Setup fee?!!!!!
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 4,798
Likes: 5,889
From: Knoxville
Financing and all that jazz is a shell game. Many can play it and many cant. Some it doesnt matter, to others its blasphemy.
Flip side is I dont buy junk food as the cost of a candy bar for example is stupid! Along with not getting any younger I had to cut them out a few years ago. Let me tell you, thank dog they went up! Helped wean me off the crack ha ha.
Enjoy the ride! If you havent already figured it out its a lot more fun than reading threads here. I expect to get out tomorrow
HDF Community Team
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 503
Likes: 241
From: CA
It's just a tool to sell above MSRP. Some dealerships do, while some like my favorite dealership don't. But my favorite dealership also doesn't have any 23 CVOs in stock or on the floor to look at, nor will they for a long time. If you want one you will almost certainly end up paying well above MSRP or have a long wait well into winter at least. It's no different that any other price, if you want it enough to pay it buy it, otherwise get something else or enjoy what you have. There are likely plenty of people to whom the premium over MSRP is worth it to ride it this summer.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 3,174
Likes: 1,465
From: Charleston, SC
We finally got to see the new 23 CVO Road glide in person today and I kinda was impressed by it....surprisingly because I don't care for the Road Glides...sorry just a personal thing. Well....I looked at the price tag and noticed a setup fee of $2999 and a $1200 separate surcharge. 3 fricken grand to setup a Harley?!!!!.......do they have to put it together themselves or?.......I know just being really sarcastic. And then the "factory " mandatory surcharge that I still call BS on brought the bike over 48k without TTL. Ummm.........no thanks. Has anyone else seen that sort of setup fee?.....just curious.
Ok....done venting......Thanks all
Ok....done venting......Thanks all
There are a lot of good motorcycles to choose from now. You don't have to buy a Harley as your only choice. Too many people have hung on to that philosophy for WAY too many years. The result is that Harley has bee able to sell bikes at an inflated price for too long.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 3,174
Likes: 1,465
From: Charleston, SC
Serious question:
And I'm not knocking anybody for their decision to purchase or not. But with extra fees being added, like a Surcharge for instance, why do you accept in negotiations that the surcharge is a fee that YOU have to pay? Why do you think that it is incumbent on YOU to pay for a supply chain issue( if it even still exists)? You are there to buy, OR NOT, a motorcycle. For instance, freight on a touring bike BEFORE the Pandemic was about $450. If Harley wants to charge you NOW $750, and they are delivering in their OWN TRUCKS, why do you accept that this is a cost increase that YOU have to bear?
Well, YOU don't have to bear the cost, even if it's real, and I have my doubts about that. I am asking a question to which I want thoughtful answers. If you want to give snarky remarks, keep them to yourselves, because those kind of remarks signify that you have no ability to engage in intelligent dialogue.
There must be valid reasons why some people choose to accept and PAY those inflated(in my opinion) prices and purchase a HD motorcycle. I would like to hear those reasons, and without judgement on anybody's part I might add.
And I'm not knocking anybody for their decision to purchase or not. But with extra fees being added, like a Surcharge for instance, why do you accept in negotiations that the surcharge is a fee that YOU have to pay? Why do you think that it is incumbent on YOU to pay for a supply chain issue( if it even still exists)? You are there to buy, OR NOT, a motorcycle. For instance, freight on a touring bike BEFORE the Pandemic was about $450. If Harley wants to charge you NOW $750, and they are delivering in their OWN TRUCKS, why do you accept that this is a cost increase that YOU have to bear?
Well, YOU don't have to bear the cost, even if it's real, and I have my doubts about that. I am asking a question to which I want thoughtful answers. If you want to give snarky remarks, keep them to yourselves, because those kind of remarks signify that you have no ability to engage in intelligent dialogue.
There must be valid reasons why some people choose to accept and PAY those inflated(in my opinion) prices and purchase a HD motorcycle. I would like to hear those reasons, and without judgement on anybody's part I might add.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 2,316
Likes: 2,388
From: Jackson, OH
@GOV5 The answer that works for me is to ignore those fees completely. Look at msrp. Ignore the fees. Look at trade value. Ignore the fees. Look at what YOU want to spend...make it known...and ignore the fees. It's been said many, many times: The only thing that matters is the out-the-door price. To do that requires homework and preparation before getting wrangled into serious negotiations. If the dealer sells me a bike out-the-door (before tax) for $30k, I don't care how he arranges the fees. For all I care he can call $5k of it a shine and polish fee. If he claims $1000 for airing up the tires I won't worry. All I care about is the otd cost. I make that known up front and I avoid the games. And I never EVER get cranky or frustrated with the sales person. If I walk away it's on good terms and I remind them they have my phone number.
Road Warrior
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 1,335
Likes: 2,045
From: Phoenix
I haven't bought a new bike since 2018 and I don't plan on buying new ever again.
All my previous bikes I never paid more than MSRP plus tt&l. I walked out on many dealerships holding to this.
Their is plenty of profit for the dealer to sell at msrp. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Harley has the biggest profit from cost to MSRP of all motorcycles.
All my previous bikes I never paid more than MSRP plus tt&l. I walked out on many dealerships holding to this.
Their is plenty of profit for the dealer to sell at msrp. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Harley has the biggest profit from cost to MSRP of all motorcycles.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 3,174
Likes: 1,465
From: Charleston, SC
@GOV5 The answer that works for me is to ignore those fees completely. Look at msrp. Ignore the fees. Look at trade value. Ignore the fees. Look at what YOU want to spend...make it known...and ignore the fees. It's been said many, many times: The only thing that matters is the out-the-door price. To do that requires homework and preparation before getting wrangled into serious negotiations. If the dealer sells me a bike out-the-door (before tax) for $30k, I don't care how he arranges the fees. For all I care he can call $5k of it a shine and polish fee. If he claims $1000 for airing up the tires I won't worry. All I care about is the otd cost. I make that known up front and I avoid the games. And I never EVER get cranky or frustrated with the sales person. If I walk away it's on good terms and I remind them they have my phone number.
And what are OTD prices anyway? They are State tax and that is not negotiable..I have to pay it. The rest is paperwork to get the bike sold to a customer and get the title processed and mailed to me. I want to see those figures because if they are too high, I just ask the dealer to give me the papers needed and I will go to the DMV and Tax office and do it myself. If they want to charge me $250 to do that, I'll pay them that. It's worth $250 to me to NOT have to go to the DMV> LOL!! BTW, I look at paperwork as THEIR cost of doing business and it's something that I don't think we should pay. BUT, at $250 FEE, when I am buying a $25,000 + bike, if the rest of the deal is OK, the fee is chump change and not worth arguing over.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 2,316
Likes: 2,388
From: Jackson, OH
The OTD price for me is my full and complete cash outlay before taxes and after any trade-in. Again, I IGNORE the fees when negotiating. "You can have my trade-in and $XX.xxx to make the deal". I don't let them tack on extra costs above my OTD offer. OTD is of course negotiable and I always start low. It's a losing game to start bickering with the dealer about this or that fee. Freight. Setup. Market Adjustment. Docs. Value Added. Dealer Markup. Focusing on all the various fees and trying to deal them out is exactly the game they love. There's a reason they're called dealers...they deal...they work deals...they expect to deal. They are not so good at handling a 'this is my offer....accept it or I move along'. The hard part for most people is knowing how to arrive at a legit OTD offer.
I bought a '22 Denali pickup for msrp less my trade-in. No extra fees. We only had to settle on a value for the trade-in. They low-balled, and I gave them my OTD trade offer. They balked....hemmed and hawed. It went from the salesman to the new vehicles sales manager to the assistant GM and finally I found myself talking to the GM who got serious and gave me a price for my trade which was slightly less than I requested. I accepted. But ZERO fees or extras were added on.
I bought a '22 Denali pickup for msrp less my trade-in. No extra fees. We only had to settle on a value for the trade-in. They low-balled, and I gave them my OTD trade offer. They balked....hemmed and hawed. It went from the salesman to the new vehicles sales manager to the assistant GM and finally I found myself talking to the GM who got serious and gave me a price for my trade which was slightly less than I requested. I accepted. But ZERO fees or extras were added on.
