I'm shopping for a new (model year unimportant) HD Low Rider. I generally contact dealers (cars, bikes, whatever) via email and ask for their lowest price, etc. No trade. Cash and carry.

I already got a response from a dealer about an hour from here who said $12,700 for an all black model 2016.

What are the other fees for Harley? I know "what" they are, I'm curious as to "how much" they are?

Destination, DOC, etc.

The closest dealer has the starting price (which is also his final price) at $14,400, but he says he'll beat any other price.

But if they're all flexible concerning added fees, it kind of defeats the purpose.

Updated to add: based upon the responses I checked back with a semi local dealer and he said there is only a $99 documentation fee. No other expenses. Sales tax is paid at the DMV. Or, "tag agency" as it's known in OK.

 

Will vary greatly by dealer and by state, they all do things their own way. From what I've seen, it's the bike price, freight, any factory options. Some dealers add a setup fee. Then the back office may add sales tax, license fees, document prep. And insurance, extended warranty, service plans, etc.....basically it's whatever you agree to, much of it is negotiable, but it varies shop much is difficult to put a specific prove on it.

 

I forego any insurance, extended warranty, service plans, etc. Sales tax is a known percentage. I'm sure there is a destination charge and that varies from dealer to dealer and is a way to get ripped off. Ditto the other "fees."

 

I went through all of this when I bought mine. In my general area you can forget negotiating away the shipping fee and the dealer "prep" fee. My experience was these are usually in the $1200-$1500 range, so just add that to the sticker price. That being said, they will negotiate on the price of the bike off of MSRP. I got mine out the door for less than sticker MSRP. Many dealerships also have a doc fee, and can range from $50 -$750.

My advice would be to ask for an out the door price and work from there. Until you get an out the door price, you are really shooting in the dark.

Your example above - one bike $12,700, the other $14,400. These bike may actually be the same price out the door.

I emailed I think 5 dealers that were generally local and had the bike I wanted, and only got 2 to give me an out the door price without visiting the dealership. Guess who I bought from!

 

Dealer Prep: Approximately the cost of one years worth of "free" donuts and coffee for every Saturday you go back to order parts that should have been on the bike in the first place, not to mention assorted pirate outfits and accessories.

 

Just get the "out the door" price. Then, individual fees don't matter.

 

Like some already posted, varies from dealer to dealer. Sometimes it's worthwhile to grab a temp tag from DMV and a one way plane ticket.

 

The shop I go to, has free water, soft drinks and popcorn every Saturday. The other days, I don't know. So that's added in.

 

the base 2016 Dyna Low Rider starts at 14,399


12700 doesn't sound horrible even if it isn't the OTD price which will add like another 1500 to 2k (most likely around 1800) at that price point. Those fees include sales tax, title, dealer prep, destination charge, admin. So dealers will negotiate them down or out, some won't.


So no OTD 12700 + 1800 = 14500 which is only 100 bucks over MSRP (which doesn't include the additional fees). I'd ask for a gift card for some riding gear in addition. That stuff is marked up pretty high so it's not a big loss for them to throw you a bone.


If 12700 is the OTD, why are you reading this, go buy it

 

Yup

Once you get and OTD price then they can molest, change, and do whatever they want on their side. As long as you get an OTD price it doesnt really matter. The dealer can manipulate the fee in order for you to either pay less taxes or have them higher for them to get a better profit.

They can sell it for you at invoice and add whatever extra fees so the dealer can make money. As long as you get the price you want, then its win win. No back and forth with the dealer.

Come prepared and give them a reasonable price. If they dont like it then leave. I said that to one of many salesmen and told them "You have one chance to screw this up. If you screw up you just lost a sale" Anything that pissed me off like back and forth with the sales manager multiple times made me leave without notice. I gave them a sheet of paper and the price I wanted. I told them you have 5 mins or Im outta here.

Some of them decided to do the I need to take you license to keep you hear longer and told them you just lost a sale.

If I were you. A fly in ride is probably the best deal you can get. You fly in, you get the bike for what you want, you leave, and never have to worry about that dealer ever again.