Making (biker) dreams happen
With Hollister’s open back roads, its off-road recreational
facilities and its popular motorcycle rally, a dealership
specializing in motor sports seems like a natural fit.
Making (biker) dreams happen
With Hollister’s open back roads, its off-road recreational facilities and its popular motorcycle rally, a dealership specializing in motor sports seems like a natural fit.
Except it wasn’t – at first.
Today, Hollister Honda is the largest all-Honda powerhouse dealership west of the Rockies; it is a certified Level 5 dealer, Honda’s highest rating, meaning it has to maintain a specific level of product and service at all times.
But when Fred Gotelli, the dealership’s general manager, initially sought to open a dealership featuring a variety of motorcycles as well as a repair shop a few years ago, of all the major motorcycle dealers, only Kawasaki was interested. Gotelli opened Hollister Motorsports, and had run the shop for a little more than a year when Honda came knocking.
“A while after opening the first store, Honda came to us and said ‘if you will commit to a Level 5 store, we’re interested.’ And I was,” Gotelli said. “But it’s a big commitment, on both sides. It’s a production.”
Hollister Honda is the place to make outdoor adventures a reality. The 22,000-square-foot showroom features all kinds of vehicles – sport, touring, cruiser, quads, all terrain, scooters, watercrafts, and Zieman Trailers – as well as hundreds of accessories, such as helmets, Fox riding apparel and parts. The dealership stocks all Honda power equipment products, including marine equipment, lawn mowers, tillers, trimmers, generators and water pumps.
“We are virtually guaranteed to have something in stock,” Gotelli said. “Because we are a Level 5, we have an inventory requirement we must meet, but in turn, we are supported by Honda, so we tend to get new models first.”
Gotelli said Hollister Honda’s huge inventory makes it easier for customers to see first-hand what the manufacturer has to offer.
“Our tag line is ‘Hollister has it.’ We have everything in stock and if not, we can get it quickly,” he said. “At most other dealerships, they’ll have just one vehicle in stock or they have to order it. Here, we’ll have it. You can see it, sit on it, get a feel for it, see all the different colors and styles.”
Hollister Honda also has a full-service repair shop, staffed only with Honda certified technicians. The shop has a Dyno, a machine which measures an engine’s horsepower and torque, which customers can use themselves for a fee.
The showroom is built to Level 5 specifications, meaning everything from the inventory to the lighting must be approved by Honda, Gotelli said.
“The facility has to represent Honda nicely, and everything has to be laid out to look a certain way,” he said. “For example, all Powerhouses have what is called the ‘Ring of Fire,’ which is the sales podium in the center of the store. If Nordstrom was going to build a store here, that’s what this dealership is.”
Some of the dealership’s fastest-moving items right now are the small, one-person scooters which many people are using as a commuter vehicle, Gotelli said. Hollister Honda sells several models ranging in displacement from 50-650 cc and in price from $1,995 to around $8,000. Local resident Albert Doyle won a new Honda Elite 80 scooter in a free drawing held during the dealership’s spring open house in April.
“He was the perfect customer to win, since he was a local businessman and just the nicest guy, a family man,” Gotelli said. “We get a lot of support from the locals, which is great. And the scooters are great. They get excellent gas mileage and are perfect to use around town. You’re starting to see them all over.”
Gotelli, a former car salesman, was working at Greenwood Chevrolet several years ago when he noticed customers would inquire about a motorcycle repair shop. Greenwood started a small one in the back of their dealership in 2000, and it quickly became a hit with local bikers. It was the success of that repair shop which prompted Gotelli to first open the Kawasaki-based Hollister Motorsports, which he sold to start Hollister Honda.
“Honda has a very good reputation for reliability. I was selling cars for a long time before this, and you can’t always say that,” he said. “I have never had a customer walk up and say ‘so, how’s Honda’s reliability?’ Sometimes they are a little slower than the other dealers to get things on the market, but when they do, they get it right.”
Hollister Honda is located at 411 San Felipe Road and is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 630-5200 or go to www.hollisterhonda.com.
