05-16-2015, 01:23 PM
(05-16-2015, 12:41 PM)gossman_imp Wrote: I wouldn't worry, MC shops are not in it to break even. Even paperwork cost them money in employee time and paperwork.
This is a very good point in my opinion. Running any business can not be easy. Keeping customers happy while paying all of the bills has to be a very tough balancing act.
We had a Honda shop here in town not too far from where I live. I went there countless times after I bought my used Hawk GT, but only to deal with their parts department. My experiences with this dealership were always positive and I certainly would have gone to them first to buy my CB1100 if I had the chance. Sadly by the time the CB1100 made it to the States, they had closed their doors for good.
Now I must travel a fair amount further to visit a Honda dealer. I will say that the dealer that I ended up buying my CB1100 from treated me great. But it's a real shame that a nearby shop I enjoyed doing business with is no longer around. I find value in being able to do business with someone that is located nearby and am even willing to pay a bit more for that privilege, at least to a point. In this case, I'd at least like to have that option once again, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
(05-16-2015, 12:47 PM)White Dog_imp Wrote:(05-16-2015, 03:47 AM)Olyrider_imp Wrote: Legit in the sense that American Honda does, in fact, charge dealers for getting units to their individual store. And...as I wrote before, everyone is charged the same. Let's assume "hypothetically" that the freight charge for a 2014 CB1100 is $350. If the dealer charges a customer $425, then there is $75 profit, FSVP. It's easy to argue that this isn't pure profit, so I don't want to go there. But 99.9% of customers don't negotiate freight & set-up. They just don't.
If you can get a dealer to lower the freight charge, hats off to you. Freight charges and "dealer prep" charges seem to be non-negotiable.
A lot of this depends on where you are located and just how competitive the local market is.
I did not have to pay any of these charges, but I did pay full MSRP for my bike — it was the very first CB1100 that the dealer had ever received and I had ordered it months in advance, so that wasn't too surprising. As far as current CB1100 prices are concerned, I have no doubt that some folks located elsewhere could find a better deal than I can locally if we were to compare. But I'm fortunate enough to live exactly where I want to live and I don't get too worked up over that kind of thing so my local market just is what it is. Others might not feel the same way.