell a lot of bikes to cover the costs.
Sadly, I think this is the situation. A reduction in dealers, especially for small bikes, just means a reduction in those getting into biking. Even for larger bikes, people are reluctant to buy because getting the bike serviced becomes a major issue with the travelling required. How many times have you heard "I'd love to buy a insert manufacturer's name but there are no dealers near me. As the average age of the majority of bikers gets older, so more will say a lack of local dealers is probably the signal to give up completely! The chrome palaces are stipulated by the franchise – BMW, Yamaha, or whoever, will stipulate everything in the dealership from floortiles to lighting, signage to uniform, and charge them handsomely for it too. If you take on a new franchise and then have to spend £250k fitting out a showroom, you have to sell a lot of bikes to cover the costs.
Most bike owners I know seem to have a bike that's 4 to 10 years old that they are pretty happy with.
So many bikes are plenty powerful enough, reliable and keep looking good with a bit of care.
To trade up to a new bike is a lot of money for no real-world gain.
I'm also struggling to see anything that I like which would actually be better for me than what I have.
I love the look of some sportsbikes, but I don't feel the need for one.
The retro things don't do much for me.
The adventure bikes are just too big.
So many bikes are plenty powerful enough, reliable and keep looking good with a bit of care.
To trade up to a new bike is a lot of money for no real-world gain.
I'm also struggling to see anything that I like which would actually be better for me than what I have.
I love the look of some sportsbikes, but I don't feel the need for one.
The retro things don't do much for me.
The adventure bikes are just too big.
Do people on here buy new bikes on PCP? I've got three bikes, but the newest is a 2002 VFR800, paid for in cash as a 5yo used bike.
Whenever I look at Ride or Bike magazine these days everything focuses on the PCP monthlies, because the price to buy a new bike outright is fairly hefty relative to average income. I could be completely wrong, but I think Average Joe is just about happy enough to drop £249/month on hatchback because they need a car, but not so keen on doing similar on a something that doesn't get much use for several months of the year, in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
Looking at 2023, the whole bike market was 2.5% down in volumes compared to 2022 - a small but worrying decline.
Will be interesting to see the 2024 figures.
https://mcia.co.uk/posts/december-and-full-year-20...
Whenever I look at Ride or Bike magazine these days everything focuses on the PCP monthlies, because the price to buy a new bike outright is fairly hefty relative to average income. I could be completely wrong, but I think Average Joe is just about happy enough to drop £249/month on hatchback because they need a car, but not so keen on doing similar on a something that doesn't get much use for several months of the year, in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
Looking at 2023, the whole bike market was 2.5% down in volumes compared to 2022 - a small but worrying decline.
Will be interesting to see the 2024 figures.
https://mcia.co.uk/posts/december-and-full-year-20...
Shooter McGavin said:
Do people on here buy new bikes on PCP? I've got three bikes, but the newest is a 2002 VFR800, paid for in cash as a 5yo used bike.
Whenever I look at Ride or Bike magazine these days everything focuses on the PCP monthlies, because the price to buy a new bike outright is fairly hefty relative to average income. I could be completely wrong, but I think Average Joe is just about happy enough to drop £249/month on hatchback because they need a car, but not so keen on doing similar on a something that doesn't get much use for several months of the year, in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
Looking at 2023, the whole bike market was 2.5% down in volumes compared to 2022 - a small but worrying decline.
Will be interesting to see the 2024 figures.
https://mcia.co.uk/posts/december-and-full-year-20...
Yes but you have to look at pre-covid numbers to get a better picture, as everything is down from the covid boom.Whenever I look at Ride or Bike magazine these days everything focuses on the PCP monthlies, because the price to buy a new bike outright is fairly hefty relative to average income. I could be completely wrong, but I think Average Joe is just about happy enough to drop £249/month on hatchback because they need a car, but not so keen on doing similar on a something that doesn't get much use for several months of the year, in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
Looking at 2023, the whole bike market was 2.5% down in volumes compared to 2022 - a small but worrying decline.
Will be interesting to see the 2024 figures.
https://mcia.co.uk/posts/december-and-full-year-20...
2023 was only down -1.2% for motorcycles (excl mopeds), and 2022 was up +2.0%. 2024 is when the real cost of living started to hit.
mikey_b said:
I suppose the only good news is that for every dealer that goes, it increases the pool of customers for the remaining ones. Does seem to have been a rash of failures in the last few weeks though, I guess cost of living increases and a bloody awful summer haven't exactly been good for business.
Plus, a lot of them seem to have followed car dealerships down the route of chrome and glass palaces in recent years. That ain't cheap, and may be biting them on the bum now.
Pubs did the same, now…a lot of good pubs are busy as the many poor or mediocre ones close by have closed.Plus, a lot of them seem to have followed car dealerships down the route of chrome and glass palaces in recent years. That ain't cheap, and may be biting them on the bum now.
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