Okay to start out I'm a brand new rider and am shopping for my first bike. I was in line to buy a 1998 Sportster 1200 with around 13k miles on it, customed out, ton of chrome, 1340 cc upgrade, Corbin touring seat, V & H straightshots, forward controls, HD saddlebags. A gorgeous used bike. I was gonna buy it for 5500 cash. Well, while I was waiting for the money to come in this week he rode it and busted a clutch spring. No biggie, he took it to Mike's Famous HD here in Delaware and they said they would fix it up and put a heavy duty clutch in it so it won't happen again. The guy I was buying it from told the dealership that he was selling it and to go ahead and do a full pre-sale service on it just so it would be fresh for me. Here's the rub. While they were changing the head gaskets they noticed one of the pistons has a pin hole in it. They didn't know how it happened so they sent the piston to Milwaukee because HD has to decide if it was factory defect or a fault of the owner. This all happened yesterday. The owner says that I can still buy the bike, no matter what HD's decision is, for the same price of 5500. But Mikes Famous doesn't know when the bike will be fixed up, I could be waiting for a while, or only a day or two.
On the other hand, I really really like the 105th anniversary Sportster Custom. Now this bike is 10,600 on the HD website and with a 5500 down payment that's half of the bike paid off right there with only 105 dollar a month payments. Trouble is that Mike's Famous in Smyrna Delaware seem like a bunch of crooks because they told me that that bike is 13,599 dollars. What the hell? A 3k dollar mark-up!? What can I say to make that price go down to MSRP or lower? They said it's because it costs money to get one because they don't have one in their dealership. That's BS because I shouldn't have to pay for their shipping and acquirement costs, should I? This same dealership also has a 2006(7?) used Sportster in white that they are trying to sell for 10,900 so it's not just this bike that they mark-up. I've talked to some other Harley riders around here and most say to stay away from this dealership because of it's reputation of over-pricing but they're pretty much the only one in the state. And I do apologize to anyone on these forums that may work there. I'm just adding this opinionated information in case it plays a part in the decision making process.
So, my big question is should I wait for this already customized used bike for 5500 and not have to worry about making payments? Or do I try to talk down the dealership and buy a brand new one? It doesn't seem right to jack up the cost of a bike that much. You can probably tell which way I'm leaning but I want a more seasoned rider to look over this and help me make a more informed decision.

Thank you for bearing with such a long post. I look forward to all of your advise.

Ride Safe

 

If you can afford it... buy the new bike. Sounds like the customized one is going to need alot of maintanance and if you can't do most of it yourself you will spend a ton of money at the repair shop.

 

A hole in the piston sounds like the bike might have been running leanfor a long time - a sign of possible neglected maintenance, maybe. Did the valves look okay? Perhaps the piston has a factory defect, but it seems very strange.

Mark-ups above and beyond MSRP are not uncommon.There is a delivery charge (~300) and maybe dealer prep... but it's not 3 large. Obviously, they didn't want to tell you that. I'd rather a salesperson be honest with me and say "That's the market price here."

If you really want a new bike, there are other places that will deal with you. Shop elsewhere, but be sure to go back to this dealership and tell them why you bought a bike elsewhere. If they don't get that kind of feedback, they'll never change.

 

Sometimes when you buy used your also buying the headaches that were with the bike. The choice is yours but I like new toys or really cheap used ones that justify a headache. Sometimes working out the kinks is part of the fun but as for me I like no problems and riding the bike not so much working on the bike. As for the 3k markup!!!!! I don't know if there in that type of demand to be asking that much more but I could be wrong. I'm heading to the dealer today I'll peep one out to see if its really that expensive. When I got my nightster all black was unheard of and they wouldn't budge on price but I said F it and got it anyway. However it was just as much as the website said for that year not a penny more (07=9599 I think) At 13k I'd consider upgrading to a dyna. You get a little more bike. Then again if you consider a dyna then a little more and you can get a softail and so on so like I said it's up to you.

 

go elsewhere and bye new

 

New. then make it yours.

 

Here's how I did it...tag showed price that was obviously marked up way high...I knew MSRP plus the price of freight, setup and the price of the sundowner seat I wanted. I told the salesman to forget the price on the tag, we will start with MSRP, and work down from there. They balked at first, came back with a counteroffer at which point I told the salesman that was crazy and got up as if to leave. He said wait, we negotiated a little more, sales mangler approved and I got a great deal. You need to control the sale, don't let them control it (that is how sales people are taught, I sold cars at one time in my distant past). Good luck.


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buy new....definitely buy new... from a different dealership. Don't pay more than msrp. 13.5 is absurd. You can get a street bob for that price.

best of luck.

rob

 

Well, I waited around until I found the used bike I wanted and it basically fell into my lap. I didn't need to wait long, mind you, just had to be specific about what I wanted and what I was willing to move on (like color, mileage, that sort of thing). I found the exact bike I wanted on e-bay, 18 months old, 1700 miles on the clock, showroom clean (it truly had never been ridden in wet weather), plus a few of the add-ons I would have put on myself. So, basically I got a brand new bike with a broken-in engine for 2/3 price of new, plus the original owner dealt with all the infantile failures under warranty and I haven't had a problem with it all.

I personally think used is the way to go. Let the original owner take the depreciation and warranty headaches (if there are any to be had). If you're careful about what you're looking for and take your time, I think it's a much better route.

 

why buy new...if your a new rider and the other is set up the way you like it get it.

The stealership is going over it so you should be good. Now buying sight unseen or not having it checked out you could run into issues but its being checked over not to mention freshened up.

Think about this; how any bikes/cars are recalled when they are still new. Didnt HD jsut have a recall?

Buy what you want but since you are a new rider I suggest used. Perhaps you will end up not likeing it or it will be too small for you and if you sink 10k into a new one just rememebr your NOT going to get that back out. BTW mods cost alot so if you found one that you like the mods at a decent price you just saved money.