test non-ride, the sequel

After complaining to John Semple Group, the Guzzi distributors, I was
contacted by them today.

They are arranging a decent test ride on their own demo bike sometime
in the next few weeks, when they can get it.

They asked me what sort of riding I wanted to do and where, and I told
them the route I would take and what I was looking to do, and they
agreed.

Zebee

 

Spoilsports.
And after you get back they'll send you back to that other dealer to buy
one ...

Kim

 

Not that it matters, its Sample

Fancy having to near *beg* for a test ride.Its wrong.

The company should stick to home loans, finance and alike, motorcycles
are not even it its field

Frankly it would turn me off the brand, you need a nice GT1000 Ducati
or ST model

Thrash the shit out of it, take it back and then tell them where to
stick it

Carlo would be turning in his grave......

 

In aus.motorcycles on 27 Nov 2006 23:49:25 +1100

My version was "I don't think I could have a good working relationship
with them".

I said I was quite happy to go to Aitkens, going to Liverpool didn't
worry me.

I suppose Campsie is close enough to Inner West to make someone think
I wouldn't be willing to go west of Paramatta or south of Bankstown.

Zebee

 

What the public doesn't know that this is actually a known method of
increasing profit when multiple dealers for a given product exist.

DealerA screws you around, "I WON'T BUY FROM THAT A*HOLE!"

Customer goes to DealerB

Customer: "Dealer A's an A*HOLE!"
DealerB "Hey it's your lucky day, WE have the product you want on special!"

Customer pays more at dealer B because:
1. Customer has pushed the supply curve inwards by one dealer (higher price)
2. Customer wants to punish DealerA, so will happily pay more at DealerB,
customer demand curve has shifted right (higher price)
3. DealerB wins this time (and DealerA the next...)
4. Overall profit for DealerA and DealerB over long run has increased

So life isn't always as simple as we think, no?

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 28 Nov 2006 02:16:11 GMT

So don't badmouth one dealer to another. Sounding off to your mates
is one thing, being a "bad customer" is another.

"Can;'t have a good working relationship" is as far asit goes.

NO idea what this means. If you don't buy from one, you buy from the
other.

Then customer is a twit. I know what the bike's RRP is, I know what
the extras cost, I know how much I want to spend. Can't see how
paying over the odds punishes anyone but me.

If I like the bike enough to buy, then I buy. I just won't deal with
people I don't trust, and I don't get a good feel from Motorino.

Zebee

 

Yeah sorry for the wording, I do have a masters in economics but obviously
communication could do with some work

BTW knowing the RRP is about a million miles of knowing what the actual
lowest price is, lot's and lot's of factors (you wouldn't believe the
complexity) between raw materials/component
suppliers/factory/importers/distributors/dealers/YOU!

Oh and don't ever fall for the "here's our invoice from the distributors,
SEE! you are getting it at $100 over our cost!/(or below our cost or
whatever)", that's simply another method like the disgruntled/hooked
customer system of maximising economic profit.

Finally, in simple economic terms, bike/car dealers simply *would not* exist
if they were not able to produce economic profit (not accounting profit), so
they have already worked out how to deal with you, the customer, to THEIR
advantage.

It would be a very foolish customer that thought he/she could reverse that
situation by simply going to another dealer

 

In aus.motorcycles on Tue, 28 Nov 2006 02:57:52 GMT

Of course. everyone plays about with that.

I know what the bike's worth to me, I know the extras I want, if they
come in at whatever I feel is OK then they get the business. Sure, if
they make money good on them. If, by being a bitch, I could have saved
$500 so what?

I find a good shop and stick to them. A long time ago my mother (a
woman of infinite resource and sagacity) told me to find a good
tradesman and when you did, be a good customer. Don't quibble over
money, don't mess them about as to when the job is done, don't get
aggro if it goes overtime. Because when the shit hits the fan, they
will look after you.

That has worked for me for a long time now and worked for her for longer.
But you do have to be sure the dealer will hold up their end of the
unspoken bargain.

Of course! They have to make money or they won't be there. The trick
is to find the ones who make money in a way that causes you the least
grief.

I'd rather pay an extra hour's labour and have decent pre-delivery,
pay an extra $5 or $10 an hour and even for another hour, and have a
spannertwirler who does a very good job and spots the problems before
they become problems.

Mind you, the usual way they make money, by giving you "extras" that
have a high RRP and a low dealer cost like riding gear won't work with
me, I have all I need. Here's hoping the luggage is one of those
sweetener things!

Oh definitely. I'm after a dealer I feel I can work with and trust,
not the cheapest price.

Now, if I find that Aitkens doesn't work for me either, then I drive
the best bargain I can from either of them and take the rest of my
business elsewhere.

Zebee

 

I suspect your mother lived/lives a very happy life
My late Fathers best advice was 'Son, if you can wake up happy with what you
have every morning, you'll most likely have happy days for the rest of your
life'
So yes, we shouldn't live our lives by financial decisions alone.

Your reasoning is sound. A good computer programmer @$150k is worth 2
average programmers @$100K, even moreso with bike mechanics

Again very sound. Factor in the REAL worth of that stuff (as you said)
...Avoid buying extra high margin stuff when you have that 'I'VE BOUGHT A NEW
BIKE!" feeling...

Best of luck Zeebee, I'm sure it will work out great.

 

Your reasoning is sound. A good computer programmer @$150k is worth 2

Where do I get one of these $100K+ computer programming jobs??

 

Canberra, circa 2000

 

No kidding... trying to divert attention from a piece of embarrassing
reasoning by showing off what impressive bits of paper you have hanging
on your wall is about as laughable as debating techniques get...

 

.....or Customer refuses to buy Product from either Dealer and goes looking
at different product...Both dealers lose out "in the long run" .

Zeebee buy anything but a Guzzi??.... unlikely lol. ALl the best with the
new beast !

 

In aus.motorcycles on Wed, 29 Nov 2006 09:35:15 GMT

Well, I haven't bought anything yet. It's going to have to do a lot
of convincing to get me to buy it....

I still like the idea of the much cheaper 750 Breva. Get a 2nd hand
one, and spend a bit on working out hand protection. Still be a lot
cheaper.

Zebee

 

Zebee Johnstone wrote:

I suspect that there will be some bargain prices on 750 Brevias new.

If not now, perhaps a couple of months down the line.

Kinda like what happened with the Nevadas.

regards,
CrazyCam

 

That's OK, he's obviously got a masters(1) in it because he patently
doesn't understand (or has forgotten) some fairly basic tenets of
economics.

JL
(1) Stuff most people understand intuitively seems to get mixed up in
people's heads when they do too much study(2) on an area
(2) Leaving myself wide open there

 

In aus.motorcycles on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 07:24:17 +1100

Well.. the difference between old Nevada and new is massive. One was
the old smallblock, one the new.

I'm not sure if anyone will buy the Nevada 850, it being a sleeved
down 1100. Meaning the same size as the 1100 just less go.

Zebee

 

So is it a new smallblock, or a small bigblock? I never really looked that
close.

Theo

 

When I went looking for a new bike, I looked closely at the Breva 750.
It had everything I loved about my old CX500, with mod-cons thrown in.
Also, it's quite reasonably priced for a Eurpoean.

The thing that killed it for me was the 50Hp donk. No matter how it
rode (and I didn't actually ride it), I couldn't bring myself to spend
my hard-earned on a brand new 50Hp slug.

The 1100 looked like a much better option (for me), but the price tag
was over the top.

 

In aus.motorcycles on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:25:04 +0800

Small bigblock. Like the 850 Griso. Same bike but sleeved down
motor.

No idea why they thought that was a good idea.

Zebee