When I bought my Road Glide from Four Rivers in Paducah KY. they gave me a 20% discount on my upgrades for buying the bike from them. Got a pretty good deal on the bike also.

 

When I lived back in Indiana in Indianapolis, I regularly drove 35 miles north to Kokomo Harley who gave all HOG members a 20% discount on parts/accessories. I did all my service work there cause the service dept was aces. Moved down here to New Mexico and bought a new StreetGlide this March from Thunderbird Harley. I asked them if they gave HOG members a discount (they sponsor the largest HOG chapter in the state). The guy looked at me like I was from another planet or something! They give NO discounts but do offer their VIB card (Very Important Biker) where you accumulate points that then turn into cash on demand. Of course unless you are buying a new bike, the card costs you $25 a year. About the only thing I will be buying from them now will be filters or an occassional shirt or something if the mood strikes me. In retrospect I dont think I got the very BEST deal on my new bike purchase but I am ok with what I got, with 2K miles on the new StreetGlide, its fast becoming a faded memory. I am in the market for a new seat and the new Air luggage rack but damn sure wont be buying it from Thunderbird at list price.

 

I bought a new Tri-Glide & got a 15% parts/service/clothing discount.......on one item only.

 

Dealers = Stealers they don't give discounts cuz they they don't have to! Just like with cage dealers there are people that believe that dealers are the only ones to be trusted so they only go there for their every need or want then there's the rest of us who are smart with our money and know theres always some one cheaper online! I will say this theres an indy shop here that I dropped ship a ft tire I got online and they offered and did match the price I found the rear tire on line for and even got it faster for me!

 

Because you keep buying parts from them at high prices.....Helloooooo WTF were you thinking at bike #2?

 

I kinda get the impression that the dealer's hands are tied when it comes to the actual parts. I've noticed that as well when I've bought new toys for my scoot. My stage 1 would have been almost three times as expensive if I would have bought it all through my dealer. On the flip side, they have been pretty good about giving me breaks on maintenance, etc. They did give me a little bit of a break on the dyno. If I get something that I can't do myself, I typically bring it to them for the install.

 

I bought my streetglide from Mikes in Delaware for 16k and a 2000 vstar trade-in which is about 90 miles from home because I went to Annapolis HD and offered 17k and vstar and they basically acted like I was wasting their time.Annapolis HD is owned by Mike's too.I figure the price difference is due to location as Annapolis is full of yuppies with too much money.I would rather have dealt with the local dealer but like you whether it's 70 bucks or a 1000 money talks!

 

This guy sounds like a real jerk. Unfortunately, I'd just move on down the road. As for the employees, well they will still get paid, because the owner's probably stickin' it to someone else that can't go anywhere else. You can always stop by and say "Hi'

 

You have a point. I'm guilty. Here's the deal. First,they give me a good price on the bikes and if I trade, they do me right. Secondly,they do give a 15% discount on any parts bought with the sale of the bike, and a discount on labor as well. Thirdly, if I need something relatively expensive, I'll get it from Zanotti. Last but not least, if I don't do business here (12 miles from home) I would have to travel to the next closest shop. Not such a big deal for the sale, but I'd rather have the service close to home. I could go to Rhode Island, to Ocean State HD, but I bought two bikes from them and wasn't happy there.

Overall, I like my local shop. Like I said, all of the employees from the GM on down are all good people. They have to do things according to their company policies. My only real complaint is the parts discount issue. I guess I really shouldn't be complaining about anything. I just have this thing about loyalty between the shop and the customer. I've talked with other customers here who feel the same, and even some of the parts counter people think their policy sucks. The owner of the business knows he loses parts business to the on-line sellers. He also makes the choice to not compete with them and take care of his customers. I gotta go where the price is right. End of story.

One last comment. I used to be in the major appliance business. I would never lose a loyal customer over a price. Companies spend tons of money on advertising to get customers into their business. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me to lose them once you have them. It's not like they would lose money on their parts, they would just be working on a lower profit margin. Better than ZERO proffit.