| Author | Message | ||
     Buellinachinashop |
I'm not looking at picking at any one dealership, so I'll leave names out, but I've noticed that there's a couple that sell other brands than Harley products...how can they sell competing bikes without the Mother Ship being all over their poop? | ||
| Mikej |
One regional shop near here sells KTM, another sells Ridley. H-D/Buell doesn't have a true dirt bike so KTM doesn't directly step on their toes. H-D/Buell doesn't have an automatic tranny so Ridley doesn't step overly hard on their toes. The franchise contract spells out various conditions. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I'd like to know the history on the above question too. I've been to quite a few dealers that also sold one of the 'Big Four' (Yamaha,Suzuki,Honda,Kawasaki). Bikes that were in direct competition with HD and not just trade ins. Some were difficult to tell it was an HD dealer with a small corner devoted to HD and a showroom full of rice! Granted, many of the dealers I've visited over the years no longer look how they once were, with now a new big showroom and lots more bikes and 'stuff'. I know during the lean years people had to sell what they could to stay in business. But now? | ||
| Reepicheep |
F&S in Dayton used to have Harley, Buell, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. They were technically two different stores, but the stores were connected by a short hallway. When they built the new fancy museum looking Harley dealership, they just closed down the import side, even though they had a perfectly good building already up and running. Must not be a lot of money in running an import business... | ||
| Jlnance |
I don't know the answer to the specific question you are asking, but I do know there are price fixing and anti-trust laws which limit what the mothership can force it's dealers to do. For example, the bikes come with an MSRP, which is a suggested price. It is only a suggested price because it is illegal (price fixing) for HD to require that the dealers sell for that price. | ||
| Court |
>>>>how can they sell competing bikes without the Mother Ship being all over their poop? Easy, it's in the dealer contract. One of the first Buell dealers, years ago, was a HD and Ducati dealer in Wyoming. There are dealers around here, in PA, who sell primarily Honda and HD. | ||
| Madduck |
Try and find a HD dealer also selling BMW. BMW is rapidly killing them off for no apparent reason. One of many reasons I no longer own a BMW. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"It is only a suggested price because it is illegal (price fixing) for HD to require that the dealers sell for that price." Maybe vehicles are different than other products, but I work for a major outdoor retailer part-time and we carry several products that are sold at the price the vendor gives us. Vexilar sonars and St. Croix fishing rods are just two. They Tell us the price we will sell their items at or we face losing their business. The point is that ALL dealers will carry that same price. Mom and Pop bait shop sells it for the same price Gander Mtn. does. (Message edited by buellinachinashop on July 10, 2008) | ||
| Jlnance |
Yes, Saturn sells for fixed prices too. I'm not sure what the difference is (or perhaps my info on price fixing is wrong.) But I've heard the price fixing stuff from more than once source, so I suspect there is something to it. | ||
| Buelldawg |
Mischler HD/Buell also sells BMW. They are in Beaver Dam Wi. | ||
| Court |
The dealers are independent businesses. I spent the day (and $1500) at my Ford dealer yesterday, they are also a Chevrolet dealer. The dealer we bought our Mercedes-Benz from also sells Aston Martin and Porsche. No company tells a dealership what they can and can not sell. | ||
| Marlaina |
It is my understanding that the original dealer contracts (at least the ones from the 70's and 80's) were much more open to this sort of thing than the new ones are. I could be wrong but I remember my Dad (he was a dealer for 28 years... he sold out in 1998) mentioning lots of changes the the Motor Company made over the years to the contracts. So, if someone was say "grandfathered in" they could likely sell several different brands. Or, at this point, in order to keep their franchise rights they might have had to let the other brands go or move them to a different building/location (which I also know has happened in several locations). FWIW, I remember several dealers here in the Carolinas that sold multiple (and theoretically) competing brands well into the mid-90's. Just my experience as a former dealer's kid! |
