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You are correct, that is one of the things that will be covered in the book. Do not get trapped into this routine where the salesman has to go get approval from the sales manager...simply tell him that if he cannot make the deal, bring back somebody who can...and start walking towards the door. You will never make it to the door before the sales manager shows up.

 

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LMFAO!&nbsp\\; The second dealer that I walked out of mid-conversation, after hearing that, called me back begging.&nbsp\\;

 

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And I love to get salesmen like you.&nbsp\\;A skilled negotiator never asks "what's you bottom dollar?" because he already know what it is when he walked in the door. In fact, "most" salesman are not even&nbsp\\; fully aware of various dealer incentives, hold-back charges, and other transactions where the dealer makes profit off a car or bike. For about $30 I can find out exactly how much the dealership paid MOCO for the bike, and how much of that will be coming back to the dealership at the end of the year..aka..hold-back charge. While you can never negotiate into that money, once you let them know you are aware of it and how much profit they are making on the bike they will "normally" back off this MSRP only crap. The secret to negotiating is knowing your position as well if not better than the person you are dealing with, not just acting like it.
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If a dealership sticks to the MSRP then fine, the one down the road will go below it. In the end, making a little less profit is always better than making none. Granted if you have no problem selling every bike you can get your hands on is the case then you can refuse to make any deals, but those days lasted just a few years and they are certainly over now.
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Never any leftovers? The dealership near my house still has specials on '07s and are offering up to $2k gift cards if you buy an '08. In fact, most dealers in the area have similar promotions going on. I'll bet you a buck that the '09s will be suddenly delayed this year...I asked today and its already been moved to August here. Why do you think they are cutting production next year....they can't sell the bikes they have now.
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And cars or trucks are even easier to make deals. My most recent purchase was a new Silverado pickup and I paid $370 over what the dealer paid GM for the truck plus I got extended warranty for $1. It took me literally 10 minutes to make the deal. My first offer was $200 over and they came back with $370, which is about what I expected them to counter with. Now I know most salesman will probably laugh at my offer and say that was a ridiculus price, but before I made it I let him watch me start with the real dealer invoice base price for that truck and add the real add-on price for every feature and come up with what the truck really cost them. Then I let him see me writing down my numbers showing I knew about all the incentives and hold-back charges. I even gave him the amount of profit I knew they were making on the deal.&nbsp\\;GM has a standard 3% hold-back charge which for this truck was $1050. This is money that GM gives back to the dealer at the end of the year and its what actually pays for the dealer overhead. Everything above that is just extra profit for the dealer...not what you depend on for your salary, to pay the light bill, etc. In the end they made $1420 profit in 10 minutes. They then asked about a trade-in and I told them I was selling what I was driving to a friend (which I wasn't but I fibbed a little) and they asked if they could make me an offer, which I said sure but I wasn't selling it for less than he has said he would buy it for. The price I gave them was standard blue-book wholesale for the vehicle. After turning down two offers that were less from them, they offered what I wanted...it was a fair price for the truck and both of us knew it. Then they wanted to know about financing and I said I was going through my bank, which I had already arranged before I went in. They asked if they could compete against the bank's deal and again I let them. When I told them of my current deal, they didn\\;t think they could...but [cough] surprisingly enough they found a credit union 200 miles away that would finance it at a lower interest rate.

 

I would like to add that I am not special or gifted, no financial wizard, and not professionally trained in the art of negotiation. I was\\; however, fed up with getting routinely screwed by car and bike dealers. It's all a very well devised scheme dealers have to sell their products, and the goal is to get every dollar out of you they can. I don't harbor ill will against them for it, that is their job. I just decided I had enough of the whole process they play on me and did somethign about it. It was easier than I ever expected too.
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Every one here can learn the methods and skills I use as easily as I have have. Like I suggested earlier, just go to your local bookstore and buy a book on negotiating, specifically for vehicles. I have read a few of them now, but they are all basically the same and describe in detail the exact process you should use. It is actually quite simple...the books will tell you what to do, when to do it and when to keep your mouth shut. My wife even knows not to open her mouth during the process....only damn time I can keep her quiet too.&nbsp\\;You will also learn about all the tricks and traps the dealers have waiting for you and how to avoid them. Do the methods always work? No. But you now can realize it and know to move on to the next dealer and try again.
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If everyone learned how to negotiate the right way and wouldn't purchase cars and bikes for these inflated prices, image how those sticker prices would fall. It would only take a few months for it to happen too. They must sell, you don't have to buy.

 

This has turned into a very good thread but I think the OP is a spammer? 1st post and it appears to me that there is a broken link at the end of it? Supposed to send us to his web site? ??

 

When I bought my Harley a little over 2 years ago there was no negotiating anywhere.&nbsp\\; I went to a bunch of dealers and they basically told you what the price was any you had to pay it or not get the bike. No one was interested in negotiating at all as they were selling the bikes as soon as they came in.&nbsp\\; I am sure that has changed with all the bike at the dealerships.
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I bought my Ducati over the phone.&nbsp\\; I called a bunch of dealerships within a 200 mile radius and talked about what kind of deal I could get.&nbsp\\; Then I called my local dealer and told him what the best offer I got so far and he beat it.&nbsp\\; He said they didn't have the color I wanted in stock but they would order it for me.&nbsp\\; Didn't even step into the dealership until I handed over my check and they handed over the keys.&nbsp\\;
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If you only go to one dealership you will never know if you got a good deal or not.&nbsp\\; I actually saved 5000 dollars when I bought a Toyota 4 Runner. Between the trade in value and the price of the new car.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\; When I saved I am stating what one dealer wanted to offer me and what another gave me.&nbsp\\; I like negoiating when buying a vehicle...you just have to realize some salesmen are ******** and just walk out on them.&nbsp\\; I was looking to trade in my Infiniti FX 45 at one dealership, I could hear the person on the phone talking to the salesman about how much they would give me for my trade in. Person on the phone said 28500 dollars.Salesmen didn't know I could hear it.&nbsp\\; He said "All we can give you is 26000 on your trade-in."&nbsp\\; I told him to go f*** self and give me my keys.&nbsp\\; People like that there is no use even dealing with.

 

 

You guys do realize there are a couple of trolls on this thread that are just trying to get you going.....don't you??????? With a little bit of spam thrown in

 

bluedyna..what dealership do you work at? We need to get the word out to stay away from that dealership.

 

Looks Like I won't be buying a new HD anytime soon in Birmingham, Ala !!

In NorthEast WI there is seven HD dealers within 125 miles........the ones that don't negotiate/deal in good faith aren't doing too well.