maybe that dealer has better customer service? sometimes bottom line price is not the best deal....

 

MSRP out the door is usually a good deal to try to get. Start there. If you walk in prepared to buy right that second, and tell them you'll buy such and such a bike for MSRP OTD, you'd be surprised the response you get. Also, being that you are in CO and it is early Feb, I can't imagine bike sales are that great right now.

 

I've never understood that comment.

You go to/contact a dealer and tell him you're looking for a bike and he gives you "his best price/deal" offer. Then you go to another and get another deal better than the first. So you buy from him.

First dealer gets upset because you didn't give him a chance to beat the price? He had first shot at the deal and by telling you he wishes you had given him a second chance tells me he didn't give you "his best deal" out of the chute.

That happened to me with last bike we bought. One dealer gave me $1,000 more on trade & lower interest rate than the other. Price of bike was the same. The dealer I didn't buy from wanted to know what they could have done to get my business. I told them up front what it would take and they turned it down. My wife told them it was a case of money coming out of our pocket and the less that was coming out, the better.

 

This is an old but a good discussion on the in's and out's of buying a new bike.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...ley-101-a.html

 

I'm with unome on this. Shop around several dealerships and tell them you are going to buy. When I bought my Street Glide in May I called every dealer within 200 miles. I told them what I wanted and that I had cash ready to spend from selling my other bike so it was just a matter of if they could get what I wanted and what they were willing to take for it. It is amazing so see the difference in prices. I was up front and told them I was shopping for the best price and told them this was their chance to earn my business, afterall I was going to spend what I consider to be quite a bit of money.

Several dealers did not like this and wanted to know what the best price I had been quoted. Do not tell them. I told them every dealership had the same opportunity to make a sale with me so don't waste my time and let's get down to business. What's your best offer?

Moving back to the present, there are many good deals to be had out there right now during the winter. My friend is in the market for a 2010 and the same dealer I bought from is quoting $1000.00 under MSRP no freight no setup on anything he wants to buy (probably not on a CVO bike but he's not looking at those).

 

1. Know what you want
2. Know what you're willing to pay
3. Know what kind of buyer you are and articulate it to the dealer:
   monthly payment amount
   specific model/features
   out-the-door price
4. Cash or finance? If finance, have credit info ready
5. Know what various dealers around you are asking
6. Go at the end of the month
7. Go at the end of the quarter if possible

If you plan to buy that day, tell the sales manager you've done your homework, that you mean business, and that a sale is his to lose. I peeked into the sales manager's office and looked at the status board for the sales persons with the highest and lowest numbers for the month. The lowest guy may be desperate and the highest may be a real dealer. It was December 30th and in my case, the highest guy was the right one.

Good luck!

 

I called all the local dealers. Refused to go in and made them work the numbers on the phone. (Mind you I had a trade in less then 6 mos old, low miles, and had a lot of custom work.) I told them I would not walk through a door until someone had some numbers that I could live with and then we could start serious negotiations. 3 dealers did what I asked. 2 of them were better then the third so I then pitted them against each other. Worked for me

It also helps to get putied up in a low cut shirt and go hang out with the guys at the local dealer every now and then so they know you and want to keep you happy lol but I don't guess that's an option for the OP

 

That didn't work for me. I got my a$$ kicked.

 

Bike, or car, negotiations is a learned art and somewhat complicated yet simple once you understand the whole concept. I suggest you go to a bookstore and buy a book on car negotiations and do a little reading. Usually it is only a couple chapters you actually have to read. I remember spending $12 on a book years back and can honestly say it has saved me tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Not to mention the average time it takes for me to negotiate for a new car or bike now is about 10 minutes....not counting the several hours of research I put in before I go to the dealer.

The book will explain how and why you need to be the one making the offers, not the dealer...they counter-offer. It will also explain some of the common tricks (if you want to call them that) that dealers use to maximize their profit on each sale. Remember, this is just a business deal and the dealer is very good at what they do so you need to be as informed as you can at what you are doing.

What price you can get depends on many variables. What another person gets has little to do with what you can get. It all depends on things like the car or bike you want, the current market in your area for that particular bike, what financing you may have pre-arranged, and on and on. Remember, your goal is to get the best deal possible for you on that given day, in that given region, for that particular bike...you are not going to get some miraculous deal. The dealer will make a profit, you just are trying to lessen how big that profit is. The days of having a larger demand for bikes then they had supply of them is over so deals can be struck unlike in past years.

I could go on and on about how to negotiate but it would be better received from a professional writer, go buy the book!

One note is that I noticed you said you and your wife will be going to the dealer. As the book should detail, there are times during negotiations where the next person who speaks loses..make sure she reads the book too. My wife knows to keep her mouth shut when I am making a deal. We have already discussed the "if, what, and how much" issues between ourselves and during negotiations is not the time to be making decisions. No offense to the ladies intended!

 

If he doesn't throw in two new t-shirts, just walk on him