Harley prices are all over the place, but especially hiigh at the stealership. If you like to buy your own mods, find a dealer that will sell you a new one at near msrp and add your own. It is certainly more fun that way. I went 75 miles to a dealer and saved almost 2000 dollars on my new fatboy even though their was a dealer around the corner from my house....

 

You can find a price difference between dealers but it is cheaper to buy from a private party that a stealer has already tried to screw

 

I agree, and you can get 20-25 % off on alot of parts on Ebay if you are careful. I love bolting on my own stuff and setting up the bike just for me. I haven't had a problem finding bikes at list at most places. Just a little disappointed at resale on used bikes lately.


Terry

 

Ebay, and other things keep resale down too. I saw a 2003 Fatboy with 2300 miles on it, the BUY IT NOW price was 10,000!! If I had had the money, I would own 2 right now, mine in black, and that one in Gunmetal Pearl!!! Dealers never give dick on a trade, car, bike or otherwise, we all know this, so if you are looking for a bargain, how did you end up in a dealership??? Private party is the way to go, but hey, whatever works for you- I bought from the dealer, love my bike, and I have used Ebay for somethings. I dont think that the values are going to stay real high, but nonetheless, we wont lose too much on our rides overall.

 

I'm not looking for a new or used bike. Just making an observation from hanging out at a couple Harley Dealers for quite awhile. I was just wondering how long everyone thouht Harley could stay on their high horse with so many bikes in the showroom. It wasn't that long ago when there was a two year waiting list just to test drive one.

Most of the real cheap bikes on Ebay are a pipe dream. If it looks too good to be true it probably is. I've seen $15,000 Harleys advertized "buy it now" for $6000.00. There has also been warnings from Ebay and numerous scams. Most of my friends selling on Ebay have gotten the price they were looking for.

I do agree that the best deals are from locals who either can't afford to keep their bike or get bored making payments over the winter. I bought my Screamin Eagle from an individual and got a pretty good deal compared to the one I found in a showroom. I have also bought numerous new bikes and have never paid over list and never had to wait for any length of time for one to come in. I've never bought a bike that the dealer has added accessories to either. I want to pick and install my own.

Terry

 

I have noticed lately that prices drop dramatically (20%) for the first two years and then hold a pretty good value.(Canadian market) Forget getting money for chrome. The bikes previous to 2000 get around original purchase price, and any bike that is 15-20 years old just does not go down in value at all.

The lesson for me is if I buy new, I ride it for at least 6 years, to get value. It's the leasing mentality getting into bikes, the suckers get used to the payments, and will trade it in cheap after a couple of years and get a new one, and keep the payments the same. If I am looking for used, a private almost new bike is the best deal.

 

Check out the Kelly Blue Book for motorcycles. www.kbb.com
Jeff

 

I reckon these new EPA regs mentioned elsewhere in the forum will have an effect on new bike sales from next year. If so, then the second-hand value of existing bikes is going to go up. Buy now!

 

I was just thinkin' the same thing.

 

Talking to a local dealer about a rk classic in smokey gold and black he had on the floor. Wanted to know if he sold that one before I had made a choice if it would be hard get one in with the same paint. He told me HD has nearly doubled their production of at rks in the past two years and he can get any bike in any color in about three weeks. Still he said they are selling more bikes than ever just HD replaces them just as quick so they always have a full showroom. He also told me HD will ship dealers more bikes during the winter to accomodate for the spring buying boom. Just some things to keep in mind.

Buy the way I bought an 04 fatboy with 7k miles, saddle bags, detach windshield, crash bar, and factory security, adn one year warranty plan for 16000, asking price at the dealer was 16999 but I got him to come down. I thought it was a pretty good deal. Any thoughts.
GBH

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