How would you go about doing this. Do you just go to the bank and get a million dollar loan to start out with and tell yamaha what you are doing. I only wonder because i remember using the dealer locater on the yamaha site and noticed some of the dealers aroung me arn't on the list.

I was also thinking it would be neat to have a grand dealer. one that has all of the major brands of atv's. (like all of the forums) one could make alot of money doing this. this way a customer could go around and look at the diffrent models and decide wich is the right for them. just a thought.

 

to be a good dealer or a good salesman, all you have to do is sell yourself....and your products will follow[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] know what im sayin

 

i know that, i know i could sell all the ones i had in a warehouse. I know this becasue all i do is study atvs and look at these forums.(just ask perrya). what i wanted to know was how to be recongnised by yamaha iself as being an "official" dealer.

i also noticed some are 5 star certified. How do they determine that?

 

Snake....

I have been thinking about this too. There are two yamaha dealers up in this area, but i would like to start a "multiple" brand dealership. There is one in Terre Haute, IN that is the biggest scammer that i have ever seen. The do NO neg. and ADD major amounts to assembly, shipping, etc. Would be nice to start a dealership up here with the multi-brands and offer more than just ATV's.

I may start doing research here, but i know that the different states have thier own requirements as well.

Will keep you posted on what i find out.

Jonathan

 

Depending sort of on your age your best bet is to get a job in sales with a dealership and get to know the ins and outs of how a dealership runs. You will be surprised at how much you dont know. Just cause you ride atv's doesnt mean you can run a great dealership. You need to be able to know how engines run so you can help out in the service dept. Management experience is a must! How to put together creative displays to attract a consumer.

If you have some experience then you need to find a place where you want to have your dealership located and find out how much that costs, then you need to see what kind of business loan you can get and then apply with yamaha, suzuki, kawi, honda, triumph, bombadier, e-ton, kasea etc. You will have lots of out of pocket expenses and it will take some time before you start turning some good profit.

 

There is a ton of things you have to have, not to mention money.

It's harder to get a multi-line dealership these days. Take Honda for example. They will no longer let anyone carry their franchise unless they agree to be a Honda exclusive dealer. We were lucky and have been a Honda dealer for over 30 years now. We have Honda,Yamaha,Kawasaki,Suzuki,KTM,& Cannondale. To carry all these lines..takes an enormous staff size and knowledge of every brand. You also have to have the knowledge of dealing with dirt bikes and street bikes...from each manufacturrer. You can'
t be a dealer and carry only one product line of the brand. You have to have it all.

The 5-Star dealer program is really just a gimmick. All that a dealer needs to do to get it is to have their mechanics pass a test.
And trust me...probally 80% of you guys or better could pass this test.

 

why does honda have to be so stuck-up. I think they are hurting themselves more than helping. I have 2 honda dealers within 1 1/2 hour driving radius of my house. that does not seem to be helping with there sales.

 

A little off the subject but a guy in my town started out real small, what he would do is stroll all the classifieds and find good deals on used machines, dicker the people down some on the advertised price then resell them. He would have like 10 used quads around his house and sell them for a couple hundred more then he bought them for.
He never had any trouble buying or selling his machines, he makes a pretty good amount of money doing this, you figure 200.00 profit on ten quads is 2000.00 extra bucks. I bet he bought and sold around 20 machines per year.
He now has a shop and a mechanic and makes tons of money.
The one thing to keep in mind when thinking of starting a business is "low overhead makes for more profit." If you have all the major brands you WON'T have a low overhead!
Good luck and don't get in over you head!
-NorthernEdge

 

Just to add a few things.

Usually you have to have a high net worth, meaning that if you sold everything you have and paid off all your debtors, you would have say a million dollars. You cant just get a million dollar loan. They want a high net worth for stability.

I deal in commercial properties and see people all the time, start a business and within a year go under, because they dont plan for the pitfalls.

I can usually tell you if someone will make it within a couple of hours of showing properties and talking with them.

Anyway, if you are serious, I would contact the manufacturers and ask them to send you any information on becoming a dealer. A lot of companies have departments for that kind of thing.

The info you recieve should describe in detail what is needed to start up. I am not sure if motorcycle companies are like car companies and offer dealer financing type things, or if you have to buy your inventory out right.

Also, start a business plan. Doing that along with the research needed to complete it will tell you if you can make it or not.

One other note, I used to love street rods, any type of car or truck that was customized was what I was into. So, I studied up and started working in a street rod shop for a living (not much of one). That is when I learned to keep my hobby as my hobby. Not making enough to afford your hobby sucks. I eventually might start a small part time street rod shop, but that is in doubt. As my projects tend to sit there until my interest comes back to it.

Sorry for the long post, just trying to give you some ideas to think about.

Bat