It might be a bit of the turnover in staff as well. I went out to 4 different dealers in the Atlanta area last Feb when I was looking for an Ultra. The first place I visited I stayed maybe 15 minutes...the sales staff (I tried talking to 2 of them) acted like they could care less if they sold a bike or not. Now...maybe I caught them on a bad day...but it was enough for me to mentally think the best use of their time would be pounding sand up their rectum.

The next dealer I went to was better, well, at least at first, however would absolutely not discount even a nickel...the first thing they wanted was for me to do a credit ap before they even seriously would talk to me. Intentionally I dodged that request several times and finally the guy said, and I quote "We need you to do the credit ap first so we can figure out whether or not you qualify, because if you can't qualify, then we are wasting our time." I simply looked at him and said "Since I am going to pay cash...I don't need to do a credit ap...and I am sorry you felt like I was wasting your time." I immediately walked away. The look on his face was priceless.

The third dealer was really nice. The sales guy was very very good...and I didn't feel like I was intruding on his time. Still, they would not discount even a nickel...despite wanting to pay cash. I told him I would think it over.

Finally went to the last dealer. It made me appreciate stellar customer service. The salesperson I dealt with took his time to explain not only the "company line" but relayed his personal exeriences riding the 09 Ultra, pulled the finance manager out of his office who had also ridden the 09 to talk to me. When we talked pricing he didn't wince...or act like I was insane, but instead was very straight-forward. The sales guy took me down to their shop...walked me around the shop area, and actually was very boastful about how good their wrenches were (and they are very good).

I suggested they take 3 grand off the MSRP, and he was very candid and said they simply wouldn't do that. When I said I would have a cashier's check for whatever the price was we agreed on within an hour, I ended up with a 3 year free maintenance plan with synthetics (don't pay a nickel for service), the rack and light kit for the tour pack included and installed for free, and while I paid for the Zumo GPS, they installed that for free as well, and finally they tossed out the "delivery and set up" fees. In addition they gave me 20% off anything I wanted to buy in the store, clothes, parts, whatever.

In the times I have gone back (and this dealer is significantly further away) the sales person always has time to walk over and say hello...BS about bikes, and the finance guy, even though I never financed also will always feed me a cup of coffee and shoot the breeze.

Tell ya what...I don't much care one way or another what "reasons" a given dealer or salesperson has for treating a customer one way or another. What I do know is whenever I decide to buy another bike, the dealer I bought my present one from is going to be the first one I go to.

 

Ghost Town HD? Yeah, maybe they sell their bikes at good prices but certainly not their apparel. I was in Maggie Valley this summer and their dealer t-shirts were at least 5 bucks more than any other NC or TN dealer I've bought from during my trip, like Tilley's and Smoky Mountains HD to name a few. My 0.02 cts.

 

If anyone is looking for a new bike and is willing to travel to Pigtrail Harley in Rogers Arkansas I would suggest them....huge selection, very accomodating sales/service staff (ask for John)...prices are probably average but they were 1000 bucks below the shop in Springfield MO on the sticker plus came off another 900. John was all over it when I walked in but in a very tactful and professional manner.

 

Just a suggestion, dealers would rather finance a bike than to have you pay cash, as they make more money on the interest.

I you plan on paying cash, let the dealer quote you a price based on them doing the financing . It will often be less than the cash price.

If so, let them finance it, and then pay off the entire amount on the first payment.

 

Exactly!!!

 

The problem with a lot of Harley salesman is that over the years they have only needed to be order takers, they never learned the profession of sales. With the tighter economy they will be weeded out and you will begin to see more pro's working the floors. Which is a good thing because they want you to come back and will pay for referrals. I am starting to see a change in the staffs allready around here.

 

Even if you pay off on the first payment, you will still owe interest cause the calculation of daily interest starts immediately, irrespective of the due date.
The dealer will only get credit for the loan if it's in effect at least 3 months.

 

Duplicate post

 

How much interest do you think you'll need to pay on a note you've had for 30 days? Not much.

My concern for what the dealer gets credit for is zilch.

 

I have been reading the various posts and thought I would throw in my $.02 worth....
I am in sales and have been for 30+ years. I have always worked for manufactures at the wholesale level. This has given me quite an education in corporate America.
The first bit of advise I would give is to talk directly with someone who can make a financial decision and who also benefits directly from the sale. That generally isn't going to be just the salesman. I personally will speak with the salesman but ultimately will have the bottom line discussions with the sales manager. It is my opinion that you want to involve the person who has the most to gain from the sale. That would be the sales manager. He has goals that are established for him by the management team. Based on his goals he will most likely set individual goals. The reason the sales manager is my personal preference is that they are usually paid pretty well but they are less insulated from being fired or replaced than the G.M. and they definitely want to keep their job.
Most of the businesses that I deal with are set up on a quarterly basis. That means that they are held accountable for goals management has set forth and they are always scrutinized most as the quarter comes to a close.
I personally will buy big ticket items on the last weekend of one of the four quarters. I also will make a point to ask the sales manager how the quarter is going . It has been my experience that they will tell if it is good or bad. If it has been good then they maybe less likely to deal on the items I am looking for. If it has been O.K. to poor they will be more receptive to deal if it means making the sale. NEVER , EVER let them run your credit before you have come to an agreement. If you go to more than one dealer and they all run your credit,particularly within a short period of one another, it will dramatically lower your FICO score and that can cause them to either have to raise the interest rate to offset the risk they are accepting from someone with a low credit score or it can make financing through them impossible because of the minimum credit score guidelines.Some might tell you that it is their standard procedure to run your credit before they make a deal. That is not the case, it is simply a tool they use the weed out people who are not credit worthy.That way they won't waste their time or yours. As previously stated in other posts, you can usually get the best deal if they think that they are going to get the financing. If you make a deal on the price and it is because they believe that they are getting the financing then unless there is a financial incentive back to them from the lender they go through, you should still be able to get that price if you pay cash. If you do finance make sure that the loan does not have a pre-payment penalty built in. Then you can pay it off with just whatever interest is actually accrued.
Lastly the federal government has a national pricing policy where ALL dealers, big and small, must pay the same price. So that means if Joe's Harley sales 3 bikes a month and Jim's Harley sales 30 bikes a month they both pay the same. So if that is true why the variation in pricing you ask. Well that is because there are backside rebates and incentives that come directly to the owners. Some owners will allow the sales team the extra pricing latitude that these rebates and incentives can bring. That being said, I have been told that Harley has placed a moratorium on how many bikes the dealer can actually purchase this year. I don't necessarily believe that but I guess it could be true.
Additionally I always ask for a lot more than I expect. Negotiations are all about giving away something to get something, bargaining chips if you will.
Finally the jackass salesman, I would have asked to speak with his manager, or G.M. if he was the manager. I would have explained to him that you were serious about making a purchase but it won't be from them. I would tell him why I have made that decision. After I made my purchase from someone else I would stop back by and speak with the G.M or owner. I would let them know that I bought the bike from their competition after you visited them and that you wanted to make sure it wouldn't be a problem if you needed some service work done that you could bring it to their dealership or something to that effect.Anything really to bring attention to the fact you just spent $20,000. elsewhere. You may not like to do something like that but I think it is constructive. It lets them know that their jackass salesman cost them a sale. I also kind of like to rub it in their face a bit .
I apologize for being so long winded and of course this is a very broad overview of a complicated process but hopefully it will help out someone down the road.