Suggestions on buying a new Bike.
Cruiser
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 159
Likes: 1
Just finished my purchase of an 09 FXDL 8 days ago, and my experience is similar to what has already been mentioned.
1.- I researched and had a number that I knew I would pull the trigger on if I could attain it. This number was not based on monthly payments, rather it was an OTD price of the bike.
2.- I financed and was preapproved by a credit union, and indicated I could finance through them if the deal was good enough.
3.- Used my legs as a weapon, walked out when the deal I needed was not accepted.
4.- Contacted a dealer in a different city, and agreed to stop by at a later date, being pretty sure that I could obtain the deal I wanted.
5.- Waited a little to see if local dealer would call me back and they did.
6.- Purchased locally when they needed to sell. This was probably the biggest factor. They needed to sell for two primary reasons: First, it was the 31st of July, and sales for the month were low. Second, they are about to receive the 2010 bikes, and still have quite a few 09's on the floor.
Manager did tell me that down here (south texas) most people don't concentrate on sales price, rather monthly payments. I think doing the latter allows the dealer to find ways to make more profit; ie: higher rates on longer terms, etc.
Summarizing, I would say know what you want and how much it is worth to do. Then go look for it, specially when dealers need to sell....much easier to obtain the deal you want.
1.- I researched and had a number that I knew I would pull the trigger on if I could attain it. This number was not based on monthly payments, rather it was an OTD price of the bike.
2.- I financed and was preapproved by a credit union, and indicated I could finance through them if the deal was good enough.
3.- Used my legs as a weapon, walked out when the deal I needed was not accepted.
4.- Contacted a dealer in a different city, and agreed to stop by at a later date, being pretty sure that I could obtain the deal I wanted.
5.- Waited a little to see if local dealer would call me back and they did.
6.- Purchased locally when they needed to sell. This was probably the biggest factor. They needed to sell for two primary reasons: First, it was the 31st of July, and sales for the month were low. Second, they are about to receive the 2010 bikes, and still have quite a few 09's on the floor.
Manager did tell me that down here (south texas) most people don't concentrate on sales price, rather monthly payments. I think doing the latter allows the dealer to find ways to make more profit; ie: higher rates on longer terms, etc.
Summarizing, I would say know what you want and how much it is worth to do. Then go look for it, specially when dealers need to sell....much easier to obtain the deal you want.
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 326
Likes: 1
From: New Jersey
Well, the dealers certainly will love you if you do that. There's a bigger margin on accessories, and they will push them big time. It's really easy to take an $18K bike and tack on 4k or 5k in add-ons.
I would strongly advise the exact opposite. Buy only what you can pay cash for. I own my cars and bike, ski boat, etc. I put money away every month into a couple of investment accounts. This is the money I would otherwise be paying to the bank if I financed my ride. You wind up getting the interest paid to you instead of you paying it to the bank, and save a ton of money. It's possible to avoid consumer debt, if you have the discipline. If you don't have 20K in cash to spend on a new bike, save for a few months and buy what you can afford in cash. There's a lot of nice bikes for sale today for less than 10K. It's not a hardship to ride something like that for awhile. Then you save a little more, sell and trade up.
I would strongly advise the exact opposite. Buy only what you can pay cash for. I own my cars and bike, ski boat, etc. I put money away every month into a couple of investment accounts. This is the money I would otherwise be paying to the bank if I financed my ride. You wind up getting the interest paid to you instead of you paying it to the bank, and save a ton of money. It's possible to avoid consumer debt, if you have the discipline. If you don't have 20K in cash to spend on a new bike, save for a few months and buy what you can afford in cash. There's a lot of nice bikes for sale today for less than 10K. It's not a hardship to ride something like that for awhile. Then you save a little more, sell and trade up.
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,989
Likes: 11
From: Right Coast
1. Know exactly what you want before you go.
2. Know the MSRP on the bike and the prices of all accessories you want.
3. Walk in with at least $1,000 in CASH.
4. Negotiate the bike with the accessories and tell them to throw in the labor.
5. When they balk at your requests stand up thank them for their time and say good-bye. If they want to deal they will, if not, head to the next dealer.
6. Go only to a dealer that sells at MSRP not those hijackers like Mike's Famous.
7. Don't forget the parts and repair manuals.
8. Have fun.
2. Know the MSRP on the bike and the prices of all accessories you want.
3. Walk in with at least $1,000 in CASH.
4. Negotiate the bike with the accessories and tell them to throw in the labor.
5. When they balk at your requests stand up thank them for their time and say good-bye. If they want to deal they will, if not, head to the next dealer.
6. Go only to a dealer that sells at MSRP not those hijackers like Mike's Famous.
7. Don't forget the parts and repair manuals.
8. Have fun.
Novice
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Keep negotiations clean. Even if you do, say you don't have a trade-in until after you negotiate the price of the bike.
Try to get the dealer to give you the first offer.
Don't blow your load. Know how much under MSRP you would buy the bike for and start BELOW that number. The dealer will never accept your first offer.
Try to get the dealer to give you the first offer.
Don't blow your load. Know how much under MSRP you would buy the bike for and start BELOW that number. The dealer will never accept your first offer.
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Ironbarr
General Harley Davidson Chat
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Jun 17, 2009 08:01 PM
