what do you guys think about a yamaha guy starting a artic cat busness??

S

srxbully

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tug hill ny
i have been thinking about this for about 2 years now & im finally starting to look into it. i was thinking aobut starting a used parts for sled s& fourwheeler's & eventaully bringing in some new parts &.oil,race gas,& even selling used snowmobiles,atv's,jet skies etc...etc.. then about a year down the road start selling new artic cat sleds.i was thinking artic cat because there arent any artic cat dealers around unless you drive to a whole nother city about 30 min away.there are yamaha dealer ships all over the place here.prolly about 5 of them.there is 1 polaris here & 2 ski-doo. you guys think there is any market for this idea?? i could have it opened by spring.
 
If I had the chance and the funds i would do it. You may only get a chance once in your life to follow your dreams, so go for it. Just keep riding Blue. LOL Maxdlx
 
I agree to follow your dream! One thing I would add about AC though, and I am not sure about the other OEM's, is that AC in the past has really put pressure on the dealers to order minimum sled numbers. I know a past dealer in the UP who quite dealing AC just because they wanted him to to buy too many sleds up front and he was in the area of the UP where AC is god. Just something to think about. On the other hand I am sure you could make a ton of $$$ on AC parts, hehehe :)

Da Fin
 
is there any way you can talk to that guy & ask how to get a hold of artic cat & the process of how it is done through them.that would be great & thanks
 
Not to pee in the waterhole, but I'll play devils advocate here.
I can speak from experience, mostly because I've owned my own powersports dealership for the last several years... and recently closed down as well. Sounds awsome at first, the street are gonna be paved in gold, and everyone's gonna stop in! I mean c'mon... your dealing with toys here! Everyone likes to spend money on toys! It really does not work like that though. Service work is what paid our bills, and I set my hourly rate at 60.00.... about 15 less then the closest OEM dealership. Parts sales if at best made enough to cover cost of incidental monthly costs. Not much along the lines of profits... internet sales are helpful, but ebay honestly is killing a lot of that for the dealers. Add to that the discovery channel with OCC and monster garage and EVERYone thinks they can be Jessie James. Makes running a profitable shop darn near impossible right now, not to mention the economy is not helping matters any.

Again... I'm speaking from experience, demographics will play a role in some of this as well, but I ran a pretty tight ship. Either way, I still had to work a night job the WHOLE time I was open in order to cover my mortgage. I met a lot of nice people, but a lot of pricks too. I raced quads for a lot of years, which is why I started the shop. To cover my racing expenses... it was actually the end of my serious racing career. There was just no time for it anymore. I was 10th in the nation when I was running GNC's in the 25+ class. Not the best racer in the world, but dedicated and working at it. Now... I've been so burned from the sport and a lot of the people that were looking for handouts I have no interest in it anylonger. My passion became a business, and that was the end of something I loved... it was not enjoyable anymore.

Setting accounts up is a process, Parts Unlimited is a 5000.00 buy in, and they'll send a rep to your place to scope it out and make sure your legit. That's not a definate you'll get an account either. Kimpex is a 2000.00 buy in, and Marshall is a 2000.00 buy in too. A lot of that is recent, becaseu of the things I mentioned previously. As far as OEM dealership, that's more involved. I checked with polaris once because there was already everything else in my area and the overhead was not worth the investment.

I could go on and on, if your seriously looking into it all, feel free to PM me for my # and I'd be glad to give you a run down on the places that are easiest to start up with and other things. Too lenghty of a post otherwise, and I'm heading out the door in a few minutes.

Follow your dreams.... but don't skew the reality of it all. ;)!
 
It doesn't matter what color the sled is, you still get paid the same Green money to fix em', you'll just have to keep a small building out back for your Blue stuff.

I've worked for 3 manufacturers in my life, just keep in mind all that sales hipe is fine, but the real money is in parts and service............and like Thunder said the whole ebay thing is just destroying parts/ used parts sales. But there's ways around that. the rule around here is, you don't walk into a resturant with a couple eggs and frozen bacon and ask them to make you breakfast, so don't walk in here with parts you bought off Ebay and ask me to install them.
 
my .02 never, i repeat never, make a hobby your livelyhood. it becomes your career, and you will grow to dislike that hobby. when you want to enjoy the sport you service, it is your busy time and you cant afford to be away from your business to "play".

i have done this twice. once with motorcycles, atvs', jetskis, and sleds, and once in the archery industry. i got out early and kept my passion on the toys. but the archery thing i stayed at for about 2 years. it ruined me for the sport. i shot tournements locally and nationally and i excelled at it, and the hunting portion too. but now i hardly ever pick up the bows at all even to hunt. mind you i built custom units for me and my clients including tuning some of the nations finest archers equipment. it just sours you and burns you out because at the end of the day, it was your job and you dont want to spend time around it 24/7 forever.

think alot about this, i dont want to chase you from a dream but, do your homework, check the economy local and nationally to see if this endevor will be supported. check the demographics, ect... you could flush all the current funds, and spirit for the sport down the tubes.

we need to chase our dreams but, we also must be realistic in what can be supported and what can support you and your family. ski
 
From my personal experience, I will totally agree with Skidooboy and Thunder Valley. Keep in mind that your experience could be different than ours has been, but more than likely it could be the same. Looking back I so glad that I did not decide to be a fishing guide, and 11 yrs working parts and acc. in a high volume shop has slowly been fixed by awesome rides with friends. 3 Yrs ago I was so close to selling everything at a price that no one could refuse just to get out of sledding.
 
I totally agree with Thunder and SDboy...I've been in the business for a long time. It's incredibly hard to make money in the sled business. I gets even harder when you involve an OEM. You need so much $$ tied up just to get the dealership...then you have finance companies to deal with. They WILL take any profits you earned in interest charges and service charges. If you really like doing this stuff (which I do) keep it as a side business. Used sleds are a great way to earn some extra money if you buy them right. OR..you can start racing lol. That keeps you in the loop and keeps you fixing lol.

There are very few people that have made money in the snowmobile business. It is usually a way to keep the bike or boat guys busy in the off season. We, as a group, are the cheapest customers you will run into lol...keep that in mind.
 
I personally would start out slow - buy a few wrecked sleds or quads, part them out and sell the parts on ebay or what have you. Find out what sells and what doesn't. Service is the backbone of any dealership - new sales don't provide any profit once you pay your floorplan expenses, marketing expenses etc. Most dealers are in the business out of circumstance - family business, worked for the dealership, worked at another dealership etc. I don't think being in the rec vehicle business is a chosen profession, I think it chooses you. If you see a unique business opportunity in your market go for it - if the market is asking for something that no one can provide and you can go for it -
 
You will be required to take a number of new sleds, plus parts, plus accessories and clothing, plus factory service tools. Plus everything else it takes to run a dealership. Computers and programs, shop items, showroom and parts department fixtures etc. Will take tens of thousands to get started. The number of dealerships and the area they are located is set by the company. They may or may not have one available where you are.
 
alright i know as much as the servicing department goes.etc etc. but the artic cat dealer ship would be down the road if anything took off.but do you guys think with studding tracks,servicing & repairing sleds,selling used toys & parting out the ones that coudnt be fixed without a lot of money being put into them & selling oil & little things.you think there is a market for this??i know it depends on the location...etc)
 
There are people who do it successfully. You will be the best judge of the market in your area. I think it would probably work. Give it a try.
 
there's a guy up the road from me that used to be a yammy tech at a dealer and just works out of his garage-- mostly on sleds and boats. he does quite well and is always booked up, but has been on his own for a while, and has established a good clientel. he probably got a lot of his contacts while working for yamaha. as with most businesses, the first few years are the hardest-- just getting your name out there. once people know your doing it--you'll be surprised how much work comes your way! good luck ;)!
 
Take a small business class...check out your local communities. Alot of them have a non profit type class. Learn about marketing, supply and demand...bla bla.

I have my own business and it is the 2nd best decision I have ever made. (1st is getting my girlfriend to fall in love with me 18 years ago, marry me 12 years ago, have two great kids..and want to spend the rest of her life with me.)

Also, I dont work on sleds as a business because I enjoy riding them to much. Ive parted sleds, bikes, ect on ebay and made extra cash. Talkes alot of time and alot of work.

So I suggest...follow your dream and dont get discuraged if it dont work out...there is a reason for everything!
 
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