A question to everybody...

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TWAN

Senior Member
how could i boost the sales of GOOD aftermarket parts to the public.


Although the newer honda cars have lost some popularity with the younger market, what do you guys/girls think that dealerships could do to these cars to regain some of the market? Keep in mind that it needs to be within reason, and keep as much of the factory drivability as possible (read: no motor swaps).

I am asking this question because I work at a honda dealership, and last summer we took a civic ex and threw on as many factory accessories as we could. the car looked okey, no real performance gains though.

I just wanted to put the question out there, and see if anybody has any ideas that i havent thought of yet.

keep in mind that anything that is put on the car is also subject to labor $$$
 
I'm not so sure there's anything that CAN be done at the dealership-level to help out very much. It's the general styling that Honda is having problems with in th US right now, dealer options probably won't help much.

Other than price-type things like incentives, rebates, etc, perhaps you could try and showcase the potential the cars have? Keep aftermarket catalogs on hand for customers to look at (both style and performance items), and maybe even stock/be able to order and/or install some of those things? 'The car is great right from the factory, but take a look at some of the other things that can be done with the car afterwards' type of thing.
 
Write Honda and tell them to quit fucking around with 2700 lb ugly as sin (although I do sorta like it...) SI's and bring back lightweight cars with 100+ hp per liter cars

Ie: A 2nd generation CRX (or any of the under 2200 lb cars from back in the day) + 210 hp 2.0 DOHC VTEC + 5 sp = getting my money.
 
Originally posted by JOHNNYLIGHTFOOT@Feb 12 2004, 12:29 PM
no real performance gains though.

you answered your own question...

Oh and two acronyms for you CTR and ITR, why the phuck are we not getting them, and I mean the real deal not some watered down version [cough]RSX[/cough]
 
Originally posted by DarkHand@Feb 12 2004, 01:05 PM
I'm not so sure there's anything that CAN be done at the dealership-level to help out very much. It's the general styling that Honda is having problems with in th US right now, dealer options probably won't help much.

Other than price-type things like incentives, rebates, etc, perhaps you could try and showcase the potential the cars have? Keep aftermarket catalogs on hand for customers to look at (both style and performance items), and maybe even stock/be able to order and/or install some of those things? 'The car is great right from the factory, but take a look at some of the other things that can be done with the car afterwards' type of thing.

I have been trying this since september 03. unfortunately the markup on the parts after we buy them detours alot of people. that and both the retail counterperson(read: RICER) dont have a clue as to how to market any sort of aftermarket parts, and the sales dept. dont care one way or the other... they just want their money.
it is totally frustrating, because everybody is coming to me for answers, but they arent willing to try anything that i suggest.
 
Originally posted by MaaseyRacer+Feb 12 2004, 01:24 PM-->
JOHNNYLIGHTFOOT
@Feb 12 2004, 12:29 PM
no real performance gains though.

you answered your own question...

Oh and two acronyms for you CTR and ITR, why the phuck are we not getting them, and I mean the real deal not some watered down version [cough]RSX[/cough]

i was givin 3000.00 total, and that covered the price of installation. they also wanted as much Honda Optional Equipment as possible. trust me, if i could of had my way, it would have a greddy turbo sitting on it
 
There's nothing a dealer could install and retain the factory warranty that would pursued me to buy anything but an S2K or an NSX.
 
I would say the aftermarket catalog idea would be a good one.

Show them what the car CAN look like after they buy it. You might be able to make more money for the aftermarket parts too. Have every car come with the aftermarket catalog.
 
Originally posted by JOHNNYLIGHTFOOT@Feb 12 2004, 03:29 PM
Although the newer honda cars have lost some popularity with the younger market, what do you guys/girls think that dealerships could do to these cars to regain some of the market?


well to answer your "marketing question" mr. VP....

nothing. There is nothing you guys could put on a honda that would result in me wanting to buy it over something else I think is hot.

what i CAN think you guys can do, rather, all dealerships as a WHOLE

is lower your prices. quit trying to rip people off by selling the unsuspecting things that they really dont need for their cars.

This is what turns me off from a dealership honestly. That and playing the "back and forth game"

I make an offer to the sales person at his desk, he runs back to the manager, the manager monkeys around with the numbers so it looks different, but still is the same, and comes back to me thinking I will fall for the trap.

Want a REAL way to regain the market? Get a SOLID reputation as a dealership that doesnt screw people around (not saying you do...i really dont know you or your business) and people will flock in droves to buy your cars.

What would make me buy a brand new civic over ....lets say a mitsubishi eclipse ?
(as a far fetched example..)

If I heard from a bunch of friends that that particular honda dealership was willing, able and ready to give me a deal that no other dealership could possibly offer.

Sounds like a far fetched idea don't it?

other than that, unless you kidnap vin diesel, steal a F&F2 movie car and put it in your showroom and attract 100's of people who dont know any better to fraudently decieve them that your "intake exhaust equipped civic" is FAST.....

good luck
 
see, you are asking the wrong people for advice on how to sell cars. Us "racer" or "tuners" are a minority as far as consumers go. Honda's main buyers are not us, but rather parents and grandparents who want a safe reliable car, with great gas mileage. Honda is catering towards these people, and as far as Honda's nasty ass styling goes, thats what sells in japan. in order to serve one industry (japan) they must let the other industry suffer with its same styling design(america). We as import car enthusiast are not one of their target markets.
 
Originally posted by Loco Honkey@Feb 12 2004, 05:38 PM
There's nothing a dealer could install and retain the factory warranty that would pursued me to buy anything but an S2K or an NSX.

:ji: :concur:
 
well to answer your "marketing question" mr. VP....

nothing. There is nothing you guys could put on a honda that would result in me wanting to buy it over something else I think is hot.

what i CAN think you guys can do, rather, all dealerships as a WHOLE

is lower your prices. quit trying to rip people off by selling the unsuspecting things that they really dont need for their cars.

[/quote]
Unfortunately, as with most dealerships, the sales staff gets greedy. they want to line their pockets the as much as possible. which is understandable, but it needs to have its limits. as with the games that salesmen play, i couldnt agree with you more. i was offered a position in sales, but i turned them down because i want to be able to sleep at night cith a clear conscious (sp). i personally think that if honda imported the ctr, sold it for around 20k, they wouldnt be able to keep them on the lot. but unless i can convince all of the "higher-ups" at american honda to hate money, my hands are tied. we even had a car show in sept. to try and bring more of the younger crowd into the dealership. but no results, except for a sweet show that turned into an all day party. oh well, im getting side tracked.

what i origionally wanted to find out is what accessories, either factory of aftermarket, could we put on these cars to make them more appealing to younger buyers.
 
Originally posted by mattcalica@Feb 12 2004, 05:09 PM
see, you are asking the wrong people for advice on how to sell cars. Us "racer" or "tuners" are a minority as far as consumers go. Honda's main buyers are not us, but rather parents and grandparents who want a safe reliable car, with great gas mileage. Honda is catering towards these people, and as far as Honda's nasty ass styling goes, thats what sells in japan. in order to serve one industry (japan) they must let the other industry suffer with its same styling design(america). We as import car enthusiast are not one of their target markets.

that is so true.

honda in japan....the type R was originally slated for the female 20-29 year old demographics...


honda (the company) does not cater to import enthusiasts. that is why we "fix up" the cars they make. Honda and dealerships alike TRY to capitalize on the import craze by offering over-priced, shitty "performance" parts like intakes, body kits, and exhausts. any real person in the know realizes that those things are a joke without serious modifications to the car.

and I think dealerships as well are also trying to capitalize on this idea, but it will just not work. i mean if you can fool a few hundred people into thinking that the "performance" mods you guys sell actually make the car "fast" more power to ya.

but this is just a dead-end idea that will go nowhere for the dealerships. unless you offer a pre-swapped civic or pre-boosted civic done by your technicians.....

maybe the "powers that be" at your dealership should turn their attention away from the "rice boy fast and furious go civic speed racer performance fast-car" genre and cater to the people who buy civics the most. People looking for reliable, economical transportation.

and that would relegate your dealership to work on it's pricing and salemanship policies to make it the number one dealership around.

also, why dont you guys advertise on sat. morning t.v. ? all the mexican stations are doing it....30 min. infomercial with a salesperson showing off 20 or so cars you guys presently got for sale.
 
Originally posted by mattcalica@Feb 12 2004, 02:09 PM
see, you are asking the wrong people for advice on how to sell cars. Us "racer" or "tuners" are a minority as far as consumers go. Honda's main buyers are not us, but rather parents and grandparents who want a safe reliable car, with great gas mileage. Honda is catering towards these people, and as far as Honda's nasty ass styling goes, thats what sells in japan. in order to serve one industry (japan) they must let the other industry suffer with its same styling design(america). We as import car enthusiast are not one of their target markets.

i completely understand that, thats why i am trying my best to "re-aim" the intended market. even if it is only at one dealership... maybe we can grab the attention of honda or other dealerships, and make our voices heard.
 
Originally posted by JOHNNYLIGHTFOOT@Feb 12 2004, 05:15 PM


what i origionally wanted to find out is what accessories, either factory of aftermarket, could we put on these cars to make them more appealing to younger buyers.

superhonda.com

also, try going to a few highschool functions to advertise or do the market research there. those kids got mommy and daddy to buy them a new car when they are 16, and they could probably be fooled the most into thinking the "aftermarket" parts installed on the car actually make it go fast.


there is nothing outside of a motor swap or forced induction that will make a civic from the dealership go fast. ( FORGET about the dealership doing their own headwork for a n/a car )
 
maybe the "powers that be" at your dealership should turn their attention away from the "rice boy fast and furious go civic speed racer performance fast-car" genre and cater to the people who buy civics the most. People looking for reliable, economical transportation.

[/quote]
believe me, we sell the shit out of our cars. And i'm not trying to nessicarily boost new car sales. but the sale of the parts and accessories. that is my department. but we need to have a way to show off the product that we sale... that is where the new cars come in. they are more like a moving display. if somebody comes in and sees the stuff already on a car, but doesnt want that exact car, he can work the stuff that he does want into the deal.

I'm hoping that this isnt a lost cause...
 
you could do what manchester honda does

open up a REAL aftermarket performance shop right there in your dealership
offer REAL performance upgrades from GOOD brands, and offer instalation right there on the spot
for cars under waranty, honor the waranty as long as the parts are put on by your place
(up to a point... i dont blame any shop that doesnt want to waranty a car with a big ass turbo and nitrous setup on it)
but if someone wants suspension work done or all the basic bolt-ons and the work is done by your techs i dont see why the waranty should be void

lots of other car brands do this, or something like it already

subaru - will do just about any STI (the brand not the car model) performance upgrade you can dream of... and they still give you your waranty
toyota - same thing... any TRD mod you want, as long as they put it on... youre covered
 
Originally posted by JOHNNYLIGHTFOOT@Feb 12 2004, 05:26 PM

believe me, we sell the shit out of our cars.

somehow i dont doubt that...


offer me a pre-swapped civic or pre-boosted civic and ill fly to wherever you are located and purchase the car on the spot. :D

other than that, maybe print up some flyers or something that proclaims how incredibly fast the 2500.00 intake, wing, exhaust package makes the car....
 
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