I just purchased my 1st Harley and was kinda pressured by the sales guy into buying the extended service plan.

My bike is a 2008 flhtc electra glide classic with only 7202 miles on it.

It is in SHOWROOM condition with lots of extras like screaming eagle pipes, lower fairings and TONS of chrome!

They want to charge me $52.84 a month for 48 months with a $50 deductible, which I think is a ripoff!!

Also there is a "Gap protection" they want me to buy.
It will pay the difference between the loan balance and primary insurance company's settlement in case of a total loss which is $3.59 a month for 72 months. I think the gap protection is worth it, considering my high interest rate.... But I would like to know what all you Harley owners think.


I will only be putting a few thousand miles a year on it, and an occasional Sturgis or other road trip..

Any known problems with this model?

I made a down payment for the bike but I have a few weeks to put down the remaining balance. The salesman gave me the papers and told me to think about it... What should I do? Do I pay the $52.84 a month for the extended service plan? What about the gap coverage?

Thanks a lot for any info!

Kevin

 

In short. ..no, you're good. Unless you plan on longer treks, the plan isn't worth the cost. Just put a few Dinero away every month for maint/svs.

 

In short, if you can't afford to pay out of pocket for a major catastrophic failure, then get the insurance.
Remember, Insurance Company's are in business to make money and right behind the Las Vegas Casinos, they do a dam good job at it.....

 

If you are mechanically inclined and have a second form of transportation, no. don't bother with the ESP. BUT, as mentioned before, set aside money for maintenance, repairs, and upgrades.


As for the GAP insurance, that would come down to how much you paid for the bike and how much it is ACTUALLY worth. I used to buy a new(to me or brand new) vehicle (cage) every 9 months. I Never got the GAP, but was also lucky and never got into a wreck either. If you have some cash set aside, then there is no need for it, but in a bad situation it could be worth 3 dollars a month.


Now, you mentioned a high interest rate... what bank are you financing through? There is no need for a high rate unless you have bad credit or are new in the credit world. Check with Andrews Federal Credit Union. www.Andrewsfcu.org.

 

I paid $1300 for 5 year extended warranty when I purchased my 2011 FLSTF new. It went into effect after 2 years, after the MoCo warranty expired.

The first and second weeks into the extended coverage, I had the bike in for warranty work. The cost for those two visits added up to more than what I paid for that warranty, and I still had five years to go, so it was worth every penny from my perspective!

 

Put that monthly $52.84 into your own savings account. Draw into it when you need service.

 

Yeah, that seems steep. I have it on my 14 Rushmore, mainly because there's so much more to go wrong. Your total expenditure, not including deductible if you ever need it, is over $2500. Mine was way less - $1400 for 5 years as I recall.

 

OP has an older bike so the cost of the plan is more.
Service plans are another form of dealer profit and negotiable like any other part of the purchase.
When OP said "kinda pressured", run away.

 

as "up flying" said, that insurance price can be negotiated. They are basically charging you about $2500. The actual cost may only be $1800. The rest goes to the dealer. That's what they get paid to sell you the insurance. They can sell you that insurance for the $1800 if they want, they just don't make anything.

Same goes for the financing as well. the dealer gets paid to sell you that 84 month plan over a lesser say a 75 month or 72 month plan. On a deal i looked at making this past year, the payment on the 75 month plan was damn near to the penny the same monthly payment for 84 months. The difference? what they paid the dealer to get them to push that 84 month plan.

 

Why would you?

ESPs are a form of insurance, and they are exceptionally expensive insurance at that. There's a reason that vehicle dealers (of all types) push them so hard: They are pure gold to the bottom line.

With the type and amount of riding you described, there is absolutely no rational, financial reason to ever buy one. Sure, some guys do buy them and end up coming out ahead, just like some guys to to Las Vegas and win at the casino. That doesn't mean it is a rational use of money.

There is an argument to be made that the exceptionally high-mileage rider ... 20k per year+ ... is making a rational purchase on these plans, but that's not you.

As for needing this because you couldn't afford a major repair, that gets it exactly backwards. If you can't afford a major repair, the last thing you need to be doing is pissing an extra $50/mo down a hole. Save the money instead. And in the extremely unlikely event you actually do need something really expensive fixed, even if you don't have the cash and have to put the repair on a high-interest credit card, you'll still be ahead.

JMHO