[niceguy]

So I am looking to buy a brand new Harley and I thought the total price was the selling price plus TTL. I see freight, prep, vit, doc and inspection sticker fee. WTF? Are these normal fees?

 

[Gene Fine]

Not a Harley dealer, but I used to be a Honda/Suzuki/Kawasaki dealer, but it sounds like the same deals...

Some are legit, some are bs fees. All are negotiable.

Freight - The cost to get the bike from Milwaukee or Pennsylvania to the dealer
Prep - The cost to pay some guy to do final assembly (I would assume Harleys come crated like Hondas do)
Vit - Not a clue what this is..was this on the Harley website or at the dealer?
Doc and Inspection - This is probably a mix of legit and bs. The doc fee should be what the cost is to register a title in your state. Most dealerships pad this number...for example, it may cost $25.00 to register a title, but the dealer will charge a $200 doc fee and pocket an extra $175 on the deal. You can negotiate this out.

In this economy, with Harley's sales in the shitter, you should be able to negotiate an "out the door" price, no bs fees added, well below MSRP. If you can't, find another dealership.

 

[snopro126]

So I am looking to buy a brand new Harley and I thought the total price was the selling price plus TTL. I see freight, prep, vit, doc and inspection sticker fee. WTF? Are these normal fees?

Have everything but Harley Davidson. Yes, most of those fees are the norm these days. You need to ask for an "out the door" price and negotiate it from there. Don't get to hung up on asking them to take this fee or that fee out. You will do better to concentrate on the final price.

Let me know if I can help.

 

[niceguy]

Yeah, I am talking to two different dealerships in my area. I've told them both, I am going with the one who offers me the best combo of deal and service.

 

[Smokenjoep01]

I agree with both previous posts. Just negotiate a out the door price and let them break it up in what ever way makes there numbers look best. Most important is the OUT THE DOOR PRICE. Also as previously said. Dont pay MSRP. I know there are dealers all over the country that will work out a price on a bike shipped to your door. Or some will pay your plane fair to come get the bike and ride it home. Shop around. Barnetts may be a good starting point.

 

[niceguy]

Not a Harley dealer, but I used to be a Honda/Suzuki/Kawasaki dealer, but it sounds like the same deals...

Some are legit, some are bs fees. All are negotiable.

Freight - The cost to get the bike from Milwaukee or Pennsylvania to the dealer
Prep - The cost to pay some guy to do final assembly (I would assume Harleys come crated like Hondas do)
Vit - Not a clue what this is..was this on the Harley website or at the dealer?
Doc and Inspection - This is probably a mix of legit and bs. The doc fee should be what the cost is to register a title in your state. Most dealerships pad this number...for example, it may cost $25.00 to register a title, but the dealer will charge a $200 doc fee and pocket an extra $175 on the deal. You can negotiate this out.

In this economy, with Harley's sales in the shitter, you should be able to negotiate an "out the door" price, no bs fees added, well below MSRP. If you can't, find another dealership.

All of the fees were emailed to me. I think the vit is what he called and inventory tax to the city? I basically told him what I was wanting to pay. But now, maybe I should have gone lower. I went basically 1500 above msrp. Maybe I should have stated something right around msrp as my final total price.

You think they will negotiate that low on a 2011 model?

 

[Gene Fine]

All of the fees were emailed to me. I think the vit is what he called and inventory tax to the city? I basically told him what I was wanting to pay. But now, maybe I should have gone lower. I went basically 1500 above msrp. Maybe I should have stated something right around msrp as my final total price.

I would start with MSRP as the out the door price...the worst case, they'll say no.

Vit sounds like a bs charge...even if they have to pay an inventory tax, that's not really your problem...that's part of the cost of doing business.

You think they will negotiate that low on a 2011 model?

It really depends on how hungry they are. The economy where you are isn't as bad as the rest of the country, so their sales may not be off as much. But the motorcycle market in a lot of places basically blows. My family shut down our dealership in the summer of 2009 because our sales were off nearly 80% from 2006...it just wasn't a sustainable business at that point.

I've been at the local Harley shops around Cincinnati looking recently for a used Road King, and they definitely don't appear to be very busy. You may want to contact some shops up north and see what kind of deals they'll work for you. Can't hurt.

 

[87mike]

I paid MSRP and tax/license for my 2010 Road Glide.
I went out of state for mine. The locals are too proud
of their bikes. My local wants $950 for set-up!!!!

 

[chadman]

That set-up fee is a crock. I used to wrench part time at a local H-D dealership for fun until O.T. at my real job got in the way. It only takes about 3 hours to go from in the crate to riding down the road.

 

[niceguy]

I talked to a guy at another place and they offered the bike, knocked basically 1500 off everything, threw in a warranty and prepaid maintenance plan for slightly more than the original dealership had quoted me for just the bike. hummmmm.

 

[87mike]

Bottom line is it pays to shop around.

 

[AFTERMATH]

I work for Harley of Miami and I'm sure if you shop around you can get a good deal, right now when some places have 2' of snow on the ground you can get great deals. By us its season so no good deals. http://petersonsharley.com/Default.asp go on the website and call the north store, ask for Peter and tell him Roy in service gave you his name and see what he can do for you.

 

[asheborogn]

Ive talked to some local dealers around here and they have been selling some models out the door for less than MSRP due to the bad economy..

 

[ndmp40]

I bought a 2010 Ultra Classic for way under msrp a few months ago.

 

[Inspector 12]

As already suggested ask for an out the door price. Don't get hung up on the individual fees, why do you give a rip how they get there as long as the out the door price is in the range you are willing to pay. I bought two Harleys within a year. One was a 2010 Street Glide, the other a 2006 Street Bob. On both deals the focus was on the out the door price.

One wrinkle to watch for when negotiating out the door deals. Some dealers won't budge much on the out the door price but WILL give 20 percent of the total out the door price back to you in store credit for parts and accessories. Seems like smoke and mirrors, but could work out to $2000 plus in store credit if you were dealing on a $20,000 dollar Ultra or other high end model.

Keep an open mind and work your own deal. Too many out there saying "in this economy never pay more than XXX". Good luck with that line of thought, it don't work where I live.

 

[MikeC1969]

Ive talked to some local dealers around here and they have been selling some models out the door for less than MSRP due to the bad economy..

That's what I was thinking. I paid msrp in 2001. I remember in the 90's when you had to pre order your bike and it was msrp plus $2000.

 

[Forxlr8n]

Times are worst now than in 08' when I bought my Night Rod Special. My bike had tags on it for 17,900 out the door from several dealerships. I bought it for 16,000 OTD. I did buy the service plan for 1500 that does all the service (unlimited miles) for three years. My sales woman told me the cutoff for breaking even was 4k miles a year. My plan is ending in May I've just had my 27500 service. Money well spent.

 

[twobad]

same here my 08 crossbones was 19100 locally and i got it for 17 at myrtle beach