Up until last month I sold Hd's. Yeah, I heard alot of ignorant comments from some of my co-workers, and I'm sure was responsible for some myself. But it's real hard sometimes when you have a customer come in that has no idea about what bike they need. They haven't considered if it's for solo or two up riding, local or touring, fairing or not etc. As a sales rep, I start to go through the bikes, and many times just get a ignorant customer that has no idea, just wants a "Harley"

I can guarantee, as most other sales guys here will agree with, that the goof customer is always the one that starts the conversation with "I will pay cash", (even though if we ever do a deal the credit ends up being the major issue) then proceeds to complain about price, even before we get down to the numbers, and then will end up bitching about some part of the deal and complain to someone.

The ignorant statement is a two way deal. I know I worked damn hard to make every customer happy, as did most at our dealership.

 

I have dealt with the local dealership here in Southern Ontario Canada since 73. We went in last year to trade the 02 Standard for an 08 Road Glide. The salesman I had dealt with in the past had just retired and I had to deal with the Dealership Owners Son.

Sales: "I will give you 'X' for the trade, but I want the mechanics to look your bike over first"
Me:"OK, there is 90K on the bike, but it runs great, doesn't burn oil and everything works"
Sales, after mechanics look the bike over: "We are going to charge you another $1,583 to do the brakes, change the oil, replace some gaskets and do the tires on your trade in".
Me:"Why would I pay to refurb a bike then trade it in?"

We went out of town to a dealer that I had never been to before and we were treated royally. Been riding the 08 Road Glide since September 07 and won't darken the local dealers door again.

Note; The dealership where we purchased the bike invited everyone (and a guest) that bought an 08 to an evening out at a golf and country club. This included dinner and a motorcycle give away. The local dealership has only ever provided coffee and doughnuts for all the years I have dealt there!

 

My "first Harley" was a 1200 sportster. Does that make me a woman, or somehow feminine? And, yes, I bought it because thats all I could afford. Man--guess that makes you somehow a lot better than me cause you must make WAY more money.

 

sounds like you suffer bigbadassbiker syndrome. remember riding big bikes doesnt make your ***** bigger...

 

You sure do a lot of banging on the folks in Yorktown...Who told you this, assuming it was there?

 

I never mentioned the folks at Yorktown in that thread. We know what "assume" means! But I have heard this from a few other car and bike centers in the area. The folks in Yorktown are great.

 

I see that this is kind of an old thread and mean no ill feelings towards anyone who has had a bad experience with a salesman (or woman) whether it be on a bike or on a car. I am one of the "senior" sales guys at a Chevy dealership (just under a guy who has been here at our dealership for 36 years). The "cash price" is a tricky one for us sometimes. I say that 8 out of 10 times customers will ask for the "cash price". More often than not, he is still going to finance, which is totally fine! I am just a lowly salesman and the owner (and rightly so) don't trust me with money.... One of our newer sales guys gave someone a 'cash price' just today, and unfortunately, he gave him a price about $7500 below what we were IN TO the truck for, and $10,000 below what we were asking for it, which is about $11000 below Kelley Blue Book. You know what that guy did? He yelled at the kid, and told him, "you're nuts, no one would ever pay that much for that piece of junk"... If we give someone a "cash price", they are just going to negotiate more.

P.S. The same customer is in the finance office next to me buying the truck was next to it. We had his phone number and I called him back in here. I never gave him the "cash price" because I was able to show him WHY it cost as much as it did before he got a price. I would probably flip out too if someone told me something cost $27 grand without telling me why. JMO

 

In November of 07 I went to "Biker Bob's" H-D in Taylor, MI. to buy a tour pak latch. While I was waiting for their parts runner to find it in the back, I was looking at an 08 SG. A salesman approached and asked if I was interested. I said Maybe, what will you give me for my 01 Ultra in trade? They wheeled it into the service bay and looked it over, made a list of needed repairs and offered me $5,500.00. I asked why so low and they said it needed $2,750.00 worth of repairs due to oil leaks. Sounded like BS to me, since the bike never left behind any puddles or used more than a 1/2 a quart of oil in 3,000 miles. So I said, well since I have the extended warranty, fix it. I'll gladly pay my $50.00 deductible. The salesman and the service writer just looked at each other, dumbfounded.

 

Sure, if you'll model them. I think that leather thong might look kind of cool.

... Oops ... I should have read the rest of the responses first. Seems my thought was not so original.

 

One of the methods of tracking and identifying criminals is via car sales. If you pay cash (or hand over a check) for a car, there is required reporting. It's easier for the dealer, and you, if they finance the vehicle.

Additionally, dealers make money on financing, so, walking in waving handfuls of cash doesn't impress them they way a lot of people seem to think it should.