Bad Business Practice

[Mr-Jester]

I'm a Harley rider, not a Victory owner but wanted to comment about a bad deal for Victory buyers in the Stafford, Virginia area. Recently a new Victory dealership went up. Lots of people bought (obviously not enough though). The dealership shut down in 2 months and left all the new Victory owners high and dry. Just think this is a bad business model. Didn't anyone at Victory do a business case study to determine if (1) there would be enough buyers in the area to warrant a delaership (2) if the buyer of the dealership would have enough money to stay the couse without bailing after 2 months?

[garyad]

Jusr curious, where is the closest dealer now? I know they are few and far between.

[mtairy biker]

there is a dealer in westminister MD off rt 140 Matt Barnes is the owner he is very nolaglble and sharp on those bikes

[Bubba Neil]

Originally Posted by Mr-Jester

I'm a Harley rider, not a Victory owner but wanted to comment about a bad deal for Victory buyers in the Stafford, Virginia area. Recently a new Victory dealership went up. Lots of people bought (obviously not enough though). The dealership shut down in 2 months and left all the new Victory owners high and dry. Just think this is a bad business model. Didn't anyone at Victory do a business case study to determine if (1) there would be enough buyers in the area to warrant a delaership (2) if the buyer of the dealership would have enough money to stay the couse without bailing after 2 months?

The biggest problem I see with Victory is they seem to be unable to keep good dealers, the decent few I have seen have all been sh!tted on by Victory and have very willingly parted ways with Victory.
If they think they can get Harley $$$ with 1/2 azzed dealer support they are mistaken.

[x52gnr]

There is more to that story from what I understand. The owners of that dealer also owned the Mercedes and Volvo dealership behind the big mall. Rumor has it that mercedes doesnt want to have any affiliation with other than maybe Volvo. They were told by Mercedes to shut it down or possibly lose the Mercedes supply.....

[Mr-Jester]

The closest dealership according to the Victory web site is 2-3 hours from Fredericksburg, VA.

[Mr-Jester]

That would not have happened with Harley or Honda for that matter. Both companies are very careful about who opens a dealership and where and whether they have other business ties. I guess Victory is in a hurry to get dealerships up fast without doing their research?

[Mountain Man]

I own both a HD and a Victory, and so I'd like to input my 2 cents. I've owned my '03 Victory Touring Cruiser for almost four years and 27,000 miles. It is a solid machine that performs very well. It is a gas cruising the wide open ranges of Eastern Colorado and the Western US on my Victory TC. My local dealership is staffed with quality professionals who keep my bike in top knotch condition. The problem is it takes me two weeks to get my bike into maintenance (the only dealership in town), and company accessories are limited and after market accessories are almost non-existant. I bought my HD one year ago. There is no debating that HD is a well-oiled company who does one thing exceptionally well. HD has tremendous maintenance support, and MoCo and aftermarket accessories are second to none. I love both bikes. While Victory will never compete with HD, give them a chance. If I were to purchase another bike today, no doubt I'd buy a HD Touring Class bike such as the Road King or Electra Glide. However, when I bought my Victory TC in 2003, the dealership actually let me ride the bike - twice, and for many miles. HD told me I'd need to rent a bike to determine how it performed. Perhaps HD should learn from Victory's marketing. What do they got to lose? Victory makes many outstanding "custom" bikes such as the Jackpot, but I believe the new Victory Tourer, the Vision, is one ugly bike. Perhaps Victory should learn to make touring bikes the public will accept.

[Krayven Sumhead]

Originally Posted by Mr-Jester

I'm a Harley rider, not a Victory owner but wanted to comment about a bad deal for Victory buyers in the Stafford, Virginia area. Recently a new Victory dealership went up. Lots of people bought (obviously not enough though). The dealership shut down in 2 months and left all the new Victory owners high and dry. Just think this is a bad business model. Didn't anyone at Victory do a business case study to determine if (1) there would be enough buyers in the area to warrant a delaership (2) if the buyer of the dealership would have enough money to stay the couse without bailing after 2 months?

Sorta sounds like INDIAN. They built a brand new dealership in Toledo in 2002. Sold a bunch of scoots (I'd see Indian Jackets on Bike Nites) and in 2003 closed without a word.

[WEINERDOGBONE]

Mountain Man, that is exactly how the HD dealership operates in my town. I wanted a Victory when I bought my HD but the dealership was full of a bunch of idiots. The Victory dealership has since gone out of business. In fact, most of the HD dealerships w/in an hour of here have a good reputation and they will let you ride anything you are serious about buying. They have taken new bikes right off the floor and told me to just take it for a while. I have had them tell me to keep the mileage below 60 miles or so. I think that's reasonable.

The only reputable Victory dealership around here is 2 hours away. They make great bikes but I can't see myself driving 2 hours for service.

[Mr-Jester]

More to the story!

Seems the Mercedes Dealership that owned the Victory dealership was up for sale. The new buyer of the Mercedes dealership said he only wanted the car dealership so the employees of the Victory dealership were given a 3-hour notice it was being closed. Yep...they came to work with no idea they were going home jobless. And the folks who bought bikes there were given ZERO notice the dealership was closing.