You all are the ****. I appreciate all the help. I'll be heading to the other dealer tomorrow, hoping they beat the snot out of this deal. And I'm flushing that damn warranty.

They offered you 2k for the warranty! They pushed 1k on me and I was shocked at that.

Thanks again.

 

I feel your pain man...They tried the same stuff with me. Once negotiations got to the point where we weren't going anywhere, the sales manager asked me what I was willing to pay for the bike. I told him my final, bottom line number and he tried to get another $500 out of me and I walked. About 30 secs later he came after me and agreed. Tell the dealer you want to give them the opportunity to sell you a bike, but you will not be bogged down with all these extra costs that don't benefit you as a customer. They CAN sell you the bike for MSRP or lower and they CAN do away with a portion their over-priced preping fees in order to make a sale. The way I see it, everything is negotiable and if you don't ask for the price you want, you will never know. If they know you are serious about a purchase, they will deal with you!

 

There's no reason you can't shop outside your local area by phone. I bought my Sportster over the phone. I called around to dealers all over California and had them give me a quote for everything I wanted (included upgraded wheels and paint). Once I had their quote, I gave them the lowest quote I'd recieved so far and asked if they can beat it OTD. Took me about a week, but they started calling back and going lower with each call. Eventually I just drove out and picked it up about 20 minutes from home. I was expecting to have to drive all over California. You don't have to be there in person. You can do it all over the phone. Have them email or fax you their signed quote before you drive all the way there though.

 

No way I would take the original deal at that price and it is a bigger insult without taxes included.
Depending where you live, you may need them to do over $1500 better just to cover that tax nut. Have you looked for a late model used bike? Could be a much better deal for you.

 

Very good point which I forgot to mention in my previous post. Had a buddy buy his Ultra that way. Called the dealership and told them what he was looking for and the rest of the negotiation was either by phone or email. Buddy got a great deal w/o ever stepping foot in the showroom

Actually if you're not good at negotiating of have bad sales resistance (ME) this is probably the way to go. Once you're on their turf, they have the upper hand. Both of our bikes were more or less impulse buys. We just went in to look around, fell in love with a particular color and model which we were certain no other dealer had. BTW, if you have a wife or girlfriend, leave her home when you go shopping for a Harley.

Fortunately I knew what the MSRP was so I had a baseline from which to work. Have never paid msrp for a vehicle and never will.

About the setup fees. The dealers we dealt with claimed they couldn't waive them which is another good reason to shoot for at least $1500 under msrp.

I have never bought an extended warranty and I think most consumer advocates recommend against them. However I know people who enjoy the peace of mind having "repair insurance" can bring. That's why I have AAA even though it doesn't make good economic sense.

Good luck.




__________________________________
2008 Heritage Classic: His
2008 Deluxe: Hers

 

I went to Cyclebuy and got the dealer invoice for the model and equipment that I wanted. Their website is the following:

http://cyclebuy.com/invoice.htm

I then went to the dealer (July '08) and negotiated a fair profit for them. Result was an '08 Heritage at $2941 below MSRP. I can't remember exactly but they still had a profit somewhere around $500-600 over their invoice.

It all depends on the dealer and the location as to how good a deal you can get.

 

My dealer didn't charge freight or setup, and I ended up out the door for $1500 less than other dealers were asking, not including T&L on theirs.

I didn't get any 'dealership bucks', but they always give me a discount on parts, even 2 years later.

They never used to be like this, but have become much more 'consumer friendly' over the last few years.

 

Just an FYI thing; but if you have the vehicle and the time along with the $, get on the phone and start calling stealerships. I went 2500 miles round trip and saved $2 K, cost $500 bucks and a bunch of burnt out driving, but it was worth it.

Something else to consider, is if you could unload your sportster yourself, and then find a used Heritage a couple years old that is a garage queen would be for me anyway a preferable situation. Then you might have a shot at saving some real money not to mention maybe helping somebody out, as it is a buyers market at this time, not a sellers.

 

For example:

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories

 

The $1200 they quoted you for a 5 Yr warranty including Wheel & Tire is not a bad price. Extended warranties are personal preference. If you feel you're gonna keep the thing long-term and not make major engine mods, it might be worth it. One nail in the tire and something goes defective in the engine and you might make your money back. It's a gamble. I never usually buy extended warranties but I did for my Deluxe.

As for trading in the Sportster, why aren't they giving you full MSRP since you're trading up to a Big Twin? You know the promotion I'm talking about? It ends on 3/31. Here's the link:

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/C...p?locale=en_US

Good luck!