hello all, I have not been on here in some time. Busy with life and have not been riding a whole lot either. I have done that deal you are speaking of a few times in my lifetime. My quesation is at the end of the day, what is the difference in cost to you? (your bike for theirs, driving out the gate). when one is making a purchase from a dealer, they try to break it up and make you feel like they are giving you a great deal on the new bike but unfortunately, they have to resell yours and so have to make a profit which is why they can only give you just sooooo much). So, it makes you feel bad. Or else they make you feel real good in the fact that they can give you a great deal for your bike because they can resell it right away and they are selling them like hotcakes. But the new bike?? "Well, our dealership only turns so many bikes a year and there is overhead, lights to pay for, we like to see our employees making a little something and profit margins on new bikes are so verrry narrow, actually this is a no-profit deal"! You ever hear that? No profit deal??
So, here is my take: figure how much single-figure, bottom-line difference in trade you are comfortable with and seems right to you. See what others on the forum here are being offered, Search around different dealerships (call different ones in your state or another state). when you decide that is the best deal you are going to get, go for it! IF you decide you can sell it yourself for more and then have cash to get a better cash deal from the dealer, remember that in some states you will also pay state sales tax on allllll the price of the new one. In washington state, this $30K purchase will cost you an extra $2500! Here you can trade in your old bike and get the value of it ($20K) which reduces the sales tax to just the difference (about $850). But that means if you sell it yourself, you have to pay sales tax on the value of your bike that you didn't trade in and means you have to sell it yourself for at least $20K plus the $1650 just to break even (meaning now you have to sell it to someone on the street for $21,650 just to be at the same price you would have been with the dealer; and maybe you can and maybe you can't). And what if it takes you 3 months or 6 months to sell it yourself?? in the meantime, they just sold that great bike you wanted.
These dealerships are the ones that take the risks and pay the lights and their employees, etc. Not saying we have to line their pockets but if they weren't there, we'd all be sad, locally, and it would cost us extra in gas to drive to where the other dealers are, etc. We're going to pay one way or another. Might as well pay at OUR convenience versus theirs. Make your decision, make your best trade, and ride out on that new bike........TODAY! rather than missing that ride to Sturgis, or Daytona, or etc. And really, what do you care whether they "raise the bridge" or "lower the river"?? Out of pocket is what you should be concerned about. I have seen them do all sorts of what I thought were weird deals but that is their business; ours is riding. Porky
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Topic: 2014 road king (Read 6166 times)