Scooter Cafe Maidenhead - no longer a Guzzi dealer

[The Other PaulG]

I popped over yesterday for a ride. I had a long chat with Mike - it’s a small premises and MG were insisting on Mike stocking the full range of bikes. His business is just too small for that, so sadly he has had to end his role as a Guzzi dealer.

He still has a passion for them, and a couple in stock to sell. I didn’t ask whether he would continue to service them, perhaps he will continue as an independent.

But, in terms of new bike sales, he’s back to selling solely scooters. This leaves quite a big hole in the Guzzi dealer network.

 

[Smartbazza]

Similar to the NI dealer. Now we don’t have any MG dealers in NI.

Barry

 

[The Other PaulG]

Mike made the comment “who else does MG think will take on the dealership”? Sounds similar for you NI guys.

Seems so short sighted when there is currently such a strong appetite for their model range.

 

[wessie]

It's a heavily populated area and the importer has been opening dealerships such as the Harley dealer in Wolverhampton taking on MG. I would not be surprised if they do not have one lined up to open a full Piaggio brand place plus any of the Asian brands they also import not already available locally

 

[The Other PaulG]

It's a heavily populated area and the importer has been opening dealerships such as the Harley dealer in Wolverhampton taking on MG. I would not be surprised if they do not have one lined up to open a full Piaggio brand place plus any of the Asian brands they also import not already available locally

That would be nice. It’s a long way to the nearest dealer at the moment.

 

[longdog]

I stayed in Burgos in Spain on my way to the MotoGP at Le Mans earlier this year. Near the hotel I was staying in, I came across a Moto Guzzi main dealer which was also a Honda main dealer. The show room was very small with only about 8 bikes on show and there was a workshop out back and this was in the middle of a city. I don’t understand the need for these huge fancy showrooms that must suck up the profits.

 

[theoneandonly]

i used to be an MG dealer , 1 of the top 3 in the country .
we didn't stock all of the model range , it just costs too much to do it.
it will be Piaggio UK pushing this policy , all it does is push dealers to the edge of bankruptcy.
guzzi doesn't work in big dealerships , it needs small enthusiastic dealers .
if guzzi went back to the market share they USED to have 35 years ago , they wouldn't be able to cope with it.

 

[longdog]

i used to be an MG dealer , 1 of the top 3 in the country .
we didn't stock all of the model range , it just costs too much to do it.
it will be Piaggio UK pushing this policy , all it does is push dealers to the edge of bankruptcy.
guzzi doesn't work in big dealerships , it needs small enthusiastic dealers .
if guzzi went back to the market share they USED to have 35 years ago , they wouldn't be able to cope with it.

100% agree!

 

[The Other PaulG]

i used to be an MG dealer , 1 of the top 3 in the country .
we didn't stock all of the model range , it just costs too much to do it.
it will be Piaggio UK pushing this policy , all it does is push dealers to the edge of bankruptcy.
guzzi doesn't work in big dealerships , it needs small enthusiastic dealers .
if guzzi went back to the market share they USED to have 35 years ago , they wouldn't be able to cope with it.

Absolutely.

Mike mentioned that as well as the Guzzi models, he'd also need to stock all the Aprilias too.

That's well beyond the capability of his small premises, and most likely the business's budget too.

Such a shame, I'd so much prefer dealing with a small business like his, than a big faceless multibrand dealership.

 

[Rad1o]

Arnolds in Leicester dropped MG this year. Are MG just fobbing off the dealers happy to trade with them intentionally ?

 

[Neil W]

I stayed in Burgos in Spain on my way to the MotoGP at Le Mans earlier this year. Near the hotel I was staying in, I came across a Moto Guzzi main dealer which was also a Honda main dealer. The show room was very small with only about 8 bikes on show and there was a workshop out back and this was in the middle of a city. I don’t understand the need for these huge fancy showrooms that must suck up the profits.

I remember when a fairly local to me BMW Motorrad only dealership was forced to spend £millions to bring their premises up to BMW UK Corporate Standard and Image , few months later I was talking to a BMW Motorrad dealer in Austria and mentioned this and his reply was that they had refused to do similar but they had multiple vehicle franchises and could afford to so and in the end BMW had backed down

 

[Clifton]

....guzzi doesn't work in big dealerships , it needs small enthusiastic dealers .

Agreed.

Piaggio has the reputation among dealers here for being the most difficult manufacturer to deal with. They push models that dealers know to be difficult if not impossible to sell at profit (for example Stelvio with Rider Assistance), they deny what should be legitimate warranty claims and are slow to pay the ones they do approve, and they're slow supplying certain parts.