[spummerr]

Would you buy a bike from a dealer who doesn't stock Wings? Went to a large multi dealer & was surprised he didn't stock Gold Wings. I wanted a test ride. I like to support a dealer, but not stocking them turned me off. I wondered if their mechanics were any good if I had to bring the bike in. Then I wondered if they stock any parts. Never talked price. A lot of flags went up

What do you think?

 

[networkguy3]

Low volume dealers

Typically low volume dealers want to sell their Goldwings at retail. I had a local dealer tell me that Honda of Russellville's sales price was lower than their price from Honda. Generally, dealers that don't stock a particular model have little to no experience servicing them. I would go to another dealer.

 

[Order66]

Most Honda dealers are allocated Wings for stock based on how many Wings they sold the year before. They usually can’t just preorder enough to ‘stock’ them like other bikes unless they sold a ton last year. They CAN order them for an impending sale as needed.


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[BILLYJ]

They don't want to fool with Gold Wings, I don't want to fool with them.

 

[bob2002]

Was that MOON by any chance? When I bought my BMW from them in 2015 they had a lot of new wings sitting there.

 

[BlueThunder]

He may not have enough bike sales to justify spending money on a stock item that may take a year or more to sell, so why invest the money? How can he sell more bikes if he doesn't have stock? Catch-22. This particular dealer is under capitalized. Could also be that his customer base buys quads and dirt bikes. None-the-less, buy from a dealer who can support your purchase.

 

[Jefro1]

......Would you buy a bike from a dealer who doesn't stock Wings?.....

Unfortunately, the mechanic/tech will be practicing on your bike if you ever take it there for service, installations or warranty work.

 

[Order66]

Just because a dealer doesn't stock a ton of Wings doesn't mean they don't sell Wings. Or service Wings. You walk into many dealers now and even if they DID have a lot of Wings for the year, they might be gone and they're ordering them as needed. Based on this logic, you're assuming their techs don't know how to work on your bike? Or what about the smaller local dealer that doesn't do a lot of sales but has a great service dept?

Bottom line: don't immediately judge a dealer by how many Wings are sitting on their showroom floor.

 

[Pigeon Roost]

My local dealer sells very few Wings, a HUGE amount of 4-wheelers. Some other bikes. They know 4-wheelers! I needed a rather complex service for my 2002 (ADG replacement). They were at least frank enough to admit they were incapable of performing the task. So, I did it myself with help from here and Rocky. I purchased my 2018 from a large Goldwing oriented dealership even though they are a long drive away. I still like the great folks that own and operate the local establishment, but the best decisions are often not based on familiarity.

prs

 

[PeteF1]

After coming back to Honda after 13 years on Harleys, I think the disparity between dealers is one of Honda's weaknesses. I wouldn’t purchase any bike without a test ride, thus, a non-stocking dealer was not a consideration. That being said, probably one of the best Goldwing techs near me works at a very small dealer that does not have a Goldwing in stock a lot of times, but I have no qualms about the quality of their small service department. Contrast that with a much larger dealer who I wouldn’t let work on my lawnmower. It just depends on who’s working in the service bays, and the support of the dealer providing them with training.

 

[spummerr]

This dealer didn't even have one to look at.

Most Honda dealers are allocated Wings for stock based on how many Wings they sold the year before. They usually can’t just preorder enough to ‘stock’ them like other bikes unless they sold a ton last year. They CAN order them for an impending sale as needed.


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[spummerr]

No I haven't been to MOON Motors yet Dealer was in Shakopee.

Was that MOON by any chance? When I bought my BMW from them in 2015 they had a lot of new wings sitting there.

 

[Hoopdc]

Typically low volume dealers want to sell their Goldwings at retail. I had a local dealer tell me that Honda of Russellville's sales price was lower than their price from Honda. Generally, dealers that don't stock a particular model have little to no experience servicing them. I would go to another dealer.

I was told the same thing about Russelville's price quote from my nearest local dealer in Myrtle Beach. But, there it was......true. I GUESS it could be true that Russelville can/does sell some of their bikes below cost. Who knows what their benefit is when selling a particular bike. Ended up buying my Wing from Redline ( Myrtle Beach ) as they gave me a reasonable deal AND I didn't have to travel almost 1,000 miles to pick it up.

 

[Hoopdc]

He may not have enough bike sales to justify spending money on a stock item that may take a year or more to sell, so why invest the money? How can he sell more bikes if he doesn't have stock? Catch-22. This particular dealer is under capitalized. Could also be that his customer base buys quads and dirt bikes. None-the-less, buy from a dealer who can support your purchase.

On the money !! I bought a new Wing way back in 2000 from a Honda dealer in the Bronx. Not POSITIVE, but I think I was his ONLY GW sale that entire year.

 

[OnTheFence]

They can always get one from the warehouse. It’s easy to sell low when it’s sold before you get it.




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[wing-renter]

About 15 years ago our local dealers, we had three, had many Goldwings on the floor. Now there might be one. And we're down to two dealers that sell Honda's because the largest store didn't want to deal and now they're gone.

 

[gkarasik]

Would you buy a bike from a dealer who doesn't stock Wings? Went to a large multi dealer & was surprised he didn't stock Gold Wings. I wanted a test ride. I like to support a dealer, but not stocking them turned me off. I wondered if their mechanics were any good if I had to bring the bike in. Then I wondered if they stock any parts. Never talked price. A lot of flags went up

What do you think?

Lots to parse here. I get the red flags, but what makes a dealer good is the personnel. Some motorcycle mechanics are itinerant, and some dealers are jackasses and can't keep a mechanic for long, so the mechanics at large dealerships may not have been there long and may not have worked on a Goldwing even if the dealer has 30 on the floor. Some small dealers without bikes on the floor may have a newer mechanic that has seen dozens of Goldwings at the previous dealer he worked at.


I got great service on my FJR from a small dealer who couldn't afford to tie up resources on a floor bike that didn't sell but one or two a year, but the mechanic loved the chance to work on mine precisely because he didn't see them a lot. What made a difference in the high quality of service I got was not that the dealer stocked a lot of that model bike but that he was a good and conscientious mechanic. I also got great service on my V65 Magna from the mechanic at a local Suziki dealer; the mechanic used to work at a Honda dealer and saw lots of Magnas there, and he could order parts from Honda as needed.