Ducati dealerships closing?

[red baron]

Coulda bought em...

http://www.westauction.com/auction/item_pics/id/161/num/8648

22.8k, not a bad price considering the inventory

WOW that was a good deal.

[silvy1200]

WOW that was a good deal.

hella of a deal

[hypurone]

  

[TiAvenger]

Wilsons in Fresno, Ca. needs to stop selling Ducati, they are scam artists. They would just sell more of their other crap.

Yep they suck ass, I'm hoping that their big new shiny building's cost drags them down. We dont need them here they are so bad.  The last time I went in, they didnt have oil filters in stock for my bike!

[caperix]

The dealer in Jacksonville FL. I bought my 848 from closed.  In there place a Suzuki dealer that charges $130/hr for service.

[geoffduc]

I wish I had known about it -- I would have bid quite a bit more than that for the contents of the dealership. 

Well some body sure got a bargin, but to me it's not the bargin it's the fact that the dealer has ceased trading and another shop has gone to the wall   

[MotoCreations]

Glad to see Ducati management is taking a "realistic viewpoint" in regard to the direction of the business. (see below)

Since this thread started, I know of a few more Japanese/European dealerships that have gone under.  Anymore Ducati dealerships as of late with problems?

http://www.reuters.com/article/managementIssues/idUSL565284820090205

Ducati management take voluntary pay cut

Thu Feb 5, 2009 5:35am EST

MILAN, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The bosses at Ducati, the Italian maker of racing motorcycles riden by world champion Nicky Hayden, have taken a 10 percent pay cut and given up their future bonuses in view of the economic crisis.

Ducati, which is owned by the Bonomi family in the city of Bologna, made the announcement after the latest industry figures showed a 38.8 percent drop in new motorcycle sales in Italy in January.

Ducati did not publish its own sales figures, but said in a statement its share of its market rose to 12.5 percent from 11.2 percent.

Ducati said the decision taken by Chief Executive Gabriele Del Torchio and other executives to take less pay was voluntary.

The announcement is the latest in a series made by companies looking to cut costs in the face of a severe economic slowdown.

Ducati has joined calls by Italian manufacturers for their government to help them through the crisis by stimulating sales.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet is expected to announce a package of incentives to encourage consumers to scrap their old cars, motorcycles and home appliances and buy new, more ecological ones.

[hypurone]

Since this thread started, I know of a few more Japanese/European dealerships that have gone under.  Anymore Ducati dealerships as of late with problems?

Not in the Northbay that I know of, but the owner of the former Moto Meccanica in Santa Rosa is re-opening (in the same location) as a service/parts shop, no bike sales! Not sure he is going to become a Ducati (or any of the other Euro lines that were sold) certified repair facility... i believe the sign said the opening date was gonna be April 1st. Hah! Fools day! We'll see....

[DucHead]

My local shop seems to be doing well.  Two 1198Ss on the floor.  Looked like one was gonna be sold the other day.  In the past month they sold at least three Monsters one of which was an 1100S.

They are also a Suzuki dealer.

[Greg]

Glad to see Ducati management is taking a "realistic viewpoint" in regard to the direction of the business. (see below)


Ducati has joined calls by Italian manufacturers for their government to help them through the crisis by stimulating sales.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet is expected to announce a package of incentives to encourage consumers to scrap their old cars, motorcycles and home appliances and buy new, more ecological ones.

Sounds like a heck of a plan - new Ducs for everybody  [moto]

[El Matador]

Sounds like a heck of a plan - new Ducs for everybody  [moto]

Yeah, try explaining that to the wife.

"But honey! I needed that 1098R Bayliss. It is much more ecological than my monster"

[bluemoco]

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's cabinet is expected to announce a package of incentives to encourage consumers to scrap their old cars, motorcycles and home appliances and buy new, more ecological ones.

I remember a few years ago, there was a lot of talk about CARB's zero-emissions mandate.  The automakers (and some automotive journalists) argued vehemently that it would be more cost-effective to offer a payment of $1000 to anyone who would bring their old car in to have it crushed/recycled.  The only stipulations were that the car had to be more than 20 years old, and you had to have the title to the car (to verify that it wasn't stolen ).  They could accept old cars in virtually any running condition.

The logic was that old vehicles generate a disproportionate amount of greenhouse gas emissions.  The net effect of putting many more drivers into new (low-emission) cars would do more for the environment than would the sale of a small number of zero-emissions cars.

Of course, CARB opted for the Zero-Emissions path, and...   

[Travman]

The dealer in Jacksonville FL. I bought my 848 from closed.  In there place a Suzuki dealer that charges $130/hr for service.

I hope the new Orange Park/Jacksonville dealer does well, but they weren't off to a great start when I was there.  They had my bike for six weeks and couldn't diagnose a bad fuel pump.  When I brought it in I told them it was the fuel pump because it was making a terrible noise and the bike was acting like it wasn't getting enough fuel as the RPMs rose.

[IdZer0]

Since this thread started, I know of a few more Japanese/European dealerships that have gone under.  Anymore Ducati dealerships as of late with problems?

Well not that they're in trouble (at least not as far as I know), but my local dealer has decided that after 20 years of Ducati , they won't be an official Ducati dealer anymore. My guess is that in order to be considered an official dealer you must buy at least x number of models per year from the factory (which they probably didn't think would be a good idea in the current economic situation) or they where forced to go more in the direction of a Ducati Store (more Ducati apparel etc.) which wasn't the direction they wanted to go in. Now they only sell Aprillia and Bimota.

[swampduc]

Well not that they're in trouble (at least not as far as I know), but my local dealer has decided that after 20 years of Ducati , they won't be an official Ducati dealer anymore. My guess is that in order to be considered an official dealer you must buy at least x number of models per year from the factory (which they probably didn't think would be a good idea in the current economic situation) or they where forced to go more in the direction of a Ducati Store (more Ducati apparel etc.) which wasn't the direction they wanted to go in. Now they only sell Aprillia and Bimota.

Wow. Sounds like that would be a pretty narrow customer base.