Iv'e tried to buy 4 bikes from a local dealer all with out success. The last one we traded the wifes sporty for a Deluxe and while I was sitting in the salesman office I told him I needed $500 more for the sporty and we would do the deal. He said there's no way any dealer could offer more so I call another dealer from his office and we do the deal over the phone. I leave and come back about 4 hours later with the wife on a new deluxe and they said IF they new I was serious they could have went another $500.
Fast forward to last fall. I had to lay my UC down and took it to the dealer for insurence estimate. They say $10,500 n repairs. I stop in right before Christmas to pay for my painted parts so they could order them. The service writer says they can't order parts unless there doing the work. WTF all I want to do is pay for the parts so they can be ordered and I will get back to them about what work I want done. The service writer gets the GM who happens to be the brother of the owner. He asks me what bike I'm interested in??? I told him what I wanted to do and he says why don't we put you on a new bike. I was not shopping for a bike but they had ONE UC classic on the floor that I liked so he tells me to go into his office while he looks and has my bike appraised. He's gone about 15 minutes and I just want to get out and on my way,,, He sits down and tells me my bike is only worth 12k but he's going to do better and give me 15K. I ask him how much his uc was and he says 25 K with the bling. I'm no rocket scientist but 15K and 10K from insurence = a new bike. I get an emergency call and have to leave but tell him put a sold sign on it and I'd be in the next day to sign the papers. That evening I'm sitting and thinking and it hits me He wants my insurence money plus my bike and 10k difference. Next day he calls and ask when I'm coming in and I ask him to tell me EXACTLY what he wants to complete the deal. He says my title keys and a check for the differnce between 15K trade and 25K sales price.
I go in and we write up the deal and I finance 5K after adding 8 k more in "extras" I sign the loan papers and title over to him and they take the bike to the back to start adding the parts I ordered. That evening he calls me Dec. 23 and tells me I need to come back tomorrow because he forgot to copy my drivers lisc. I told him I couldn't come back till the day after x-mas but would be in early. He says don't worry about hurring because we don't have a deal till they copy my lisc. Dec. 24 I get a mailing that says anyone who buys a bike on the 26th gets a $1000 store credit. So I go in the day after christmas with my lisc and the mailing and said I want the 1K He says thats only for customers that bought a bike that day, and I had to remind him his words were "we didn't have a deal til they made a copy of my lisc.." I got the extra 1K. There working and storing the bike for the winter and last month I recieved a bill for 10K worth of repairs 3 months after I've been making payments and I have the title in my name.
Its for the repairs on my old bike. I know they didn't repair the bike the way they charged because when I stopped in the mechanics told me they had another wreck they were taking parts off, but now my old red UC was a black classic or maybe just a standard. I call the GM and asked wtf the bill was for and he said it's what I agreed to... When I told him it wasn't what I agreed to and I wasn't paying 10k for a bike I didn't own or authorized any work on he says he's going to UNDO the deal. NO can do after the titles are registered and I told him he has to put my bike back in the same wrecked condition it was when I brought it in for an estimate.

So I ended up with a new bike for free, not free but no additionbal cost from an 05. The dealer is really pissed and hates to see me walk in. But I can't help stopping by once and awhile just to remind him he's not as smart as he likes to think...

BTW--- There was NO paper work that ever mentioned insurence money nor was it ever discussed until I received the final bill. Fck em, they lost this one.

 

Wow, it goes to show, if you don't look out for yourself, nobody will. Some of those guys at the dealer are like snakes. Congrats on your new scoot!

 

interesting story. is it safe to say that you are never, ever going back to this dealer for service on your bikes, right?

 

Nice story, glad you made out instead of them. I have a dealer hear that would try to do things like that to people, but I have 3 other dealers within less then an hour from me to go to as well.

 

I'll bet your on his black list!

 

Cool story, But you're right...fk'em Everyone wants a good deal but they forget to "write it down". I can say the same thing Verbal and it's useless, Write it down it a document...

Good Job, should have rubbed it in and asked how much he wanted for the old bike....

 

No I never go back for ANY service work. One reason is the 3 brothers are asshats [one owns the dealership, ones the GM, ones the head of finacing AND the owners wife is the prez.] And number two there 40 miles away. I am a member of the hog chapter and show up to bs with friends and partake in the free food and beer occasionally. I don't think they lost money because the bike had an extra 4K worth of chrome and a stage one BEFORE I bought it and then I had them do an additional 8K worth of work. Stage two and paint more bling etc. So I figure they broke almost even. If anyone wants an 05 with 53k miles no rear speakers or lower fairings they have one and there only asking $24,900.. Thats what a new saleman told me last time I was in, he said they priced it a "little" high so they had wiggle room to work with on a trade in.

 

Dont worry. They will screw someone else to make up for it. You gotta watch those dealers.
I love hearing stories like this.

 

That's a cool story. ( survey says, another one for the good guys)

 

I went through something very similar when buying my new bike a month or so ago. Had a bike to trade and they quoted me a very low trade in quote on my bike. Then kept playing with the price on the bike I wanted to buy. One day it was this price and the next day another price. I went to another dealer further away. They quoted me a trade in price that was fair, then quoted me a price on the bike I wanted. Decided a couple of days later to take the deal, they stuck to it and did the right thing. When I went back to the first dealer, they could not understand why I did not buy from them, they are close to me and it does not pay to go a long way for parts, I explained to them that I had told them I was serious, just give me a fair price and we would deal, they didn't and I didn't.

Everette