Harley Davidson "set up" fee
 

Did a search, no dice. Just curious what this is exactly. I just got a quote from a local dealership and it included a $355 dollar "inland freight charge" which I understand what that is but what in the world is a $545 dollar "set up" fee? Do they ship the bike in pieces? The quote I received from Military Car Sales has a similar fee but they call it "delivery point processing service- single unit priority handling" and that one $479. The freight charge on both quotes was the same.

That is extra profit...all dealers do not have the set up fees. Shipping you can count on just about every time.
I shopped a bunch of them before I bought...I seen some high fees added to the price of the bike...some upward of $2000.

If it's a crate bike maybe they mean assembly? For the price it's a stretch, but otherwise there's no real good reason.

the setup fee is to assemble the bike,charge the battery,add fuel, change oil,check torque on all the fasteners and detail it..the bikes come in a crate, but a lot of parts are taken off and packaged inside the crate for shipping.. usually the front fender,f.wheel,brakes,handlebars,risers,mirrors,co ntrols, pegs,boxes,windsheild,and/or fairing are disassembled. on some bikes the entire front end needs installed..most bikes take 1-3 hours to build/prep plus an hour to wash and detail..most bike shops have a setup fee, some just eat it or include it in the price to make a sale

All touring bikes come off the assembly line fully assembled. I've been to the factory in PA. There are no more crates, they use an aluminum shipping frame with plastic wrapped around the bike. They have to install the windshield, and antennas, check oil level, attach the cable to the battery and ride it 10 miles. They may check front and rear wheel nuts for tightness. They don't detail jack, they wash it. It's just a rip off to the customer. refuse to pay it and go to another dealer...:)

Those "fees" are the first thing I refuse to pay when negotiating the purchase of a new bike. I bought 3 new Harley's (2 in the '90's and the last one in Dec. 2009) and never paid shipping or dealer prep fees, and never paid over MSRP.

As stated earlier, there is some "prep" required to put the bike on the floor. But while shipping is a legitimate cost the Dealer passes on, the prep is prepaid on the invoice, ( a discount,) and is called "holdback" which pays the Dealer for prepping.

So when they charge you for it, it's pure profit as they've already been paid to do it with their holdback discount.

The dealership I deal with , they will tell you up front that if you join National Hog they will waive all those fees.

Then there is the "mandatory" Administration fee...

When negotiating my recent purchase of a new HD, I simply focused on the Out The Door cost to me from the dealer. (i.e. not including the sales tax or license fees from the State of Kansas.) Dealers around here had all kinds of costs that they tacked on, but I only cared about the bottom line when deciding where to purchase. So, when they slid the number in front of me, I always asked, "it that everything?".

Good luck.

Oh I forgot to mention a $283 "DOC" fee that they slipped between Tax and Tag. I imagine that's the administration fee mentioned above. They did say I would get a military package which includes a $500 dollar gift card, battery tender, first service free and a t-shirt. If they waived those fees honestly they would have themselves a deal as that package beats what MCES offers.