I remember years ago when my wife had a yamaha and wanted to move up to a harley.
The dealer offered her nada trade value then sold it to the local yamaha dealer, don't know what they got for it though.

I get they don't want non hd's on their showroom floors but this dealer has a separate facility for used, or wholesale or auction.

The guy understands vics are devalued but just felt like he was given the cold shoulder.

Just feel like they could have at least tried to gain a new customer even if the deal wouldn't have been that great.

 

Sounds like that dealer doesn't want to sell bikes. We take any make or model in on trade, just the other day we took in a Ducati Diavel. We usually wholesale them to another company or transfer them to our sister store that has more mix n match used inventory.

 

They are. But this isn't related in any way to what HD is or isn't trying to do.

It's simply how one out of about 900 Harley dealers in the US chooses to do business.

I don't blame that dealer for not wanting to get stuck with a Victory, they be taking such a big risk on that bike they'd probably have to make an extremely low trade in offer.

 

It sounds like your friend got his feelings hurt. I can't imagine choosing an Indian over a Harley simply because one dealer didn't want to liquidate my discontinued brand motorcycle. It would be like buying a Mercedes instead of a BMW because the BMW dealer didn't want to buy your Saab.

 

It has nothing to do with Harley, it is a franchise owners policy.

Generally, underfunded dealerships with iffy sales managers may establish this as a policy. Dealers that have savy SM's and adequate working capital, will take anything they can determine they can make a profit on upon resale.

So, your buddy ignorantly blamed HD and to demonstrate his anger bought an Indian to get even. Maybe he should have contacted another dealer that has a better business plan, and sales manager, and he'd be riding what he originally wanted instead of riding "I'll Show You".

It isn't rocket science, you just have to be able to determine what you can get on the resale of any item, and consistently make a profit. Worst case, a dealer contacts a wholesaler and sets up the trade in that way.

Couple of years ago, in Florida, I traded in a Triumph and a Honda, on a Road King.

 

It's not unusual for HD dealers to take other brands in trade and then send them to auction. They don't have to go "on the floor". These are franchises and the owners can do what suits them to a certain extent, however, the OP says he lost a sale. The idea is to sell new bikes.

 

I was thinking the same thing when Indian eventually goes belly up!

 

You can, but the trouble is, you can't get parts for them despite what Polaris said


Any car or motorcycle sales person who is willing to tell someone they should sell their bike and not add it to a deal on a new bike is doing them a favor. Right now the used bike market is low, very low; below that is the used Victory market. They're worth almost as much as Confederate money. Despite what Polaris promised and idiots who will tell you there's a federal law to produce parts for 10 years (there isn't), current Victory owners are having a devil of a time getting parts.

If I were a Harley salesman and I wanted to keep my job I'd encourage a potential buyer to sell a Victory on his own. Barring that, if he was bound an determined to trade I'd tell him up front that I'd have to rape him in the deal because I'd be sending the Vic to auction.

 

My Harley dealer will literally take anything on a trade, up to and including RV’s and boats.

 

Not sure I see the reasoning in your thoughts here. If someone comes into your place of business and wants to make a purchase, it's your job as a "dealer" to make that happen. It doesn't matter what brand or type of vehicle it is, its a commodity. You stand a very good chance of letting a sale walk out the door by having a "Holier then thou" attitude. By telling them to sell it on their own, gives them a chance to change their mind about buying what your selling, and look elsewhere now that they have some cash in their hand. Risking a profitable sale because you can't figure out how to sell a used motorcycle won't fly with most dealerships. The key word here is "DEAL".,,,,