Bike Supermarkets - Any Good?
Discussion
I had a walk and look around "SoManyBikes" with Yazza , as its not far from his place...... first thing you see is a row of desks with finance forms on them and salesmen just like a car dealership.
Rows of very shiny and well-prepared bikes..... but a gap in the stud-wall at the back of the mill in which they are housed lets you both see and hear into the "workshop" or preparation area and the hammer wielding and aerosol can spraying taking place was in no way encouraging. I would tread carefully there.
Rows of very shiny and well-prepared bikes..... but a gap in the stud-wall at the back of the mill in which they are housed lets you both see and hear into the "workshop" or preparation area and the hammer wielding and aerosol can spraying taking place was in no way encouraging. I would tread carefully there.
hebegb said:
I had a walk and look around "SoManyBikes" with Yazza , as its not far from his place...... first thing you see is a row of desks with finance forms on them and salesmen just like a car dealership.
Rows of very shiny and well-prepared bikes..... but a gap in the stud-wall at the back of the mill in which they are housed lets you both see and hear into the "workshop" or preparation area and the hammer wielding and aerosol can spraying taking place was in no way encouraging. I would tread carefully there.
Yeah those things never go on at all the other garages.Rows of very shiny and well-prepared bikes..... but a gap in the stud-wall at the back of the mill in which they are housed lets you both see and hear into the "workshop" or preparation area and the hammer wielding and aerosol can spraying taking place was in no way encouraging. I would tread carefully there.
Ilovejapcrap said:
hebegb said:
I had a walk and look around "SoManyBikes" with Yazza , as its not far from his place...... first thing you see is a row of desks with finance forms on them and salesmen just like a car dealership.
Rows of very shiny and well-prepared bikes..... but a gap in the stud-wall at the back of the mill in which they are housed lets you both see and hear into the "workshop" or preparation area and the hammer wielding and aerosol can spraying taking place was in no way encouraging. I would tread carefully there.
Yeah those things never go on at all the other garages.Rows of very shiny and well-prepared bikes..... but a gap in the stud-wall at the back of the mill in which they are housed lets you both see and hear into the "workshop" or preparation area and the hammer wielding and aerosol can spraying taking place was in no way encouraging. I would tread carefully there.
You may well be right .
About the other places. TTFN
Without naming any particular dealership within these types of outlet, I would hazard a guess that they are generally following the business model of selling a particular commodity, in this case a motorcycle, merely as a vehicle to generate a finance agreement, and that the majority of the profit comes from this source. It is in itself not a bad practice and will I imagine allow some customers to obtain a motorcycle that they would not otherwise be able to afford .
However for me it gives an implied air that the quality of 'The unit' is not paramount and once the finance is generated ...'who gives a s..t ...' Attitude prevails.
So on that premise alone I wouldn't go anywhere near one.
However for me it gives an implied air that the quality of 'The unit' is not paramount and once the finance is generated ...'who gives a s..t ...' Attitude prevails.
So on that premise alone I wouldn't go anywhere near one.
To be fair, if you go in to it with your eyes open and check a bike you're looking at in the same way you would when buying privately, paying particular attention to condition and things you can see, service history etc., it's virtually no different to actually buying privately save for working out what the previous owner was like. That's been my experience when buying cars from such places so would imagine that a bike place would be similar, but cannot vouch from first hand experience of the latter.
And to echo a previous point, I have seen some properly shonky work performed by main dealer 'experts' on more than one occasion too - I'm not going back there again now the bike is out of warranty. Latest amazing discovery I made when changing the oil myself was the standard stainless steel washer they put on the sump bolt rather than a copper washer - not much I hear you say, but they did this while it was in for valve clearances being done, so I dread to think what else they bodged at the same time...
And to echo a previous point, I have seen some properly shonky work performed by main dealer 'experts' on more than one occasion too - I'm not going back there again now the bike is out of warranty. Latest amazing discovery I made when changing the oil myself was the standard stainless steel washer they put on the sump bolt rather than a copper washer - not much I hear you say, but they did this while it was in for valve clearances being done, so I dread to think what else they bodged at the same time...
I doubt the bikes are prepped with any longevity in mind for the next owner, they will buy stuff as cheap as possible, taking advantage of any part exchange they can prise cheaply from an unwitting owner, and the little prep involved will be more about cleaning than reconditioning, if even that.
Only my2p though
Only my2p though
People make it sound as if most bike dealers wish to sell a single perfect bike a year, to the right customer, giving each and ever bike a detailed restoration before handing it over to the new owner with a detailed history of its life.
Without personal expeince of buying a bike from one I would say they are just the same as any other dealer. There are some good ones and bad ones, but ultimately they are all trying to do the same thing, sell a product that complies with the law. Both want to make money and both have to comply with sales of goods, and to be honest they are not on the scale of the car supermarkets in terms of stack them high sell them cheap. Like any other bike, take it for a test, give it a once over, ask about its history and remember you do have consumer protection.
Without personal expeince of buying a bike from one I would say they are just the same as any other dealer. There are some good ones and bad ones, but ultimately they are all trying to do the same thing, sell a product that complies with the law. Both want to make money and both have to comply with sales of goods, and to be honest they are not on the scale of the car supermarkets in terms of stack them high sell them cheap. Like any other bike, take it for a test, give it a once over, ask about its history and remember you do have consumer protection.
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