Now that i know a sporty is the bike for me, Last decision would be new vs used, From what i have seen & read so far sounds like used may be the way to go, My dealer has a large inventory of 07-11 sporty's with low mileage at a fair price, seems like alot of them already have accesories added, i can purchase extra warranty & still save alot of money over new, so my question being why buy new besides the obvious facts that some people just like brand new & also they can start from scratch & customize the way they wish, Would like to hear advantages & disadvantages on both, Thanks

 

Craigslist will have even better deals than the dealer.The dealer prices are all marked up after they give peanuts to the person who traded the bike in.Just my opinion.Bought my 2009 Nightster with 510 miles off Craigslist last month for well below book value.I look for stock bikes because some people just hack these bikes up doing mods which can lead to an array of problems.

 

True that

 

Get away from the dealers, even on used. If you go off of craigslist or newspaper ads you can talk them down even further on price.

I just purchased new this time around, the cost is much higher (even after getting a great deal and getting it for well below MSRP), but I don't have to worry about how the previous owner treated and rode the bike. I also am going for a certain look and it is cheaper for me to buy new than to buy used and put a new front end on the bike.

If you are looking at saving money, go used and go for a personal sale. If you talk to a dealer don't let them force you into a sale, be ready to walk away if you feel like you can get a better price elsewhere.

 

A person in your area would know more than anyone. I went with new. Reason? Everyone out here who was selling a used Harley wanted a fortune for it and every person out here would not budge on thier price. Must be because were in California or something. Found quite a few used sportsters, all beat to **** with high miles and these people wanted $5900+. The clean ones, forget about it. Those people with 07+ Sportsters with under 25k miles wanted $6800+, some were more than a new one. I just went down to my local Harley dealership and picked up a brand new 2013 instead. The sales guy waived the assembly fee, threw in a few t-shirts, a bell and a gift certificate. I got the bike for $8500 OTD. I also put down $2200. So I'm financing $6300. I think I did well.

Oh yeah, another reason is I know no one f'ed with my bike except me. So anything that goes wrong with mods is my own fault. I don't have to go chase down a problem I don't know about from someone else who had it. Avoid buying used from a dealership(unless you get a smokin deal). Although dealerships will sell really clean used bikes, they will want a fortune for them.

 

Was going to go through the dealer for a couple of reasons, the financing even though i know the interest rate may not be that great & second the local dealer support, where i live the next nearest dealer is over a hour & a half away, my service manager who i work with bought a softail from over 2 hours from here, he one day called the local dealer here to get a nys inspection done on a saturday, it's kinda a small town atmosphere around here & they knew he didn't buy the bike from them & blew him off & he ended up going elsewhere to get it inspected, not sayi'n that's right to do but i don't mind paying a little more to get the local help when & if needed

 

Then in that case, if you live far from help, I would get it locally. Just try and get the best deal you can. My interest rate is **** because of a divorce I had last year, but I will be sending double, sometimes triple payments per month. Just make sure they don't charge you that full $750 set up fee or whatever they call it. It costs them I think $100 to set the bike up at the dealer. Don't let them charge you the full amount.

 

Are there any local custom shops in the area? I bet they would be able to do service work. I used to work for a custom shop that did as much if not more Harley service work than the local dealer did. They generally also charge the same, if not less than a dealership for service.

So that is something else to consider.

Also, don't accept the first interest rate they tell you if you go through a dealer, make them check other local banks. Harley is always going to give you the highest interest rate possible (I bet they get some commission on it). I have stellar credit and they were trying to tell me 9% was as low as they could go, I made them check around and eventually it came down to 7.25% for 60 months. Never accept what they offer, always make them search out other options. Especially this time of the year in NY I bet those sales guys are hungry for a sale as many dealerships make their sales guys work on commission. Grind on them for the best possible price.

 

Check your state laws on state sales tax savings from a private party. Here in Illinois, even if you buy a used bike from a dealer, you'll end up paying state sales tax. If you buy from a private party, you only pay a flat $25 fee.

 

I think the biggest reason to go to the dealer Vs. buying used is how much patience you have.

It can take quite a while to find the "right" one with low miles, well maintained, color, style and accessories you want for the right price and not have to travel far to get it and then hope you didn't buy a lemon if it is out of warranty. If you buy new its a trip to the dealership and buy one (or ordering one) the way you want knowing it has a warranty etc. No worries.

You can do the legwork and take the time and save some $$ or just pay up front and get it now.