M&P Cardiff ... what's going on??

retroman

retroman

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I called in at M&P on Saturday and the place appeared to be in a state of chaos. The Ducati & HD section appears intact & operating normally but the BMW / KTM / Royal Enfield / Guzzi section across the road was in total disarray. Not a single Guzzi (I wanted to look at a V85TT), very few BMW bikes and no Motorrad branding.

Seems to be a load of KTM & RE at the back of the showroom still but otherwise it was electric scooters by brands I've never heard of.

What's going on? Have M&P Cardiff lost the BMW franchise? Just checked on the Guzzi site and the nearest dealer is now list as Thunderroad Cwmbran:confused:
 
it's about time M&P went bust again, or had a fire as they must have taken on a lot of debt to finance their expansion

Thunderroad is now part of Completely Motorbikes from Cheltenham. They have been on a mission to take over every franchise but I don't think they have BMW yet. Another company rapidly expanding that is ripe to do a Carnells or Motorcycle City as they get so large, they lose focus on giving good service.
 
I had similar thoughts as earlier this month as Cardiff H-D couldn't offer a trade-in figure for my 2016 Road King against a new bike whereas other Harley dealers did so very easily.

I looked at MandP Companies House records and they seem to be doing okay. One comment in their Financial Statements was interesting though and might explain the unknown brands...... Over the next 12 months the company will make every effort to reduce stock holding and converting stock to cash. The cash will be reinvested in stock lines that are of a greater profit margin and will turnover more frequently
 
wessie said:
it's about time M&P went bust again, or had a fire as they must have taken on a lot of debt to finance their expansion

Thunderroad is now part of Completely Motorbikes from Cheltenham. They have been on a mission to take over every franchise but I don't think they have BMW yet. Another company rapidly expanding that is ripe to do a Carnells or Motorcycle City as they get so large, they lose focus on giving good service.
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Wessie Completely Motorcycles had a huge stand and display at last weekend’s BSB race at Oulton Park. They are certainly not shy of publicity
 
steve hughes said:
Wessie Completely Motorcycles had a huge stand and display at last weekend’s BSB race at Oulton Park. They are certainly not shy of publicity
Click to expand...

Yes, they have sponsored a team for a while. I bought a S1000XR from them in 2018 when they had one branch selling used bikes. It's a family business that has had car dealerships for some time and I thought the bike side was just a vanity project for the owner's son but he seems to be on a mission to build an empire of new bike franchises. One hopes he has the business acumen of his father and can time his exit before the PCP bubble bursts ...
 
Apart from a very helpful bloke on their Harley reception who appears to have all bmw calls routed to his phone and john on their “bike reception “ desk they appear to be a shambles
I reverted to dick Lovett at Bristol last service sadly their service desk person Ian not an improvement !
Looks like moto Scot next time!
 
I've only used M&P Swansea HD, but in fairness their service was exceptionally good.

However, on the subject of the Carnell, MC City & George White sagas, I popped into the Superbike Factory MK the other day, kicking my heels waiting for my car to be serviced. Grief, a huge store without a franchise, a massive inventory much of it of mediocre quality, huge expansion this year, funded through a private investment bank it seems. Surely it won't need much of a downturn in the market for SF & WBAB to go tits up. Many were saved the last time by currency disparity, which enabled the dumping of stock into Europe, but I don't detect the appetite or conditions currently.
 
russ996duke said:
Apart from a very helpful bloke on their Harley reception who appears to have all bmw calls routed to his phone and john on their “bike reception “ desk they appear to be a shambles
I reverted to dick Lovett at Bristol last service sadly their service desk person Ian not an improvement !
Looks like moto Scot next time!
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I had my GS serviced at Thunderroad, only had to wait 2 weeks for an appointmen Dick Lovett was 3 months. I might give Cheltenham a go next year.
 
russ996duke said:
Rumour has it thunderoad may be bmw motorrad soon!
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Called into Thunderroad today. They are not going BMW, although he did say he would be very surprised if BMW didn’t open a dealer in S Wales or maybe even shoehorn it into the car dealers.
 
Traffic893 said:
Called into Thunderroad today. They are not going BMW, although he did say he would be very surprised if BMW didn’t open a dealer in S Wales or maybe even shoehorn it into the car dealers.
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didn't Sytner take over the car franchise from Rydale in Cardiff? Sytner don't do bikes
 
wessie said:
didn't Sytner take over the car franchise from Rydale in Cardiff? Sytner don't do bikes
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No they don’t. The guy I spoke to was just saying it may be an option to put bikes in there. Then again BMW may not bother with Wales.
 
Bob Jeffries said:
Mate just bought (last week) a Royal Enfield Scram from M&P in Catdiff. Invoice said payment was to Motorrad !
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Cardiff Bay Motorrad are still listed on the BMW website as an official dealer
 
wessie said:
Yes, they have sponsored a team for a while. I bought a S1000XR from them in 2018 when they had one branch selling used bikes. It's a family business that has had car dealerships for some time and I thought the bike side was just a vanity project for the owner's son but he seems to be on a mission to build an empire of new bike franchises. One hopes he has the business acumen of his father and can time his exit before the PCP bubble bursts ...
Click to expand...
I don't see the PCP bubble ever bursting as it is controlled by the manufacturer who has used it to increase the price of vehicles (cars and bikes) and therefore profit margin. It is in their interest for it to survive because their in house finance companies are carrying the Future Value risks.
 
I bought a Moto guzzi v85tt from Swansea in 2019 and the whole service of buying the bike and first service was a shambles. Also 380 quid for the first service made my eyes water, they told me they had spent 5 hours on it......

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Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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