OP
UTC

Hooked
2007 Vespa GTS 250
Joined: UTC
Posts: 249
Location: Illowa
 
Hooked
2007 Vespa GTS 250
Joined: UTC
Posts: 249
Location: Illowa
UTC quote
So, within the last year, Iowa, U.S., has lost two of its three Vespa dealerships. (The dealers in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids stopped carrying the brand, I think both dealerships were owned by the same person.) Does anyone have any insight as to how difficult it is to operate a dealership in medium sized cities in Midwest? I know the economy is crap, and the weather makes for a short riding season, but I would think dealerships all around Midwest and Northeast U.S. deal with that. ---EDITOR'S note: Sorry, I wasn't clear, the two dealers were not boutiques, they still have Suzuki/Yamaha/Genuine lines, just no Vespa brand.
⚠️ Last edited by coolcatlaw on UTC; edited 2 times
UTC

Molto Verboso
Vespa GTS 250ie
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1229
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
 
Molto Verboso
Vespa GTS 250ie
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1229
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
UTC quote
Did you watch the Republican debates?
@sdg avatar
UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
63 GS160 MK1 / GT60 / Sean Wotherspoon
Joined: UTC
Posts: 6544
Location: Thousand Oaks
 
Veni, Vidi, Posti
@sdg avatar
63 GS160 MK1 / GT60 / Sean Wotherspoon
Joined: UTC
Posts: 6544
Location: Thousand Oaks
UTC quote
coolcatlaw wrote:
So, within the last year, Iowa, U.S., has lost two of its three Vespa dealerships. (The dealers in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids stopped carrying the brand, I think both dealerships were owned by the same person.) Does anyone have any insight as to how difficult it is to operate a dealership in medium sized cities in Midwest? I know the economy is crap, and the weather makes for a short riding season, but I would think dealerships all around Midwest and Northeast U.S. deal with that.
You should retitle this Piaggio USA Midwest dealers.

Best,
SDG
UTC

Addicted
2015 BV350 2007 GTS(sold) 2003 BV200
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Posts: 774
Location: nyc
 
Addicted
2015 BV350 2007 GTS(sold) 2003 BV200
Joined: UTC
Posts: 774
Location: nyc
UTC quote
Gas prices are not in the favor of the dealers at the moment. V8 sales are up!!!!!!!

John
@dmpawley avatar
UTC

Ossessionato
Joined: UTC
Posts: 2073
Location: Northern California
 
Ossessionato
@dmpawley avatar
Joined: UTC
Posts: 2073
Location: Northern California
UTC quote
It's economics. If you want the dealers to stay around, you have to spend some money at their store. And, it doesn't hurt to be an ambassador for Piaggio. Ride as much as you can and and chat with people about how great they are.
@kz1000st avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Dongfang 170cc, CF Moto Fashion 250
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Posts: 1895
Location: Hyde Park, New York
 
Molto Verboso
@kz1000st avatar
Dongfang 170cc, CF Moto Fashion 250
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1895
Location: Hyde Park, New York
UTC quote
The problem, as I see it, is that successful dealers have to be Multi Line. If Vespa is to survive here they have to get into the Yamaha/Can Am/Kawasaki type shops.

Having Boutiques might have sounded like a good idea once but it paints you into a corner. Ideally throwing in with Harley, Victory/Indian, Kawasaki or Triumph dealers would be ideal. None of them sell scooters and could be a way to draw in new blood.
@sdg avatar
UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
63 GS160 MK1 / GT60 / Sean Wotherspoon
Joined: UTC
Posts: 6544
Location: Thousand Oaks
 
Veni, Vidi, Posti
@sdg avatar
63 GS160 MK1 / GT60 / Sean Wotherspoon
Joined: UTC
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Location: Thousand Oaks
UTC quote
Its a tough economy for a Vespa dealership in the USA right now. As a dealer on the west coast all I know is all we can do is all we can do.

We are an exclusive Piaggio dealer and family owned. We recently sold Aprilia to an independent so Vespa/Piaggio/MotoGuzzi for us.

We offer the best services available and love on our clients, the rest is in the scooter God's hands.

Better times ahead I suspect.

Best,
SDG
@bosco avatar
UTC

Drift Unit SC
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Drift Unit SC
@bosco avatar
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UTC quote
Its extremely difficult to maintain as a single line dealer.
Even dealers with all Piaggio lines are still subject to struggles in this market.

We spun off Aprilia and Guzzi as well as Kymco and Genuine to focus on the core buisness of BMW and Vespa/Piaggio. It is a tough climate for retail for bikes right now. We can only hope for a booming spring/summer to keep the ball rolling.
@bvbob avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
'95 Yamaha Riva 125- '05 Piaggio BV200-'05 Honda Reflex-'08 Honda Metropolitan
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Posts: 1860
Location: Ohio
 
Molto Verboso
@bvbob avatar
'95 Yamaha Riva 125- '05 Piaggio BV200-'05 Honda Reflex-'08 Honda Metropolitan
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1860
Location: Ohio
UTC quote
SDG wrote:
Its a tough economy for a Vespa dealership in the USA right now. As a dealer on the west coast all I know is all we can do is all we can do.

We are an exclusive Piaggio dealer and family owned. We recently sold Aprilia to an independent so Vespa/Piaggio/MotoGuzzi for us.

We offer the best services available and love on our clients, the rest is in the scooter God's hands.

Better times ahead I suspect.

Best,
SDG
As a business owner you see and know where the economy really is. I manage a business and have contacts with hundreds of vendors daily and everyone asks me if it is just them or am I hearing from others too that things are not what they seem. The media has everyone thinking we are in a utopia. Yes, many jobs have been created in the past five years but how many of those jobs allow employees to have enough expendable income to buy a Vespa? I just hope guys like you can hold on until things really turn around. We don't have a power sports dealer in our entire city. None. You have to travel to find one, scooters? Forget it... Really sad state of affairs..

Good luck to you- I know you've been a good guy here.

Bob
@cdwise avatar
UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
GTS 300, Buddy 125
Joined: UTC
Posts: 8870
Location: Knoxville, TN
 
Veni, Vidi, Posti
@cdwise avatar
GTS 300, Buddy 125
Joined: UTC
Posts: 8870
Location: Knoxville, TN
UTC quote
kz1000ST wrote:
The problem, as I see it, is that successful dealers have to be Multi Line. If Vespa is to survive here they have to get into the Yamaha/Can Am/Kawasaki type shops.

Having Boutiques might have sounded like a good idea once but it paints you into a corner. Ideally throwing in with Harley, Victory/Indian, Kawasaki or Triumph dealers would be ideal. None of them sell scooters and could be a way to draw in new blood.
Houston has 1 boutique dealer (Vespa Houston) and one Harley/multi-brand dealers (Mancuso).
@fledermaus avatar
UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
2007 LX150 2015 GTS (running like a charm!) 2017 BV 350
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Posts: 12253
Location: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
 
Veni, Vidi, Posti
@fledermaus avatar
2007 LX150 2015 GTS (running like a charm!) 2017 BV 350
Joined: UTC
Posts: 12253
Location: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
UTC quote
Haven't spoken to them about it, but my dealer in Madison was Vespa/Piaggio only, recently picked up Moto-Guzzi. Not sure if that helps, but can't hurt. They also fix cars, so they're reasonably diversified. Fortunately, I've gotten the feeling that they're in it more for passion than profit. Nerd emoticon
OP
UTC

Hooked
2007 Vespa GTS 250
Joined: UTC
Posts: 249
Location: Illowa
 
Hooked
2007 Vespa GTS 250
Joined: UTC
Posts: 249
Location: Illowa
UTC quote
Yes, Madison, WI is now my closest dealer, 160 miles away. The guy running it seems cool. My city is not tiny, it is a metropolitan area of 300,000. So, outside of major cities, warm weather/and or college towns, no Vespa service for us? What do you people in Europe do? what is the farthest anyone lives away from a dealer? It seems impossible here to get another brand dealer to work on a Vespa.....
@cubsking99 avatar
UTC

Ossessionato
2007 Yamaha Vino 125
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Posts: 2714
Location: Geneseo, IL (Quad City area)
 
Ossessionato
@cubsking99 avatar
2007 Yamaha Vino 125
Joined: UTC
Posts: 2714
Location: Geneseo, IL (Quad City area)
UTC quote
From context, I'm assuming you're also in the Quad Cities. There's a shop in Silvis that'll work on them, though I only took my MP3 there to repair a busted header that I don't have the welding skills or equipment to do myself. There's also Gran Sport Cycles, but I think they only do vintage bikes. Brenny's might work on it, or they might not. I've never checked. Funmart didn't seem real interested in talking to me when I was having transmission trouble.

None of those have trained Piaggio mechanics, as far as I know.

Since I moved back to the QC area 4 years ago, everything beyond that one fix I've done myself, sprinkled with assistance from others on here. (Especially Old as Dirt).

There's a few dealers in Chicagoland that are a bit closer than Madison, but they're still 100+ miles away. It sure does make it tough, though, and is one of the reasons I'm considering letting my MP3 go...

If you just want somewhere to tinker with your bike and another hand to help out, let me know and you can always swing by my house...

Mark
@judy avatar
UTC

World Traveler
2007 LX150 Daring Plum Leonardo Da Vespa
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Posts: 29303
 
World Traveler
@judy avatar
2007 LX150 Daring Plum Leonardo Da Vespa
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Posts: 29303
UTC quote
One would think that Hawaii with it's year round riding capabilities, would be a great place to have a dealer. We don't. The biggest problem is the service dept. To be a good dealer IMHO you have to have people who know how to service them. The dealers who do well have that. Our Vespa's are sold at a Harley dealer. They don't even have a good service dept for them, let alone the Vespa's. So once you buy the Vespa it usually gets sold when a dealer screws the service up. Thankfully i've found a moped guy who knows how to work on them. However you have to bring your own parts. If i remember right,don't they sell Vespa's at tractor dealers?
@en82pg avatar
UTC

Ossessionato
2010 PIAGGIO BV 500ie Tourer
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Posts: 4644
Location: Lakeshore, ON, CANADA-Capestang,FR
 
Ossessionato
@en82pg avatar
2010 PIAGGIO BV 500ie Tourer
Joined: UTC
Posts: 4644
Location: Lakeshore, ON, CANADA-Capestang,FR
UTC quote
A parallel thread on the forum, Motorcycle Industry Freefall, has some interesting takes on the current condx of sales, etc.

I think there is more to upticks and collapses than the price of fuel.
Support networks being the most important INMHO.
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