Hello.  I am looking to purchase a 696 in the next couple of months.  I have had an opportunity to visit both Barnett's Ducati and Matison Ducati.  Both dealerships quoted me a price within $100 dollars of each other.

The price difference is neglible so I would like to hear the good and bad elements of each dealership.  I am interested in hearing about your experiences with after sales services such as service and parts/accessory purchases.

Thank you for your help.

You can find a few threads on here that discuss dealers.  Here's one: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1961.0

I'll look for the other one, but it might be on the old board.

Yeah, that's the only thread on this board (the DMF is new, but has most of the active members of an older, now essentially defunct, board).

Barnett's, while not optimal, is better than Matison's in my opinion.  I've bought two bikes from Barnett's, and I like their techs.  Parts and service at Matison's are not as good as Barnett's. 

Matison is also know for picking up a marque and then dropping/loosing it.  For example, they had Moto Guzzi for about 2 years, but dropped them. I believe that they also recently dropped Aprilia and MV Agusta (the latter was bought by Harley Davidson).

Best of luck with the 696, and make sure to check in when you receive the bike -- there's a decent network in the RTP area.   [moto]

Dave

You should also give Myers in Asheville, and Ducati Charlotte a call.  Depending on what they have on the floor, you may be able to snag one cheaper for a short trip. I think everyone for the most part has had good experiences with them also.

I was beginning to like Matison's somewhat but the sales manager, Chris is a friend of mine and he quit last week.

Thank you for the quick replies.  I'll check the other dealers especially Myers. 

I went to school in Asheville and I did not realize that they had a dealership.  I might have to take a road trip some time soon.

Quote from: gsr2is300 on October 20, 2008, 09:57:00 AM
Thank you for the quick replies.  I'll check the other dealers especially Myers. 

I went to school in Asheville and I did not realize that they had a dealership.  I might have to take a road trip some time soon.

The Charlotte dealership didn't have any 696's when I was there Saturday but they might get some in soon if you feel like stopping in on your way to Asheville.

Several key people have left the Charlotte dealership so I can't tell you much about their current team. They've been good in the past.

Stopped by the new Duc dealer in Greensboro last weekend (Carolina Euro). Nice new Ducati wing with more inventory than I expected. Had a white 696 on the floor. Felt more compact than the old style. Talked to the sales guy there and seemed cool but no experience with sales or service there. Quick trip from the Triangle which is nice. Hopefully service is competent. I echo the Barnetts>>>>Matison sentiments.

Who left the Charlotte dealership?

Quote from: Terrapin on October 20, 2008, 11:41:26 AM
Who left the Charlotte dealership?

PM coming.

I'll go along with everyone else on Barnett's above Matison's. I passed both and purchased my S2R1k from Myers in Asheville. A friend on mine and I drove out there to test drive it. There was a mechanical problem and I wasn't able to take the bike with me. They offered to deliver it once it was fixed. That's customer service.

Ken

Chris Lynds left Matison?  That sucks, and it's really surprising.  I just spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and he seemed like he'd be there forever, and told me he was even selling his house to move closer.

Back on topic, I've bought 2 bikes from Barnett's and 1 from Matison.  The purchase experience for both has been good for me, but there service department at Matison's is run very poorly.  Barnett's used to have a bunch of young, wet-behind-the-ears techs and I used to worry about service there, but now both of their main techs are good.  William, in particular, is a wizard.  The new guy they hired out of California a few months back seems pretty sharp too.  The beauty of Barnett's service is that you can call them and usually get it in the next day.  I just called about a scheduled service on my S4RS last Friday evening about 5:30pm and they told me to be there at 11am Saturday morning.  The bike was done shortly after noon and done well.  That's a far cry from Matison's "well, drop it off and we'll try to squeeze it in sometime in the next week or so" approach.

All in all, the only reason I ever really went to Matison's was Chris, or if I needed something that Barnett's didn't have in stock (like the tank protector I bought a few weeks ago).  If Chris is gone I'll stick with Barnett's, especially for service. And it's a lot closer to my house and work.

I bought both mine from Barnett's and have pretty much the same opinion as everyone else so far. They've been in business forever and William is probably the best Ducati Tech in the area. They don't ever have a huge inventory of bikes, and they don't seem to ever be too far below list though on new bikes. On the good side, they get parts in much faster than Matison's and I generaly feel a lot more appreciated when I'm in Barnett's.

Quote from: ntnunk on October 20, 2008, 05:12:54 PM
Chris Lynds left Matison?  That sucks, and it's really surprising.  I just spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and he seemed like he'd be there forever, and told me he was even selling his house to move closer.


All in all, the only reason I ever really went to Matison's was Chris, or if I needed something that Barnett's didn't have in stock (like the tank protector I bought a few weeks ago).  If Chris is gone I'll stick with Barnett's, especially for service. And it's a lot closer to my house and work.

That's the word. Sucks. Chris is a real good guy. You ever ride with him? I think I'm doing pretty damn good if I can keep his ass in sight.

Quote from: Blackout on October 20, 2008, 06:58:43 PM
That's the word. Sucks. Chris is a real good guy. You ever ride with him? I think I'm doing pretty damn good if I can keep his ass in sight.

No, I never rode with him but I heard he was pretty fast.  I know he's a NESBA control rider and a club racer.  Anybody know where he went?