Firstly today, a quick reminder that it's the final, final opportunity to get your entries in for the Dealer Of The Year competition. 

Nominations must close this coming Monday October 30th by midnight. So if you've been considering throwing your hat in the ring, or were wanting to put forward a member of your team - or manufacturers, a dealership in your network - now is the time to do it.

Also, another reminder today that two of our speakers at the upcoming Service Dealer Conference are looking for feedback from our dealer readers to help shape their presentation regarding sustainability and the dealership acting as a force for good. There are just a couple of brief questions that they would like your expert opinions on please. All comments received will help Sophie and Camilla mould their workshop to accurately address real concerns and questions that our dealer delegates might have regarding their timely topic. So do please offer them your input.

Should you stay, or should you go?

Moving on, I have heard from two different dealers this week regarding similar choices they are facing, but with two different supplying manufacturers. Each dealer is addressing the conundrum of whether to stay with the brand or to leave. Both have compelling reasons for an unease with sticking with the status quo.

Firstly, Peter Massey, of Masseys in Woodville, Derbyshire, contacted us regarding Honda, saying, "After two years of constant issues with Honda not paying warranty claims, we have told them today that it is unlikely that we go forward with them next year. I know of another dealer who has done the same and one more on the cusp. Is it the start of an epidemic?"

You can read the short statement that we received back from Honda when we put Peter's concerns to them, here. 

Next up, Nigel Barnes, of Moggs Of Wells in Shepton Mallett, contacted with concerns about the news that AriensCo is ceasing production of machinery in the UK. Nigel explained his predicament saying, "Dealers are being asked for winter stock orders knowing these will be the last of the current models, unless the bosses in the US decide to produce mooted new Mk5 tractors (which would be branded Ariens), though there is nothing definite on that front.

"So the worrying question is: do we invest in stock of the current models, or not? They might prove to be sought after because of the increasing scarcity, or they might be lame ducks customers shy away from because they’re not on-going (and quite expensive if we’re honest). I hear stories from the dealer network of sluggish sales brought on by poor reliability reports, and some dealers having a bit too much stock already which tends to lead to distress selling, instantly devaluing any stock we might hold."

Nigel continued, likening the AriensCo situation to another iconic British made product, the Land Rover Defender. Nigel said of the Defender, "The classic vehicles were knocked on the head so to speak, and replaced by brand new models, a quantum leap away in terms of specification and even more so in terms of pricing. Are people buying these new models in reasonable numbers? There are some terrible stories of unreliability, yet I do see them on the road.

"When all is said and done, mowers are mostly regarded as distress machines not gaining any respect or prestige like motor cars. You can tell this from the fact that owners almost never clean their mowers, but probably clean their cars every week.

"With the asking prices of the upper end of the garden tractor market ranging from £5k up to £10k it’s a lot to gamble should one take on run-out stock (very soon to be seen by some as obsolete)."

Nigel boiled the choice he is facing down to, "Jump in, or jump out? That is the question: and if it’s jump in, how deep?"

I'd like to thank both Peter and Nigel for getting in touch and for allowing us to quote them directly and publicly. 

It would be interesting today, to hear any other dealer readers' thoughts on these issues. Have you faced similar choices in your dealership, and if so how did you react?

The dealer and supplier relationship is of course one that is constantly shifting, with the map of who sells who forever being redrawn. Dealers sack manufacturers and manufacturers sack dealers. That has always been the case. But these two issues highlighted by our dealer readers are quite specific concerns, that I suspect many others could be having serious thoughts regarding.

So if you would like to contribute to the debate, please do leave any opinions you have in the comments below. Or if you'd prefer not to share in a public forum, feel free to drop a me line.

Thanks for your help.