buying local

[dmkhnr]

Screw the local dealers around here.
My morning consisted of 6 phone calls to 6 different dealers in a 2.5 hr radius.
I needed 1 piston, and not 1 dealer had it.

Call Tripple S in Utah and they have it on the shelf and will overnight it to me.

Point is: All 6 local dealers said they would order it for me and retail was $180.00
Tripple S had the part on the shelf and I paid $162.00. No incentive to buy local whatsoever.

Not more than 10 minutes after I got off the phone with Tripple S did my buddy call them up and snowcheck a 2012 Pro 163 $10,900. This is the 4th pro for us from this dealer.

I don't mind paying retail for a part, but if you have to order it all bets are off, I'd rather find a dealer that has it in stock and can ship it out RIGHT NOW. You guys should have 1 of everything on the shelf, and when that 1 item gets purchased replenish it.
Another friend needs a set of A-arms, and will actually buy 2 sets just to have a spare laying around, not a single local dealer has this part, but he ordered A-arms today out of Montana which is where he bought his 3 Pro's.

 

[SwampCat]

local

All of this is fine and dandy, IF the local dealer is worth a darn. You guys out west have some DECENT sled shops. Here in the midwest, even halfassed is hard to come by. I am near Chi Town, most of these clowns I would not let work on my Bicycle. Used to drive 5 hr. 1 way to get to my favorite Polaris dealer. He is now retired and the shop is closed. The only GOOD local Cat dealer, wants 1500$ more for the same sled I can get 3 hr. away. I cant afford not to pay MYSELF 250$ an hr. to drive to a dealer elsewhere. Warranty, thats a whole nuther story. I usually VOID the warranty within 24 hr. of the sled showing up in my garage ( WHO RIDES A STOCK SLED ) A good dealer KNOWS when something is abused vs failed on its own.Luckily, they mail me parts, I mail the warrantable stuff back. Even a GOOD shop is hard pressed to have a mechanic that cares more for MY sled than I do.

 

[WestMont]

From a customers point of view if you the dealer have lost a sale then you should try to get that customer back in service.

Losing sales because of pricing and basing your pricing on your parts and service just to turn around and send the guy to the back of the line when he doesn't buy from you sends the message that your service sucks as much as your prices do. Get them in and out as quick as the next guy and they will soon see that the service is really worth every penny your asking and to will soon be back to buy from you. imo

 

[aebsledder]

service?

I wonder what a dealers margins are on a new sled? I would be willing to bet most of their profits come from parts and service. For a mechanical mo-tard like myself, a good service dept is key. Whenever I try to do anything on my sled I usually end up just swearing at it or losing parts and pieces.

 

[rmk727]

if you read all the posts here this is just something to think about, dealers gone broke, no parts instock ect. To be competive in my area a $250.00 per unit mark up is about it on sleds, so say you sell all but 4 or 5 they cost you about $75.00 month interest for j-mar then again starts up in sept if you bit on the pol program How many sleds you got to sell to break even? Now you have to budget for parts, you sold x amount of 800's and x amount of 600's ;cylinders say ( not actual) cost 500.00 pistons 135.00x 2, gaskets per 1 engine 60.00 looks as though u need to stock a set of injectors a voltage reg and an ecu. Where does this money come from?Just something to think about! about the wait on warranty that's wrong. Pol pays well and pays right away ( 24 hrs) then if it's rejected they take it away plus if you warranty a unit not sold by you you get a little extra so warranty pay is not an issue.

 

[snowmobiler]

bought a new 10k sled few years ago and went to trade it for a new one and the dealer said we dont want trade ins.wouldnt even offer 10 bucks.some are only sled sellers.they can bite me.never went back.

 

[AndrettiDog]

It's a tough deal. Like so many have said, you seldom get parts that are in stock at a dealer - maybe a belt, plugs that kinda stuff. That's what the dealer is supposed to be there for. I used to take my sled to a dealer to get service. They all told me it would be a couple months before they could get to my sled. I finally got effecient enough to manage my own sled and often buy parts online. Maybe that is what it's coming to. Buying sleds from some out of town source and getting parts online.

I sure hope not, but there has to be some middle ground for dealers and customers. The problem extends back to to dealers having expensive leases, loans on their Polaris store (you have to have so much inventory, signage, parts, accessories, etc.) It's hard for dealers to match online offers where online stores don't have the same overhead. But at the same time it's not fair that customers pay that difference.

I knew a good Polaris dealer in Colorado that has since closed shop. I felt good going to his dealership for all makes. I bought my sled from him and my accessories. He now has a performance shop where he just works on sleds and does warranty claims along with accessories. He said the headache of running Polaris/Ski-Doo/Yamaha just wasn't worth the pay out. Now he rides more and is in more contact with the sport than with the business.

 

[beamslayer]

How hard is it to stock a set of pistons did poo change pistons on the 800 from 08 to 10.I remember when pistons came in std to .060 over. That was a lot of pistons to carry.
A arms how many different a arms are there since 06?
Gaskets I may be wrong but 600 and 700 the same?Plus you do not buy them in a kit anymore they are all singles.
My point is a good dealer would have on hand what is prone to break or wear out.
I just got done rebuilding a 07/600 the owner wanted to use his star card so he bought all the parts at the dealer [shopping local ] Everything had to be ordered. One week later parts arrive another 3 hrs travel round trip to get to the dealer and arrive at my place with half the gaskets no oil pump,no water pump no exhaust gaskets but did have the crank seals.
So whos fault is it the customer or dealer? I would say dealer for not having someone knowledgeable enough to know what parts are needed to rebuild a engine and make sure his customer had everything needed to complete the task.
You want our business be competitive, have knowledgeable counter people and a good inventory and make sure your mechanic stay current on what is happening on SW and ride.By all means let them talk to the customer.

 

[cummins17]

dealers cant stock everything, if they did they would be out of business, step in the shoes of a owner and pay the intrest on machines, parts bill at end of month, employees, building etc. etc. you would cry!!! its hard in this economy to keep parts in stock when everyone and there brother thinks they should get a deal because they spent 500 bucks with you, do you go to target and demand a 15% off your purchase because you have shopped there before? dealers dont make any money on machines it all parts and acc. if you havent noticed most dealers are not stocking alot of parts because they cant afford to have the stuff sit there on the shelf. warranty doesnt pay crap, flat rate and parts at cost. big deal, so to all the people that think they can run a shop better step on up.

 

[scratley]

Target also has what i need in stock though. Lol! Anyway i don't feel a dealer needs to carry everything. But i do think that polaris, doo, or whoever should have it within a days reach. Coming off doo i have never waited more than 2 days for a part i needed. And with all my riding being out of state i do have alot of spare parts with me. If you are going to build a sled sell it for profit and know way ahead of time that there will be issues with people needing parts then by no means should people have to wait 3 weeks to get a piston, bottom end or whatever. Maybe a little pre planning is needed in that dept.

Like i said, Never had a problem with doo. Owned 5 revs and 3 xp's. Always had parts i needed in 2 days or less. Now warrenty work different story. I wish i new how many times my 07 and 08 where at the dealer trying to figure out why it would blow belts. Anyway it happens and it sucks when it happens to you. I think the big 4 need to support the dealers better. And make it easier for them to stock parts. Or at least not have everything back ordered. Back ordered what line of crap. They build 1000's of sleds a year . But can't get a motor to you when you need it...Or a piston, clutch or whatever. Does'nt make alot of sense! Just think if car builders did this. We would all be screwed.

 

[dmkhnr]

dealers cant stock everything, if they did they would be out of business, step in the shoes of a owner and pay the intrest on machines, parts bill at end of month, employees, building etc. etc. you would cry!!! its hard in this economy to keep parts in stock when everyone and there brother thinks they should get a deal because they spent 500 bucks with you, do you go to target and demand a 15% off your purchase because you have shopped there before? dealers dont make any money on machines it all parts and acc. if you havent noticed most dealers are not stocking alot of parts because they cant afford to have the stuff sit there on the shelf. warranty doesnt pay crap, flat rate and parts at cost. big deal, so to all the people that think they can run a shop better step on up.

Horsecrap!!
I ran an arctic cat dealership, and I made sure all the popular items were in stock. If I didn't have an item, I could drop ship it to the customers house next day air, and last resort, I had free 2 day shipping on parts straight from Arctic Cat to my store. When I did my spring order for the next season, I could go through all the current season parts I sold, make my order and be guaranteed that I could return 60% of this order. If I sold 6 M8 pistons that year, I ordered 6 M8 pistons to have on my shelf, if I sold 60 a-arms then I had 60 a-arms on the shelf, not only did I get a big pre season discount but it counts toward your credits with the mfg.
A store that has parts on the shelf ready to buy, gets the business, they get to charge full retail (how do you ask for a discount if you need a part right now).
The dealers out here are pathetic. I called tripple S again today for torque specs, and instructions on how to set up my tps. The answer was texted to me within 10 minutes. They sell 160 machines a year, it's obvious that they know how to make a buck off snowmobiles.

 

[M8Chris]

I had a whole secondary clutch and weights go bad in my m8 and a set of clutch weights was backordered until may 2nd. my dealer took some off a showroom sled and put it on my sled so I could get riding again. thats good customer service. I hope my poo dealer will be that good

 

[trestlecreek]

cummins17, you said "dealers dont make any money on machines it all parts and acc. " Then why am I getting quotes for a new pro, with a range of $1,300 difference?