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Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by geoff the bonnie <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=geoff+the+bonnie' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 12:06 pm

Marsh, in Exeter had been trading for 20 years and have decided due to low sales and recent budget, they can no longer trade so its all closed up. I wonder how the big dealer is doing ,Bridge motorcycles who have been trading about 60 years or more. That dealer is multi franchise and by far the biggest dealer in the Southwest

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by JERRY <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=JERRY' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 12:12 pm, in reply to "Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

Could be a lot more businesses shutting down with our government Geoff.

The oldest rocker in town!

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Greeves Rider <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Greeves+Rider' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 12:20 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

One would have thought that motor cycle sales would be on the up considering there is no cut off date for new petrol powered bikes. BUT I suppose the high cost of passing a motorcycle driving test these days and with all the different engine sizes I dont suppose youngsters are prepared to pay for the training and then later do it all again for a car. The other issue is that motorbikes are no longer bought new as a means of transport, just as a leisure vehicle. Maybe that will change as UK degenerates into a 3rd world country.

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Tonupdave <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Tonupdave' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 12:25 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

They can't make the profits from the new generation of cheap bikes I'll be surprised if Bridge carries on for long

Tonupdave..T.U.D.

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by JERRY <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=JERRY' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 1:02 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

Cars and bikes last a very long time now with the correct servicing so why should we change apart from wanting something special. My winter hack Suzuki Bandit has nearly done 50000 miles and runs perfect so hope it will see me out unless I decide on something else but doubt I would go to a dealer unless buying new.

The oldest rocker in town!

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Will <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Will' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 12:21 pm, in reply to "Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

The Plymouth Harley & Triumph dealership has gone too, along with their used bike outlet & another Southampton Harley dealer they owned. Happened last week & I believe these are same firm as Marsh in Exeter.

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by laverdabru <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=laverdabru' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 12:48 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

Same in Worcester - the Ducati & Kawasaki dealerships both have 'closed' signs up. The Kawasaki one used to be John Skellerns (ex racer from the '70's) & ran successfully for many years until he retired a couple of years back. Think they may have had something to do with the Thunder Road chain.

Also kaput is a back street dealer called Woods, & a few complaining he still has the bikes they put in for repair...

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Andy C <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Andy+C' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 3:06 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

About a year ago a local business that used to import bikes from the states went bust.

He had been going for years and went into voluntary liquidation, shortly before he closed he said that things had taken a big downturn.

He was the bloke I bought the DT 400 from.

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by nek <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=nek' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 4:26 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

Bread and butter bikes are now disposable goods.
chinese imports not worth the cost of repairing, as long as they keep going.
My Piaggio scooter( sorry but its an old mans bike) is reliable enough but I'll chuck when it stops. Its the second one I've had. On the one when I wanted a drive belt changed I took to a repairer of such things near Salisbury, £60 an hour labour, estimated 5 hours to take off the plastic and replace,then the rest. Even at that he didn't seem keen for the work. I did it myself in the end,took two days. When I was in the trade in the early 1980s my labour charge was £7 per hour,at least people could afford it and the bike were worth it; I only took on british bikes.
So glad I'm out of it.

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Brickboy <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Brickboy' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 5:24 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

I think cars that are affordable are going the same way.

Just had my C Max MoTd - almost £400, of which more than half was labour. I would scrap it but as the garage owner said - you could buy another car and pay £2k to get it through the MoT... like the 2015 Audi we were standing next to. Apparently the C Max is probably worth £500 more than the same garage sold it to me for 4yrs and 40k miles ago. If I was you I'd keep it, he said.

It must be a classic!!

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by spriddler <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=spriddler' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 5:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

I would scrap it but as the garage owner said - you could buy another car and pay £2k to get it through the MoT..

That's also my attitude; better the devil I know, as long as it isn't suffering from creeping rust. When first semi-retired I used to restore classic MG's but it was chasing crumbling chassis and bodywork that made me pack up. At least mechanical repairs are mostly finite insofar that once they're fixed they're fixed.

'There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at at the flood.....'

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by geoff the bonnie <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=geoff+the+bonnie' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 27, 2024, 9:27 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

Plenty of new learners riding around training locally. There is another big seller in Exeter, Speed motorcycles so i wonder how they are doing.
About 10 years ago the local motocross specialist went bust after moving into a large new warehouse. The owner had taken it on from his Father and lost it all in about 2 years. Now salesman for hire cars as he cannot run a business now.
On old used cars, it is worth keeping what you know runs well even after needing MOT repairs. In Exmouth, many cars fail on salt corrosion so the boy welds a lot up for the larger garages in Town and Woodbury. Biggest killer of the old cars is electronics failing and the cost too high.
The weekend, the other boy has to fit a front end to his sons car. Ford Fiesta and all parts available used and all bolt on. Bonnet, 2 wings, headlights, front panel so its a Saturday job . Lucky when it crashed that no steering was damaged.
The small Fords have to be a great car to keep at near 20 years old with no air bags or radars

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Lannis <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Lannis' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 28, 2024, 11:53 am, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

It's possible that when the new regime takes all the useless regulatory bureaucrats out back and shoots them, we MAY be able to produce a useful, simple, affordable car again in this country.

We have the capability and the market, but the dead hand of government weighs heavy ....

Lannis

I don't take health advice from people who think the world is overpopulated.

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Beezabryan <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Beezabryan' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 28, 2024, 12:00 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

Was not the original VolksWagen intended to be The Peoples Car? and likewise the original Citroen Deux Chevaux.

BeezaBryan

He knows not where he's going, For the ocean will decide,
Its not the destination, It's the glory of the ride (Edward Monkton, Zen Dog)

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by JERRY <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=JERRY' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 28, 2024, 3:24 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

Spot on Bryan.

The oldest rocker in town!

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Greeves Rider <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Greeves+Rider' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 28, 2024, 12:45 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

One wonders how some of the classic bike dealers will fair, you know the ones who have big adverts in Old Bike Mart and advertising old bikes as investments. Many of the bikes have been in stock for months at ridiculously high prices.

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by Lannis <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Lannis' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 28, 2024, 12:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

That whole thing of "antique vehicles as investments" is like spinning a roulette wheel. I remember in the 90s, when I wanted to buy an XKE Jag roadster, they went from a somewhat affordable $25,000 to over $90,000 in a matter of a couple years.

By the early 2000s, they were back down to $40,000 or so, meaning that any "investors" would probably still be hurting today .....

Too much of a gamble for me!

Lannis

I don't take health advice from people who think the world is overpopulated.

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by JERRY <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=JERRY' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 28, 2024, 3:27 pm, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

I have made a lot of money in the past selling my older bikes but it was just by luck as I have never bought a bike as a investment.

The oldest rocker in town!

Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust

Posted by G3lcs <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=G3lcs' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 29, 2024, 10:34 am, in reply to "Re: Exeter motorcycle dealer bust"

Bought an XK 120 for £60 sold it a couple of years later for £200, should have kept it.

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