P1000 The Honda buying experience

[Scoop]

Anyone in the market should understand that there are "Power" dealers and regular dealers. The difference (as I understand it) is that a Power dealer is a Honda shop. A regular dealer is a Honda / Yamaha / Kawasaki / blah blah dealer. That may not be the exact definition (someone else can chime in) but to know that a difference exists is important for a shopper.

Powerhouse dealers only sell/service Honda products (at least from that specific location).

The Power dealers are getting machines in to put on the showroom floor while your local second-rate dealer has people on waitlists, and has no idea when he'll be able to fulfill the "orders."

Perhaps it was just luck of the draw and all the COVID/supply chain issues, but every one of the 6 or 7 I was able to locate in stock/just arrived last fall were NOT at Powerhouse dealers. Perhaps the Powerhouse dealers had waiting lists for the P1K longer than the non-Powerhouse dealers, hard to say.

If you're willing to drive a few hundred miles - maybe even a day - find these mega dealers, get on the horn and ask around. You may be headed out to pick up your Pioneer this weekend.

When I was looking for a P1K-5 last fall:

During the week, I got to work around 7:30AM. I would open up ATVTRADER.COM, perform a search for the Pioneer 1000-5, then sort the results from "newest listing to oldest listing".

Then I started calling dealerships, top down, asking if the newly listed machine was already spoken for. Most said yes. But surprisingly, I was able to locate 6 or 7 within a month's time, eventually purchasing a Deluxe Camo from a non-Powerhouse dealer only an hour away from my house.

I almost made the round-trip between MI and VT, but changed my mind at the last minute (I refused to pay the extra ~$1,600 for delivery/transportation, dealer prep/assembly, documentation fees, etc.).

At least half of the bikes I found had literally just arrived that day or a day or two before. The salespersons were like "How the heck did you know we have this? We just unloaded it off the truck 5 hours ago?" LOL.

It pays to be persistent.

 

[Scoop]

ROFL! Why don't you tell us how you really feel? This has been my experience in many dealerships. Never been to this one, but I can feel your pain.

If I only base it on powersports dealerships that I have personally dealt with, I can only agree.

Michigan powersports dealers are notorious for squeezing every single nickel out of every single sale. They don't want to build a relationship where you come back again and again ... they want to maximize today's profit at the sake of future profits. That's not good for them, especially with guys like me. Ask my salesman @ the local Ford dealership. Since 2006, I've purchased or leased 13 new Ford and Lincoln vehicles, from Focuses to Powerstroke F350 Super Dutys.

For years, I bought powersports from Honda East Toledo (Ohio). No delivery fee, no prep fee and only $95 doc fee. Never an issue, but a bit of a drive. I bought here because I couldn't find a single dealer in Michigan who didn't want to bone you.

When I finally found my SXS this past fall, the passing at those other machines across the country paid off handsomely. I found the ONLY dealership in Michigan that charges absolutely ZERO for transportation, dealer prep/assembly, documentation, etc. MSRP plus state sales tax plus $11 for title. That's it.

Oh, and my buddy was interested in buying a P1K5 as well. So I called up that dealership about ~3 weeks ago and my salesman said he had a red one coming in that was due in mid-February. They just got the call today - it's in.

 

[HBarlow]

I was a HONDA Dealer or Dealer employee for 20+ years. What we buy here in the USA is mostly controlled by "American Honda Motor Co." (AHM), not the parent "HONDA Motor Company, Ltd." (HMC). Yes, some of that Japanese culture trickles down, but AHM is very much "American" in culture. Communication with the dealers is only as good as the dealers themselves. If the dealer does not push for answers from their DSM (District Sales Manager) or DCSM (District Customer Service Manager), they will not get any information. The HONDA Dealership Communication computer system was very good, when I last used it almost 20 years ago. One thing that most people do not see is the fact that HONDA has morphed from a Motorcycle Company to a Car Company that just happens to have a Powersports Division. HONDA's Main focus is no longer on that Division. The BIG $$$ are in the Automobile Industry.

I can easily believe that, as you stated, owners/dealer principals do a poor job of asking Honda the right questions and sharing the answers with sales managers and sales staff but that doesn't explain why Honda releases next to nothing in in advertising and sales literature.

 

[Jerryg]

….Has Honda always been this sketchy with new releases? The lack of communication with the dealer just surprises me with such a big company.

That might be the biggest understatement of the entire website.

 

[Bombardier Convert]

I sometimes wonder what could have happened if Toyota had entered the power sports arena? Whatever they build or have built in the automotive line seems to last forever. I am now driving a 2002 Toyota van with 273,000 miles thats shows no signs of failure.

 

[moderator]

Hello to everyone on this forum. I look forward to picking everyone’s brain on this site whenever my rig comes in. I haven’t bought a new Honda in decades from the dealer so my question is….Has Honda always been this sketchy with new releases? The lack of communication with the dealer just surprises me with such a big company.
Looking forward to my new P1000 which I put a deposit down on in mid September……whatever that really means. Thanks

My big issue with dealers is that somehow they feel they need to be in the title and registration filing business with the state. In my case it took Nash powersports in phoenix over a week to deliver my registration info making my 1000x useless for that week. This is something I could have done online in minutes if they didn't have it locked up. This is something you may want to look into in advance.

 

[HBarlow]

Honda is no slouch in building products that can endure extremely high miles.

Joe Sparrow & His 425k Gold Wing - Wing World Magazine

Now that’s a lot of miles On Friday, May 30, I stopped by Donelson Cycles in St. Ann, Mo., to buy some new summer riding gloves. In the parking lot was a customer’s GL1800. It was readily apparent that the bike gets a lot of use — Iron Butt “1,500 miles in 24 hrs” license... Read more »Read More »

wingworldmag.com

I personally put 93,000 miles on a 2010 Goldwing. I sold it because I wanted a new one.

 

[Farmer]

I read an article from a few years ago..... Honda had gotten distracted with creating a whole bunch of different car models and really let powersports take a back seat aka act 1..... They admit that the result was not only a lack of car quality, everything else got weaker. They claimed then that they were working to reduce the amount of car models to focus on quality again. That would be tough for any company to do and then, enter covid, aka act 2....... Now, add to all of that, rumor has it motorsports is not only short on materials, there was this political thing that allowed good employees to make the same money by staying home on unemployment. Act 3...... temp workers. If you can't find one yourself then yeah, you'll be waiting. Just life these days.

 

[Jerryg]

I read an article from a few years ago..... Honda had gotten distracted with creating a whole bunch of different car models and really let powersports take a back seat aka act 1..... They admit that the result was not only a lack of car quality, everything else got weaker. They claimed then that they were working to reduce the amount of car models to focus on quality again. That would be tough for any company to do and then, enter covid, aka act 2....... Now, add to all of that, rumor has it motorsports is not only short on materials, there was this political thing that allowed good employees to make the same money by staying home on unemployment. Act 3...... temp workers. If you can't find one yourself then yeah, you'll be waiting. Just life these days.

Honda is one of those companies that have become a huge bureaucracy. Every American Honda employee (Hondroid as I call them) is more concerned with CYA (cover your ass) than telling it like it is and doing the right thing. Dare I say that they have become Americanized?

 

[Opjenndt]

I was on the waiting list for 5 months. I finally found a guy selling one local. I picked it up. Honda said they are so back logged they couldn't promise me even a month I would get one.

 

[Jerryg]

I was on the waiting list for 5 months. I finally found a guy selling one local. I picked it up. Honda said they are so back logged they couldn't promise me even a month I would get one.

Good call, not much has changed in the last year or two.

 

[Red21]

Local stealership has a couple of 2019 P1k5 s with about 3k miles on them , bare for $19500

I think I’ll keep my JAH for awhile…

Where in South Dakota are you? I am in Sioux Falls

 

[Scoop]

2002 Toyota van with 273,000 miles thats shows no signs of failure.

I was on the waiting list for 5 months. I finally found a guy selling one local. I picked it up. Honda said they are so back logged they couldn't promise me even a month I would get one.

You have to put some sweat equity into it. Found one for my buddy ... he had to wait a grueling 19 days between deposit and arrival of bike @ dealership. Going to pick it up on SAT.

 

[woodgrinder]

There are 2 700s in stock, (per their website), at R&D Honda in Raton. They are great people to deal with.

 

[Remington]

FJB and FCCP. That place is to be avoided at all costs. Haven't dealt with them in the last 4-5 years, but I can tell you this much: Based on past experiences, I'll never set foot in that shathole again.

Yup! Cant agree more! Deleted member PH’s brother runs it!
thats a fact

 

[Remington]

I keep hearing “you’re #1 on the list

I just noticed my dealer received a 21 P1000-5

Well…..did you go in there and hold there feet to the fire from them telling you that? so that one on the floor is now yours? or did u let them blow smoke up your ass?

 

[Bombardier Convert]

My dealer is now blinging my new ride up with a few accessories. They now have a 700 and another 1000-3 Deluxe in-stock also. A couple 2022 Can Ams are showing as in-stock on their website too. I have nothing but good things to say about my local dealer.. Ray's in Grand Rapids MiN.

 

[Banner]

Well…..did you go in there and hold there feet to the fire from them telling you that? so that one on the floor is now yours? or did u let them blow smoke up your ass?

No. I’m waiting for a P10003

 

[Remington]

No. I’m waiting for a P10003

Might be a long time Then!
Lets Go Brandon!!!

Why I 3 vrs a 5?

 

[RodRocket]

Well, I ordered my P1000-5 last June 2021. I was advised then that delivery would be about September, maybe October. Then in November, yes, it should be here in January. In late January, they said Honda advised them - before the end of February. One week ago, sorry you will not see it before June 2022, maybe.
So I said, I'm sorry too, and I cancelled my order.
Who is to blame for the unreliable communication?
I wish there was a transparent system of order logging, allocation, distribution, and above all, reliable communication throughout at all levels.
Is it the squeaky axle that get the oil? Is it just a lottery, chance, luck? Is it based on the buying power and business size of the dealer? Is it the lack of containers and transportation delays? Is it the big global shortage of computer chips? Or is it just the unorganised releases and ad hoc distribution from the factories?
So I miss out on my Honda SxS. C'est la vie!!