Tips Buying New Motorcycle

H-D 4 Life 

Find the Right Salesman

You do not have to deal with just any sales person. Find the one that you can relate to and who really has your best interest at heart.

Check to see how they get paid. Some Dealerships pay their Salesmen Commission, others do not. For example, where I bought my last bike the salesman got a flat fee per bike. He did not make more if I bought this or that extra, so his main concern was finding the right bike for me that would make me say "yes". Now the other guys you will deal with Chrome and Acceseries, and Finace Depts will try to sell you sometimes more that what you what...Because mostly they DO get commission. Only buy what you want or feel you need.


Look at your options before buying

Is the model year nearing the end? What new changes are expected? Is the dealer holding leftover Last Years Model stock? Is it really the color you want? What are their Dealer Fees (this varies greatly between dealerships, shop around), What are they offering you above and beyond the bike (% off parts and service, and for how long).


Never buy a Bike on a spur of the moment whim

This purchase will be with you for a long time. Choose wisely.

ftwflh 

Forget about buying a brand new one Let some fool pay the high new price and wait a year or so until he goes through a DIVORCE and get it for pay off


really your tips are close to getting a good deal one new ones
But let me add that yiou need to really ask around in a couple hunderd mile radious of the shop to make sure they stand behind EVERYTHING they say they do.Some dealers forget you after your check clears.

Hobbit 

you are right on the depreciation i have a 06'1200 custom bottom line with the extras it was £9500 brand new, price to me £6500 with less than 4K on the clock and still has manufactures warranty
and the dealer did not just try and sell me any bike he found me the bike i wanted his colleagues tried to sell me a Dyna or a Rod but he got me the bike i wanted

glider 

AoXY

Very good and valid points you made here. I like to play hard ball with them after they know that I am there to buy a bike. I find it works well as you said to negotiate your best deal THEN go for the gusto with the "I want this" list that you have already planned out before hand.

I got this 07 RK that I have now and paid MSRP for it but after they realized I was there to buy it, I told them that I wanted the frenched headlight visor, passing light visors, directional light visors front and rear and the smart siren added to the alarm also. They made a face at me and guess what.....I made one back and they went for it. I got almost $500 worth of parts and they even installed them before delivery for me at no charge. I also purchased a number of chrome parts and had them list it on the origional invoice so that they are covered under the warrantee also with the bike until it expires.
Don't let the dealers get away with anything because on average they make $3000-$4000 on a new bike so they can afford a few gifts regardless of the stories they try to tell you.
If you want to verify the dealers profit, it costs $20 and this will tell you their cost on the new bikes.

Current, accurate, dealer cost information for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.

Here's an example of a Road King

$17695 (msrp for Vivid Black RK)
$ 335 (freight)
+$ 275 (setup)
--------
$18305 (before tax and doc fee)
- $14616 (dealer invoice / "ready to sell cost")
--------
$ 3689 (dealer profit not counting the documentation fee which can be negotiated out.)