European Motorcycles of Pittsburgh, Ducati/BMW dealer. Just bought a set of tires from them about 1 1/2 months ago.
That was my closest BMW dealer and where I bought by GS. I'm a little shocked given the market area. (They also had Ducati). So service, parts etc. Went from a two-hour ride to a 2:45 . An increased PITA. There are times I think a UJM is the way to go: dealers everywhere.
Looks like their website is redirecting to Mosites, the only other Ducati dealer in the area. I can't seem to find anything else. I wonder if the store was sold instead of closing.
Most dealers I’m aware of outside major motorcycle markets are just passion projects for a wealthy enthusiast. The issue with that formula is the attitude and personality the enthusiast had to possess to earn his wealth grows tired quickly of running a business in the red.
Well I can personally say that taking on a franchise with the idea of making a decent living is a fools errand. Gave it a shot for 10 years before giving up.
The enthusiast believes that there are far more like minded people than there actually are. Then there's the failure to understand the motorcycle customer mindset. They find out that they can't compete with internet pricing and the talent pool for shop personnel is quite shallow. The fact that they don't want to pay what that talent is worth never helps them either.
It’s even more foolish these days with manufacturers wanting high-end, dedicated showroom areas and mandatory decor. There isn’t a lot of profit in the shit they’re peddling, yet, they want the dealers to be boutiques and shoulder all the expense of displaying and selling their crap. And, that’s without factoring in all the parts and accessories mandates. As a parts dept mgr, I used to buy pallets of oil to fulfill those requirements. Manufacturers truly give zero shits about their dealers. Ducati, Triumph, BMW, and Indian look to be the worst, these days, because their shit is so much more special than everyone else’s.
Currently, during the week I work/stay in Pittsburgh and commute back home on the weekends. I had been viewing their inventory closely over the last 6 months and was ready to pull the trigger on a used Hyper they had. Went to check it was still there a week or so ago and all of a sudden couldn't find their website. Eventually figured out they went under. Really sucks because the feedback I could find all seemed positive.
Having to order all your units for the year at one time was a major headache for me. Being a small guy made it even tougher, I never got any sleep the nights we were at the dealer show, rolling around in bed trying to guess what I thought I could sell in the next year. Suzuki did go to twice a year atv ordering when they started building them in Georgia, that helped a little there. Biggest killer for me was the floorplan interest, basically sucked up any profit you could make selling a unit by paying to have shit on the floor. Then on leftover's you're losing money to get rid of them. Biggest winners out it all are the friggen banks.
I'd say they did this to themselves, the service costs were outrageous. $175 to mount and balance? Get lost. The Indian/KTM dealer over in Warrendale did it for less than half that. I get that most the profits in dealers come from the service dept, but should be through volume, not bending over the customer. Maybe they thought the Beemer/Dookahtee owners were too rich to shop around. I won't say good riddance because it sucks to lose options, but they were a bit out of touch.