Monkey OTD Price

[Cormanus]

It's duplicitous. Having a seperate freight and set up charge means you can pretend the base price is lower and advertise the bike (in this case) at $3,299 by taking the discount off the base price. It's an out and out lie because the actual price is somewhere north of $4,000.

Honda Australia does it too. If I go to the Honda website and ask for the price of a Monkey it tells me the following based on my postcode:

Recommended Retail Price $5999
DEALER PRE-DELIVERY & INSPECTION $199
STAMP DUTY $180
CTP $306
REGISTRATION AND STATUTORY $216
TOTAL $6899

*Stamp Duty is a State tax and not negotiable
*CTP is Compulsory Third Party Insurance and not negotiable
*Registration and Statutory is not negotiable

Australian law requires manufacturers and dealers to provide a ride-away cost (including all charges) at the outset. It doesn't tell you what Honda charges the dealer for the bike; the RRP is the price Honda puts on it so there's some room for negotiation.

However, even after sourcing that information, I'd have to go to a dealer for a quote for what they'd actually charge me.

[LongRanger_imp]

Just for grins, AUD $6899 is about USD $4,550 currently.

[Olyrider]

Most dealers do not “set up” the bikes they sell. They don’t have the space to store palletized bikes and don't really want their mechanics spending valuable time on it. The most common business model is for bikes to be delivered to a large regional warehouse owned by a third party where the bikes are stored and set up before being delivered to the dealer when the dealer requests delivery. So there is a cost incurred, but even a Gold Wing is less than $200, until the dealer tells YOU what it costs them during negotiations.

“We don’t make a penny on freight and set up!!” is just one of the many lies you hear in the sales pitch.

Unfortunately...

They think we are stupid. They laugh at us behind our backs, but they will make a fair deal to an informed buyer.

Find the Costco motorcycle dealer in your area. You will rarely beat the price that Costco gets.

[Cormanus]

Just for grins, AUD $6899 is about USD $4,550 currently.

Ha! I certainly wasn't saying we get a better deal; just that we have to be told what the on-the-road cost is. Indeed, often we pay more for things than you would in the US.

[Richard_imp]

Just for grins, AUD $6899 is about USD $4,550 currently.

List price here in UK is GBP 3749 - about USD 4572. Dealers advertise them for around GBP 3300 - about USD 4000. All UK models have ABS.

[LongRanger_imp]

Cormanus, Richard, yes there’s relative pricing parity around the globe after accounting for FX. Economists often compare the equivalent cost of a Big Mac in various countries to ascertain economic parity.

[suhawk305]

You guys are talking like you are really tough negotiators when dealing with motorcycle dealers. I challenge any of you to come to my dealer, with your best negotiating skills, and try to get him to come down of his asking price of one of his Honda Monkeys!

[PowerDubs_imp]

Uhhh... that's the point, there is no need to be a tough negotiator.

It should not be a difficult process to purchase any item. I don't know why people just bend over on a car or a bike. You don't do it for pretty much anything else you buy.

Tell em upfront what you want to pay, let them know not to waste your time and you won't waste theirs. No? Then walk out.

[suhawk305]

Uhhh... that's the point, there is no need to be a tough negotiator.

It should not be a difficult process to purchase any item. I don't know why people just bend over on a car or a bike. You don't do it for pretty much anything else you buy.

Tell em upfront what you want to pay, let them know not to waste your time and you won't waste theirs. No? Then walk out.

Hi Dubs, my post was not intended to be taken to be serious. I was trying to inject a little humor in the thread implying you have to deal with the gorilla. Believe me that I have to no real motorcycle dealer negotiation experience. The only new motorcycle I purchased was my CB1100 during late fall of 2016.

[Mscb1100_imp]

Most dealers do not “set up” the bikes they sell. They don’t have the space to store palletized bikes and don't really want their mechanics spending valuable time on it. The most common business model is for bikes to be delivered to a large regional warehouse owned by a third party where the bikes are stored and set up before being delivered to the dealer when the dealer requests delivery. So there is a cost incurred, but even a Gold Wing is less than $200, until the dealer tells YOU what it costs them during negotiations.

“We don’t make a penny on freight and set up!!” is just one of the many lies you hear in the sales pitch.

Unfortunately...

They think we are stupid. They laugh at us behind our backs, but they will make a fair deal to an informed buyer.

Find the Costco motorcycle dealer in your area. You will rarely beat the price that Costco gets.

Thanks Oly, that makes sense. I had no idea the dealers didn’t assemble the bikes themselves. Local dealer charges 199 for what he calls a 99 point inspection. This fee is never listed in his online ads and only pops up when he is bringing back his written proposed invoice, which also included a $ 249 documentary fee “that everybody pays”.
That’s when I told him I could no longer afford the bike unless he gave a job as a title clerk for a month if they were charging that much for 30 minutes worth of paperwork, because they must be the highest paid employees in the place.
Needless to say I left without a bike or job offer