Last year, I was thinking about purchasing a Road King from the Harley Dealer on Harlem Ave in Berwyn. I had the type of bike down to 2 players. The RK and the Goldwing.
Only 2 customers in there, and 5 or 6 salesmen walkin' round, chatting amongst themselves. Having ridden a 1980 Honda CB 750C since I bought it in 1981, I thought I'd go for it. 25 years on one bike and I'll do something nice for myself....RIGHT ?

WRONG !!!

No one came around to answer any questions, and when I approached them, they gave me the impression that I was INTERFERING with their jovial antics with their buddies. Mind you, this is JANUARY and into Feb. of 2005. Asking 'how much' elicited comments like, "you probably don't wanna know", and, "if ya gotta ask, you shouldn't be looking at it maybe". Now, I'm thinking...."assinine comments like that are really gonna win me over as a customer Billy Bob." I dress down on most occasions, expecially in the winter, (warm factor).
When, after almost ONE HOUR of looking around, someone finally DID come and answer a question and told me the MSRP was $XX,XXX.00 dollars. I asked him what type of discount is he offering, and he laughed out loud. He said Harleys Sell themselves, and maybe I should look into some JAP bike for discounts. I then told him I certainly would, and thanked him for keeping me from making a TERRIBLE mistake by buying from his dealership. He looked like he was slapped in the face with a wet towel from that comment.

Even the HONDA dealers around here won't deal with ya either BTW. Best price (even with Discount) was $18, 600.00 for the Goldwing. Checking around, I found Southern Honda in Chattanooga TN, selling the same Goldwing for $15,750.00 OUT THE DOOR !!! (almost a 3,000 discount). I bought a Greyhound ticket for $59.00, picked up the Wing, then rode it back to Chicago. Although, of the $3,000.00 I saved, I had to pay about 1200 for IL taxes (plus traveling expenses ...maybe 200 bucks) Total savings still about $1500.00. not bad for 2 day affair. Needless to say, I rode it to that Harley Dealer and THANKED HIM AGAIN for making my decision for me.....then I rode over to that Honda Dealer and told him the same thing. I did mention to the Honda dealer that, with the 3000 I saved over HIS price, I'd be glad to take him and his family out to lunch tho. lol !!!

I hate to say it, but, of all the Harley Dealers in the Chicago Area, not all act like this one, but they do come close, IMHO. Or, maybe it's just 'something about me', I dunno. To expound on this thread, I could've bought TWO or THREE Road Kings and paid cash on the spot, but, that was my choice to not say something like that. Maybe I could've gotten better treatment if I mentioned it.

In the meantime, I'll look for someone selling his bike and I'll make a fair deal with him on his Harley. But, I refuse to be taken advantage of, and paying more than MSRP for a bike. I won't do it for a car, bike, house, or TV....regardless of what sort of community it's attached to.

Most bikers are cool, regardless of what they ride. It's just sad to see this sort of thing from a Harley dealer (and some Honda Dealers as well). Their loss is my gain I guess.

 

Attitudes won't change, the MOCO cut the production numbers down from a year or two ago.....when the bikes are gone they are gone until the 07s come out...or they have to go find one and get it trasferred to them. Supply being less than demand allows them to keep prices high.

 

I was able to obtain a 500 bux rebate on my 16000.00 dyna street bob.

A tshirt and a baseball hat. But i think they do the same to every costumers.

The trick to negotiate your price is to go from dealer to dealer and tell the vendor "hey your competitor is selling for 200 bux less" Do that and they will try to match that price.

Im pretty much sure that ppl like Bill Gate (world richest man) would negotiate too.
Its our money after all..


To be honnest, HD bikes in general are probably overpriced. Every bikers i meet told me they bought a Harley because of the name.

I know atleast 20 ex-harley owners now riding Japs.. they had Harley for years but they were just sick of all the cost, insurrance, thiefs, exhaust tickets, that comes with Harley... Now they ride Japs, they can leave their bike parked outside with the keys on the bike and come back 3 weeks later and the bike will still be there. ok, maybe not 3 weeks... but i knew what they meant...

 

I had a similar experience with HD of Wilmington, NC. I went to trade my 97 Buell Cyclone on a 98 RK Standard ( I wanted the hard bags) I went in twice to try and buy one they had on the floor. The second time I went in and asked the sales guy if the that bike on the floor was available (yes) and if so, I wanted to trade my Buell and buy that. I was already pre-approved at the bank. Three more times I asked him 'what is it going to take to put me in that bike?' He talked in and around everything-tried to convince me to turbo my Buell (they did a lot of turbo work there). I told them before I would dump 3 grand in a turbo for the Buell, I would go up the street and get a R1. Still, he talked turbos, blah, blah, blah... 4 times he walked off and greeted other customers! After the last time he walked off, I walked out, got on my Buell, and rode 1/2 mile up to Britt Motorsports where they had just rolled out a new R1 on the floor. I asked the sales guy was it available (there was nearly a yr waiting list). The client on the list had declined it because he wanted the slower blue one. So, I told the sales guy, 'if its available, then I want to trade my Buell on it'. He snapped to it like a fly on poop and within the hour, I owned a new R1. I picked it up that Wednesday and rode it over to the HD shop that Saturday. The same sales guy came out and looked at it and said 'oh wow! when did you get that?' ( this was too easy...) To which I responded, 'remember last saturday when I tried to buy that Road King and you wanted to sell me a turbo? He says 'gee, I didn't know you were serious...' Heres' YOUR sign[sm=Idiotsign.gif]

 

I know atleast 20 ex-harley owners now riding Japs.. they had Harley for years but they were just sick of all the cost, insurrance, thiefs, exhaust tickets, that comes with Harley... Now they ride Japs, they can leave their bike parked outside with the keys on the bike and come back 3 weeks later and the bike will still be there. ok, maybe not 3 weeks... but i knew what they meant...


My friend left the keys in his Jap criuser and came back to find some one had taped and 20$ bill to the tank....













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LOL ! It appears not only Harley Dealers, but Honda dealers (and others) need signs as well ![sm=youreright.gif]

 

As long as people keep buying from dealers like some that have been described here, they will continue to act like that. That said, there are alot of good dealerships out here. I bought my RK from an individual and the day we went by the dealer to transfer the warranty the service manager asked me if I had any questions about the King and checked to make sure the services were up to date. (I had already seen the receipts) At another dealership I use they all waive and call me by my first name when I come in. I never bought a bike from them but I have had service work done and bought some bling. This is a big dealership and they have plenty of customers so it's not like I'm the only guy that walks in.
The point is, any make of anything will have crappy dealerships because people have to run them. Poor management and employee relations makes the attitude that you see in some stores, not Harley Davidson. The MOCO sells their merchandise for X dollars and it is supply and demand that drives the "out the door price." A few years ago you had to pay 500 dollars to reserve a Toyota because there were not enough being manufactured. Today they have rebates because they made to many. The MOCO controls supply to prevent this situation and to protect the market. The fact is, they do it so well that the dealers can ask MSRP and usually get it.
I deleted the rest of this. nuf said!
[sm=rant.gif]

 

Just came back from the HD dealership.. I want to buy a Sportster, but the sticker price is a good 1,500 over MSRP and that doesn't include taxes or liscense fees. Classified ads here I come.

 

You got screwed! MSRP for an 06 Street Bob in Vivid Black is $13,195.
I'd be looking for a new stealer.....

 

Yeah, you could be right, Sean. I know the MoCo is manipulating its production in an attempt to not saturate the market. But, I still believe that the economy is going to overtake anything that they do and that most of us will no longer have the desposable income we have enjoyed up til now. Only time will tell, and I hope that I'm wrong.(You have to be patient with me. I'm a paid pessimist!)