During a recent bike trip from Pennsylvania out to Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma we had the opportunity to visit a few dealerships my buddy Rides a trike and two of these dealerships had some trikes in stock that caught my friends attention. These were at Oklahoma City and Tulsa Oklahoma dealerships. The color was a scorched orange and flat black which is quite sharp at least in our eyes. Now because these are considered custom paint, Harley Davidson has fairly priced them about $2500 higher than a non-custom paint job.

So at each place we spoke with someone in their sales department about a trade-in and the numbers just seemed like something that may just scratch your head. That is until we found out that both these dealers have jacked the MSRP price up over $4000. When questioned hey just merely stated that There are limited in numbers and that entices the dealership to really jack up the sales price.

Know if gasoline became a shortage and stations were to hike up the price is per gallon do you someway out price, we would all claim that they were price gouging. But these two dealerships, and probably others, feel their product doesn’t fall in line with price gouging. I certainly hope no one is that much in love with a motorcycle that they would pay that much over MSRP and let these dealers just sit on their precious scarce items.

Are past the owner of our local dealership was a real Butthead but at least he was a guy that would never sell below MSRP but on the other hand he could have a bike as rare as hens teeth and he would not jack the price up on that. So I guess it all comes down to they can charge what they want and we can buy or not bye what we want. Just had to vent a bit on these two dealerships

 

Here's the beauty of our free enterprise system. You can sink several million dollars of your own cash into obtaining a Harley franchise and sell 'em as cheap as you want.

 

Profit is not a "Four Letter Word"

 

Not this **** again. Sigh.

It's only price gouging if somebody actually buys it at their exorbitant price. And for those that do buy at that price, they don't mind being gouged. The dealers don't owe you anything. This is not an uncommon practice for "rare" or special editions, even in automotive dealerships. Somebody will pay it, and they know it. Some folks just want to be the first one on the block to have something, and don't care what it costs. Yell at those people, because they compel the dealer to overcharge.

 

You had the key word in your post OP. MSRP. Manufacturer SUGGESTED Retail Price. There is your loop hole. New vehicles have "mSrp". A new Harley isn't a 2x4 at Home Depot with a set price.

They price it at what they think the market will bear. Like you, I'd have walked, but I'd have been laughing as the door hit me in the ***.

 

That is the beauty of our system.

You can walk out of the dealership just as easily as you walked in. If you don’t like the price go elsewhere. Dealers know and understand that. There is always someone that will walk in with a tube of KY jelly. Separating a fool from his money is the challenge. Other people have money to burn and price doesn’t matter.

 

Dealerships are in the business of making money for their owners.

You want the color bad enough you pay the price, If enough people don't want to pay the price the supply of bikes of that color increases and the price comes down. It's the way the free market works.

Things like this make me glad I'm colorblind. I'm not paying a dime over the cost of basic black.

 

I'm red-green colorblind, but I can tell the difference between basic black and scorched orange. You can't?

 

Let the rich folks buy the overpriced new bikes then buy it used from them after they get tired of looking at it. 3 years and 2,500 miles later it will be yours on the cheap.

carl

 

You can cuss and scream and turn blue and throw a fit, call the dealer greedy, etc etc, and after you do all that and leave someone else will come in and buy it and be glad to have it...