In a previous post I was asking opinions on whether I should fork out $20K + my 2007 Softail Heritage for a 2010 CVO Ultra Classic ($36K)....I think I just may but how do I find out the actual Stealer's cost so I know how much wiggle room I have. I spent an hour on the web trying but could not come close. Anyone with any inside contacts to help me out? Jim

 

Don't know if someone will supply the dealer cost, but in my for what it's worth opinion, you are getting $16,000 for a 2007 Heritage Classic, which is a pretty good deal. KBB shows the trade in value at $12,325.00. It all comes down to how much your willing to part with. Keep asking for more until he asks you to leave. Can't hurt. Saw a new 2010 CVO at Daytona Harley with a $46,000 sticker. That is friggin' nuts. Good luck and if you get it, enjoy!

 

I would like to trade in the heritage and $20K but the want the heritage and $25K...this is where I need to know about the wiggle room.

 

MY WAG is that a $20000 motorcycle costs the store ~ $13000. A dealer's overhead is humongus!

Bwana

 

Not like a car......where you can find out the dealers cost from Consumer Reports.....and where the dealership is selling 25-50 cars a month. That's not the case with Harley Davidsons.......they're really not selling that many right now.

Just work the best deal you can at multiple dealerships and then decide are you going to pull the trigger or cough.

 

Jim, let's say the price of the SEUC is 36,000. Toss in 5% tax = 1800.00. Toss in junk fees they are going to charge you for shipping, building and the dreaded loan origination and doc fees = 1000.00. Bottom line 38,800.00

You say they want your 07 and 25K

38,800.00 - 25,000.00 = 13,800.00

Because a trade in has taxable value against the new purchase sales tax we subtract 5% from 13,800.00 = 13,175.00 (roughly)

BB on your 07 is roughly 12,300.00 - 13,175.00 from above = -875.00

Effectively they are taking your bike which knocks down the sales tax, selling you the SEUC at MSRP and giving you between 875.00 and 1000.00 more for your bike than Kelley BB.

Can you get a better deal? Only if you can get more for your bike or more than just the SEUC. Some think it is better to sell their bike outright. Well, yes... takes longer to get your new bike if your old bike sells at all. Remember you are now in competition with a dealership that can finance a purchase. To buy yours the buyer would need cash or a loan from the bank.

You've sold your bike and now have cash in your hand but that cash is reduced by the state sales tax (5%). To break even on the deal you would need to get at least 5% more than what the dealer is giving you...

So the 13,800.00 from above plus 5% is what you would need to get for your bike just to break even with the dealership =14,490.00. You say you only want to give 20K. Well they will not do that... 20,000.00 - 13,800.00 = 6,200.00 is what they would have to come down on paper and profit.

If you want more wiggle room suggest you speak with them in terms of what they have available to them, junk fees, parts, clothes, service as a free add-on during the sale or at a discounted rate for a term of agreeable time. On paper it will look like it costs you if included with the sale but they will back it out again somewhere else in the paperwork. Probably by showing more trade in value for your bike.

Would I do this? The answer is yes. I did it twice in the past few months with trade in's on two new 2010 SE bikes.

Cheers

 

hey can you come with me on Sunday and be my little advisor sitting on my shoulder???
I hope everything works out for me. I have tried to sell my bike twice on ebay and that didnt work so Sunday fingers crossed I ride out on my 2010 RK. Thanks for posting that.

 

LOL!

Choose your bike wisely... fit, comfort, style and calculate what bling you want immediately then get the part numbers and retail price before talking to the salesman. You can use this to negotiate the sale during the second part of the talks. Know what you can and cannot afford. Contact your bank and ask them what loans they have for new bike purchased and know the rate before going to see HD.

The #1 trick in the book is dealing with emotions. If you purchase with emotion the salesman has you and knows it, the purchase will cost you more. A take it or leave it attitude is what must prevail but you can be nice about it too. Don't go in with a stone face and whine or the salesman will just hand you a block of cheese. He's interested in his commission and to show his manager he can sell bikes. So act like he is taking care of you even if your questions aren't being answered just yet.

In my business the worst thing a customer can do is argue and b!tch before we make out the bill. See what they are offering first and get it in writing.

Take a calculator, pad and pencil and make sure your cell phone is charged up. You may want to speak with a friend that has a calming effect. You don't have to tell them anything, just break your thoughts for now. Take some change for the soda machine and sit down to relax when calculating. Don't do it in your head and expect to remember figures.

If trading bikes, know what you have and it's value verified by several places. Kelly BB or Cycle Trader are good places to start. Asking friends won't do it. Your added chrome and other bling are worth nothing to the dealer. Take them off and put the bike back to stock as much as you can before showing it to the dealer. Sell your bling on ebay or on a bike talk forum if you know of one. <snicker> Make sure the bike is clean and waxed.

Never trade in a bike near the service interval mileage unless you have paperwork that shows the service was done. They will calculate that against you knowing they must pay their tech. Say your bike has 5000 miles on it, who will buy it knowing they must pay for the service? That is why the dealership must do it first before putting your bike on the sales floor.

Give the dealership plenty of time to look at your bike. There is no need to follow them to the parking lot, they will take less time looking at it and may undervalue it's worth. Give them space. Point out the positives before you walk outside.

Ask the salesman to put the sale on a purchase agreement with your trade in so you can see the figures. Ask him what the EagleMark going rate is and if there are any deals on buy-down rates. Have him put that on the same paper. Once you have that, walk away, enjoy your soda and get your calculator out. Check the math. Check the trade in value against what they have on paper, is it a good trade in offer within $2000.00? Their turnover profit on a used bike is 2 grand, they must make a profit too so let them. You can pinch them later another few hundred but you won't get much more than that.

Once you have checked all the figures and relaxed write on that page all of your part numbers for the bling you want right now. Do not write down the retail price. Include the first 1K service for them to give you on that paper as well. Asking for a 1, 5 and 10K is too much, they won't do it. Ask for the reduction of the shipping and building charges too, they had to ship and built it to sell it anyway so why would you want to pay this?

Write down a figure you want for your used bike and circle it. That will show importance but really, to you, that is not the most important item. It's the bottom line and your monthly payment/number of months if you finance. They are going to charge you a loan fee, it will be some 400 to 600 bucks, know that and understand they will not reduce that. That is how their finance manager gets paid. They already know that but will not speak with you about it until the sale is about over.

They will normally come back with a little less than their first offer, don't say no, adjust your offer closer to theirs and say, how about this. Let the salesman take the offer back to the manager. He will cut it in half and send the salesman back to you. Half is good so think carefully.

Be prepared to walk away. Remember that emotion I was speaking of. You must take control of it and walk away if the deal is not right. No need for a scene, simply say... Let me think about it and I'll get back to you, hand the salesman a piece of paper with your cell number and tell him a date you are thing of settling your transaction, but not longer than three (3) days. Walk around the dealership for another 10-15 minutes. They may sweeten the deal before you leave as the sales manager will ask what happened. "A bird in the hand". If not, leave and try your luck somewhere else.

Later, if you can't find a better deal then go back to a dealership that has shown you the best service and attitude in the past.

Print this out and take it with you. Don't show it to them, just use it to gather your thoughts when counter offering. If successful you may be able to cut a few grand off the price and enjoy some nice chrome bling that you were going to buy anyway. Also, a dealership will normally let you purchase bling the same day at a discounted rate, so remember that too when they don't give you the exact deal you want.

Buying shouldn't be so darn complicated but 20 extra minutes of negotiations could save you a grand or more. That's pretty good hourly pay.

Good luck and enjoy that '10 RK

 

Does not matter what the dealer cost is. It is not car buying. What you described is a great deal for a CVO. I would jump all over it. You could do a lot worse.

 

How is pymt figured out? Is it every 1000= I forgot how they figure that one.