* I swear I didn't mean to be so long winded lol

X2. Now, I know theres a few horror stories floating around regarding Barb's ... but, here's my $.02; 90% of the guys I work with, and the groups(all LEO) they ride with do biz with Barb's. My newest bike was a private sale, but I did the Harley assist thing & financed it through them. Even though I didn't actually buy the bike of the floor at Barb's, they treated me like gold. The deal was smooth, no hassles at all. At one point, Barb pulled me out of the office, toured me around the floor, and actually treated me like new friend(she knew of a few of the guys I ride with, & we actually figured out we have a couple common friends). It's been just about a year, & as recent as this weekend ... when I go in there, if Barb or Jay(finance guy) see me, they say hi to me by name. You may say all of it is just blowin sunshine in my a$$ to make me buy more, well they've got me fooled. Even if you wanna say it's crap, the level of effort has me impressed! LoL.

Rommel's Smyrna - I met a HDF member there a few weeks ago to buy his Trucklite LED head light. It was almost an hour ride for me, so before I made the turn around I went in for a walk. When I approached the door, there's a sign the says something like; 'Pets, don't leave your humans in the car, put them on a leash and bring them in, We're a pet friendly delaership'. My dogs are my kids I found this alone to be pretty impressive, & I made up my mind that just based on that gesture alone, I would buy a Tshirt that day if they had a cool one. I had one of my mutts in the truck, so I harnessed her up & went to take her in. They only had maybe 20-25 bikes in the joint, & most of the swag still says 'Mike's'. They did have a new Fatboy in Tequila Sunrise, & dayum if I was going to get rid of my blue Boy, THAT'S the one I want ... anyways ... the folks were nice, cool, but nice. They left us alone to walk around. I will say the clothing girl was very nice to my dog, & she was very easy to look at. I learned more about the pets she has at home than anything else that day LoL.

In the end, try at least 2 shops. Just have something to compare eachother 2. Go with your best gut.

 

My vote goes for the one in Exton. Of the ones listed I've only ever been to Hannum's in media and the one in exton. While I do really like their most senior tech in Media (good guy, knows his ****) I didn't like their salesmen. Exton was easy to deal with and got me all the parts I wanted on schedule and at fair prices.

 

This was my experience at Brian's also. While they were 'ok' on my trade, they wanted more money for a 2011 demo Ultra with several thousand miles on it then what I paid for a 2012 Ultra Limited (brand new) at Hannum's.

 

Whatever dealership you decide on, choose a stock bike regardless of new or used. The dealerships always trade at stock black book cost, so any accessories is just profit for them when they sell the bike. That said, don't expect to get any extra money or trade in value for accessories on your old bike.

As long as you know that, you won't feel ripped off when they wheel and deal. There may be exceptions, but it is a good rule of thumb.

Look up the value of your bike, sans modifications and accessories, and keep that price in mind when negotiating your trade in.

 

Im gonna second the Schaeffer's motion. Its a little drive but I'm on my third bike from them and have always treated me the absolute best. There are 3 other dealers closer to me (schoch's, keystone and formerly crossroads), I keep going back to Schaeffers for a reason.
If you end up going ask for Sven or Geoff, both top notch guys.

 

Not having bought a bike from Smaltz's or Hannum's I couldn't comment on their sales force. But I have dealt with all 3 for service and parts. I won't get into details but the service experience at Smaltz's was awful. I had nothing but good experiences with the parts and service guys at Hannums in Chadds Ford. And since this is where most riders will spend their time and money after the sale, they get my vote.

 

Barbs was the only dealer I visited that actually seemed like they genuinely wanted to help me get the bike I wanted at the price I wanted.

Brians was a total waste of time. I went there to look at a used bike and the best they could do was "maybe we can take $200-300 off the price" When I tried to walk they had the sales manager try to offer me $400 off to convince me to stay. The bike was in horrible shape and I told them I was interested at any price. Plus like several have mentioned...their bikes are way over priced. This was 18 months ago and the sales guy still calls me monthly to ask when I am coming back to buy!

I ended up going with craigs list since I wanted a night train. Buying new though I will definitely give Barbs a shot when its time to add a 2nd bike.

 

I'm a sales rep. Drive all over PA. Of all the dealerships in which I've ever been, Schaeffer's is the only one that acted like they might want my business. Everybody else acted like a sterotypical Harley dealer. Too bad they're 150 miles from me. I'd go there if I were closer.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I had heard some bad stories of the former Mike's in Delaware and so far nothing but good things about Barbs. I will start at Barbs then try some of the other dealers but I think I will stay away from Delaware and Valley Forge.

 

I got my last bike from Hannums (Media). I got a good deal, they are always nice to me, and always there to help with questions. The sales guy I had is named Paul, he was great too.

I heard good things about Barbs in Philly.

I will never go to Mike's In DE ever again. They are thieves and if you don't know anything about bikes or research prices you will get ripped off.