The Only Reason You Should Pay More Than You Have To...

[Red Mist_imp]

I think you're way out of line and to me it sounds like you want special treatment because you're a serviceman...

All dealerships charge freight and set-up fees and in my state they all charge a Doc fee too.
Once in a while you get some of the fees knocked off on models that are sitting the floor for awhile or bikes that aren't hot sellers but in the beginning of spring on a bike that's new this year I think you're expecting too much.

Stop trying to play the troops/ veteran card and just go make the best deal you can.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.
One of the many engaging characteristics of Breckinridge Elkins is his ability to get the wrong end of the stick.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.
One of the many engaging characteristics of Breckinridge Elkins is his ability to get the wrong end of the stick. Nope. I guess maybe what it amounts to is that I worked hard enough over my lifetime to be able to afford what I have without having to take a train 150 miles to save a few hundred bucks. That's what we're supposed to do, right? Work hard, achieve some financial success and some leisure time and a bit of comfort along the way?

Where this thread went south was from the gitgo. The original post by calamarichris flat-out insults anyone who doesn't do it his way.

I don't give a rat's ass how he or anyone else buys his motorcycle. This thread started on a ****e note and just got worse.

By the way, that's "Red Mist" to you. Only my friends call me Breckinridge.

 

[Cormanus]

...because you're lazy and/or gullible.

I scratched the new-bike-bug by visiting the showrooms of 3 local dealerships after work today. Every single one of them charges an additional "delivery" or "assembly" or "PDI" fee.
Why does every one of them do this? Because I live on Camp Pendleton's doorstep. Young servicemen return from Afghanistan or Iraq or elsewhere with money saved, (very hard-earned money) wanting and deserving a new motorcycle, so the demand is naturally high.
And surely these motorcycle dealerships wouldn't screw-over America's fighting men, just because there are so many of them with unspent hazardous duty pay. Heck, most of them have "We Support Our Troops" painted on their windows.
But America is a free-market economy, not a moralocracy, and that's exactly what the dealerships here do. They brazenly charge an additional 500-700 dollars in the name of "delivery", "inspection", "PDI".

So I treat these showrooms as 3D websites. I inspect & admire the bikes, sit on them, am careful not to leave scuffs or fingerprints, and when they say the additional fees are non-negotiable and that my expecting to pay MSRP plus TTL is unreasonable, I smile, leave, and search on the internet for dealerships within a weekend's ride that have that model in stock.

I traveled 150 miles up to Santa Barbara for my most recent new bike purchase. They looked me in the face when they shook my hand at the deal's close, and I got to enjoy a relaxing ride home on my new Ninja 500R. Win-win. It was mildly inconvenient to spent $39 and a morning riding the train up there, explaining my carrying a helmet to my interested fellow train passengers; but at the end, I saved enough money for a 4-star hotelroom with a hot-tub and two high-dollar classy call-girls.

I think it's pretty shameful that local dealerships charge our young servicemen the additional fee, with "We Support Our Troops" painted on their building. I'll be dipped in diarrhea and called stinky before I'll pay that fee myself. I'd really rather spend that money on the classy callgirls for our returning heroes.

Ha--there's an artillery range on Pendleton right now. Despite being 25-30 miles away, the windows are shaking in their frames. Kaboom!

By the way, I didn't spend that money on the 4-star room, hot-tub and call-girls when I bought my Ninja 500R for MSRP plus TTL, but I most likely will when I buy my Bonneville or CB11 far, far away from Camp Pendleton. So thanks in advance for a memorable night, local dealerships.

If your dealership expects you to pay more than MSRP plus TTL (tax, title, & license) walk out of the dealership and find another. MSRP already grants them plenty for the freight & assembly.

I agree this opening salvo was inflammatory. But the rest of his post, which argued that ripping off a gullible/slightly vulnerable group was a pretty grubby thing to do was, in my opinion, right on the money.

I think you're way out of line and to me it sounds like you want special treatment because you're a serviceman...

All dealerships charge freight and set-up fees and in my state they all charge a Doc fee too.
Once in a while you get some of the fees knocked off on models that are sitting the floor for awhile or bikes that aren't hot sellers but in the beginning of spring on a bike that's new this year I think you're expecting too much.

Stop trying to play the troops/ veteran card and just go make the best deal you can.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.
One of the many engaging characteristics of Breckinridge Elkins is his ability to get the wrong end of the stick.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.
One of the many engaging characteristics of Breckinridge Elkins is his ability to get the wrong end of the stick. Nope. I guess maybe what it amounts to is that I worked hard enough over my lifetime to be able to afford what I have without having to take a train 150 miles to save a few hundred bucks. That's what we're supposed to do, right? Work hard, achieve some financial success and some leisure time and a bit of comfort along the way?

Where this thread went south was from the gitgo. The original post by calamarichris flat-out insults anyone who doesn't do it his way.

I don't give a rat's ass how he or anyone else buys his motorcycle. This thread started on a ****e note and just got worse.

By the way, that's "Red Mist" to you. Only my friends call me Breckinridge.

You're welcome to buy your motorcycles or anything else in any way you like as are others. As it happens, I probably wouldn't travel any great distance for a modest saving either, for many of the same reasons.

I was under the misapprehension I was referring to the titular fictional character in a Robert E Howard story. If your name really is Breckinridge Elkins and your CB1100 is called Capn Kidd, I apologise for my impertinence, Mr Mist.

 

[Pterodactyl_imp]

...because you're lazy and/or gullible.

I scratched the new-bike-bug by visiting the showrooms of 3 local dealerships after work today. Every single one of them charges an additional "delivery" or "assembly" or "PDI" fee.
Why does every one of them do this? Because I live on Camp Pendleton's doorstep. Young servicemen return from Afghanistan or Iraq or elsewhere with money saved, (very hard-earned money) wanting and deserving a new motorcycle, so the demand is naturally high.
And surely these motorcycle dealerships wouldn't screw-over America's fighting men, just because there are so many of them with unspent hazardous duty pay. Heck, most of them have "We Support Our Troops" painted on their windows.
But America is a free-market economy, not a moralocracy, and that's exactly what the dealerships here do. They brazenly charge an additional 500-700 dollars in the name of "delivery", "inspection", "PDI".

So I treat these showrooms as 3D websites. I inspect & admire the bikes, sit on them, am careful not to leave scuffs or fingerprints, and when they say the additional fees are non-negotiable and that my expecting to pay MSRP plus TTL is unreasonable, I smile, leave, and search on the internet for dealerships within a weekend's ride that have that model in stock.

I traveled 150 miles up to Santa Barbara for my most recent new bike purchase. They looked me in the face when they shook my hand at the deal's close, and I got to enjoy a relaxing ride home on my new Ninja 500R. Win-win. It was mildly inconvenient to spent $39 and a morning riding the train up there, explaining my carrying a helmet to my interested fellow train passengers; but at the end, I saved enough money for a 4-star hotelroom with a hot-tub and two high-dollar classy call-girls.

I think it's pretty shameful that local dealerships charge our young servicemen the additional fee, with "We Support Our Troops" painted on their building. I'll be dipped in diarrhea and called stinky before I'll pay that fee myself. I'd really rather spend that money on the classy callgirls for our returning heroes.

Ha--there's an artillery range on Pendleton right now. Despite being 25-30 miles away, the windows are shaking in their frames. Kaboom!

By the way, I didn't spend that money on the 4-star room, hot-tub and call-girls when I bought my Ninja 500R for MSRP plus TTL, but I most likely will when I buy my Bonneville or CB11 far, far away from Camp Pendleton. So thanks in advance for a memorable night, local dealerships.

If your dealership expects you to pay more than MSRP plus TTL (tax, title, & license) walk out of the dealership and find another. MSRP already grants them plenty for the freight & assembly.

I agree this opening salvo was inflammatory. But the rest of his post, which argued that ripping off a gullible/slightly vulnerable group was a pretty grubby thing to do was, in my opinion, right on the money.

I think you're way out of line and to me it sounds like you want special treatment because you're a serviceman...

All dealerships charge freight and set-up fees and in my state they all charge a Doc fee too.
Once in a while you get some of the fees knocked off on models that are sitting the floor for awhile or bikes that aren't hot sellers but in the beginning of spring on a bike that's new this year I think you're expecting too much.

Stop trying to play the troops/ veteran card and just go make the best deal you can.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.
One of the many engaging characteristics of Breckinridge Elkins is his ability to get the wrong end of the stick.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.
One of the many engaging characteristics of Breckinridge Elkins is his ability to get the wrong end of the stick. Nope. I guess maybe what it amounts to is that I worked hard enough over my lifetime to be able to afford what I have without having to take a train 150 miles to save a few hundred bucks. That's what we're supposed to do, right? Work hard, achieve some financial success and some leisure time and a bit of comfort along the way?

Where this thread went south was from the gitgo. The original post by calamarichris flat-out insults anyone who doesn't do it his way.

I don't give a rat's ass how he or anyone else buys his motorcycle. This thread started on a ****e note and just got worse.

By the way, that's "Red Mist" to you. Only my friends call me Breckinridge.

You're welcome to buy your motorcycles or anything else in any way you like as are others. As it happens, I probably wouldn't travel any great distance for a modest saving either, for many of the same reasons.

I was under the misapprehension I was referring to the titular fictional character in a Robert E Howard story. If your name really is Breckinridge Elkins and your CB1100 is called Capn Kidd, I apologise for my impertinence, Mr Mist.

.

And speaking of Mr Howard. You have never ridden a bike until you have ridden a Kwaka Z with, beautifully airbrushed on the tank, Conan the Barbarian with a sword in one hand and a very scantily clad, we'll endowed, young lass in the other arm. Classy huh? Brings up the tone a little. Or does it?

Cheers

 

[Cormanus]

...because you're lazy and/or gullible.

I scratched the new-bike-bug by visiting the showrooms of 3 local dealerships after work today. Every single one of them charges an additional "delivery" or "assembly" or "PDI" fee.
Why does every one of them do this? Because I live on Camp Pendleton's doorstep. Young servicemen return from Afghanistan or Iraq or elsewhere with money saved, (very hard-earned money) wanting and deserving a new motorcycle, so the demand is naturally high.
And surely these motorcycle dealerships wouldn't screw-over America's fighting men, just because there are so many of them with unspent hazardous duty pay. Heck, most of them have "We Support Our Troops" painted on their windows.
But America is a free-market economy, not a moralocracy, and that's exactly what the dealerships here do. They brazenly charge an additional 500-700 dollars in the name of "delivery", "inspection", "PDI".

So I treat these showrooms as 3D websites. I inspect & admire the bikes, sit on them, am careful not to leave scuffs or fingerprints, and when they say the additional fees are non-negotiable and that my expecting to pay MSRP plus TTL is unreasonable, I smile, leave, and search on the internet for dealerships within a weekend's ride that have that model in stock.

I traveled 150 miles up to Santa Barbara for my most recent new bike purchase. They looked me in the face when they shook my hand at the deal's close, and I got to enjoy a relaxing ride home on my new Ninja 500R. Win-win. It was mildly inconvenient to spent $39 and a morning riding the train up there, explaining my carrying a helmet to my interested fellow train passengers; but at the end, I saved enough money for a 4-star hotelroom with a hot-tub and two high-dollar classy call-girls.

I think it's pretty shameful that local dealerships charge our young servicemen the additional fee, with "We Support Our Troops" painted on their building. I'll be dipped in diarrhea and called stinky before I'll pay that fee myself. I'd really rather spend that money on the classy callgirls for our returning heroes.

Ha--there's an artillery range on Pendleton right now. Despite being 25-30 miles away, the windows are shaking in their frames. Kaboom!

By the way, I didn't spend that money on the 4-star room, hot-tub and call-girls when I bought my Ninja 500R for MSRP plus TTL, but I most likely will when I buy my Bonneville or CB11 far, far away from Camp Pendleton. So thanks in advance for a memorable night, local dealerships.

If your dealership expects you to pay more than MSRP plus TTL (tax, title, & license) walk out of the dealership and find another. MSRP already grants them plenty for the freight & assembly.

I agree this opening salvo was inflammatory. But the rest of his post, which argued that ripping off a gullible/slightly vulnerable group was a pretty grubby thing to do was, in my opinion, right on the money.

I think you're way out of line and to me it sounds like you want special treatment because you're a serviceman...

All dealerships charge freight and set-up fees and in my state they all charge a Doc fee too.
Once in a while you get some of the fees knocked off on models that are sitting the floor for awhile or bikes that aren't hot sellers but in the beginning of spring on a bike that's new this year I think you're expecting too much.

Stop trying to play the troops/ veteran card and just go make the best deal you can.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.
One of the many engaging characteristics of Breckinridge Elkins is his ability to get the wrong end of the stick.

Damn straight. I think this is way, way out of line.

I'll pay whatever the hell I want for my motorcycles. I've been buying them for over thirty years and if I listed them all like some do there wouldn't be room in the bloody signature for them. I like having a good relationship with a local dealer that I can ride to in ten minutes. And I do. Same with my cars. All bought from the same dealer. I just treated the entire dealership to lunch last week because they have been so good about things.

If that doesn't work for someone else, fine.
One of the many engaging characteristics of Breckinridge Elkins is his ability to get the wrong end of the stick. Nope. I guess maybe what it amounts to is that I worked hard enough over my lifetime to be able to afford what I have without having to take a train 150 miles to save a few hundred bucks. That's what we're supposed to do, right? Work hard, achieve some financial success and some leisure time and a bit of comfort along the way?

Where this thread went south was from the gitgo. The original post by calamarichris flat-out insults anyone who doesn't do it his way.

I don't give a rat's ass how he or anyone else buys his motorcycle. This thread started on a ****e note and just got worse.

By the way, that's "Red Mist" to you. Only my friends call me Breckinridge.

You're welcome to buy your motorcycles or anything else in any way you like as are others. As it happens, I probably wouldn't travel any great distance for a modest saving either, for many of the same reasons.

I was under the misapprehension I was referring to the titular fictional character in a Robert E Howard story. If your name really is Breckinridge Elkins and your CB1100 is called Capn Kidd, I apologise for my impertinence, Mr Mist.

.

And speaking of Mr Howard. You have never ridden a bike until you have ridden a Kwaka Z with, beautifully airbrushed on the tank, Conan the Barbarian with a sword in one hand and a very scantily clad, we'll endowed, young lass in the other arm. Classy huh? Brings up the tone a little. Or does it?

Cheers

Would that be Mr RE Howard or Mr JW Howard?* The answer to this question may determine my answer to your's about tone.

Clearly I have never ridden a bike.

*Aussie joke

 

[Capo]

Boy, this is starting to read like a thread from ZRX or ADV forums. Which isn't a compliment. Tone is important, and in forum- world, it's easy to get wound up over or personalize what should just be a civilized exchange of opinions.

As for the OP and ' the only reason....lazy or gullible' line, i don't agree. Everyone has their own time/value/ convenience equation. If saving a few bucks outweighs the time or hassle of traveling to buy something, you do it. If not, you don't. I think the conflation with ripping off the military took things in a different direction.

Peace and love, CB'ers

 

[the Ferret]

Like herding cats I tell ya.

 

[CA200_imp]

hit that one on the head ferret:blush:

 

[ride4now_imp]

A wise 'uncle' once told me to leave the conversation about price
alone. It seems that price is one subject that is too personal to discuss
in this kind of setting. Too many people with too many different opinions..
along with too many egos to bruise. I think he was right ! :beerchug:

 

[kevbroce_imp]

I don't know, I think everyone here can benefit from knowing what others have paid for their bikes. Obviously dealers have room to deal, but the public doesn't know how much room that is. By seeing what others have paid, we all have an idea of what's possible.

 

[thumper_imp]

I don't know, I think everyone here can benefit from knowing what others have paid for their bikes. Obviously dealers have room to deal, but the public doesn't know how much room that is. By seeing what others have paid, we all have an idea of what's possible.

I'd disagree with that, unless you're comparing the same dealership, or roughly the same geographic location.

The price that somebody can pay for a motorcycle in snow-covered Michigan in January is probably going to be much different than the price I would pay in 70 degree southern California in January.

And I agree with Red Mist--I don't care how anybody else feels about how I spend my money. I have a fantastic relationship with my local Honda/Kawasaki/Sukuki/Triumph dealership, and I built that relationship over the last 30 years. When I purchase a bike from them, I feel like I get treated very fairly. And if I text the sales manager with questions about a bike, then he knows I'm serious about spending more money with them. I absolutely take offense to somebody opening a thread on a forum, basically accusing his audience of being a bunch of idiots, who are in need of a financial scolding on their spending habits.

Oh and to Ferret--herding cats is much, much easier than trying to keep a lid on this group of yahoos and misfits (myself included, of course.)

Cheers all. :beerchug:

 

[kevbroce_imp]

I don't know, I think everyone here can benefit from knowing what others have paid for their bikes. Obviously dealers have room to deal, but the public doesn't know how much room that is. By seeing what others have paid, we all have an idea of what's possible.

I'd disagree with that, unless you're comparing the same dealership, or roughly the same geographic location.

The price that somebody can pay for a motorcycle in snow-covered Michigan in January is probably going to be much different than the price I would pay in 70 degree southern California in January.

And I agree with Red Mist--I don't care how anybody else feels about how I spend my money. I have a fantastic relationship with my local Honda/Kawasaki/Sukuki/Triumph dealership, and I built that relationship over the last 30 years. When I purchase a bike from them, I feel like I get treated very fairly. And if I text the sales manager with questions about a bike, then he knows I'm serious about spending more money with them. I absolutely take offense to somebody opening a thread on a forum, basically accusing his audience of being a bunch of idiots, who are in need of a financial scolding on their spending habits.

Oh and to Ferret--herding cats is much, much easier than trying to keep a lid on this group of yahoos and misfits (myself included, of course.)

Cheers all. :beerchug:

I'd disagree with that, unless you're comparing the same dealership, or roughly the same geographic location.

The price that somebody can pay for a motorcycle in snow-covered Michigan in January is probably going to be much different than the price I would pay in 70 degree southern California in January.
I get what your saying, but does the bike cost a Michigan dealer less than a California dealer? I don't believe so. I personally find this information useful when deciding what I am willing to pay. Of course time of year, weather, cost of living are factors in what a dealer is willing to do, and some people forget about that on the internet. If you want the bike, by the bike, if you want a deal, look for a deal, that's for you to decide not me to care about.

I personally don't have much of a relationship with a dealer (26 years old, fist bike purchase, never taken a bike to a dealer for repairs), and more likely than not wont be living in this area in 15 years. I've never bought anything at a dealer, so I was very curious what dealers are willing to do. It's all just information to me.

 

[Cormanus]

I don't know, I think everyone here can benefit from knowing what others have paid for their bikes. Obviously dealers have room to deal, but the public doesn't know how much room that is. By seeing what others have paid, we all have an idea of what's possible.

I'd disagree with that, unless you're comparing the same dealership, or roughly the same geographic location.

The price that somebody can pay for a motorcycle in snow-covered Michigan in January is probably going to be much different than the price I would pay in 70 degree southern California in January.

And I agree with Red Mist--I don't care how anybody else feels about how I spend my money. I have a fantastic relationship with my local Honda/Kawasaki/Sukuki/Triumph dealership, and I built that relationship over the last 30 years. When I purchase a bike from them, I feel like I get treated very fairly. And if I text the sales manager with questions about a bike, then he knows I'm serious about spending more money with them. I absolutely take offense to somebody opening a thread on a forum, basically accusing his audience of being a bunch of idiots, who are in need of a financial scolding on their spending habits.

Oh and to Ferret--herding cats is much, much easier than trying to keep a lid on this group of yahoos and misfits (myself included, of course.)

Cheers all. :beerchug:

Ain't that the truth, Thumper? Perhaps its more like using a pitchfork to load frogs into a wheelbarrow ? :beerchug:

 

[Guth_imp]

Does everyone assume that the price they were quoted by the dealer is the same price that the next person receives, or the person after them?

 

[davidsargee_imp]

Does everyone assume that the price they were quoted by the dealer is the same price that the next person receives, or the person after them?

There are a lot of variables to consider, what it comes down to, is how badly does the dealer need to move the bike? Are there volume-based incentives, perhaps? I don't know how they operate, but in the car business, dealers that sell the most units, get better prices. I don't know if motorcycle companies do that as well, but I would suspect they do. If a dealer is only a unit or two away from an incentive, they are prone do "whatever they have to", to get the sale, and the incentive, which could very well boost their profits not on just that one bike, but on several others that have already sold.

I know that some dealers have larger "sales floor" allotments than other dealers, and if they have too many bikes, they risk losing some to other dealers unless they sell them.

Maybe, they have new models coming in, there are a lot of factors, at the end of the day, it depends upon how motivated the dealer is to sell a bike.

So I would think not, you can't assume you are getting the same deal, better or worse, than the last customer, or the next one. You just make the best deal you can, if you don't like the deal, walk away. If you are happy with the deal, buy the bike and forget about it.

Cheers

 

[Rolls_imp]

While I think that how much a dealer pays for a CB11 can vary, I know that once a dealer has a bike, how much he paid no longer matters at all. Whether he somehow paid 15,000 for the CB11 (and someone's in trouble for that mistake!) or he somehow (equally mysteriously) got that particular CB11 for free, it is now a sunk cost. It has no effect on what price he sells that particular bike for.

He seeks only to get the maximum sales price possible. And to do that, he needs only to figure out if you're a "real" buyer and whether or not he can get another real buyer in a reasonably short time to buy it for more than you will.

How long is reasonable for him to wait for a buyer who will pay more? That depends on his real cost to hold the bike (overhead expense and such) and the opportunity cost, or in other words, if that particular CB11 were sold and the floorspace was therefore available, how much profit could he make by putting another bike there and selling it.

In other words supply and demand set the price. Problem for us and for the dealers, is that supply is not precisely known, nor is demand, and they're both always changing over time. Even at a given time, the supply and demand situation is different in different regions. Weather, gas prices, a buyer's alternatives to meet his bike need all affect demand. Honda's intent and execution and Yen/$ exchange rates and even regional (like Cali) emissions requirements affect supply.

So while I think it's probably somewhat useful and it's certainly interesting to know what prices deals are going down at, and what negotiating techniques are working for buyers, I think each of us is well-served to take those examples with a grain of salt and know that they don't *completely* apply to our situation when we go to make our best deal.

So I always try to have fun and enjoy my interactions with dealers and the whole buying experience. I also look at my opportunity cost - what else could I do that's more profitable or enjoyable with time I spend squeezing the last extra $100 out of my purchase of a drop-dead gorgeous CB1100.

 

[Capo]

Rolls, good observations. The 'sunk cost' conundrum is what makes most people make bad investment decisions across the board. What you paid for something has no bearing in what something is worth at any given time. Whether it's real estate, a stock or bond, or any other asset like a bike, a majority of people tend to want to 'get their money back' or 'not take a loss.' Consequentially, they discount what that money could do invested in something else and often hold on to a sinking asset. My local triumph dealer has a 2011 Sprint GT that is the original demo they got. They still have it priced near list. The sales manager keeps turning down offers because 'it cost me more than that.' That's his problem, not the buyer's.

Of course, all this goes out the window when we want a beautiful CB1100!

 

[the Ferret]

Something else that must be factored in.. The dealer does not pay for bikes per se, at least not outright. He buys them thru a lending institution on what is called a floor plan..he finances the bikes and pays interest on them every month..probably a couple hundred dollars per unit. The longer that bike sits in the showroom, the more it is costing the dealer. When he sells the unit he then pays off the remaining floor plan due on the bike to get the title. On a bike that has been on the floor a week, the dealer basically has nothing in that bike. When it has been there 3 months then he is starting to have an investment in that bike. When it has been there a year, he wants to get rid of that drain on his budget pretty badly. I have bought brand new 2 and 3 year left overs at a song (as compared to a current model year models of the same bike) because the dealer is tired of paying floor plan interest on them. Conversely a 2 or 3 year old model is only worth as much as any other 2 or 3 year old same model in the used market, so the buyer has to take that into account and not overpay even though it is brand new.

Both buying and selling vehicles is a form of black magic lol

 

[Elipten_imp]

You nailed it Capo! Sadly few ever learn that reality of life.


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What you left out ferret is in my experience in buying cars the end of the month is the best time as if the dealer sells it he does not own it into the next month and avoids the interest payment. I assume the same for bikes. It is business, my view is just like howitzer deal with my contractors; I am not out to screw them so low on price that they go out of business, but is don't want to be funding an high flying profit lifestyle either. Fair for both parties is fair.

So I always start it like this with the manager "You look like a smart guy that has been around this business so you must know there are two kinds of customers". A quizzical look appears and then " There are customers you will make a lot of money from and those you will not, and I think you are smart enough to know which one you are dealing with now". Get me out the door at a fair deal so you can rob the other sucker, but me I slap doe. The offer on a piece of paper. If he balks, I walk, I never waste time or play around. It works.


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[CA200_imp]

I think Rolls, Capo and ferret spoke volumes about how it works.
Being on the other side on the counter and being a owner you really
look at it in a different way then most people think.
profit and loss and cash flow is always on your mind.

 

[Elipten_imp]

Yep I agree. I just want a fair price so all win and I don't want to waste time doing it. I have a lot better things to do.


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