why would you ever buy from the dealer when there are so many beautiful low mileage bikes in the secondary market for sale from private owners. The best place to buy a motorcycle is from a car dealer that takes it in trade .

 

I bought both my dyna’s from my Dealer, and got good deals on both (not bought at the same, about a yr apart).

There are some good dealers out there, with decent prices....

I also paid cash for both bikes...

 

LOL, must be the result of shrewd negotiation skills, resulting in a "25% interest rate..."

 

Mr. Beads was as shrewd as they come

 

Yes, I work for an RV dealer, we dont have bikes very often but when we do they are priced to sell as fast as possible.

 

About a year and a half ago I was looking for another bike. At the time I had a '13 RGC and I wanted a Rushmore RGU with the tour pak, re-designed fairing, Boombox w/GPS, etc., etc. Based on what I was looking for I had to have a 2016 model--didn't want the new M8 motor. So I kept searching Craigslist, kept pulling up the used bikes at HD dealers all over the state, etc. Very few 2016 RGU bikes to be found anywhere. I did find 2 of them at the HD dealer in Lexington, about 80 miles from me. Both bikes appeared to be (from dealer pics) totally stock, one had 12K miles and one had 10K miles. But dang, the dealer priced both bikes at over $25K !!! MSRP on those bikes when they were new was $26K-$27K. And no telling what kind of BS fees might be added to the asking price. So I just kept looking. At the very end of August, 2017, I saw a fresh Craigslist ad for a 2016 RGU. Two tone red, beautiful bike! Had just under 10K miles, SE hi flow AC, de-catted head pipe, V & H slip ons, V & H FP3 tuner, nice replacement grips, Freedom windshield, don't know the details but the owner had upgraded the stereo, CD LED front turn signals, and probably a few more smaller mods I can't recall at the moment. Bike was MINT!

But, the owner had just had his artificial shoulder replaced, and his riding days were over. Went to look at the bike about 25 miles away. While we were on the drive talking his wife drove up in his car--they had just sold her car. Also, their house was for sale and I'm not sure what his total situation was but it really wasn't my business. Anyway, he was selling the bike and ALL their gear and bike items: Helmets, jackets, cheap bike jack, bag/tour pak liners, batt tender, etc., etc. He was asking $21,500 for EVERYTHING. I didn't need any of his equipment or gear. We settled on $19,500 for the bike only--then he threw in the batt tender, liners, and a few other things. I was truly one very happy camper!

Transferred the bike to me on 9/1/17 and I listed my '13 RGC on Craigslist for $14,500. On the 2nd day my Craigslist ad ran a guy from IN phoned, we talked about it, he came over the next day. I could tell he liked it. He had never ridden anything except dirt bikes and that was long ago and I offered to let him ride bit*h for a demo but he said that wasn't necessary. He had a good buddy & neighbor who had recently bought a '16 RG Special and, obviously, this guy also wanted a RG. He left, called me the next day and said he wanted the bike and was working with his credit union on getting financing. OK. But it was almost a week and I hadn't heard anything else from him and I called him, thought maybe he was still looking at bikes and maybe wasn't serious about mine so I politely let him know I wa in a bad position and could wait if necessary but he needed to put some money down to show he was serious. He agreed, was going to mail me a check the next day. Well, 2 days later he called, had gotten his financing and wanted to buy. ALRIGHT! And I was so glad to sell that '13 cause I didn't need to sit on it all winter.

This was an interesting Craigslist sale for two reasons: 1) The buyer NEVER ASKED if I would take less than my asking price of $14,500. I would have taken less, if he had asked. and 2) The guy that bought my '13 was THE ONLY person who ever called about my ad.

Seems that for me buying the '16 RGU and selling my '13 RGC the stars all came together in proper alignment! Wow, I'm still amazed at the whole thing. I really lucked out on both my purchase and my sale. I will probably never, ever buy a brand new bike again.

Oh, and just out of boredom I kept checking on those 2 RGUs the Lexington dealer had. His ads for those 2 ran for at least a year. And about 2 weeks ago I was at one of the HD dealers here in Louisville and on their floor they had a '16 RGU, 25K miles, no mods to speak of, and they were asking $22K for it. And I'm sure there would have been some BS fees added to the selling price.

 

Don't overlook local motorsports places for used bikes. I bought my 2014 SGS with 6200 miles last year from my local motorsport dealer for 16K otd. That was with a 3 year front to back warrenty including rims and tires. With the road conditions here in Mi that is not a taken for granted add on. Probably not the best deal in history but....good enough for me. I also have excellent credit and put down a good chunk of change.

 

Not all dealerships are bad but it seems the good ones are few and far between. My buddy just bought a 14 street glide with 12k miles and with stage one and a bunch of aftermarket parts on it from Reimans HD in Kewanee, IL for 15K. Didn't seem that bad of a deal to me.

 

And I will. I'm not your typical uneducated Harley customer, and apparently I should have written "NEW" to my opening line. I haven't bought a new bike in years, and I've never compared it to late model used bike pricing at the same time. Since the market is flooded with used, late model baggers I'm surprised the used bikes pricing is so inflated at dealerships compared to private sales. It's almost as if dealerships are inflating the used bike pricing to drive more new bike sales. Not a stupid idea, but when will the bottom drop out on the used bikes?

BTW, low-balling the person who traded in their used bike should be the only way a dealership makes money on a used bike transaction. Tacking on bullshit fees just pisses me off! Back a few years ago I bought a 06 Night Rod for an honest price, but as soon as the salesman came back with the paperwork there was an extra $800 on the bill. "WTF is this?" Oh, they did a bunch of maintenance on the bike, and put on new tires... Ok, show me the Service invoice for this work. It ended up being $800 for tires, and an oil change... I told them to F-off, I'd give them $300 for the tires. I won, but I learned just how much they pry on suckers.

 

1st - Stealership is the most overused word on this forum. Don't beshmirch someone for making money - besmirch the moron who pays it. Dealers are allowed to earn a living just like you and I. And no, I am not a bike/car dealer..

Honestly, 10% over private market at any dealership is acceptable. A dealer has work to do and hoops to jump thru to clear the bike for sale and ready the bike. I'll pay this for the peace of mind. I have also gotten GREAT deals on used rides at my dealer. If you dont pay it, they wont sell it.. The bullshit fees - what are they? There is no prep or shipping on a used bike. 175.00 for DMV is about right. Anything else is a negotiation away..

Maybe Im lucky, I have a great dealer.