Topic: Why Kingston has no Subaru, Suzuki or BMW dealer

[blur911]

On Thursday our Subaru conked out, the H6 is famous for having  very delicate idler and tensioner pulleys on the serpentine belt and the tensioner pulley went this time and also took out the tensioner by stripping the threads right out of it.
I called my regular local parts guy and he told me his suppliers didn't have any in stock so it would take a few days at least.  He suggested calling Performance Imports who last year lost their Subaru dealership, but still run the parts and service department for Subaru.  This is the same dealership that years ago lost the BMW dealership and now I also see that Suzuki is gone.

Anyhow, I drive to the dealership and go in, there is nobody there.  I wander about the showroom, which has a Jag E-type couple and a TR-3 in it.  Have a good look at those for a while and still nobody around, all offices are empty. This doesn't surprise me as I've been in there about 5 or 6 times and never had anyone try to sell me anything or even acknowledge my presence.

As I'm leaving a lady comes out of the back and into the service dept. Yay.
I tell her what part I want and she takes down my info, then tells me the parts guy is really busy and can't get to me now.  I look around at the empty service department and say "What do you mean he's too busy?"    She again says he's just too busy to look up the part for me and he'll call me back. 

"So, let me get this straight,  I'm here to buy a part, you may have that part, but you want me to leave, wait for a call, drive back across town later to buy it here?" 
"Yup" she says.
"And you think that will happen?" I say while leaving, not really caring what her response was.

So I left, went around the corner to NAPA and bought the part.  Half and hour later the parts guy calls and I give him a rant in business 101, something like;
"Your best customer is the one standing in front of you with money in hand, don't ever ignore them or you will lose them and their business, but I guess it's too late for that."

And that is why Kingston doesn't presently have a Subaru, Suzuki or BMW dealer.

[sailor723]

So, is this place run by some "Trustafarian" as a hobby? 

[No H2O]

"Your best customer is the one standing in front of you with money in hand, don't ever ignore them or you will lose them and their business, but I guess it's too late for that."

Yup, it sure is too late for that, waaaayyyy too late. I don't waste my time spending my money up here anymore. I'm just fed up with them thinking they are doing me a favour.

If they only knew how many thousands went stateside last year. My last spreadsheet check was just over five grand, which up here would have run me almost nine grand.

They also ought to get a dictionary and find out what the word "suggested" really means. Then they could figure out the meaning of MSRP.

Rant with a smile...over.

[No H2O]

As I'm leaving a lady comes out of the back and into the service dept. "What do you mean he's too busy?"

Hey, maybe he was really busy. Did her hair look messed up as she came out from the back. 

[sailor723]

As I'm leaving a lady comes out of the back and into the service dept. "What do you mean he's too busy?"

Hey, maybe he was really busy. Did her hair look messed up as she came out from the back. 

Yeah, was she kind of flushed and breathing heavily? 

[No H2O]

But give them some credit.

With an E-type coupe and a TR3 on hand, you know they have at least one hell of a mechanic.

[Ex-airbalancer]

 He suggested calling Performance Imports who last year lost their Subaru dealership, but still run the parts and service department for Subaru.  This is the same dealership that years ago lost the BMW dealership and now I also see that Suzuki is gone.

I would just it was not because of customer service they lost the franchise it would because the owner did not want spring 15 million for new buildings

Also maybe the parts guy , is their only guy back there and was in the shitter 

Peterborough lost the Volvo dealer because the guy did not want build a stand alone building for them

[sailor723]

Subaru still has some pretty questionable dealers left over from the days when they were a marginal manufacturer who would take just about anybody as a dealer. It's only logical for them to start to clean house has they move into the mainstream. I think the days of the small city Subby dealer located in a ex-service station with a 1-2 car showroon scabbed on will soon be a thing of the past.

[blur911]

I would just it was not because of customer service they lost the franchise it would because the owner did not want spring 15 million for new buildings

Yup, Bay Subaru from Belleville is presently building a new Subaru dealership here on Bath Rd.

[tenpenny]

I heard from someone there with a Subie that it was the reluctance to build a new building that canned them.

[No H2O]

I heard from someone there with a Subie that it was the reluctance to build a new building that canned them.

And it is these glamorous looking showrooms and service bays that the customer ends up paying for in the price of a car and servicing.

No thanks! A fancy establishment does not guarantee first rate service, but the manufacturers know that many are taken in by them.

[sailor723]

Car manufacturers are famous for loving to spend a dealer's money. The more desirable the franchise the more demands the car company makes. Subaru is a lot more desirable today at 28,000+ units per year than in the 90's when they were struggling to get less than half of that.

[blur911]

I heard from someone there with a Subie that it was the reluctance to build a new building that canned them.

Could be they knew their reputation in Kingston already sucked, so why put all that money into a dealership nobody would go to anyhow.  There are a lot of Subarus here, but I don't know anyone who bought theirs from PI.

[davidy]

Where is the nearest BMW dealer to Kingston? Pretty surprising that a city with a population of just over 100,000 doesn't have a BMW or a Subaru dealer.

Dave

[rrocket]

I think it's more than just a local problem.  Seems to be a Canadian thing in general when dealing with car parts of any kind...OEM or aftermarket.  There just seems to be a "who cares?" attitude on customer service and pricing that isn't competitive.  It's like these tools forget there is a web where we can get parts and pricing and that they don't have to modify their prices to be somewhat competitive.  They think they can keep asking the same price and offering shoddy service and people will keep coming back.

Sad to say that I almost never bother buying parts in Canada anymore because the service and pricing just isn't competitive.  I try to spend my money here as much a possible, but sometimes the price difference is just out of this world. 

[Weels]

Where is the nearest BMW dealer to Kingston? Pretty surprising that a city with a population of just over 100,000 doesn't have a BMW or a Subaru dealer.

Dave

Guelph is about 120,000 now - no BMW or Subie dealer.  Used to be a combined Subaru/Suzuki (i think) dealer but that shut at least 5 years ago
Likely because Guelph is close enough to Kitchener/Waterloo which has both, but the Subie dealer there is a little hole in the wall

[johngenx]

As much as I love Canada and would never consider moving to the US, we suck at retail.  Whenever I shop in the US I'm shocked at the great service I receive.

[CanuckS2K]

Where is the nearest BMW dealer to Kingston? Pretty surprising that a city with a population of just over 100,000 doesn't have a BMW or a Subaru dealer.

Dave

Guelph is about 120,000 now - no BMW or Subie dealer.  Used to be a combined Subaru/Suzuki (i think) dealer but that shut at least 5 years ago
Likely because Guelph is close enough to Kitchener/Waterloo which has both, but the Subie dealer there is a little hole in the wall

Speaking of a little hole in the wall, you should see the Suzuki/Subaru dealership here in Saint John.  I am pretty certain my kitchen is bigger than their showroom.  The Sales staff seem very friendly and helpful though from my limited experience. 

[2JDM]

Whats surprising to me is that a Porsche dealership just recently opened in London (about 350,000 people). There are alot more Cayennes rolling around now as of late.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Where is the nearest BMW dealer to Kingston? Pretty surprising that a city with a population of just over 100,000 doesn't have a BMW or a Subaru dealer.

Dave

It would be Ottawa about 1-1/2 drive or Ajax 2 hour drive

A Lexus dealer only opened there last year