The title says it all.
I am young, 18 to be exact. I often hear about people complaining about poor service, and no respect at Dealers. I think to myself, how hard can it be to be respectfull and courteous? I belieave two major points when trying to have a good customer service record. So, that brings me to my question, How hard would it be to start a dealership? I would like to start planning, and do this in the future. What do you think it would take (funds)? I realize it might not be attainable with a Sole Propreitorship, maybe a Partenership would be the way to go? Ovbiously, one would have to start out small, and grow. This has got me thinking, and I would love to hear everyones thoughts, comments, and input. Thanks.

-Jared

 

In a word NO.At one time maybe 20 years ago you could make it but now unless you have a LOT of cash the manufacturers will not give you a second look.You would also have to be a multi-line dealership(no single line will carry a urban one) which means more money.The cost of flooring and labor is outrageous.There are dealerships all over the country going out of business.The one I work at is a Suzuki,Yamaha,Kawasaki,and Polaris dealership.Lately we have been buying "lots" of bikes and ATV's reposessed from failed dealerships(a very profitable endeavor).Our store is a well established one that is able to survive hard times.Sorry to disappoint...scr500

 

QuadMan

Starting a dealership is very tough from scratch. As noted earlier, the manufacturers will not give you a look if you do not have significant capital to invest. The best way to get into the door is to buy an existing dealership out and reopen it as your own. A guy about my age (30) owns the local Polaris/Honda dealership. He always wanted to own a dealership and their was a real small, old Polaris dealership (literally run out of a garage) that wanted to sell out. He bought out the Polaris dealership and moved it to a better location. He has since added Honda and Ski Doo to his line up. His business has done pretty well, but he has had some things go his way. First, he is in a good location with the nearest dealer being 40 miles from him. Second, he started when the economy was just recovering in the early 90's. There was plenty of guys in the area with money looking to replace their old toys that they had held on to for to long. Third, he bought the Polaris dealership when the atv line was very small and I am sure he got it fairly cheap. Polaris has done a great job in the last 10 years of marketing its atv lineup, thus helping his sales climb. He has sold a ton of atv's over the last few years which has allowed him to really grow stronger into other areas.

I am not sure where he got his initial capital to finance the dealership. Maybe he had the money already, but don't expect any banks to sink any money into your dealership. As noted earlier, dealerships go bankrupt everyday and banks know that. The best way to get some capital would be to find a silent partner that believes in you and is willing to invest. Good luck on that one.

I hope this does not discourage you. If you are serious about this, I would talk to some of the local dealerships when you have some capital and see if any are willing to take on a partner. You may be able to buy into an existing dealership and eventually own the business outright.

 

i believe that if you have the drive and its what you want to do go for it starting out labor on repairs will be your source of income so you best become a mecanic or hire one location is one factor that will make or brake you so find a busy and growing area dont limit yourself to rec. toys look at other lines ex.(lawn mowers ,chain saws,generators....)i know that some manufactures will give you a showroom of machines that you pay interrest on and earn a commision on when sold not ideal but a way to get started and you being 18 take it slow and stick with it you have 40yrs. to make it work good luck!

 

I have looked in to this same matter where i liveand let me tell you it takes ALOT of money to get started.i have a good location right by the interstate and think it would go over well.im just sittin around thinking right now whether i want to stick my neck out that far.

 

My opinion: We often confuse our hobby and recreation with our JOBS.

Taken realistically, capital invested, for example, in a convenience store with high cash flow turnover and long shelf-life inventory probably beats money put into an ATV dealership six ways from Sunday, economics wise. Successful in business, you can ride ATV's on your days off.

Don't think customers will beat a path to your door, merely because you're a good guy and treat others the way you wish to be treated yourself. Once in business, you will find, "Every policy has a name on it," meaning, the "repressive" policies of dealerships, like insisting on payment before ordering parts, arose because of previous abuse of trust by customers (oh, not YOU, certainly; but, customers don't wear jersies, identifying the chislers from the responsible).

Even on this Forum, posters advise their colleagues to lie to dealers for an advantage.

Dealers are not some sort of Mafia of evil, mercenary oppressors who uniformly try to rip-off their customers. Dealers are IN BUSINESS; the first objective of a business is to survive; survival without profit is impossible.

If, still, you have ambitions toward your own dealership, keep your eye on the goal and work toward it. This work may be as indirect as studying business administration, finance and accounting; as direct as taking a job at a dealership to learn the business. Best of luck to you, and may ATVing remain a pleasant part of your life, whatever segment the activity occupies.

Diogenes

 

QuadMan

After doing some more thinking, I had some additional thoughts. Capital (cash) generation to start the business is your biggest obstacle. Unless you have a rich uncle willing to give you some serious cash, this is the major hurdle to starting a new business. I would caution you about taking any loans form banks, venture capital companies, or mortgage agencies. In order for them to loan you any money, the interest rate will be very high. Small business do not go under for lack of profitablity. They go under for lack of cash flow. Most start up business go under because they cannot generate enough cash to pay the interest payments on their debt. Simple example. If you were to borrow $50,000 at 12%, your monthly interest payment alone would be $500. Now you may think that is not all that bad, but remember you have to pay that after you pay all of your salaries and other bills. In the slow sales months, it will quickly become very difficult to generate enough cash to pay the interest payments and make a living also. Again, not trying to scare you off, just trying to share some business knowledge. One suggestion would be to check into government grants. The federal, state, and local governments will often will have money to loan at low interest rates or outright grants for people to start small businesses. Some of the other suggestions above were also good. Take some classes in business management and accounting so you don't have to pay someone to keep your books. Also, It wouldn't hurt if you could do some basic mechanic work. The more you can do yourself, the less you have to pay someone to do. Let us know if you ever pursue this.

 

Hey guys,
I really apprecieate all the informative replies! See, the thing is, I just have a strong desire to, own my own buisness. I plan on working for awhile and saving some money, It was natural for me to want the buisness to invlove something I like, ie: Snowmobiling, 4-wheelers, dirtbikes, all that fun stuff. I guess its only a dream, but I would like to think its possible for me someday. I really enjoy the outdoors, and stuff along those lines. I have thought about a Sporting Goods store, but its hard to compete with Gander Mt, Fleet Farm, and of course Wal-Mart. I have also thought about a Resort of some type, but there are too many of those around already. Anyone have some fuel for my dreams?

-Jared

 

Quadman

From the bottom of my heart, I hope you do find a business to own and run that makes you happy. You can go to work everyday with a smile instead of leaving with a smile. While bowhunting (lots of time to think), I have pondered many a business propositions. One of the ones that most intrigued me was opening an atv guide service. Similar to the whitewater rafting trips you can take in West Virginia, I would own the atv's and take people on guided trips through some great riding areas (i.e. Moab, Hatfield-McCoy trail). I don't know if anyone could ever make it work, (i.e demand, insurance, riding area, permits) but it would be a great business if it worked. Imagine guiding atv riders all day. You would be riding atv's for a living. Hope your dreams work out for you. In the mean time, I have some paper to push around

 

My boss and myself tossed around the idea of opening a Polaris dealership, and we talked to Polaris about it. One of the requirments is building size, location, showroom square footage, shop space and expected revenue. Also note, there are alot of ways to go. Polaris will back you if you can prove you meet all the requirments, the catch is you have to sell so much each month or your out! ( I think in our area it was like 3to 4 a week!) If your not able to go that route than you can purchase them from Polaris in truck load lots, at a very good price. Bad thing about that is your out all that money, and would have a limitted supply. ( until you could place another order). There are other ways also, but like all have said before, it takes money to make money. One good note, if you decide to do this, Polaris will send you and your shop foreman to a full training coarse. Good luck with your future!