What to consider when purchasing a new sled

I don’t want this to sound like an ad for Spicer's Boat City but I do want you to give you my perspective on what to consider when buying a sled. Just to give you some back ground I was a customer for 8 years before I started working at Spicers. I was the service director for a high end European Automotive dealership. Customer service was the number 1 priority. We keep hearing the word “Bad economy” I like to choose the word “soft economy” people are still buying sleds, buying accessories and having repairs performed. You can ask anybody in the business and you will get the same answer “it could always be better” I have bought 6 new sleds in the last 8 years so I can speak from experience.

The three things that came to mind for me when I bought a new sled was 1. Selection/Brand 2. Can I get it the same day 3. Convience of Getting it serviced. Believe it or not Price was not in the equation until I found out these three things. Could I have bought it cheaper somewhere else, Sure if I call several places and maybe go on the Internet and play match the price game? I have to think to myself and say what is my time worth. Another question, would I get great service and all the amenities that come along after the sale? This is a very serious question that I want you to ask yourself. I lived down state but always rode up north. I could ride my sled for the weekend and drop it off on the way home. In most cases it would be ready to ride by the next weekend. That was convenient. Spicer's Boat City has been in business and family owned for almost 50 years. I am not saying we are perfect because we learn something ever day but what I can say is that we take care of our customers. Our staff will go the extra mile to get something covered from a manufacturer that maybe out of warranty and in a lot of cases it gets taken care of. That’s an advantage of being in business for 50 years and having the Spicer's Boat City name.

We see an alarming amount of sleds that come in for service that have set up issues. I am not going to bad mouth any other dealers, but when you buy something for less money something takes a hit I.E prepping quality, set up etc…

I know people work hard for their money and spend a lot on a new toy but do not make price your only reason to purchase. My saying has always been “it’s never a problem until its problem” I want to share a true story with you, this Just happened over the weekend. A good friend of mine who purchased a sled somewhere else and bragged about how much money he saved called me at 11:00 at night wanting me to repair his new sled because it keeps breaking belts. He bought two new belts at $150.00 each and only has 100 miles on it. Reluctantly I agreed to have him meet me at the shop when we opened. (Sunday of Course) Upon inspection, we found the belt deflection was way too tight. We also found the track was never adjusted and out of alignment. This was a set up issue that should have been taken care of at the time of purchase. Now He is out another $100.00 for us to set it up properly and another $150.00 for a spare belt. He is out a total of over $500.00. The Moral of the story is, did he really save any money? And what was his time worth having to trailer it back. This is only my perspective and I felt compelled to share it with you. All in all we as snowmobilers are a close nit bunch and share an incredible passion. I hope you enjoy our trail reports and blogs.

Thank you

Bobby R Nicholson