Topic: Canadian Subaru Dealers - Pound Sand

[pickles]

Ugh I wish Canadian Subaru Dealers would just pound sand and stop complaining about all the US dealers that offer a Canadian section on their websites.  I know of several US Subaru dealers that took down their Canadian section due to many complaints from the Canadian dealers.

Instead of the Canadian Subaru Dealers being a bully asking US dealers to take down the Canadian section of their webiste, they should be bullying the Subaru of Canada HQ for better pricing.

[safristi]

How much is a POUNDO Subie Sand  North of the FARTY?

[2latecrew]

Ugh I wish Canadian Subaru Dealers would just pound sand and stop complaining about all the US dealers that offer a Canadian section on their websites.  I know of several US Subaru dealers that took down their Canadian section due to many complaints from the Canadian dealers.

Instead of the Canadian Subaru Dealers being a bully asking US dealers to take down the Canadian section of their webiste, they should be bullying the Subaru of Canada HQ for better pricing.

Why do people keep accusing the Canadian DEALERS of being a bully?

Dealers do not set the price THEY pay for cars. SOC does. I'm sure Canadian dealers would LOVE to get cars at the same price the US does and then be able to sell them at a much lower MSRP and make the same or greater profit (it would help their volumes). But they cannot. US dealers have been pressurered by Subaru of Amewrica who was likley pressured by Subaru corporate. Canadian dealers complained to SOC about the unfair pricing and lost sales. SOC goes to Subaru corporate. Subaru corporate says no way we are gving up the Canada cash cow. But Subaru Coprporate doesn't own SOA in the same way so they ask them to curtail their US dealers as best they can as a good corporate partner. SOA doesn't have anything in their contract to explicitly prvent dealers from selling for export so they "discourage them" by limiting incentives etc.

Targeting Canadian DEALERS as bullys is just plain wrong. The bully is Subaru corporate who's using Canada as a cash cow simply beause they can.

[The Mighty Duck]

You quoted the post, but didn't respond to what was being said at all...

I know of several US Subaru dealers that took down their Canadian section due to many complaints from the Canadian dealers.

Instead of the Canadian Subaru Dealers being a bully asking US dealers to take down the Canadian section of their webiste, they should be bullying the Subaru of Canada HQ for better pricing.

[Cord]

You quoted the post, but didn't respond to what was being said at all...

I know of several US Subaru dealers that took down their Canadian section due to many complaints from the Canadian dealers.

Instead of the Canadian Subaru Dealers being a bully asking US dealers to take down the Canadian section of their webiste, they should be bullying the Subaru of Canada HQ for better pricing.

Probably because what was in the post sounds like pure speculation. For example, how about naming some of these "several" dealers or providing some evidence that it is due to Canadian dealers complaining. Even just a "I spoke to the owner of a US Subaru dealer ..." would do.

[mpsrent]

Dealers do have some influence on their manufacturer. I'm not picking on Subaru dealers but on the weekend I saw a friend who manages a Subaru dealer. We discussed the difference in costs between the two countries and he was of the "oh whatever" position. I suppose that if dealers of any brand got together and sent a strong message, the manufacturer would need to respond.

I'm not suggesting that Canadians should be cars, TV's or any other product at the same price as the U.S. I suppose our vast size, our small population, our dual language and other issues will always result in a slightly higher cost. Key word "slightly". I would suggest that most Canadians would accept paying a slightly higher cost e.g. $30,000 for a $28,000 U.S. vehicle. The problem is that the market is asking us to pay $38,000 CDN or more for the same vehicle. Hard sell.

[2latecrew]

You quoted the post, but didn't respond to what was being said at all...

I know of several US Subaru dealers that took down their Canadian section due to many complaints from the Canadian dealers.

Instead of the Canadian Subaru Dealers being a bully asking US dealers to take down the Canadian section of their webiste, they should be bullying the Subaru of Canada HQ for better pricing.

You can't be a "bully" if the other person has absolutley no fear of anything you do. If a canadian dealer tells the US dealer to take down his website and he doesn't what's the threat? Canadian dealrs have nothing they can do directly to a US dealer. All they can do is complain to SOC. SOC is atiny compared to SOA and can't do anything directly to bully them either.

[pickles]

van bortel subaru is one dealer that took down their canadian section of the website due to Canadian Dealer complaints.  More websites can be listed.

[2latecrew]

van bortel subaru is one dealer that took down their canadian section of the website due to Canadian Dealer complaints.  More websites can be listed.

How do we know it was due to Canadian dealers complaining to US dealers and not from some "suggestion" from Subaru HQ to SOA which eventually found its way to the dealers in the form of the letters we've seen posted on the internet.

How do we know Canadian dealers complained "Those guys offering to sell to Canadians on their website is hurting my business? They never complained before..oh yeah that's right its the fact that US dealers pay far less for their cars and can sell at a far lower MSRP that arracts Canadian buysers not websites saying we sell to Canada. If the prices were the same Canada deaers would not complain about US websites would they?

Its this whole bully angle that is so stupid.  Put the balame where it belongs.

[sailor723]

I have to disagree with you on this one Pickles. If there is a bad guy here I'd say it was SOC (and thier parent Fuji) and not the dealer network. I my experiance car companies are pretty indifferent to whether their dealers are happy or are complaining. They just want to move product.

[JBrill]

Didn't Toronto Subaru dealers cry bloody murder when Van Bortel advertised in the Toronto Star?  You think they didn't threaten Van Bortel in any way, shape, or form?

[Cord]

Didn't Toronto Subaru dealers cry bloody murder when Van Bortel advertised in the Toronto Star?  You think they didn't threaten Van Bortel in any way, shape, or form?

Well, of course they did. The question though, is what leverage would they have?

[2latecrew]

Didn't Toronto Subaru dealers cry bloody murder when Van Bortel advertised in the Toronto Star?  You think they didn't threaten Van Bortel in any way, shape, or form?

What threat did they make? Stop advertising opr we'll what? Tell me one thing that Toronto dealers could DO to VanBortel directly?

[Craig]

"Stop!  Or we'll say 'stop' again!"

[JohnSocal]

Ugh I wish Canadian Subaru Dealers would just pound sand and stop complaining about all the US dealers that offer a Canadian section on their websites.  I know of several US Subaru dealers that took down their Canadian section due to many complaints from the Canadian dealers.

Instead of the Canadian Subaru Dealers being a bully asking US dealers to take down the Canadian section of their webiste, they should be bullying the Subaru of Canada HQ for better pricing.

This doesn't sound logical to me. Why should the US dealers care what the Canadian dealers want? The typical US dealer moves a lot more volume than the Canadian dealers. They are only interested in their own sales and not concerned about the Canadian dealers complaints.

[jcon]

This doesn't sound logical to me. Why should the US dealers care what the Canadian dealers want? The typical US dealer moves a lot more volume than the Canadian dealers. They are only interested in their own sales and not concerned about the Canadian dealers complaints.

In SoCal maybe... but Subaru agents near the border having been doing brisk business from Canadians. They care.

[sailor723]

This doesn't sound logical to me. Why should the US dealers care what the Canadian dealers want? The typical US dealer moves a lot more volume than the Canadian dealers. They are only interested in their own sales and not concerned about the Canadian dealers complaints.

In SoCal maybe... but Subaru agents near the border having been doing brisk business from Canadians. They care.

  

They care about selling to Canadians maybe....I can't see them caring what Sub dealers in Canada think

[jcon]

This doesn't sound logical to me. Why should the US dealers care what the Canadian dealers want? The typical US dealer moves a lot more volume than the Canadian dealers. They are only interested in their own sales and not concerned about the Canadian dealers complaints.

In SoCal maybe... but Subaru agents near the border having been doing brisk business from Canadians. They care.

  

They care about selling to Canadians maybe....I can't see them caring what Sub dealers in Canada think

If they didn't care, why did they stop the ads? SOC couldn't do anything to SOA, legally.

[avtoller]

If they didn't care, why did they stop the ads? SOC couldn't do anything to SOA, legally.

Honour among thieves? 

[jcon]

If they didn't care, why did they stop the ads? SOC couldn't do anything to SOA, legally.

Honour among thieves? 

I think you hit the nail on the head.