Bol'D'ors dont like rain....

It's a worry for sure.

Problem is supporting you local dealer is all very well but take this an an example.

Qoute on new 08 Factory - local dealer (who didn't have any anyway) £10.5k
Dk/Taz £7999/8299
Local support is all very good and for £500 you would likely do it but those sorts of differences mean you vote with your feet. As it stands there are very few Factory models left in the country so your not spoilt for choice.

I don't lay much blame on the likes of Southern Cross etc as they are victims of the system. If you had a shop in a recession and you got £45 per hour
labour for someones service or what amounts to minimum wage sort of money per hour from Aprilia which would you do.
None of the big names pay good money for warranty work but Aprilia pay significantly less.

If the dealers really valued the Aprilia brand and the franchise or thought Aprilia had any teeth there would not be this problem. The fact that they mostly don't has to make you think why ?

Otherwise, there is WheelPower in Morden. I've used them a couple of times, wasn't particularly impressed first time round, and had a bad experience dealing with their Kwak dealership (on the same row of shops, which has subsequently closed). Apparently though, the bloke who used to own/run it has left, and it has been taken over by someone else. Can't comment on how good they are, as I haven't used them since.

Or InMoto in Croydon

spoonz said:

It's a worry for sure.

Problem is supporting you local dealer is all very well but take this an an example.

Qoute on new 08 Factory - local dealer (who didn't have any anyway) £10.5k
Dk/Taz £7999/8299
Local support is all very good and for £500 you would likely do it but those sorts of differences mean you vote with your feet. As it stands there are very few Factory models left in the country so your not spoilt for choice.

I don't lay much blame on the likes of Southern Cross etc as they are victims of the system. If you had a shop in a recession and you got £45 per hour
labour for someones service or what amounts to minimum wage sort of money per hour from Aprilia which would you do.
None of the big names pay good money for warranty work but Aprilia pay significantly less.

If the dealers really valued the Aprilia brand and the franchise or thought Aprilia had any teeth there would not be this problem. The fact that they mostly don't has to make you think why ?

Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, I understand both sides of the argument, but if everyone went where the cheapest bikes were sold, then how can they complain when their local dealer refuses to service them as by your reckoning above (only for the warranty work) he is losing money both at the time of sale, and being left out of pocket on the warranty work as well? uke

It is a situation Aprilia should remedy, but they are hardly likely to want to pay out more?

Then when people complain that their local bike shop has shut down, and you ask them when they last had some work done/bought something from there, they can't recall. Dealers as it is (I'm led to believe) make hardly anything on the sale of a new bike anyway - I've heard the figure of <£100 thrown about by a local Suzuki dealer, whom I know personally, so they've only got the servicing and maintenance to continue to make some money, and that is where the 'good' and 'bad' dealers will ultimately fail. Especially inthe world of the internet where 'good' and 'bad' experiences are shared, and people have more choice. :dunno

Stuza said:

Hold on a minute.

Imagine if I came in to work and said yes to some tasks and no to others at work..... I wouldn't get away with it, and neither should dealers running warranty work. If you have taken a franchise, you need to love the good and bad of it.

Click to expand...

I don't disagree, but I may see some of SC's reasoning. However, the fact that you have put work their way previously, I would have thought would have gone some way to working in your favour.

Hope you and SC, get it sorted.

danish ep said:

Don't get me wrong, I understand both sides of the argument, but if everyone went where the cheapest bikes were sold, then how can they complain when their local dealer refuses to service them as by your reckoning above (only for the warranty work) he is losing money both at the time of sale, and being left out of pocket on the warranty work as well? uke

It is a situation Aprilia should remedy, but they are hardly likely to want to pay out more?

Then when people complain that their local bike shop has shut down, and you ask them when they last had some work done/bought something from there, they can't recall. Dealers as it is (I'm led to believe) make hardly anything on the sale of a new bike anyway - I've heard the figure of <£100 thrown about by a local Suzuki dealer, whom I know personally, so they've only got the servicing and maintenance to continue to make some money, and that is where the 'good' and 'bad' dealers will ultimately fail. Especially inthe world of the internet where 'good' and 'bad' experiences are shared, and people have more choice. :dunno

Click to expand...

Fully understand where your coming from but £2k difference in price takes a lot of walking away from. can mean the difference between buying or not buying for most.
You have to ask yourself if Dk can shift the bike at £7999 and at least break even then why can't someone else do it for £500 or £750 more and make a bit of money and keep your business.

I suspect the answer is Aprilia discounted the last batch of Rsv's to dealers that would take a few hence the cheap deals. anyone with a pre decrease bike in their showroom is then on a loser if they match it.

You can argue that's market forces etc etc but it often makes it impossible for your local and often small dealer to compete and that means they often don't get your business on new bike sales. It's a vicious circle.
Not doing your warranty work as a result is understandable but merely drives you back to the dealer that sold you the cheap bike in the first place again losing the local dealer a customer.

My logic is do the warranty/gain the customer and reap the benefits down the line. If they are not making money from selling you the bike in the first place then they should be doing their upmost to get your service work instead which makes them money. No one loses money on servicing unless they are useless.
As it is they can't compete price wise and sell you a bike and then won't do the warranty if they didn't sell it so you go elsewhere period and they get nothing at all.
My local dealer did at least say they would welcomed my servicing /warranty needs if i got one elsewhere as even they agreed no one is going to pay them £10.5k when there is the same thing on offer for £8k which seems like a sensible attitude for a dealer to have.

Bike discounting is also not unique to Aprilia either but this problem isn't indemic in other marques so what gives :dunno