Guzzi franchise dropped by Blade in Swindon

wessie

wessie

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I was looking at the rather hopeless website provided by Moto Guzzi to view the new V85TT.

Sadly, it seems Blade in Swindon no longer sell Moto Guzzi. This means my closest dealer is now an hour away in Bristol with the next closest in Cardiff. That makes V85 ownership less likely in the future as BMW, Triumph & Yamaha are all within 3 miles.
 
Are you seriously putting off buying a Guzzi because the nearest dealer is all of an hour away ???

'Adventure bikers'.....:D

Edit - If you're taking the piss, you got me.
 
Non of the three BMW dealers near me are less than 1 hour away, from where i am ..

does it bother me .. nope

I have Yamaha , Enfield & Guzzi dealers within 7 miles but there no good to me lol
 
Er NO there is a Guzzi Dealer in Worcester got be closer than Swindon certainly easier to get to
 
jonnie comet said:
Are you seriously putting off buying a Guzzi because the nearest dealer is all of an hour away ???

'Adventure bikers'.....:D

Edit - If you're taking the piss, you got me.
Click to expand...

It's a factor that pushes the V85TT down the list of desirability. The other 3 makes have bikes I like and I know the 3 dealerships well, so Moto Guzzi would have to offer something exceptional to move to the top of the list. I had enough of travelling an hour or more for service or parts when I lived in the Welsh Marches.
 
bowser said:
Er NO there is a Guzzi Dealer in Worcester got be closer than Swindon certainly easier to get to
Click to expand...

I visited that dealer when the Norge was a new thing. Streffords. Tiny little place with no demo bikes. As stated, I looked on the MG website and they are not listed now. http://www.streffords.net/home.html does not list Guzzi - they seem to have gone the same way as the former Yamaha dealer near me, Peugeot scooter & Chinese made bikes.
 
wessie said:
It's a factor that pushes the V85TT down the list of desirability. The other 3 makes have bikes I like and I know the 3 dealerships well, so Moto Guzzi would have to offer something exceptional to move to the top of the list. I had enough of travelling an hour or more for service or parts when I lived in the Welsh Marches.
Click to expand...

You've been proper spoilt, seriously, you have.
 
A good dealership and a feeling of confidence can make all the difference

When I bought my Kawasaki I went to the dealer 2 km from my house but I just wasn’t “feeling” them, Saint Etienne 70 Kms away didn’t have the model I was interested in so I went down to Aubenas, 85 kms away

They were great, helpful, friendly, loads of bikes on demo and happy to let you try them

They had the model and color I wanted in stock and did me a fair deal against my Trumpet, so they got the sale and I’ve also used them for servicing

And after all it’s not a bad blast down to Aubenas anyway :)
 
wessie said:
It's a factor that pushes the V85TT down the list of desirability. The other 3 makes have bikes I like and I know the 3 dealerships well, so Moto Guzzi would have to offer something exceptional to move to the top of the list. I had enough of travelling an hour or more for service or parts when I lived in the Welsh Marches.
Click to expand...

What would you consider to be 'something exceptional' ?
 
jonnie comet said:
You've been proper spoilt, seriously, you have.
Click to expand...

Is getting decent service from some local dealers being spoilt? Is feeling loyal to those dealers wrong, even if it means I pay a few hundred more on a deal? To me, it's worth it to keep them in business as it is so damn convenient having them there. I only wish I had the disposable income to be a customer of the Aston Martin dealer across the road. I've had to make do with a little Audi which is 300m further away :p
 
leadfarmer said:
A good dealership and a feeling of confidence can make all the difference
Click to expand...

I think this is part of the problem. The 2 dealers I mentioned above are large businesses (Fowlers & M&P) where retail sales are secondary to their wholesaling empires. Neither has a particularly good reputation for customer service and if you get a problem you are dealing with a corporate identity miles away.
 
leadfarmer said:
A good dealership and a feeling of confidence can make all the difference

When I bought my Kawasaki I went to the dealer 2 km from my house but I just wasn’t “feeling” them, Saint Etienne 70 Kms away didn’t have the model I was interested in so I went down to Aubenas, 85 kms away

They were great, helpful, friendly, loads of bikes on demo and happy to let you try them

They had the model and color I wanted in stock and did me a fair deal against my Trumpet, so they got the sale and I’ve also used them for servicing

And after all it’s not a bad blast down to Aubenas anyway :)
Click to expand...

My son bought his BMW from Cotswold, rather than SWB who were just around the corner, because SWB were crap and he got on well with the people at cotswold, bought 3 bikes from them now and gets his servicing done there
 
wessie said:
Is getting decent service from some local dealers being spoilt? Is feeling loyal to those dealers wrong, even if it means I pay a few hundred more on a deal? To me, it's worth it to keep them in business as it is so damn convenient having them there. I only wish I had the disposable income to be a customer of the Aston Martin dealer across the road. I've had to make do with a little Audi which is 300m further away :p
Click to expand...

I get that - I really do, but that wasn't your ORIGINAL point. It was all about distance (a whole hour away...:eek:.....FFS)

Oh well....:)
 
Blade haven't sold Guzzies since last summer.

Cheltenham to on yer bike = 57 miles
Cheltenham to blade swindon = 32 miles
Cheltenham to Fowlers Bristol = 49 miles
:nenau

And it's a far better ride 2 on yer bike..

On her bike is a better dealer for Guzzi anyway..
 
Not surprised Blade Guzzi franchise has gone. They tend not to keep low volume marques for very long from what I have seen and their treatment of me last year when I asked about a new V85TT was frankly not what I would consider good customer service. Even before price was discussed, telling them I was ready to place a deposit on the phone if they could get me a bike at a good deal did not prompt them to return my call with a quotation or even to discuss the matter further, despite reminder emails.
 
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