BUFFALO, NY — During the Christmas weekend blizzard, police departments and first responders called for snowmobile clubs' help to rescue people stranded in their homes, and some ATV dealers have experienced some hardships.
"It breaks my heart to tell customers that we cannot supply them with snowmobiles; companies don't produce snowmobiles around the clock like they do cars," said Jim Appolson, owner of Appolson's Performance Center in Hamburg.
Appolson said that dealers usually preorder the winter vehicles between March and April, he ordered 40 and only received 20 snowmobiles, while the other half are still yet to be shipped.
Despite having calls from customers asking to buy one after the Christmas Blizzard, Appolson was sold out of snowmobiles.
Meanwhile, in Niagara County, Bob Weaver Motorsports and Marine have plenty of winter recreation vehicles with 15 snowmobiles on the floor and more on the way.
"We had calls from all over the country looking for snowmobiles, and there is a shortage. There is no doubt about it," said Weaver.
Weaver says during the height of the storm, he got calls for generators and sold out of his stock, but after the storm, more calls came in for snowmobiles. "We didn't get a lot of calls for snowmobiles until after the storm, and then people wanted to get out and ride," said Weaver.
Before you decide to buy a snowmobile, keep in mind the size of the dealer you buy the vehicle from, as many are experiencing low stock, plus the average cost of a new snowmobile can start at 10,000 dollars.