If You Want to Buy a New Bike??????

I've got a question for the group. I'm thinking about buying a new '05 Suzuki GSXR600. I believe in keeping the local dealership in business and have bought other bikes by working with them to get a "fair" price. I'm looking to race this bike so a warranty and service after the sale are not really needed. I don't know what dealers make in profit per bike so I don't know what kind of offer to make on one.
When I bought my Ford E-350 Diesel, I paid Consumer Reports $15 to give me a report of what the dealers actually pay. I then took that to a dealer that I liked and said that I was willing to pay $500 over their actual invoice (the invoice they show you is one of the invoices but not really what they pay). I asked them if they were they able to do that or did I need to check with others. They said "no problem" and it was a very cordial deal. It was nice not to have to haggle for days with me and them both acting like we were taking a beating. I don't know of any way to know what the motorcycle dealers actually pay. I'm not trying to get it at cost but by the same token this will be an easy deal for the dealer. I own a business and understand overhead however I would like for this sale to be as easy and clean as buying my van was. I know that none of the dealers on here want to divulge their costs and they can't afford to stay in business or pay their overhead if everybody tried to buy this way, but again this will not be a typical sale requiring followup work. It will be paid for up front of course. Any help or insight that you guys can give me will be appreciated. John

 

John, I was going to buy a new bike this year for the street. I had my mind set on a 600RR. All the dealerships I went to had about the same price listed and would not budge. I don't have clout with them or anything, but I have been known to spend plenty of time (and of course money) at these places. I always got the standard "Hey, this bike will sell at this price, my boss won't let me, blah blah blah. Which is probably true.


So I started looking for used bikes, and found a 98 Superhawk that I fell in love with. Now I have a fun street bike and some money freed up for a racebike next year.

Wether you are buying new or used, having the money to be able to spend that day is probably your best bargaining point.

Hope this helps.

 

600's retail for $8000, if the dealer really has more than 10%,that they will get out of that, they have a different setup than I have ever seen.

youve got building and prep to pay, shipping, and taxes.

an offer of $7200 dollars plus all those other fees, Might get you out the door with someone who wants to help you out, other wise, you might get laughed out.

didnt here that here

 

John, try calling Tony at Ricky Hendrick's Performance Honda/Suzuki. He will sell the bike at dealer "cost" to racers. It might not be actual dealer cost but the price he gave me was significantly lower than retail. Try also calling Tee Caldwell at Mathews fun machines, he will do a similar deal(his son, Andy races). Between the two, you should get a good feel for a fair price. Also to save a few bucks, if you don't ever plan on putting the bike on the street get it with a mso instead of a title. You won't have to pay sales tax at time of purchase or any doc/reg fees. Work it out so you can "prep" the bike and save that fee also. With a mso you should get out the door with bike price and delivery charge.

 

What is a MSO? Also, what happens when you are finished racing it and try to maybe resell it, possibly as a street bike? Do you have to re-file for the title and then pay all the fees on the backside? I know the government doesnt like giving up their $$$.

 

MSO = manufacturer's statement of origin.

 

The M/C business is not like the car business. I believe dealer cost on a 2004 is $6800. Retail is $7900.

Not much in the way of markup...

 

But everybody knows how rich the dealers are getting.

 

maybe not on bikes but for sure on parts.

 

other fees such as prep, doc etc. are dealer opperational fees and those won't have to be paid. somebody will have to pay sales tax and the state title fee eventually if you want to title it. let the new purchaser pay it. they will have to pay a sales tax if they went to a dealer.

 

not us.....at least not unless I sell a hole lot of them...

 

Ditto!!

 

van cost

Just curious, what was the difference of the two invoice prices on the van?

 

and on labor, local shops want $65 to change a set of tires, wheels off the bike. takes maybe 20 min max if the guy is slow, but they charge you for the entire hour. What is the going rate now, $65, 75, 80 an hour? Local shop usually cuts me a 10% discount.

Dealer cost seem to be different. I paid $6200 for my 98 F3 back in 98, according to the local shops that was $1k less than their cost. Motions and RFM were good about that. some people will pay full retail while others search for bargains. I think I heard somewhere that Honda actually offers additional kickbacks/rebates to dealers to get rid of inventory, hence why some dealers at the end of the year offer damn good pricees.
Try finding the best price you can from out of state and go back to the local dealer and use it to negotiate. I doubt you'll get them to match the price, but you won't have to drive to pick it up. Some dealers don't charge setup fees like Honda East in Toledo. I was told that some mfg actually reimburse the dealer for setting up the bike, Honda was one.
Of course you can always get them from Canada. A friend bought a 02 GSXR 1k for $8300 plus $200 s/h back in 02 from a dealer in Canada. only problem is they didn't offer the dual mph/kph, so you have to get a yellow box.

 

I wanted to add this to the "car buying" guide. The invoice will show you "their price" for the vehicle, but it does not show how much "hold-back" they have. If they sell the car at dealer invoice, they still make some money on hold-back, but the salesman doesn't make any money. The salesperson only makes money on the "front" (a percentage of the amount over dealer invoice). For those of you that don't care what the salesman makes, remember next time you go to work tell them you're working for free today. Why should your employer/customers care what you make, what evers best for them right?

It is possible to purchase some vehicles below the "dealer invoice", but that is usually limited to old models (on the floor for too long), demo's or vehicles that have had slight damage (scratch, ding) but have been fixed. Be sure to write down the VIN number of the vehicle you want and compare it to the invoice they show you. Once the dealer knew I wanted an "invoice deal" they showed me the invoice for a different vehicle (different options, same color and model).

For me, I consider a fair deal about 3% over dealer invoice. But I will "tip" the salesperson on the side to make it worth his time. Selling is how they make their money, and it does take time so I tell them up front (quietly) my intentions to "take care of them". Some cars have very little mark up from the dealer invoice, so each situation is different. A Ford Focus, for example, only has about a grand mark-up. An F-150, on the other hand, can have as much as $6k.

If you are up front with the dealer in the deal you are looking for, they will usually accomodate you with little hassle. If the dealer is not interested in sharing the invoice with you, find one that will.

There is more money to be saved if you plan on financing it through them, but that's another story.

 

...and about prep, adendums (sp) and doc fees.

Most car dealers won't budge on it. Oh, they may tell you that you don't have to pay for it if that is the deal maker or breaker.
They just take that amount out of the total gross, but if you look at your contract those fee's will still be listed.

 

Being that I am in the car business and being that I basically ran a motorcycle dealership for awhile I have this to say. John the way you bought your van is the best way to get good results fair for both parties involved. The same goes for a MC but the Mc dealer doesn't make near the money that a car dealer makes so when you go to buy a bike and plan on not needing anything from them after the sale they really have No motivation to sell you a bike at or close to cost. But if you plan on doing business with them after the sale (parts and accesories) then they have extra motivation cause they will eventually make a profit from the original deal. People do not realize the expense the dealer has to sell a bike. Normally the bikes are floor planned at about 13% interest, they don't come completely assembled and they pay a minimun commision on every sale to a person. Buildings are expensive insurance for the facility is very expensive. I personally believe that 5 or 600 over cost on a bike is more than fair. That little bit of money in the grand sceem of things is nothing for or personal entertainment. I also believe in doing business with a local dealer that is supportive to my needs not over the internet to save 5-10% on items.

 

It is not that a car dealer wont budge it is that a dealer can't budge on doc fee. The attorney general would make them reimburse every customer if they didn't charge one of them.

 

Bingo.

 

Okay, I understand all the taxes, prep n shipping.

Taxes----if it's a racebike and your not going to title it then you only pay tax on whatever you pay.

Prep-----tell the dealership you will pick up in the bike in the box.
I've seen how these things are shipped and you can inspect them pretty easily to make sure it's not damaged. Save you some $$$ because your just gonna remove the stock stuff and sell it anyway.

Shipping----pay before you get the bike. Is this possible?

I say if your gonna race a bike....then it's kinda silly to buy from the dealer. There are plenty of racers who sell their bikes soon after prepping them for cheap. Keep the $$ within the race community, no!?!?! If you buy someone's race bike, do you pay sales tax again? I would think no but I could be wrong. Seems like double taxation to me