There's been a lot of good advice given here. One part of negotiation that dealers rely on is you becoming emotionally involved in obtaining the bike(s). It's a business deal. They want to trade their bikes for a huge pile of your cash. Keep your emotions out of it.

You can try to get them emotionally involved. Sit down with the salesman/ manager, and set a pile of cash on his desk in front of you. Then let him start talking first. If he needs to get up and talk with his sales manager tell him to invite the manger in or you are walking away.

Go in with a set "out the door" price in mind, and if the contract can't be written for that then walk.

When you are negotiating explain to them that you want them telling you the "out the door price" Tax, tag, vehicle, and whatever other add-ons they need to do included. If not, they may tell you one price, then build their profit into the add-ons that they need. If the bottom line on the sales contract isn't what you agreed to, just walk away. they will probably run to catch you before you reach the door.

Good luck

 

These are not the only bikes for sale. Remember they always want to sell the bike more than you want to buy it. Go in with that attitude and you will always win (or you will leave). Always win!

 

when I bought my last used bike - from a local HD dealer - after looking at the bike, and doing a test ride, I went in with my offer all spelled out, literally... it was typed on a page. I asked for $2000 off their price, the next service done, new tires mounted, balanced and the spoke wheels trued, new mufflers and new hand grips. I simply handed my offer to the saleman, who took it in to the manager. 5 minutes later I was the proud owner of an 03 RKC.

oh, and I had my financing arranged through a local credit union and insurance.

 

Remember one thing: There are used bikes on every corner, at every dealer, classified ad etc. Don't ever stop to think, "But these are the perfect ones for me." Even if you only close the deal on one of the two. I miss my black/blue two tone FLHRC. I'm sure 5 years from now if I decide I want that exact bike again I'll find it.

 

Negotiating is a learned art, but not all that hard if you know how. Instead of relying on anecdotal stories I suggest you go to one of your local bookstores and purchase a book on car negotiations. The same principals apply when dealing with a bike deal as with a car dealer. Most of the advice given here is correct but none of it has been the full story.

I was like you when I was younger and had no real concept of how to effectively negotiate when buying cars, bikes, boats, etc. If I remember correctly I paid $12 for a book that has saved me tens of thousands of dollars if not more over my adult life not to mention getting rid of the stress involved in these transactions. These books usually are easy to read and do not require more than a day or so of study...well worth the time if you ask me. These books will tell you what research you need to do beforehand, all about financing options, how to identify and evade the tricks various dealerships may be using, and how to actually conduct the negotiating process for each phase of your purchase. Most of these books will tell you what to say, when to say it, and when to keep your mouth shut during the actual negotiations. Yes, there is actually a point where the next person who speaks loses.

Knowing how to negotiate will not ensure you of some "miracle" deal. What it will do is give you the confidence that you got the best possible deal for a particular bike for that particular market, time, and conditions. A dealer is always going to make a profit, your task is to minimize the amount of profit they make off of you.

 

Year/model info for the bikes would be helpful to give you ballpark numbers to work around...

 

Used bikes have a "loan value" set by financial institutions and this has great control over what a dealership can sell a bike for. Your credit union or bank will usually tell you what the loan value is. KBB and NADA books can give you a god idea of what the dealership paid for the bike and what the average retail value is, but the loan value is a better indicator of what the actual value of the bike is. Dealerships know they will have a hard time selling a bike for say $16k when the loan value is only $14k because Eaglemark or any other lender is not going to loan $16k for that bike to anyone.

One of the parts to buying a bike is to have your financing arranged before you ever start to make the deal unless you are paying cash of course. All HD dealerships will want your financing business, so you have to make them compete for it by beating the deal you already have.

 

the 2003 is a heritage softail with about 8k miles on it no add ons except for the screaming eagle pipes. the streetglide is a 2010 with about 800 miles on it. 96 with abs and security. That is a really good idea to find out the loan value. I called a buddy who works in finance and he said they would probably do around 9800 for the heritage but I am paying cash. Yall think I could get them down to the 9800?

 

figure the price you'd be happy paying for both, subtract a reasonable sum of money (ie; $500), offer that amount ... negotiate back and forth as stated above twice max - if they won't meet your "real" price walk away.

and after the deal is done if you agree on a price...never look at it again - i see people driving themselves crazy once they made their purchase with the money they "could've saved". No point ... the deal is done... so don't look anymore, just enjoy the ride and feel good about the deal.

1. what price you'll be happy paying
2. subtract $500
3. back and forth no more than twice (gets pointless / stalemate if you stay longer arguing over a few bucks)
4. if they agree.... ride and enjoy, don't look at bike prices anymore after that!

 

1) Know what their resale value is in YOUR area
2) Set limits on what you're willing to pay for each
3) Go in knowing that walking out without is a possibility
4) CASH IS KING!!! (know how they will be paid for BEFORE you bargain)

That being said - enjoy yourself - get creative - & good luck!