Hey guy's, I'm buying a new 07 Roadster on Sat. I'm pretty good at negotiating the cars I've bought, but I know little about the motorcycle sales bussines. MSRP on the bike is $8695. What kind of markup is on these hogs? What can I expect to reasonable talk him down? I was thinking between $600 and $800? Anyone care to share some stories of beating down the salesman when you bought your bike. How much did you pay for your Sportster? Thanks to all.

 

Price negotiating is really going to depend on the dealer. Some have the price they are going to sell the bike for on the tag, and that's pretty much it. Others markup the bikes above MSRP and they might or might not come down on the price. A lot of bikes are sold for above MSRP in some areas of the country.

The one major thing to watch out for, is the set up fees and freight charges. You can find out the standard freight charge for the Sporty at the Harley website. They charge the dealers one standard rate to ship the bike, regardless of what part of the country it's shipping to. I don't recall exactly the amount of that flat freight charge.

Probably your best negotiating can be over that set up fee, and get them to throw in a free 1,000 mile service, or $500 gift card for accessories,those type of things. But some will also work on the price as well. This isn't going to be the best time of the year to expect to get any great price breaks on a bike though.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!!

 

Harley Dealers really don't move off price, because they just sell. Used is a little different, because it depends on what they have in the bike. I would try to negotiate accessories on a new bike. I managed to get a helmet, forward controls and a new seat.

 

I have bought two new HD's in the past year and I always had the dealer waive the freight and set up charge. First one I bought I got500.00 off of MSRP with no freight and no set up charges. Second one I paid MSRP with no freight and no set up charges.

I went to several different dealers for the best price/deal. Call around and let the salesmen know you are working with several different dealers.

Watch for doc processing fees too as they can add to the price. Some dealers charge doc fees and some don't so ask them for their "out the door" price which should include taxes and fees.

Good luck.

Barry

 

Have you considered used? You can save a ton of money that way. Case in point is my roadster.

I bought it in October of 06. The original owner had bought it in late July, installed the pipes, forward controls and a few other items. The dealership did the 1,000 mile check up. I got it for $7,700 before taxes and fees and for $8,200 out the door. It already had over $1,500 worth of upgrades, had the 1,000 mile service done and had only 967 miles when I bought it.

IMO that is the way to go these days, buy a barely used bike and let the original owner take the brunt of the depreciation.

 

I agree with Sledge. There are alot of recent vintage, low mileage beauties out there for bargain prices. I bought new for years till I became wiser. My last bike was used (one year old) with 1300 miles on it. The original owner lost about $4,000.00. I know my next bike will also be used.

 

I would agree with the others. MSRP with no other fees is a good price. I have seen others charge the fees and throw in a $500 giftcard. You are buying at the worst time of year to get a deal. Wait until the end of july and the dealers start clearing the 07 for the 08. You will get $1000 under msrp, but you will have to pick from limited colors that are leftovers.

There is no comparsion to the HD dealer and the car dealers. I just bought my wife a new SUV and got it for $500 under dealercost. You will never get anywhere near dealer cost on a new HD.

 

MSRP with no extra charges is acceptable and common pratice. Personaly I would buy used unless you really want the EFI on the newer bikes. EFI is more expensive to modify when ever you want to upgrade anything. Used sportsters around here 04 - 05 are going fo 6600 - 6900 hundred with 2600 miles or less on them. I had my pick of 4 bikes like this in January I named my price and they didnt even argue. Good luck

 

Thanks for everyones replies! I have a better understanding now of what to expect when I go in there on Sat. I would consider a used Sportster, I really like the fuel injection though. I think I'll try to get at least a helmet, and a single seat out of the deal. Anyways, awsome site with great info. Man I cant wait till Sat. Been 4 years since I had my last bike! Thanks again

 

I actually really like my carb. As someone pointed out, the only bad thing about EFI is that anytime you do an upgrade you have to remap it.

I am not sure how time crunched you are but alot of good sportsters are on here for sale.