Local Honda dealer closes it's doors

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:21 pm

I was out running errands today, and drove past the local Honda Shop, and noticed a "For Lease" sign on the front of the building, with 0 bikes in the parking lot. Pulled in and the place was still open (1330 hrs), but was scheduled to close for good at 1400. Shitty deal all around for the employees, losing their jobs during the Holiday Season. They had a CB 1100 on the floor (price tag of 9900), and I was tempted to ask what the "Closeout Sale Price" would be, but didn't.

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:46 pm

That's becoming more common here in the midwest. A freind owns the Suzuki, Triumph, and Seadoo dealership. He said, if he had a warehouse full of old bikes he could sell them quicker than the new bikes.
He said part of the problem is that the Millium generation will spend $5000 to $7000 for electronics because that's the thing driving most of the economy now.
He also said that the Harley Davidson fad seems to have run it's course, and he turns down people that are only interested in sell their (HD) bikes and not trading them in on newer models of motorcycles. He's not sure if he'll survive this winter and might be closing his business too.

MB-5 Joined: Mar 09, 2012 Posts: 15 Location: ABQ, NM, USA

Rick, is that West Honda? I would imagine so.

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:52 pm

DukeM wrote:

Rick, is that West Honda? I would imagine so.

Yeah, Duke, West Honda. It's too bad really, but the Customer Service wasn't all it could have been. I went in many times to buy parts and was disappointed most times. If I had a business like that, and a guy came in and said "I've got six old Hondas, and always need parts", I'd make sure that my staff knew his name, and did their best to take care of him. The reality is I would have paid more $ for the parts (than I do over the Net), if I had gotten the feeling that they wanted my business. Not really the case here. Like I said, it hurts the employees most, and I empathize with them, having recently been unemployed.

MB-5 Joined: Mar 09, 2012 Posts: 15 Location: ABQ, NM, USA

That really is too bad for the employees. I drove by there not long ago and noticed that there weren't as many bikes in the front of the store. Customer service is #1 to any business and if they were lacking... well lets just say that these are the kind of results you might expect. To be honest every time I went in there it was pretty much dead.

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 12:34 am

A local Honda dealer told me that the heyday of Honda here in the US is over. He told me that in the good old days, Honda had about 1/3 of the WORLD'S market here.
Now, (he said) in India, Honda sells more of one model of one bike than ALL the Honda's here in the US.

Sad, there used to be 6 Honda stores around here, only 2 now.

Red CB1100F Joined: Jul 19, 2010 Posts: 5899 Location: Ct

The economy is pretty shitty and most people dont have funds for toys. Sad

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 5:20 am

The dealers need to get together and figure out a better parts program.....

Our local Honda dealer is a joke......
Did not even have a bleeder screw......
Their service department is worse.....
The fat ads behind the counter would not mount a tire for me off the bike..... and the
way he told me he wouldn't started an altercation between me and two other staff members.....

If these dealers want to stay in business..... they need to get off of their high horses and try.

Down the road is a Yamaha/Suzuki dealer that is the polar opposite..... and they do serious business.
Dealerships are not easy places to work at either. A lot of times the underlying mood of the business will
show up in the attitude of the employees.

Jebby

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 6:56 am

Too bad about the employees at this time of year. I predicted the Harley down turn but was off by about 20-25 years!!! lol

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:37 am

Untaxed internet sales ended the dealers monopolies on parts sales..Same situation in many small retail businesses..Amazon is the first choice for many.

and Kids just out of college are stuck with massive debt and low wages..

Kids not out of college cope with low paying minimum wage jobs that pay half what minimum wage jobs paid back in 1970....

And they often get less than 40 hrs a week to save the Corporations money ..

No money left for silly fun stuff like motorcycles....Regular working people with money in their pockets create demand for products and drive a consumer economy..Not happening now..Why? Trickle down what?

If you have been paying attention, Honda is and has been mostly making low cost bikes designed to appeal to and sell well in emerging markets around the world.

See their 250's and 500's in various configurations.....seems to me that that is how they read future sales trends for now.

Dealers can't afford to stock shelves for the odd guy needing a part in a pinch when he is stuck because that guy largely buys by mail for most other parts orders.

Soooo you react to a changing world or get left behind.....

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 2:26 pm

Jebbysan wrote:

The dealers need to get together and figure out a better parts program.....

Our local Honda dealer is a joke......
Did not even have a bleeder screw......
Their service department is worse.....
The fat ads behind the counter would not mount a tire for me off the bike..... and the
way he told me he wouldn't started an altercation between me and two other staff members.....

If these dealers want to stay in business..... they need to get off of their high horses and try.

Down the road is a Yamaha/Suzuki dealer that is the polar opposite..... and they do serious business.
Dealerships are not easy places to work at either. A lot of times the underlying mood of the business will
show up in the attitude of the employees.

Jebby

All good points Jebby. One of the key things you said is that they have to try harder.

I really don't blame dealers for not stocking parts for my older bikes. It not only costs money to stock all this stuff, it gets taxed at inventory time if it's still on the shelf. (God bless the IRS!) Perhaps if they were able to stock parts that cross to many of our older bikes, they'd see sales - there are plenty of these parts. I get dealer pricing on parts from Ronnie's online in western Massachusetts. They're a flourishing dealership that also sells parts online nationwide. Several of us visited Ronnie's while we were on the Fall ride. The people in the parts department were very helpful and we even got to meet Ronnie in person. Great guy who made it clear that he appreciated my business. So in my little way, I'm helping to keep them in business.

I have never brought any of my bikes to a dealer for service. Luckily I have always been able to fix whatever has broken.

If and when the government finally gets their way and is able to tax everything sold on the internet, they'll quickly piss all that tax money away. They'll end up digging an even deeper deficit hole, so enjoy the party while it lasts. I personally hope the day never comes. And if you don't like the fact that Internet stores can avoid charging sales tax, then don't buy online, plain and simple.

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 4:39 pm

New Mexico is a sparsely populated, poverty stricken state. A horrible place for a motorcycle related business. You'd better be able to maintain a bike yourself because finding competent, caring help isn't going to happen.

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 4:51 pm

Well said, Jeb and Tom, and that's my point. I make the effort to support local businesses in everything, not just bike parts, but when you walk in the place and they don't have a brake bleeder (same as you needed, Jeb), and worse yet, didn't seem to care, well, I guess I'll find what I need elsewhere. I'd be willing to pay more for parts to support a local shop, at least one that wants the business.

Tom is correct about Ronnies, too. I was with him (Tom and Mike) when we rolled into the store at the Fall Ride, and was met in the parking lot by a guy wearing an "EAA" hat (Experimental Aircraft Association). As you know, Mike flies helos, and I have a few hours in C-130's, so we struck up a conversation, and it turns out we were talking to Ronnie. A great guy, and he seemed to be interested in our bikes, and helping us keep them running.

It just sucks for the folks who have lost their jobs during the Holidays.

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 5:21 pm

F4 hit it on the head. Not alot of disposable income floating around. Economy hasn't recovered yet. Small businesses that don't put forth the effort aren't gonna last. Hell even if they do it's still a struggle. Feel sorry for the employees. Been there myself.

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:19 pm

It's a sad thing. I was one of their first customers, and was 'odd-ball' enough (out of the norm) that the owners started calling me by name after only a few visits. Wish they could have held on, but if it doesn't make sense (or money) then you've got to stop.

Damn.

.

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 10:37 pm

hi,
wouldn´t it be worth a try to ask in this HONDA dealerships who are closing down for NOS-stuff for our bikes? I´m pretty shure they try to make a few last Dollars before the end or a final auction.
My friends and I here in Germany are always intersted in NOS-parts. Containertransport is available.
thanks
best regards from Hannover/Germany
AJ

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 11:22 pm

Boldoristo wrote:

hi,
wouldn´t it be worth a try to ask in this HONDA dealerships who are closing down for NOS-stuff for our bikes? I´m pretty shure they try to make a few last Dollars before the end or a final auction.
My friends and I here in Germany are always intersted in NOS-parts. Containertransport is available.
thanks
best regards from Hannover/Germany
AJ

That would be a true "stab in the dark", since I've been there many times, and they don't even have brake bleeder screws.

Dennis, didn't they sponsor you at some point? Crappy deal all the way around...

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 11:29 pm

Trying to buy local in Aus is a joke, I wanted a stator for my 750, local dealer RED Wing Honda wanted over $500, Old Bike Barn $125, not long after they had closed down and it was a big dealership. Internet has really made finding parts so easy compared to 10/15 years ago when you had to go to the nearest dealer and pay their price. Harley dealer here just seems to be expanding all the time and has bought up most of the other shops around here, at least keeping most of them open but all the prices seem to have risen in accordance with Harley policy. Be interesting to see if the bubble has burst.

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 12:30 am

cliffiec wrote:

Well said, Jeb and Tom, and that's my point. I make the effort to support local businesses in everything, not just bike parts, but when you walk in the place and they don't have a brake bleeder (same as you needed, Jeb), and worse yet, didn't seem to care, well, I guess I'll find what I need elsewhere. I'd be willing to pay more for parts to support a local shop, at least one that wants the business.

Tom is correct about Ronnies, too. I was with him (Tom and Mike) when we rolled into the store at the Fall Ride, and was met in the parking lot by a guy wearing an "EAA" hat (Experimental Aircraft Association). As you know, Mike flies helos, and I have a few hours in C-130's, so we struck up a conversation, and it turns out we were talking to Ronnie. A great guy, and he seemed to be interested in our bikes, and helping us keep them running.

It just sucks for the folks who have lost their jobs during the Holidays.

Bleeder screw right? Arrrrrggggh.....!!!!

Jebby

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 10:11 am

In this geographical area, I find that even automotive dealers don't bother to carry inventory on common parts to many models anymore.

I'm guessing that the dealer knows what parts the service guys commonly need weekly and that's all they carry....Everything else comes by mail or parts courier from a central location....and that's in a place that has over six million people.

Even the local car parts store has five or six locations and a central storage area AND a system of couriers to run parts from store to store as the business model.

Sooo, my point is the old school business model of a dealer as an independent ,one stop ,carry everything, one size fits all seems to be an idea from the past.

Maybe the idea of a dealer that can survive selling Honda MC's exclusively is an idea whose time has passed as well ,as most dealers I see here carry many brands to stay in business.

Personally, For a bleeder in a pinch, I would probably look up the size of the threads or measure with a the gauge in the tap and die kit and try to match the bleeder at that good auto parts store. Even most auto parts stores near my house don't have many odd ball parts like bleeders. For that stuff I travel south of the expressway to a parts store in a neighborhood where people lay under cars in their driveway and actually fix them, and where they break off bleeder valves and bolts because they actually work on their own cars.

For those of you that actually have a MC dealer with inventory and helpful service people are lucky, so be sure to use them to keep them in business and know that is part of a business model of the past.

The rat race is coming to you too......eventually

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 12:16 pm

Personally for a bleeder screw....every parts store in town has what I need in an assortment pack.....
I am not sure what people do here.....six years here and nobody has anything.
It is like everyone just goes through the motions of having things....unless it is brisket and beer....that shit sells.
I guess you can't keep obscure things in stock if you don't know what the word means.

I remember last year before I went and got the Vette in Chicago...I borrowed a trailer from my good friend.
I decided to pack the wheel bearings with Royal Purple greases....which I stock.....but have to SO.
I needed dust seals and NOBODY in town had any for a fucking trailer.
The guy at Tractor Supply looked at me and said "you seem surprised"
I said "yeah....about fifty horse trailers and shit passed me on the way here...."
Two days getting DUST seals....
In Mich....when I worked at the parts stores in the 90's this was a shelf requirement....
Trailers are still around, parts stores too....dust seals....nah.

I am literally shutting off operations at home. The parts thing is so bad that it has become no fun anymore.

Jebby

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 12:53 pm

I'm thinking that many people with horse trailers in Texas tend to have staff to tend to such things as dust seals, and they get them online like I would, or hire mechanics with their own less traveled places to get such things. Horses tend to be really expensive toys that take big specialized facilities to handle. Somehow I don't see that equating to what's in stores that you might encounter in town. I doubt if most horse trailer owners get under their trailers and fix them either.

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 1:17 pm

Little off topic, but What I find most striking about Horse owners is the willingness of the Females to learn to set up and drive giant duallys with huge fifth wheel trailers to transport their beloved horses.

Ever try to get your wife or GF to learn to take a turn driving the truck with a trailer behind? I find them to be extremely reluctant to take a shot at it.

Most say forget it...Except those woman that love horses..they routinely drive dually's (often a deal breaker by itself), and tow and set up 20K lb fifth wheelers with out a second thought....

Shows how important motivation is to performance of challenging tasks...I can only imagine that having those muscular horses moving between their legs is a real powerful motivating factor for woman.... Laughing

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 4:15 pm

genesound wrote:

I'm thinking that many people with horse trailers in Texas tend to have staff to tend to such things as dust seals, and they get them online like I would, or hire mechanics with their own less traveled places to get such things. Horses tend to be really expensive toys that take big specialized facilities to handle. Somehow I don't see that equating to what's in stores that you might encounter in town. I doubt if most horse trailer owners get under their trailers and fix them either.

Landscapers, Construction.....oil field supplies.....etc.....
There are trailers everywhere.....
And if they have people to fix them.....where do they get their shit at?????

It is just baffling.......
I went to four places yesterday to get 14ga grey wire......nothing.

Growing up outside the Motor City, you have a certain expectation of things......
In Texas....no one expects shit.

I am truly unsure how folks get things done here......
Nobody really works on anything...anymore.

Jebby

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 4:42 pm

Jebbysan wrote:

genesound wrote:

I'm thinking that many people with horse trailers in Texas tend to have staff to tend to such things as dust seals, and they get them online like I would, or hire mechanics with their own less traveled places to get such things. Horses tend to be really expensive toys that take big specialized facilities to handle. Somehow I don't see that equating to what's in stores that you might encounter in town. I doubt if most horse trailer owners get under their trailers and fix them either.

Landscapers, Construction.....oil field supplies.....etc.....
There are trailers everywhere.....
And if they have people to fix them.....where do they get their shit at?????

It is just baffling.......
I went to four places yesterday to get 14ga grey wire......nothing.

Growing up outside the Motor City, you have a certain expectation of things......
In Texas....no one expects shit.

I am truly unsure how folks get things done here......
Nobody really works on anything...anymore.

Jebby

.
You try a camping travel trailer outlet???.....They always have some basic trailer stuff there...

If not, you need to plan and mail order and deal with the delay.....

http://www.rv-max.com/we-provide-accesories--parts

http://bigtextrailerworld.com/buda/

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 5:04 pm

Oh I can order seals and bearing at the parts store......
But I had to leave in the morning.....

It is just that you cannot do a job in an afternoon anymore.....
Anything you tear apart is apart for three days or more it seems.....
When one stares at shit that is tore apart....one tends to lose enthusiasm....

Jebby

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 7:06 pm

Just try a Mitsubishi dealer,the way they're dropping like flies in Ct. I refuse to drive 100 miles to one to buy a keyless remote for one AND tell the kid how to program it too. I am an Elite Master Tech

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 12:31 am

Jebbysan wrote:

Personally for a bleeder screw....every parts store in town has what I need in an assortment pack.....
I am not sure what people do here.....six years here and nobody has anything.
It is like everyone just goes through the motions of having things....unless it is brisket and beer....that shit sells.
I guess you can't keep obscure things in stock if you don't know what the word means.

I remember last year before I went and got the Vette in Chicago...I borrowed a trailer from my good friend.
I decided to pack the wheel bearings with Royal Purple greases....which I stock.....but have to SO.
I needed dust seals and NOBODY in town had any for a fucking trailer.
The guy at Tractor Supply looked at me and said "you seem surprised"
I said "yeah....about fifty horse trailers and shit passed me on the way here...."
Two days getting DUST seals....
In Mich....when I worked at the parts stores in the 90's this was a shelf requirement....
Trailers are still around, parts stores too....dust seals....nah.

I am literally shutting off operations at home. The parts thing is so bad that it has become no fun anymore.

Jebby

Jebby, If you need axle seals, the next time I'm by Palco's, United, Cass, JBL or Shores Trailer I'll pick you up a dozen.

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 1:45 pm

CBX-tras wrote:

Jebbysan wrote:

Personally for a bleeder screw....every parts store in town has what I need in an assortment pack.....
I am not sure what people do here.....six years here and nobody has anything.
It is like everyone just goes through the motions of having things....unless it is brisket and beer....that shit sells.
I guess you can't keep obscure things in stock if you don't know what the word means.

I remember last year before I went and got the Vette in Chicago...I borrowed a trailer from my good friend.
I decided to pack the wheel bearings with Royal Purple greases....which I stock.....but have to SO.
I needed dust seals and NOBODY in town had any for a fucking trailer.
The guy at Tractor Supply looked at me and said "you seem surprised"
I said "yeah....about fifty horse trailers and shit passed me on the way here...."
Two days getting DUST seals....
In Mich....when I worked at the parts stores in the 90's this was a shelf requirement....
Trailers are still around, parts stores too....dust seals....nah.

I am literally shutting off operations at home. The parts thing is so bad that it has become no fun anymore.

Jebby

Jebby, If you need axle seals, the next time I'm by Palco's, United, Cass, JBL or Shores Trailer I'll pick you up a dozen.

Wow....... United... craziest place I have ever been......a million sq. foot of parts.....

Jebby