HD dealers are azzholes! I buy my parts online. They're usually cheaper and I don't have to pay sales tax.

 

Yeah, I'm getting sick of the change in dealers too.

Bob Mackay used to own the HD dealership in Shallow Lake, Ontario, and he sold it a couple of years ago and opened up a strictly custom shop. Just didn't like the way head office was pushing him. Now this guy is an unbelievable builder who has won all kinds of shows, been in every magazine out there and should be a dealer. Knows bikes, great reputation, real biker. The new owners of the dealership opened a now common T-Shirt shop, that also happens to sell motorcycles.

 

They better sell for MSRP.
MSRP is so damn high now that if they charged me $8000 over msrp they would be trying to stick me with a
$25,000.00 price tag for my new Fat Boy.

Maybe some folks would pay that much for a motorcycle, but I would'nt. Its already too damn high as it is.

 

I lusted after a HD for over 20 years - before they were the 'in thing' - never had an opportunity to get one until this year. But I agree that the HD dealers that I have visited/encountered, are quite arrogent in their dealings with customers. But that is why their stock prices are down after their announcement last month that they were cutting back on their production. They are starting to see glimmers of the handwriting.

It dismays me to walk into these McHarley dealerships - where, from what I understand, there are corporate dweebs who come out and look at the dealerships to give the corporate 'seal of approval' for location, floor and store layouts, and merchandising. Like any other franchise, even the location of the dealer has to be ok'd by corporate. This is not the Harley Davidson that I know and remember. And yes, everything has to move onward, but why does everything in today's world have to become WalMartized???

And hopefully HD will listen to their customers, unlike other companies who haven't and who are no longer with us. I am tired of walking into the dealers and having to wade through aisles of piggybanks, coffeecups and coffee, baby clothes and fancy unpractical leathers that are not meant for riding. If I wanted to shop for those items I could go to a Hallmark card store or a Nordstroms (both establishments I do not shop at). I want knowledgeable parts and service people to talk to; I want riding experienced salespeople to chat with; I don't want the clothing sales people to do 'up sells and addons' (which, by the way, the dealers get secret shopped and get points off if they do NOT try to upsell or add on in the clothing/accessory side of the store).

I realize as I write this that I could go on and on...but will stop at this point only to say, maybe we all need to open our own independent shop.

 

jcc/tex, a few years ago Porsche was able to keep their dealers from selling the very popular Boxster for more than MSRP. I don't know if all it took was telling them that they would get no more Boxsters if they sold one for a markup or what, but they wouldn't let their dealers do it. There must be some creative way for Harley to take care of this, and they no doubt would if they really wanted to.

It's funny how you hear all of these dealers talk about how they can't build these orange and black palaces for us to shop at without the extra markup. WAKEUP CALL you morons, why don't you build a store that selling at MSRP will support?!? What are these stealers going to do when they're forced to sell at MSRP,....or..... GASP.....even LESS? Will they have to file banko and go out of business because they need the extra markup to pay for the palace? I personally don't care if the store is all spit polished and designed by a corporate know-it-all. Too many of the stores all look alike/similar anyway, in my opinion. I'd much rather shop in a place with some unique character, and with a friendly staff (as has been mentioned by others). A nice, neat clean shop is cool. I don't need some arrogant punk with a Harley sweater tied around his neck in a pair of topsiders with a high and tight flattop to help me buy a bike.

 

Quite right Joe, plus the great pleasure of the ride home. Heck for $8,000 you could even ship it home...uh that is if you even wanted to.

 

Actually the dealers in north central WI were really great when I wanted to buy one. All except Wausau Harley Davidson. Told me on the phone they had two bikes in the colors I wanted but went the next day a 90 mile ride and they didn't have anything. Talked to a sales person and told him I was buying a heritage somewhere in the next 2 weeks. Talked to me for maybe a half a minute and some girl came up to him and he just walked away from me. Thought my girlfriend was going to blow a rod so just left and drove 120 miles to another dealer that showed me all his bikes including in storage then on to another dealer that did the same plus what was coming in in the next month. Never knew that spending 20 some grand was an inconvience to some dealers but sure felt that way by the one stealer.

 

The "Lifestyle" thing seems to be another common way that dealers try to convince folks that paying well over MSRP is really a good deal. It seems that a lot of dealers/stealers are much worse than your typical greasy used car salesman.

It was Destination Harley in Oregon that really tried to sell me on the "lifestyle" aspect, even after I explained that I'd already owned several Harleys. They also have a store in Washington. The son runs the store in Oregon, and the dad runs the one in Washington. I can tell you that after talking quite a bit with Ed Wallace jr., that I think if brains were dung, the guy wouldn't even have an odor. They are still pricing all their bikes well above MSRP. Though they don't mark them up as high as Destination Harley, NW Harley also prices all of their bikes at a premium, so it doesn't seem to be very rare around here.

 

Two thoughts...
1. In any place where they really have that season called "winter" a dealer may go 3 - 6 months may at best, sell 1 bike a month and often have service, parts and sales people sitting on their hands. I think that's why many dealers have special events during those months and offer discounts, etc. From that point of view, it has to be a tough business to run and particularly to staff. They deserve to show a profit and we want them to, so that they can can be there for us. Life would be a LOT worse if there were only a dozen or two "regional" Super Wal-mart type stores.
2. I think if a dealer gave good service and a few discounts, most of them could survive nicely without making ANY profit on the bike.
I bought my bike from a dealer about 4 miles from my house. Thety had a good rep and I wanted to buy locally if I could. I got a decent deal. MSRP, 2 T-shirts and a about 7 - 9 hours of free labor for add-ons. Fair extra charges and no Doc. fee. In my very limited experience, I think they have been very good.
However, if I ever get another Harley, I will check out all of the places within a 2 to 3 hour radius. And I will search the thread on "what didya get,,,for names and deals and pay shipping if it makes sense.
Those "poser" dealers deserve to go out of business!

 

When I bought my bike 2 years ago, I was just returning from an overseas assignment and had talked with the HD guy at the Exchange car sales about getting a bike. They get a certain allocation of bikes for serviemen overseas at sell them at MSRP. Delivery is made to a dealership in the States usually and there are no prep charges or anything like that. You pay what is on the website in the "specs and price" section. Well I had an '03 FXDL in gunmetal pearl sitting in York with my name on it but the financing fell through. That deal wasn't meant to be because there was something better in store for me. I had jsut about given up on getting a Harley at all and was shopping around for a used Jap bike when I just fell in love with the '03 FXDL in black and silver. I started looking around on the web and found a dealer in Billings, MT (I was moving to MT in less than a week so even better) that had one listed on their website for less than MSRP. LESS!!! Needless to say I called them immediately and with the wife's blessing, put a deposit on it to hold for me. The financing worked out really well this time (helps working with a hometown bank that your family has been using for 20+ years and everyone there knows your folks) and I picked up the bike about a month later. All told I paid less than MSRP for and FXDL with pearl paint for my FXDL with the anniversary paint and the dealer included the first service free. Also factor in that there is no sales tax in MT if the vehicle is going to be registered there and that I didn't have to buy a trailer to transport the bike from FL and $$$. All told I saved close to $5000 over buying from AAFES at MSRP and got exactly the bike I wanted or $6500 over buying from P'cola HD.