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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | I stopped by a dealer today that will remain nameless. Not a Vic on the floor so I asked where had they gone? Just a year ago they were a big promo Victory dealer with the truck and all. Today they said they had to make the change and stay with the original line of ATVs that they sell. Furthermore, they told me, is that the big bikes, the Cross-line and the Vision sold very, very well, however, the Vegas and Hammer not so well. It stunned me when they said Victory makes them fill the showroom up with the full line-up, even the ones that don't sell. He says that is where he looses his profit and can no longer do it. They'll still service Victory, but the line is gone off of the showroom entirely. I wonder how many other dealers tell the same story. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 273
Midlothian, Va. | varyder - 2012-03-24 10:11 PM I stopped by a dealer today that will remain nameless. Not a Vic on the floor so I asked where had they gone? Just a year ago they were a big promo Victory dealer with the truck and all. Today they said they had to make the change and stay with the original line of ATVs that they sell. Furthermore, they told me, is that the big bikes, the Cross-line and the Vision sold very, very well, however, the Vegas and Hammer not so well. It stunned me when they said Victory makes them fill the showroom up with the full line-up, even the ones that don't sell. He says that is where he looses his profit and can no longer do it. They'll still service Victory, but the line is gone off of the showroom entirely. I wonder how many other dealers tell the same story. I was there yesterday and he told me the same thing. Seems like Victory wants to have it's dealers to carry at least 16 bikes which is some of everything. These small dealers can't afford that kind of inventory especially in an area that caters to ATV's as their bread and butter. It was a nice day to pick up a air filter and 256 miles later I was back home. Chris, he had left two '11 Crossroads were they gone? He did say the black one was almost a done deal.
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Too funny Clyde... I stopped there to get an air filter and he said he sold his last one the day before. So I have to say thank you, you helped me out because he had a very slightly used one that he gave me. Except for a small bug in one of the bends it looked new. There were no Vic's I could see and he made no mention of any being around. I was there about 15 minutes before closing so I suspect they when out the door earlier. He told me even the HD guys can only push the bigger bikes as well.
Despite the overall beautiful day, with the threat of rain, I saw very, very few bikes from Roanoke to home. I was caged it because my gal was with me and she doesn't like a sprinkle. But we had a great time none the less, but 460 is a great ride road. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1109
| My dealer has a couple of the smaller bikes but the majority of his inventory are Visions and XCT. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 54
Bancroft Ontario, Canada | Lost a great dealer here in Ontaio Canada for the same reasons plus Victory opening new dealerships (4) within 60 miles of each other and forcing dealers to keep upping their orders annually.......we are going to move from a few dealers to many dealers to no dealers. On top all all that is the lack of recognition by Victory of the relationship of the Canadian/US dollar
Victory doesn't get it.....too bad
VBear |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | I notice that trend as well, we went from 2 dealers in VA, one closed 4 opened bring us to 5 dealers. Now with another dropping the line we are down to 4. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 56
| In Charlotte NC...we have had 1 dealer for years...not very good mind you. We lost 1 around an hour away and another started and stopped within a year. Good news...the first Indian dealer in the country, right down the road, is now carrying Vics...I cant afford the labor rates (90 per hr) and now a 3rd dealer has shown up from probably the best dealer in town.
Indian dealer has gone way out on accessories. I can walk in, and almost but anything for my Vision right off the floor....accessories, hats, shirts...the whole lineup....thats nice, but wont pay Indian labor rates for them to work on the Vision.
I had heard the same thing about the Victory wanting them to carry too many bikes....guess they werent cut out for selling the best bike on the planet...their loss.
Edited by kpVision 2012-03-25 11:00 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 102
Jal NM | My dealer had 1 kp, 1 vegus, 1 jp, 1 cr, and 1 cx on the floor no visions at all, said he will have a judge in April. He was the first Vic dealer in this area in 99.He also sells Kawi and Yamaha. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | my dealer is that way as well.. they have just about all of the vic bikes on the floor but sell more touring ones... i read a few years ago what it takes to be a victory dealer and they do require you to have so much $$$ in the showroom etc.. as much as the dealers my not like that, it is more customer friendly , that you can walk in and SEE & touch the different models my dealers sells both victory and polaris. and he said they will sell 50-60 victorys (from both dealerships) but last year sold close to 800 Atv and side by sides. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 45
Ventura County, CA | We lost a great dealership by just the opposite. They were a very large Victory dealership and Polaris made them start carrying the ATV line. They were not an off road dealership, knew nothing about it nor wanted anything to do with it. Polaris then forced them to buy more and more of the ATV line until they finally went belly up. It is a shame that the Big manufactures pull this on the dealerships. I have seen many dealerships over the years close. All of them due to the manufactures requiring them to purchase bikes that they could not sell. Tbey then have to take a loss on those bikes and it eats into all of the profits for the bikes that they can sell. Once there are no more Victory dealerships left, they may get the idea. We will then be buying and servicing our bikes from dealers that are not familiar with our rides. ie. off road shops or harley dealerships just taking on a new product. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | i understand why theo do it to a point.. as a referrence... kawasaki does Not make dealers do this.. and thats why all my kaw dealerships are LAME.... i used to be a die hard kaw person.. but you will rarely find a accessory INSTOCK or even a specific model in stock.. in the end this is what made me pull away from kawasaki.. i could never walk in to their dealership(s) and just buy something.. else was a special order.. i guess i wanted the harley experience without owning a harley... now my victory dealerships will never be able to stock the items Hd dealerships can. but at least they have aLot of things in stock! i give them credit for that.. i had my old victory dealer tell me Honda was starting that... forcing dealers to carry so many accessories ( x amount of $$$) must be on the floor at all times.. their idea was, if people see it they are more prone to buy it...? |
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Visionary
Posts: 1340
Gainesville Fl Home of the Gators | Polaris does not MAKE any dealer take on another line. They may offer ATV's to a Vic dealer, or Vic's to an ATV dealer, but there is no gun to the dealers head. That is all decided by the owner, and he makes his decision based on weather or not he sees value in it. If you can't make money selling Polaris ATV's. You got bigger problems then the factory. Vics on the other hand are another story. Even the best of dealers sell less the 100 bikes a year, and that makes for a tough nut to crack |
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Tourer
Posts: 494
Akron Ohio area | My dealer has at least 24 brand new Victory's on the showroom floor.
He also sells Suzuki motorcycles, Yamaha wave-runners, Polaris snow machines and ATV's along with the new electric neighborhood car (GEM). |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 10
| Is the dealership you guys are talking (or not talking about) the one in Roanoke or the one just outside of Lynchburg? Both are nice guys and the guy in Lynchburg has gone out of his way to help me with stuff for my wifes Kingpin. Why the secrets?
2010 8 Ball
2004 Kingpin |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | No real secrets, they'll still service the bikes and sell the parts, and they are top knotch guys. It's our friends in Forest. |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 10
| Sorry to hear about the region 2000 dealership. Mike and his crew are in fact, top knotch dudes. It's a shame the factory has to bully the dealer network into taking bikes they don't want or can't sell. It appears to me that Victory has all but abandoned Central Virginia. The Richmond area has no dealer network what so ever. I live in Glen Allen and everyone who see's my eight-ball ask's about it and they love the way it looks but the problem they always say is "who's gonna fix it". Now, I know I can take it to Va. Beach or Roanoke (two to three hours away in each directon) or have the old Victory dealer fix none-warrenty stuff or do hop ups but it is just plain wrong not to support the bikes that are already out there. Victory will remain a "less than 1%" market if they keep this up. My question to Victory is this, what good is a five year extended warrenty on a bike if you have to tow it two to three hours away just to get it fixed under their warrenty process.
It's not like I live in the far reaches. I am smack dab in the middle of the state with a population of over a millon people in my vacinity. No dealer will take on the brand if the factory does not support them or forces them to take bikes they don't want or can't sell.
Anyway, sorry to hear about Region 2000. |
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Another Dealer Dropping the Victory Line
