Here's my story. Yesterday, I spent all day visiting the 3 dealerships around Raleigh. Since I got my bike, my father in law has been jonesing for his own. So yesterday he calls me up and says that today is the day and we are going to get him a harley.

Here's what happened. We first went to the dealership where I bought mine. I vouched for the salesmen there. He goes in, sits on a few, then let the guy know that he wasn't looking to spend a fortune and let him know what his limits were. He just basically let them know what the other dealer was offering and thought he would let them match it, since I bought from them. He asks the salesman how much he can deal. Salesman says he can't deal. Acts like he could care less. Leaves my father in law on a bike and rejoins his friends at the sales counter. I was walking by and heard comments like "Crazy" "no way" etc. Here's the thing: my father in law was only asking to take off what another dealer had offered. He thought he would let the dealership where I bought mine have first crack at it. Apparently they weren't interested.

So away we went. Salesmen didn't even tell us goodbye. Weird vibes, very different from when I bought mine. Next dealership (I had previously had a bad experience at this one). Today was different. Salesperson who was extremely rude to me before was gone. Friendly people. Knowledgeable staff. Falling all over themselves to help us. Father in law asked about the bike he saw online. Asked if they would still take $1000 off. They said yes and would throw in the Rider Edge class for free. So an hour we were driving away with his new bike.

Question is, and maybe only a salesperson can answer, but why would that dealership deal and the other flat out refused? Do some dealerships give their salespeople more leeway? Or was it just a full moon and the guys where I bought my bike had been zombified or something?

 

at the end of the day its all about #'s if i work for comission and i am having a really bad week im going to try and sell you anything i can... then the other side is i am going to hold out for everything that i can get you for when people have there mind made up usually they will just pull the trigger and go for it no matter what the price. ( i am not a HD salesmen though) now i recenty traded in my 1200c and the dealer has it on there site for the exzct same price that they gave me for it on trade... this is blowing my mind i still cant figure it out... but it also matters what the dealer has into the bike like my situation i would say that they are not going to me a bit on my old bike they are going to make money off the bike with the warranty and selling more extra's into the bike

 

Can't answer for salesmen but I went to two dealers who didn't seem to care about me and didn't even have the decency to phone back to give me a price and by way of chance I called one guy who there and then booked me a test ride and was warm friendly and when i went for the test ride , they couldn't have been more helpful...can you guess where I bought my bike. The point is is was no cheaper there but they seemed to want my business and it made all the difference and a good salesman is surely an asset to the dealer and without customers..the rest needs no explanation

 

Sorry to hear about your missfortune, but i am a car salesman myself.

 

I can just guess at what 2 dealers it was....Ray Price and Sheltons probably...Neither of them take off much....I got a 750 off rebate from Sheltons on my 07 FLHTC...some like one and some like another....It is the sales force that can push for a discount but when they just Diss you it makes me feel bad...If you are gonna try to screw somebody on a sale i say at least rub their ******* while you are doing it...

 

Need to amend my write up because my father in law definitely wasn't rude. He just let the guy know that he wasn't looking to spend a fortune and let him know what his limits were. He just basically let them know what the other dealer was offering and thought he would let them match it, since I bought from them.

Unfortunately, they weren't interested. Of course, the place he ended up buying from had a salesperson insult me to my face, implying that I couldn't afford the bike when I had been looking a few months earlier (I ended up putting over half down), so I guess it's what day you catch these salespeople on.

 

Yeah, I guess it's pretty obvious given my location. That's what I'm finding, both dealerships have fans.

 

Similar situation here when we bought the wife's Nightster.

Went to one dealership, made a good deal. Before we could sign paperwork, someone else bought the bike we were looking at. Went to another dealer (who frequently advertises on this site). They had a 2009 Nightster demo with about 1200 miles on it in their tent sale. Bike was dirty, obviously beat on, and had pipes that had been treated to a bad rattlecan paint job. The jackhole salesman told me he'd sell me that bike for $13,500 on the road (MSRP on a Nightster was around $9,000). I told him he was nuts, he told me it had, and I quote, "$2000 Vance and Hines pipes on it". I calmly explained that that clearly wasn't the case, he shrugged his shoulders, rolled his eyes, and refused to shake my hand when I thanked him for his time. Needless to say, I'll never spend another dime in Laurel, MD again.

The last dealer matched the first dealer's price (on a new bike, not a roached demo), and had everything done in less than a week.

Go figure.

 

i am in motorcycle sales for a living. ok where to start. to answer the reason they were rude there is a number of reasons possiable. my guess is sometimes when you have a coustomer come in and they start talking the deal down before they even talk to you about the bike for a min. it lets the sales men know you are going to be a pain in the *** sale and your demands will proabbly not end there. now if after talking for a whial you would of said whats the best you can do. and he said xxxxxx$ then you say
well you might have to do a little better. your sales guy wasted none of his time on what he instantly saw as a demand ridden sale. personally being in sales i like easy sales. some people dont care what they pay as long as they can get the bike.


also you have to consider the sales dudes time. he wasted no time on you guys. if he would of talked to you for a few visits then you would of test drove. he has time vested in the deal and is more than likely to make it work.

when i bought my new hd. i walked in said i was torne between 9 modles LOL. said pricce and test drive would need to be done. test drove the two i decided on a week later. went in side and said lets go SIT!!!!(thats important) down and talk about the deal. i told him i am in sales and i know how tuff times are right now. but i want that bike and i want to buy it here. what kind of a deal are you going to make me. i allready had a list of demands and a price quote from the other guys. dont start in with what you want let them tell you what they can do then start with your demands. i told him i wanted 7k for my trade that whole sale was 7400. i told him i would not pay a cent over msrp. and i want 10% off all my accessories. then he said ok thank you for being reasonable. he said most people want more than retail for there trade. then he offered a extra 500 in accessories. and i said start the paper work..


sorry for a crappy experience. but maby they guy was in the middle of telling his buddies how his gay lover was awesom last night and didnt want be distracted from that.

 

It would have been easier to just let the salesman know that they had a price from another dealer and as long as they will match it, he will buy the bike. would have been simple enough for your Father in law to do. Personally, had I been the salesman, I would have redirected and move forward. Telling a customer "we don't deal" does show that the salesman really is not good at his job. Why would anyone say this? A simple "we will see what we can do" could have probably earned an easy sale for him. Most salesmen that one has the opportunity to run into suck at their jobs.