Pidcocks in administration?

I drove past the three impacted dealers yesterday, all closed obviously, Triumph and Ducati permanently so but sounds like there are potential buyers for the BMW site.

18 people have been made redundant presumably from the Triumph and Ducati stores, and you have to feel for those people as this seems to have happened in such a sudden way. Everything fine one minute, no job the next. I only hope that those impacted manage to find something soon.

There was activity at all sites with a handful of people at each one, it looked like stock was being removed from the Triumph Long Eaton site.

My nearest Triumph dealer now is either Lincoln or Chesterfield, which isn't too bad but I will miss Pidcocks and the service they provided me. I had a big service (valve clearance) booked at Pidcocks, so have re-booked with Webbs of Lincoln. It will bring back memories of getting my Ducati serviced at Italia Moto which was just around the corner.

If we want local dealers, we need to support them before its too late.
 
I wonder if the tripling of overheads helped? :D

I can see the only way dealers will be able to survive is with multifrancises, under the same roof. Imagine if Triumph, Ducati and BMW were all in the one complex, I bet the total overheads would be a lot less. How many bikes would they have to sell/service just to pay for the rent and rates of that building in Long Eaton opposite the Co-op?
 
What do we want dealers for?

Buying? We buy almost everything on line nowadays. I guess a test ride could be organised that way too. I could imagine that being convenient & practical.

Warranty? It’s pretty much in the hands of the mothership. See servicing below.

Servicing? I suspect most bikers nowadays do not do their own, but a competent indie, with a van that comes and gets my bike, does the service properly, stamps the book and delivers it back would beat the “free coffee” experience. Especially if I have to ride a couple of hours in lousy weather just to do it. Warranty on servicing would require some kind of bond with a trade body, in case said indie went out of business overnight.

Browse the showrooms? Chat with bikermates? Impulse buy that new leather or lid or whatever? Do what we always did? Yep, that’ll be lost, and that’ll be a shame.

I think that it may already be too late.
 
I used to peer through the window detouring between the bus stations on my way to school. It was the Norton Commando I lusted after (never got one).
Similar story to me, but it was during breaks at Tech when I was an apprentice on day release. In my case it was the Honda CB 900 F2B in the window that was the object of my desire. It only took me 30 odd years to get one.
 
The demographic of motorcyclists in the UK is weighted towards middle aged to old men, however, as prices of bikes, insurance and living continue to rise and disposable income decreases the days of expensive toys will soon disappear.
Three years ago my last gsa was £17,000 and it was a Triple Black Basic. Basics are no longer available and to replace my bike with a new r1300gsa with luggage will be not far ftom £30,000.
No more new BMW's for me and no doubt a lot of others.
Dealers will continue to dtop like stones as they chase fewer and fewer affluent buyers or pcp renters.
It is the reason I have been looking at the new Stelvio , half the price of a new BMW but not half the bike
 
I wonder if the tripling of overheads helped? :D

I can see the only way dealers will be able to survive is with multifrancises, under the same roof. Imagine if Triumph, Ducati and BMW were all in the one complex, I bet the total overheads would be a lot less. How many bikes would they have to sell/service just to pay for the rent and rates of that building in Long Eaton opposite the Co-op?
Manufacturers/importers should take some of the blame as they often insist on dealers operating a solus /single brand set up whereby they are not allowed to sell other brands under the same roof, which also goes for the part exchanges. This may be why the used bikes and other brands of new bikes are sold via separate showrooms. For example Wheels Motorcycles in Peterborough have a separate building for Honda (who insist on it) while Kawasaki are happy for them to sell new bikes in the same building as other brands but in a separate showroom. A couple of dealers have told me that selling used bikes is not viable as the manufacturer would insist on doing so in another facility. All their part exchanges go into the trade at less than they would offer if planning to retail themselves as they would know the local market and profit margin and still make a reasonable profit. This results in low ball offers to customers who often go elsewhere and a new bike sale is lost with the cycle going around but in diminishing circles so to speak.

Sadly the dealers are being squeezed from all sides, at the end of the day we all want the best deal, but I have stopped buying from stack them high sell them cheap merchants. In my experience you get what you pay for and when shopping I short list dealers with good reputation and with whom I have previous history to compare deals and go with the one providing the best all round package.
 
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All their part exchanges go into the trade at less than they would offer if planning to retail themselves as they would know the local market and profit margin and still make a reasonable profit

and with the demise of one of the biggest trade outlets in Completely M/c, that sector is going to get tougher, depressing trade in revenues even further. More people will walk away from trading up and keep the nearly worn out, 2 year old bike with 6000 miles on it.
 
"Potential buyer for the BMW site"......my money's on Vertu?

TD
Agreed, but this in my view would not result in a better customer experience, however if Sycamore were interested it would be a real step forward judging by their track record, again in my humble opinion.
 
Just seen this on Facebook.

Ex Pidcock mechanic set up a mobile service.


View attachment 368897
This chap helped me out when I had a time critical small electrical issue with my Scrambler, lent me tools and then came out and sorted my bike from the workshop when I couldn’t hack it.

Wouldn’t take any payment as it only took him 10 minutes.

I hope this is a great success for him.

Top man
 
Let’s hope they service the bikes better than they spell


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