Finding a snowmobile to ride this winter might be challenging, especially if you wait until fall.
“We’ve had a few delays, and then last year we did have a couple of machines come in that were definitely late in the season,” said Shaw Stanley, Consultant at Spicer’s Boat City. “We’re hoping not to have that again, but we still don’t really know at this point.”
Spicer’s Boat City sells a wide range of sleds and says before the pandemic having enough supply to meet the demand wasn’t an issue.
“We were definitely allocated more at that time and had a little bit more flexibility with what we ordered and were able to keep in stock,” explained Stanley. “Now it’s basically the manufacturers tell us what we can order and how many we can order. And we have to kind of go by what they say.”
The power sports dealer says computer chips are the main reason for supply chain issues.
Another contributing factor Bombardier Racing Products the maker of Ski-Doo, getting hit by a cyberattack at the beginning of August, means dealers have limited access to their orders.
“I think it’s fair to say that we’ll probably have longer delays because of that,” said Stanley.
Expected longer delays from Ski-Doo are impacting buyers’ decisions.
“It made my choice easy. I didn’t really have to decide between Ski-Doo or Polaris. It was kind of all right. I guess I’m going with the Polaris make,” said Jaret Koin.
Dealers say their best advice is to start looking now.
“I just suggest transparency, ask all the right questions, make sure you know what you’re getting into, and make sure you know what you want,” said Chris Gage, Sales Consultant at Spicer’s Boat City.
Spicer’s Boat City in Houghton Lake does have some snowmobiles in stock and is expected to get more as winter approaches.
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