Honda Products

[Steve_Miller]

I have heard from a couple of dealers here in Nova Scotia that Honda as of January 1, 2008 is only selling there products through one dealer. A Honda dealer, cars, trucks, bikes, quads, tillers, lawn mowers, everything Honda makes will be sold at only Honda dealerships. Anyone else hear or see of this in Canada or the U.S. or did I just miss this somewhere? One dealer I dealt with said he could sell parts til the new year. The Honda car dealership down the road was in the process of building a large section on their building to accommodate the new inventory.

Steve

 

[IXLR8]

I have not seen or heard anything like that.. I am going to my Honda power dealer tomorrow, I will ask him.

 

[schmism]

been a while sence i stopped in and looked at the large power equipment at a lowes/HD... but i thought they carried at least a few models of power equipment that came with a Honda motor... ie pressure washers, and push lawn mowers, and water pumps, etc.

The idea that they would loose out on the mass market of large home improvement stores seems VERY unlikely.

 

[Steve_Miller]

Someone else's product with a Honda motor is different from what I can tell.

Steve

 

[Bird]

I think I'd almost bet that Honda boat motors will still be sold by boat dealers.

 

[IXLR8]

I went to my Honda power dealer today looking at generators. While I was there I asked him about this. He had no knowledge of such a thing happening, he did say that Honda USA is a different company than Honda Canada and it could well be that they are doing things differently in Canada.

 

[Scooby074]

Yep, thats how it is up here. Honda took away all the small engine products from the dealers that sold it for years and offered it to the local Honda car dealer. They call it the "Honda Powerhouse". Dealers were rightly ticked off, but I was told that Honda has been pretty hard to get along with in the last couple years. They been forcing dealers to take a specific floorplan (ie: if you want the new Rincon fourwheeler you got to take 2 of these scooters which are really hard sells around here) So much for the consumer having a choice. We went from 2 independent Honda dealers to 1 I heard from my former Honda dealer that they're selling products at MSRP with no negoitations, because if you want a Honda they're the only game in town, I was also told that they arent going to sell any aftermarket. Everything from Helmets to windshields is "made" by Honda. They also wont sell the ATV "trunks" that are really popular around here because they're not honda approved and can be used unofficially as a seat for passengers, which Honda says is a no-no.

 

[Stimw]

I'm a Honda Small Engine Dealer and I haven't heard anything down here in Florida. I think they would be cutting their own throat to do that. There is a lot of competition with a lot of descent products and the days of restricting dealer outlets are long gone.
I get excellent engine and parts support from my regional supplier. Normally one business day and they are about 100 miles away. I fax the order in and it arrives the next day.

 

[Steve_Miller]

Just to see, has any other Honda dealers other than Nova Scotia had to adhere to these rules from Honda as it has happened as of Jan 1, 2009? There were a couple of good size dealers that had to give up the Honda name.

Steve

 

[Scooby074]

I understand its a Canada wide thing. Funny though, i was in Pro Cycle in Halifax a couple months ago, and they were still a Honda dealer. When i asked,, they said that Honda wasnt taking their dealership, and "they'd be stupid to" because they are the largest dealer in NS.

Is pro cycle still a dealer? And if so, how did they manage to keep it from going to a honda car dealer? If they were allowed to keep theirs, its not really fair to the others that lost theirs to the local auto dealer.

 

[Skyco]

Yep, thats how it is up here. Honda took away all the small engine products from the dealers that sold it for years and offered it to the local Honda car dealer. They call it the "Honda Powerhouse".

Here the Honda motorcycle/watercraft/atv dealer is known as a "Honda Powerhouse". No cars there.

Honda Powerhouse Dealers - Honda Powersports

 

[Scooby074]

Ours are Powerhouse too, except they include car sales. Honda took all the independent dealers ( some were Atv only, others were mixed small engine) and offered it to the local auto dealer.

I was told Honda did this to increase "the Honda Experience" and have all honda under one roof. Small towns that once only had a Honda small engine dealer, now have nothing. How this helps Hondas bottom line and image i dont know.

The only thing its done it tick off consumers. I have lots of Hondas, and the policy with the Powerhouse, is to not stock hardly ANY parts. Everything is shipped from a warehouse. Its usually only a day or 2 out, but the independent dealers always had stock.Its a PITA when your in the middle of something and need a part.

Also ive noticed the prices have gone higher. No competition.

 

[EddieWalker]

I just noticed today that the local Honda ATV and Motorcycle dealer was empty. Nothing on the lot and nothing inside the building. The big sign saying that they are under new ownership is still up, but that's been there since before Christmas.

Eddie

 

[Jadd]

Suzuki is doing the same thing atv, bikes, cars, trucks & outboards under one roof. Funny thing though after trying that format for two years in our area they have now seperated the power sports side from the automotive side.