It’s really hard to say, not knowing where you live, if your state has sales tax, if there is another Suzuki dealer close, and if you are dealing with a large or small dealer.
I’d offer them $3399.00 plus tax, with no added charge for freight or assembly, and they give you a free helmet (if you have a helmet ask for a jacket, boots, or $100 worth of store credit for gear/ accessories). Stress that you will buy the bike on the spot and take it home that day if they agree. They will say no and come back with a counter offer, but you want to make them force the price up rather than you trying to force it down.
This is not a very expensive bike, so there is not a tremendous profit margin on it and thus not too much room to wiggle, but at least you should get it for $3899 out the door, they pay taxes, they wave the freight & assembly fees, and they give you a free helmet. I would be very happy with that here in Georgia, as the sales tax alone would be about $250, the other fees about $75, and the helmet another $100, saving me $425 or 10% off the usual purchase price. I bet the bike only has about a 5-6% profit margin. Of course, if you live in a state without sales tax, you should shoot for $3650-3699 out the door (no freight and assembly fees) with a free helmet. This will let them break even on the bike, and still save you over a 2004. If they still insist on MSRP plus fees and tax, leave, as they obviously do not want to sell that leftover, and are just using it as a bait and switch tool to move the 2004s.
It would help to call other dealers in your state or surrounding areas to see if they have a leftover 2003, or what their out the door price for a soon-to-be-leftover 2004 would be, so that you can show the dealer that you have done your research, are willing to go to another dealer, and are prepared to make a purchase. You may also stumble upon another leftover at a better price.
I bought my Intruder as a current year model, but got a $700 discount and two free helmets, but there was more wiggle room on the $7000 bike, plus I bought it in February when they weren’t exactly moving a lot of inventory. I also got mine at a high-volume dealer, and there are three other Suzuki dealers within a 45 minute drive and a Kawasaki dealer three blocks away, so he knew I had other options.
Bottom line is that you got a good deal if you leave the dealer happy.
Just my 2-cents worth…
Sorry....
