how much does the quality of dealer influnce the brand of sled you buy?

[whoDEANie]

100%!!!!! Service is everything!

Sent while not working too hard

x2! If you're seld aren't running half the time, does it matter what brand it is?

 

[enis750]

thats where it helps to just bite your tongue be polite and still buy it from the cheaper guy so at least when you come back for the simple repairs and parts to your local guy they dont hate you and will still be willing to help you out ... telling someone to get bent just doesnt go over well ever imo

right and I agree
but you still didnt buy from the local guy
so when you DO need work done, you wont get yours done ahead of the guy that DID buy his locally (especially when they are backed up w work)
which in turn can set you back on riding time potentially

most of these sleds have tight margins, there isnt a huge mark up in them
so FOR ME, driving even an hour to save $500, ill buy locally ...... I know ill make it up somewhere
and most dealers will continue to give you discounts on parts or accessories throught the year as well

 

[goldfinger]

Always drive out of Gp for service . The dealer here tells you what you want to here and never can supply. They figure that they are the only shop around and that we wont drive out of town for service. That attitude has cost him quite a few snowchecks. Told them i wouldnt be back and he said you have came here to long-you wont go anywhere else. Guadins in Beaverlodge has service 2nd to none. Dealer makes a huge difference

 

[Shredder]

im ALL FOR buying from a good dealer .... BUT ...
what happens when a simple warranty recall comes out, or a warranty fix like an electrical issue?
and you want to drop off w the local guy that you told to go f*ck themselves, cause they said buy elsewhere if you don't like it???

ill tell you what ... your seld gets dropped to the bottom of the pile and you drive 6 hours (probably on crappy roads) for a repair
whether it be simple or a 2-3 day fix
not to mention the wear and tear on your trcuk, gas, trailer, food and lodging ... assuming you dont hit a deer driving in the night (hoping that would never happen just saying)

i get it tho, I do ....

just from personal experience, supporting your local guys is sometimes worth it, IF YOU DRIVE A MACHINE W WARRANTY
I dont want any downtime if I can help it .... I learned this the hard way last year, as my post above explains why

I'm a minimum 2 hour drive to get to a dealer; local is not really an option. If I'm gonna drive to get to a dealer I may as well drive to the one I consider to be the best. If it's a fairly simple recall, or warranty issue, I am pretty handy swingin' wrenches around on a sled so it doesn't have to go in for every little thing. I'd also bet that if something major went wrong in the middle of riding season we would figure something out when I got to T&T.

 

[Snorider]

when my last change of brands was, I was kinda sad about not getting to go in to my old dealer. now with my current sled, I drive past 2 dealers and go about 2 hours to probably the best dealer I have ever witnessed. he cuts all the BS out and will actually help you! when he helped me tweak my clutching last, I got to ride the set up to see if it worked for me before I gave him money for the parts. he put everything in for free and that was before business hours in the morning when we were on our way up for a mid week ride. lol his service and the way he runs his business makes me not want to change brands. Cause I'm happy to do the drive, plus its handy that it's usually fairly close to some of our riding spots. not to mention he picked up a water pump for my buddies dodge and brought it to us in the snopark when it took a crap.

 

[mxz sledhead]

I have 2 great BRP dealer i all make sure i do business at both There ECKO Marine and MARTINS west and for any Polaris work that i do its CYCLE WORKS west but i am have a terrible time finding a good reliable Arctic cat dealer I am at a in-pass right now with one in Westlock right now I have to make another 2 hr round trip for the 3rd time over a repair manual thats incomplete my customer would be really piss with me if i did that to them Customer relation is very inportant

 

[bryan_117]

The dealer quality is one of the biggest factor, i drive past a doo dealer everyday on the way 2 work, twice. Would rather drive twice as far out of my way than 2 buy from him, its all about the service, when my sleds broke if i cant fix it i want it fixed now

 

[0neoldfart]

The dealer is the deciding factor, and price isn't the deciding factor. I too make the drive to Bonnyville and will continue to do so. The A/C dealers in my area don't have the first notion of what customer service is. I'd rather make the drive, accept the wear and tear on my vehicle (along with time spent), to deal with someone who actually knows what cuustomer service is.
Honestly, if repairs were required that I couldn't do myself, I wouldn't take it to the dealerships around Edmonton anyway. Rural towns generally provide the best after sales service in my opinion, and that goes for any industry.

 

[ferniesnow]

Further to the above; if your dealer who provides top notch customer service is a fair distance away and you support him, you will get it back 10-fold.

I can talk to them and describe a problem, make an appointment (usually the next day), have the machine in in the morning and out the same day. A great dealer is friggin' awesome..........

 

[plio7]

i think i can speak or most, if not all, T&T customers that usually if there is an issue they will go out of their way to help you how ever they can, weather trying to line up transport, or making the trip up there worth your time.....the drive has been worth it for me

right and I agree
but you still didnt buy from the local guy
so when you DO need work done, you wont get yours done ahead of the guy that DID buy his locally (especially when they are backed up w work)
which in turn can set you back on riding time potentially

most of these sleds have tight margins, there isnt a huge mark up in them
so FOR ME, driving even an hour to save $500, ill buy locally ...... I know ill make it up somewhere
and most dealers will continue to give you discounts on parts or accessories throught the year as well

 

[ferniesnow]

Yes, Terry and his staff are stand-up peeps!

 

[rusty]

A good dealer is like finding gold..........it gets you all excited and tingly all over!

They are getting harder to find and further away.

"The best little shop on the Prairies" or Mr.R's is one of a few that I know. It is a 2 hour drive and I am treated quite well thank-you!!!

See now perception is everything, I called mr rs one day, my wife and son were in the truck. We spoke a bit on a warranty job and the fella on the other end of the line had no idea about it. I explained my situation and then tried to jog his memory about the sled... I will quote his response " there are f---in sled all over here, I sell them every f---in day.. So I bring the conversation to a quick close... I will be sure to steer away from there,

 

[Braddock54]

See now perception is everything, I called mr rs one day, my wife and son were in the truck. We spoke a bit on a warranty job and the fella on the other end of the line had no idea about it. I explained my situation and then tried to jog his memory about the sled... I will quote his response " there are f---in sled all over here, I sell them every f---in day.. So I bring the conversation to a quick close... I will be sure to steer away from there,

Totally agree.

My dealer, well, the only one besides Fort Nelson ( where you pay an extra 7% tax), is a four hour drive for me. Me and my buddy both ride Polaris sleds and have bought new Sportsmans from him too. I have had top notch service, always swing good deals on parts labour, will order anything I ask for with no deposit, etc. My buddy brought his lemon 700 RMK to this place for service on a host of issues. About a $1300 dollar bill. Anyway, they ended up putting a deep gouge in his panel and he called them on it asking for them to fix it. They flat out denied it and the owner called my friend at home, and was a complete a-hole, accusing his of trying to "bend him over" and f*ck him over and he didn't appreciate it. My bud was really pissed about the whole thing and MAJORLY turned him off this dealer....

i really have nothing bad to say though, experience is everything. I think dealer is everything.... Especially when there aren't a lot of choices!

 

[ferniesnow]

See now perception is everything, I called mr rs one day, my wife and son were in the truck. We spoke a bit on a warranty job and the fella on the other end of the line had no idea about it. I explained my situation and then tried to jog his memory about the sled... I will quote his response " there are f---in sled all over here, I sell them every f---in day.. So I bring the conversation to a quick close... I will be sure to steer away from there,

I've heard a few of those stories also but you sure didn't here that type of crap from either of the two owners! Stand-up guys in all ways.

 

[rusty]

i even went as far as contacting brp for my trouble..

 

[Wilk INStheWEST]

When I was looking for my first sled last year, dealer was my deciding factor. I knew I wanted either Ski-Doo or Polaris. I went to Bowcycle, in Calgary first, walked in and was promptly greeted by someone, but that was the high point of the whole interaction. Granted I started to look a little late, in December, but the guy basically laughed at me when I asked if they had any Summit X left. So, I asked what the best they could do out the door on a regular Summit, and he just pointed at the MSRP. I then went to Cycleworks, to look at the PROs, and ya, they were sold out too, but not only did they not laugh at me, they actually suggested a few other dealers that they heard still had some in stock, some as far as Kamloops. They said that if I got a sled elsewhere, they would be happy to help me out with any warranty issues I ever had (Mountain Toys in Cochrane said the same). Just because they were actually helpful, I was sold on Polaris. I was even prepared to drive all the way to Kamloops to pick up a sled, but ended up finding one in Camrose, and they gave me a pretty good deal out the door. Cycleworks, and Mountain Toys have been nothing but friendly and helpful to me in dealing with my sled.
I was driving past Bowcycle this summer, and noticed they still had those Doos I was looking at. If they hadn't been such an a** to me, I likely would have bought there, AND would have bought a new motorcycle there this summer. They lost out on probably 25G from me in a year, because of one poor encounter.

 

[trench]

I avoid the dealer as much as possible, my last three sleds were purchased nearly new in the USA at a great savings. I can do most of my own maintenance thankfully, as most dealer transactions leave me less than impressed!

 

[GYMBRAT]

well now that I have tried that field of work for a short couple months I can absolutely see just how important it is to be a stand up, personable, honest owner shouldnt be LOL....... aka "RDPS" sorry I should shut up BUT I cant NOT be honest to possible future customers here in Central AB

 

[teeroy]

I would buy a 'doo if I had to get it from sears

 

[plio7]

I'm buying from Abibaba, his douche bag style of polluting a forum are right up my alley