Hey all,

I'm fixing to deploy here pretty shortly with the Navy, but I'm looking to buy my first Harley right when I get back.

My question, for those who have had experience with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service or the Exchange New Car Sales programs, is it necessarily better to go through the military programs, and if anyone has had any particular good/bad experiences through them.

I'm looking at the 2011 Softtail Deluxe. While the website quotes it with my color choice at $17,100, ENCS quoted it to me at $16,600 for the same color, so approximately $500 savings. The downside being I would like to get several upgrades plus the stage one setup from the get go, and I'm not sure if ENCS delivers only stock, or if I can coordinate with them to get the upgrades by the time I take delivery.

Also, I've heard stories of people being able to get special deals such as gear and discounts on after market parts through the dealers. Any thoughts, good or bad?

Thanks,
Dave

 

I ordered my '05 Night Train from the ENCS in Mosul. First they have to find your bike in their "allotment". You'll have to make two choices, whether its a different color or different bike altogether. Chances are you'll get your first choice (I did anyway). As far as any options, you'll have to coordinate that with the H-D dealership in which you are picking it up at. The thing is, is that at most dealerships now, you can almost do better going straight to them, especially if you want them to do any upgrades. Get to know one of the sales guys and see what can be done. One thing to remember to is that not all Harley dealerships deal with ENCS. You can ask your local dealership if they do and if not if they know which one does. Even the stealerships are willing to make a deal, especially with the economy the way it is. Dont know if this helps or not, but that's just my $.02.

 

dont forget also that the salesguys at encs will make a big deal out of 'no sales tax'..... and they're right, there is no sales tax when you buy it, but wait until you go to register it and put plates on it. the dmv will hit you up hard for it and if you have to finance the bike, you don't get to roll that up into the amount.

oh, btw, thanks for your service. it is appreciated.

 

I just bought mine a couple months ago through ENCS... I'll be home in 55 days, and can't wait to ride!!! I had no complaints with my experience. Got lucky and was here for the 2010 close-outs, took about $2k off the MSRP. If you deploy for a year you might be able to do the same with 2011 close-outs, or possibly another big sale event. Like mentioned before, you still have to pay sales tax!

But really in your case... IMO go with a HD dealer. Good luck, and stay safe!!

 

Thanks for the advice. Granted I'm going to pay sales tax one way or the other, but I'm not concerned. I'm doing my financing through USAA at 6.75% APR, so I'll have the money for sales tax whether it's the dealer or when it's registering new plates after ENCS.

As far as the dealer goes, the three dealers in town are all owned by the same family, and they don't have a very solid reputation for customer satisfaction. I've read on these forums it's tough to negotiate price off the MSRP, but are there any tips for getting deals on the upgrades I'm looking at if I go through the dealer?

The other factor I'm considering is I heard there used to be a rather long waiting period to get your bike from the dealer. I'd like to step off the plane and start riding asap, my old honda's been broken down so long I've been getting itchy ;-)

Thanks,
Dave

 

Try Andrews Federal Credit Union... They beat USAA hands down, I was shocked. USAA told me they will not go below 6% for even perfect credit. I got AFCU for 5.1% and the ENCS guy has seen as low as 3.2% from them.

 

Dave- Thanks for your service! I just got back from the sandbox in October and while deployed I bought my Road King through ENCS. I saved about 2K off of MSRP and that is for a 2011 Road King with ABS, Security and the 5 year extended warranty. I did have to wait a bit as I ordered in August and picked up in late November. I bought mine right as the 2011's were coming out so they had no stock of anything yet, all 2011's had to be ordered. Seeing you are just deploying and want to ride as soon as you get back, you should have enough lead time to accomplish this.

ENCS should be able to tell you if the dealer near you is in their network. Mine was delivered to the dealer about 10 minutes away from me.

As far as financing check out Service Credit Union. You might be be able to cut that 6.75 rate from USAA in half (or close....I'm at 2.84% with them)

Overall it was a decent experience. I found out when I was about to pick up the bike that dealer could have come within 700 dollars of the ENCS price. So dealers can negotiate down, depends how bad they want the sale I guess

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll answer the best I can. Check out ENCS website and also on Facebook as they run deals now and then...there is a good one for a 100 dollar HD gift card and 500 dollars if you take a MFS course going on now

Stay safe!

 

All good points. The thing is that you do your homework. If the three dealerships around you are not known for good customer service, just go somewhere else. There is another post on here about good/bad dealerships, look into it and see what you've got. If nothing else, just start another post asking about other dealerships. I understand about riding to the dealership, there are three around me as well with the closets one being an hour an fifteen minutes away, the others being two plus hours away. But if you find a dealership that is willing to work with you and get to know your name, it just makes for a nice ride to go see them. Again, I hope this helps. BTW, if you list where you live (city, state) some of the guys that have already posted here may just have an answer for ya.

 

Yeah, that's a good thought. I'm over in Jacksonville, FL. I'm thinking about at least checking out the dealerships in town this week, maybe researching the ones in Daytone/Orlando as well. Overall, just trying to get the best deal.

 

Hey Iris. I just bought a 2011 Fatboy lo thru encs. Maybe what the sales guy was talking about was not having to pay interest till you get home and actually pick up the bike. That is how it worked for me. while I am still here in the catbox i dont pay interest till I actually accept delivery when I get home, then intrest starts after that.