Anybody know the INVOICE PRICE of a 2009 HD Sportster 1200 custom?

[squale]

My friend is looking to buy 2 of these bikes one for him and one for his dad. He is wondering what the INVOICE price for the dealer is on these bikes so he knows how much he has to negotiate.

Thanks all!

[Motorcycle Forum]

[otdriver]

My friend is looking to buy 2 of these bikes one for him and one for his dad. He is wondering what the INVOICE price for the dealer is on these bikes so he knows how much he has to negotiate.

Thanks all!

Tell him to ask the dealer to show him the invoice cost, at this time HD sale are not that great and they shouldn't be reluctant to do that. Tell him to add $300.00 above dealer invoice on each bike + tax and title. Also, tell him not to pay for "set-up", the factory pays the dealer to set-up the bikes so there's no justification for the customer to pay for dealer set-up, but they'll try to charge for it. If he's ready to buy two bikes at one time the dealer should kiss his derrière and if they're not willing to do that he should go to another dealer. It as a buyers market, he should stand firm. If he can't get anywhere with the sales person he should ask for the general manger, and if he can't get any satisfaction from him he should ask to see the owner.

[Easy Rider]

My friend is looking to buy 2 of these bikes one for him and one for his dad.

Have EITHER of them taken a test ride. Harley is practically BEGGING people to come in for tests lately.

Based on the reports here the past few days, it sounds like that is really NOT a good choice.......unless you just want to sit in the driveway and LOOK at it.

[squale]

why not a good choice?

[Thundurburd]

Check out this thread...

http://www.motorcycle-journal.com/fo...too-small.html

[Easy Rider]

why not a good choice?

What the hell ???
Have you been READING the responses in the other thread that YOU started ??
I think there is a similar thread in the past week that somebody else started too.

I don't have any personal experience riding one so I will leave the evaluation to those who HAVE; my point is that your "friend" would be a fool if he bought one, much less TWO, without a test ride........since the dealers encourage test rides.

No, come to think of it, fool is probably not the right term; make that idiot.

BOTH intend owners should test ride.

[sra4031]

Also, tell him not to pay for "set-up", the factory pays the dealer to set-up the bikes so there's no justification for the customer to pay for dealer set-up, but they'll try to charge for it.

Are you sure? The reason I ask is my boss use to be a turf care distributor, and he did not get paid for set up from the manufacture.

Now this is two different industries, and he has been out of it since 1997 and alot could change in 10 years. Also if you do know dealers get paid for set up, is this just Harley, or is this the power sports industry?

The main reason I ask is if this person goes in saying he knows the dealer has already been paid for set up he is going to need something more than somebody on the forum told him. It helps to know sources when trying to negotiate.

[frostbitevinnie]

why not a good choice?

If your buddy just wants to fit into the HD crowd by buying a sportster and put the usual 100 miles per season then it is a perfect fit. Now for those of us that actually like to ride in comfort for long distances then we would never consider the sportster. For me I already have 5K miles on this season, I could never do that on a sportster.

[frostbitevinnie]

What the hell ???
Have you been READING the responses in the other thread that YOU started ??
I think there is a similar thread in the past week that somebody else started too.

I don't have any personal experience riding one so I will leave the evaluation to those who HAVE; my point is that your "friend" would be a fool if he bought one, much less TWO, without a test ride........since the dealers encourage test rides.

No, come to think of it, fool is probably not the right term; make that idiot.

BOTH intend owners should test ride.

Take two chill pills and call the doc. in the morning.

[intimid8er]

I can't stop laughing from the fact that Harley, and invoice pricing were made in the same sentence.......


Ooooh boy...that's rich!


BTW....just because we all know it's a slow buying climate, and we think the deals should abound, doesn't mean the boys at the Motor Company Barns (Harley Stores) got the memo, and if they did...it doesn't necessarily mean they will abide by it. Nor does the thinking.."It's only a Sportster." Hold water inside the hallowed halls of a Harley Emporium.

The optimist in me is willing to play along though.

Finding a motorcycle's true cost or invoice price is like finding hen's teeth...However, a good rule of thumb is take MSRP, multiply it by twelve percent, take that number and subtract it from MSRP, and that should be a real good indicator of where the invoice price is.

That said...the realist in me sides with the fact the dealers won't budge. Maybe they'll deduct some of their silly add-on costs, but I'd bet they'll be hitting him with full MSRP plus taxes, but minus their retarded fees.


*I'll be over here in the Buell side of the house jinglin' my change in front of this sparkly new '08 1125R that they WILL sell you back of invoice though if you need my assistance any more.*

[sra4031]

If your buddy just wants to fit into the HD crowd by buying a sportster and put the usual 100 miles per season then it is a perfect fit. Now for those of us that actually like to ride in comfort for long distances then we would never consider the sportster. For me I already have 5K miles on this season, I could never do that on a sportster.

I cannot do this on my Suzuki C50, but then again it did not have a HD price tag either. LOL

[DrBob]

I worked in the industry for many years, and can tell you that if you think the invoice price in any way, shape or form reflects what the dealer paid for the bike, you are sadly mistaken.

[sra4031]

I worked in the industry for many years, and can tell you that if you think the invoice price in any way, shape or form reflects what the dealer paid for the bike, you are sadly mistaken.

I have heard the same thing. Each bike has it's own invoice as an individual purchase, and then the discounts is applied on the statement depending on their order. Not sure if that is how it works, but that is what I heard.

When I had a retail business I had the cost of buying just one item, and then case cost. On top of that, if I booked my orders during booking time I would get a better discount. I was able to spread by delivery times out, so I did not get my whole fall booking order at one time

[DrBob]

Dealers get discounts off the invoice based on the number of units they sell, any special promos on that particular model, and other factory incentives to sell it. The price also drops if the model was forced shipped to the dealer as part of a marketing push, as opposed to the dealer ordering it because they know they can sell it. The dealer invoice also includes factory holdback and dealer flooring assistance, which the dealers get back from the factory after they sell the unit. Or if a unit is sitting at the dealership for more than 30 days, the dealer may have made an interest payment on the line of credit he used to buy that bike from the factory, so he may have more tied up in that particular bike.

Another factor is that dealers are often prevented from dropping their prices below a certain level by their franchise agreement with the factory, so that competition between dealers of the same brand remains fair. If Harley let one dealership dump bikes at cost, then they would get sued by every other dealer, because Harley had a responsibility to make sure all of their dealerships can stay in business and remain competitive.

So basically all of that means that the invoice price is meaningless, and the price difference between dealerships on identical bikes is not going to be Earth shattering. Harley is limiting production and using a big marketing push to dry up supply and boost demand, so do not expect fire sale prices. Your best bet to get a good deal is to simply do your homework. Shop multiple dealers, including online sales, and see what kinds of deals are out there. Find the best deal, and if you have a preferred dealer (maybe they are closest to you) then give them a chance to meet or beat that deal.

[sra4031]

Also do not forget accessories. I did not get money off of my bike, but I did get $800 credit in the parts department on accessories. I choose my accessories by what accessories they had I wanted that was closest to online price. If I was going to just save a little money online, then I bought that part from the dealer with my credit, and if I could save big money online then I bought online.