Free first service when buying a new bike, standard or no?

[AllanB]

margins in new bikes are not much,but the likes of suzuki just offer cut throat pricing for your your new bike,so dont expect a free service from them

That pricing is not the dealer - it is Suzuki NZ, which I was told is effectively Suzuki Japan as they don't run a big middle man like Blue Wing in NZ. Just like Honda (Blue Wing) have just started some super good deals on a few current models

Plus in the current crap-arse (TM) sales enviroment an offer of free labour on a service may be enough to secure a sale and avoid the client walking off to another dealer. Break it down this way - the shop would spend something like one hours actual paid wages (maybe $25).

[mikeey01]

Ducati, yes first services were always free for the ones I've owned from new.

[danchop]

That pricing is not the dealer - it is Suzuki NZ, which I was told is effectively Suzuki Japan as they don't run a big middle man like Blue Wing in NZ. Just like Honda (Blue Wing) have just started some super good deals on a few current models

Plus in the current crap-arse (TM) sales enviroment an offer of free labour on a service may be enough to secure a sale and avoid the client walking off to another dealer. Break it down this way - the shop would spend something like one hours actual paid wages (maybe $25).

i realise this,as ive worked in both honda and suzuki but servicing is secondary in the mind of someone buying a bike really,its an added bonus to be told youll get a free service but a free helmet or or something else straight away is much more attractive.with the likes of suzuki a $10000 new bike has maybe $1000 gross margin in it for the dealer,the dealer still has to pay a finance charge to keep that bike in stock,pay a mechanic to assemble it and pdf it,overheads of the shop,the hassle of tradeins and being able to turn them over quickly,so the $1000 is eaten up pretty bloody quickly..
and the only dealers ive seen that are well off have investments in other areas nothing to do with loss making bike sales

[T.W.R]

That pricing is not the dealer - it is Suzuki NZ, which I was told is effectively Suzuki Japan as they don't run a big middle man like Blue Wing in NZ. Just like Honda (Blue Wing) have just started some super good deals on a few current models

Plus also the like of Suzuki, Honda, & Yamaha the dealerships are only representatives of the companys with bike sales...the money from the sale goes back to the company then the dealership gets commision on the sale, Kawsaki on the otherhand sale the bikes to the dealerships at cost price with the RRP figure,the difference is the margin the dealership has to make it's profit. Makes it bloody hard for a dealership to purchase stock at X price then in the time waiting for delivery of said stock to arrive Kawasaki send bulletins of price reductions for Y model (which has also been advertised publically) and dealership has their profit margin crippled before the bikes arrive happened a few times that I saw 1st hand

[danchop]

Plus also the like of Suzuki, Honda, & Yamaha the dealerships are only representatives of the companys with bike sales...the money from the sale goes back to the company then the dealership gets commision on the sale, Kawsaki on the otherhand sale the bikes to the dealerships at cost price with the RRP figure,the difference is the margin the dealership has to make it's profit. Makes it bloody hard for a dealership to purchase stock at X price then in the time waiting for delivery of said stock to arrive Kawasaki send bulletins of price reductions for Y model (which has also been advertised publically) and dealership has their profit margin crippled before the bikes arrive happened a few times that I saw 1st hand

thats absolute crap

[T.W.R]

thats absolute crap

Worked in a Kawasaki dealership have you??

[danchop]

Worked in a Kawasaki dealership have you??

no but what youve said about the others is

[T.W.R]

no but what youve said about the others is

enlighten me then

you'll be saying even Honda's redcarpt dealership concept is a hoax aswell move X amount of roadbikes per year or else the redcarpet gets taken away

[danchop]

enlighten me then

you'll be saying even Honda's redcarpt dealership concept is a hoax aswell move X amount of roadbikes per year or else the redcarpet gets taken away

they all have to buy the bikes ex the importer,depending on dealership sales some are loaned on appro,suzuki because they are one in themselves do help dealers through rebates if the dealer has purchsed a bike and suzuki nz decide to drop the price,but not always..
ive been out of the industry for 5 odd years but i cant see any dramatic difference happening now,motorcycling retailing never changed much in the 20 years i worked in it,so i cant see it happening now

[AllanB]

nahhhh - surely there must be more than a grand clear in a 15 -20 k bike - the shops would never stay open otherwise, rent wages, stock etc etc, income from the workshop is self sustaining but pretty much seasonal, parts have a nice mark-up but you need to stock a fair bit and again it is not a guaranteed income. I bet the importers make more at their end!

Mind you a fair few have gone under in the past two years ..........

I'll have to give my local dealers a hug next time I'm in bitching about the price of something!

[Berries]

And I don't want any shop washing my bike thanks, I shudder at the thought of the grubby old sponge and the grit lined bucket

I take my bike in to get serviced purely for the wash. I never can get it that clean myself.

and again I feel so special...the boys at Filco wash my bike just about every time I go down. Went and got the chain checked out for slackness the other day...nice young fella gave it a quick wash as well...at no charge. You guys all live in the wrong town!

Nah, you just must be a babe of the highest magnitude. They charge me $3.50 !!!

Back on topic, the last new bike I got was a Suzuki. Can't remember whether the first service was free, or even whether the tank was full. Nice touches if you get them, and the shop would probably get some loyalty/kudos for doing so, but I wouldn't let it sway my mind on a purchase of that value.

[danchop]

nahhhh - surely there must be more than a grand clear in a 15 -20 k bike - the shops would never stay open otherwise, rent wages, stock etc etc, income from the workshop is self sustaining but pretty much seasonal, parts have a nice mark-up but you need to stock a fair bit and again it is not a guaranteed income. I bet the importers make more at their end!

Mind you a fair few have gone under in the past two years ..........

I'll have to give my local dealers a hug next time I'm in bitching about the price of something!

yeah its not a money making paradise owning a bike shop,parts/accessories sales should make the most in a dealership if run ultimately,but in saying that try having an arai helmet in stock for
$1000 cost price for a year or so to make maybe $150 profit

[danchop]

scenario...
gsxr brought from suzuki nz at say $15000 cost,retail $16999,off a fiinance plan its costs the dealer nothing if its sold within 3 months,if its still there in 3 months the dealer then pays interest on that $15000 cost price per month which eats up the profit margin when and if its sold.
when i was working we had an sv1000 unsold for about 18 months with an interest cost over $2000

[Gremlin]

As said, there really isn't a margin in bikes. Realistically, if the shop doesn't have a good workshop, they will probably not survive (especially with the current state of the market).

Re free service, didn't get one with the KTM. First service actually cost about $950, with all the custom stuff I needed doing, forks were pulled apart and rebuilt, because I didn't like the factory set up, etc etc

Free? Thats like... the other end of the spectrum

[T.W.R]

scenario...
gsxr brought from suzuki nz at say $15000 cost,retail $16999,off a fiinance plan its costs the dealer nothing if its sold within 3 months,if its still there in 3 months the dealer then pays interest on that $15000 cost price per month which eats up the profit margin when and if its sold.
when i was working we had an sv1000 unsold for about 18 months with an interest cost over $2000

That slightly contradicts what you said & confirms what I was getting at before
The Suzuki dealership isn't fronting up directly with the money for bikes by financing them
Doesn't happen that way with Kawasaki you either front front up directly with the money at time of purchase or you have a fixed time to get the money together.....no drip feed

The GSX-R margin of $1999 is tighter than a comparably priced Kawasaki....somewhere around $2500 would be the margin to work with.

As for the 1st service on the EX250 it should be free by the dealership that sold the bike, if it was Norjo's...Chip can be as fickle as a bear with a sore ear and as tight as fish's arse sometimes.