10-07-2014, 10:17 PM
Hey, they have to at least TRY to get maximum $$ for the bike. They don't know if you're a newbie, or someone with a lot of cash that may just pay bust out retail, or if you're a seasoned buyer or negotiator when you first walk in. But, when we start balking at the extra fees and say what they are doing is unfair, etc, then they should get the hint we're not happy and they should by then also notice we are serious about buying.
My dealer explained to me right up front when I called to see if the bike I was looking at on the Internet was still available. He said agreed price, state tax, $100 doc fee and $100 something else. The bike was advertised kind of low to begin with so I thought, what the heck, what matters is OTD price and I drove to the dealer. We had a short back and forth. He said one price, I said something that I knew was too low. He asked what I could live with OTD. I told him that I was going to buy a CB that day whether it was at his dealership, another dealership, or a private seller and that I had five $100 bills in my pocket for a deposit somewhere. I said I had two days off for work and didn't care if I had to drive 300 miles to get a good deal. I also said I didn't want to pay the fees. He said the fees stay. We talked some more. At some point we were stalled only $200 apart on a $7000 + taxes deal. I got up, shook his hand, and started to turn toward the door. Then I said- "Do you know we are only about $200 apart? " He stumbled and seemed a bit confused and said he'd go talk to the manager. The manager came out, I told him if he could find a way to lose the $200 I would hand over a deposit. He sat at the salesman's desk and wrote on the pad and reconfigured some of the amounts. He then showed me the paper and said this is the absolute best he could do for me. He got rid of $115 of the $200. At this point, feeling like he really tried, and realizing that $7010 was a very good deal, _I_ wasn't going to walk away because of $85 and we did the deal.
Sometimes the sales people aren't all that bright, maybe they can't think on their feet, or maybe they just stick to a script the all-controlling sales manager tells them to?
My dealer explained to me right up front when I called to see if the bike I was looking at on the Internet was still available. He said agreed price, state tax, $100 doc fee and $100 something else. The bike was advertised kind of low to begin with so I thought, what the heck, what matters is OTD price and I drove to the dealer. We had a short back and forth. He said one price, I said something that I knew was too low. He asked what I could live with OTD. I told him that I was going to buy a CB that day whether it was at his dealership, another dealership, or a private seller and that I had five $100 bills in my pocket for a deposit somewhere. I said I had two days off for work and didn't care if I had to drive 300 miles to get a good deal. I also said I didn't want to pay the fees. He said the fees stay. We talked some more. At some point we were stalled only $200 apart on a $7000 + taxes deal. I got up, shook his hand, and started to turn toward the door. Then I said- "Do you know we are only about $200 apart? " He stumbled and seemed a bit confused and said he'd go talk to the manager. The manager came out, I told him if he could find a way to lose the $200 I would hand over a deposit. He sat at the salesman's desk and wrote on the pad and reconfigured some of the amounts. He then showed me the paper and said this is the absolute best he could do for me. He got rid of $115 of the $200. At this point, feeling like he really tried, and realizing that $7010 was a very good deal, _I_ wasn't going to walk away because of $85 and we did the deal.
Sometimes the sales people aren't all that bright, maybe they can't think on their feet, or maybe they just stick to a script the all-controlling sales manager tells them to?