⚠️ Last edited by coolcatlaw on UTC; edited 2 times
OP
|
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
|
|
Veni, Vidi, Posti
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. Best, SDG |
|
|
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.
|
Molto Verboso
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. |
Veni, Vidi, Posti
63 GS160 MK1 / GT60 / Sean Wotherspoon
Joined: UTC
Posts: 6544 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 |
|
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. |
Molto Verboso
'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 Good luck to you- I know you've been a good guy here. Bob |
|
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. |
UTC
Veni, Vidi, Posti
2007 LX150 2015 GTS (running like a charm!) 2017 BV 350
Joined: UTC
Posts: 12253 Location: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin |
|
Veni, Vidi, Posti
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.
|
OP
|
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.....
|
UTC
Ossessionato
2007 Yamaha Vino 125
Joined: UTC
Posts: 2714 Location: Geneseo, IL (Quad City area) |
|
Ossessionato
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
Positive
|
RIP
|
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?
|
Ossessionato
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. |
Modern Vespa is the premier site for modern Vespa and Piaggio scooters. Vespa GTS300, GTS250, GTV, GT200, LX150, LXS, ET4, ET2, MP3, Fuoco, Elettrica and more.