trying to settle on a new bike----

as usual coming down to the short strokes with the dealer haggling over price---

has anyone ever actually SEEN the dealer invoice?

will they actually show it to you if you ask to see it?

how do you know it is really the price they paid?

 

Why does it matter?
It only matters what the differnce is between them and other dealers.

Try this thread maybe you can figure it out: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...e-2009-rk.html

 

Papa, a friend in the car business showed me a drawer full of "dealer invoices" one time when I bought a car from him. They can mean absolutely nothing. Several years ago, a dealer could sell the vehicle at "cost" and get money from rebates and kickbacks through floor plans and such. I don't know if Harley does that, but there's probably room to dicker. Everybody's got to make money, but as my daddy used to say, "I don't want 'em to make it all off of me." Service after the sale and confidence in your dealer makes all the difference in the world. If you're near Dothan, Alabama, I recommend Harley of Dothan. Good folks.

 

I nthis market i would ask.I mean the 2010 models are here.. Are you trying to deal on a 2009? J

 

delete. sorry.

 

I made my deal last mounth. It took us about 2 weeks for them to come down to my price that I first offer them. In this market you have the power, as long as your wants is not overriding you. I walked out on them twice and the last time I told thanks to no thanks and shock his hand and walked out and before I could get on my bike he was calling me back in and doing the deal that I first offer him 2 weeks ago. Just remember to be fair, he has to make a living to.

 

I tried to play hard ball with the dealer. I made a offer on a red sunglow ultra with abs about 1000 below MSRP and went home to wait for the call. A week later after no call I went back down to the dealer to offer 500 under MSRP and the bike was sold. They also had a black pearl ultra with ABS that was my second choice. They had sold it also. I spent the next three weeks hunting for another red sunglo ultra with ABS. I found one about 400 miles away and went and offered MSRP and they took it.

I could have made the same deal the first time around and had my bike a month earlier. It all depends on how fast bikes are selling in your area. I didn't know it at the time, but ultras were selling very good and ABS bikes were selling about as soon as they hit the floor.

I almost had to settle for a bike that either didn't have the options I wanted or a different color than I wanted.

Mark

 

Legit question......why would a dealer show you what he paid? Either way, here's the short answer on pricing: Dyna's, Touring, Softail......the mark up is about 3 grand depending on the model, but defiinitely not higher than that (not that much mark up, when you consider the average dealer only sells between 175 and 200 bikes a year). Sportsters, VRods and Buells are about 2 grand mark up. These mark ups are based on MSRP of course.

The other thing to remember, is that the dealer does not pay HD for a bike until it is sold. That's why you will see such a difference in attitude between dealers.....one wants to move as many bikes as possible, to increase his service department and accessory business......while another dealer will have the attitude that since there is no money out of their pocket in advance, they'll just wait for the customer who is willing to pay MSRP or higher.

 

Papa. Don't knock yourself out. The dealers job is sell you that bike for as much as possible and it's your job to pay as little as possible. It's just business.

Check this older thread on How to Buy a New Harley. I read this before buying my 09 and it adjusted my whole attitude and saved me a bunch of $$$.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...ley-101-a.html

 

I paid exactly 3600 under "posted" msrp for my 09 RKC. I paid 16,230...sticker said 19,830.
Sales person told me they had it in stock too long and was making "payments" to HD???? If anyone can validate this info would be cool.
I,m still pinching myself.