I was browsing the 2017s this weekend (no, not in the market; just looking) and I was surprised to see that there was several thousand dollars of dealer markups right on the freaking pricetags. Like this: (numbers approximate)

MSRP $ 18,000

Markup 3,000

Tax XXX

Total XXXXX

I had not seen this since the boom years of the 1980s when cars were in such demand that car dealers could get away with doing this.

If I were in the market I would refuse to pay more than MSRP + accessories, and when I bought my 2015 Fat Boy I did better than this. Is this common?

 

I have not seen it at the two dealerships I looked at 2017s in

 

I don't care how hot the market gets. I would never pay MSRP, let alone a markup.

 

No mark up here but $1500 Freight and set up plus $300 sales tax

 

Whether it's on there or not, they're in business to make money, one way or another.

 

What your witnessing is the working of a free and open market. On the short-term, there will be plenty (at least the dealers are hoping so) of early adopters who are willing to pay the mark up so they can own a M8 right away.

The market will dictate when there is no more dealer-markup and dealers will begin to list the bike at MSRP and possibly even open to negotiate.

With that said, little risky taking on a new tech from any manufacturer....not really from a design aspect, but the manufacturing process probably still undergoing some tweaks. I am really looking forward in testing riding one in the future. Too many good news about it to ignore....unlike the Rushmore update.

 

I wonder if that dealer can get financing for his inflated OTD price. If so, that would help explain it.

 

No law against charging whatever the market will bear, that dealer will have to live with their decision. Easy enough to "discount" it if bikes are moving slower than the dealer expects.
There sure seem to be a lot of dealers that inflate their setup and freight charges, etc....without issues, this is just one more way to try and maximize their revenue. Not any different than trying to charge a $1500 setup fee, etc...
I suspect that any creditworty individual would be able to finance the purchase price- some lenders might require a down payment. HD finance, for one, seems to be pretty liberal in what they lend, based on comments posted elsewhere on this forum.

If they can't finance the bikes at their selling price, they'll also have to deal with the consequences of that decision.

 

That's a good deal !! Baton Rouge HD charges $999 freight and $1499 setup.

 

The dealers in my area are saying that the inflated prices are because HD has cut production.

I wont be buying anything for awhile, but, if dealers keep up the nonsensical
pricing I'm sure HD will cut production again.