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[Master Guns]

We stopped at the local HD Dealer yesterday and got a big surprise.  The Sales Manager was fired a week ago.  He had been there several years and was well respected by a vast majority of the customers.  My wife noticed it first, but none of the new bikes on the showroom have price tags.  While talking with one of their past employees who left last fall, he said that HD had been sending teams in to help boost sales by changing the sales style the dealership had been using.  One of the members of the HD Team was called a Maximizer and worked with the finance manger to show them how to get more dollars during contract negotiations.  The HD Team supposedly teaches the auto sales method of asking what the customer can afford in monthly payments and sells from there.  I heard of another local dealer who has adopted this sales style and a friend told me that when he walked into that dealer he was 'mobbed' by salesmen.

Has anyone else seen, heard, or experienced this at their dealers?  Is this a national or regional effort?  We have been going to this dealer for several years now and quite honestly, I Will be looking all round when I or the wife are ready to purchase our next bikes.

I know there are auto dealers and salesman on this site and it is not my intent to degrade your professionalism.  I just wanted to point out the change in sales style at my local HD shop.  

[Dead_Reckoning]

Has anyone else seen, heard, or experienced this at their dealers?  Is this a national or regional effort?  We have been going to this dealer for several years now and quite honestly, I Will be looking all round when I or the wife are ready to purchase our next bikes.

I know there are auto dealers and salesman on this site and it is not my intent to degrade your professionalism.  I just wanted to point out the change in sales style at my loclal HD shop. 

My neighbor and I frequently take what I call His Harely dealer Ride.Generall 4 or 5 HD Dealers.
What I have noticed is that The Sales Men/Women appear to be Pouncing on you much sooner. Several come right out and ask "What's It going to take to get you into a New Bike today?"
Several also Do Not have Price Tags on the Bikes

[JustDennis]

I have noticed that fewer dealers are putting price tags on bikes.

[Toddster]

Scott fisher owns the naples and ft myers Florida hd dealerships and four others. As an employee relayed to me. "Mr. Fisher owned some auto dealerships and his hd dealerships are operated the same waynot just in sales dept but sevice and parts too."  And it was said with disdain.

I dont know how long he has owned them but its been at least ten years. I have never bought a bike from them and ive bought three new bikes in those ten years. I also do not like having them do my service work. I think it may have to do witht the fact thathis labor rate is $99.00 an hour.

I like to make money too and dont fault the guy but i also dont give him my business. Most bikes dont have price tags on them

[grayghost731]

First off... #1 they mass produce to many bikes #2 they are looking for better methods to SELL these bikes because

they just DON"T sell themselves anymore    So Harley is going to 'The what Ever it Takes" approach 

It was not that long ago, there was a waiting list on certain models (very High Demand)   

 

[CVODON]

The dealer can try whatever method he wants to sell bikes, it is his store. BUT he can only sell you a bike the way YOU want to buy one. Ever go in to buy a new car and have a salesman/finance guy ask what you could afford? What did he say when you told him it was none of his business? I am sure he adjusted to you or you went somewhere else. Buying a bike is not rocket science, they must do it your way or you can just go somewhere else, or the internet. In todays market, they do not want you to walk.

[E-Skunk]

I have heard both sides of the tag / no tag discussion. One side is that if there are no tags, you have to talk to a sales to get a price and at that point some wont even give you that. The flip side is that new riders to the HD world are reluctant to ask and get suspicious of the "if you have to ask, you probably can't afford".

Personally I would rather see a price and then have someone assist me with the purchase that I want to make, not sell me on something they want to sell.  Or "maximize" the amount of HD Financial product they can load onto the deal.

Our local dealer said they had the opportunity to have the HD Finance rep come and help show them how to better offer more Finance products but was not a forced initiative by the MoCo. They also still have hang tags.

[ultrarider123]

Local dealers here in K'ville and Maryville still post the sticker price along with tax, prep and any dealer added accessories in the total price on new and used bikes. 

But really, in today's internet rich environment and smart phones, even if your local dealer doesn't post a price, it's not that hard to get MSRP along with markup/wholesale pricing on bikes and accessories.  Not posting a price on the bike just shows the dealer isn't smart enough to know that.  There are some really good sites/apps out there that assist the consumer in purchases.  I know y'all know this but one would think that the dealers and MoCo knew it, too, before attempting to "hide" their pricing and change their sales strategy.  Ok, off my 

[2k]

The Harley dealer in Hickory, NC changed hands a while back. The new owner owns several others. He stopped giving HOG discounts and instead uses his own card that racks up points. Have only been in the store once. Its only bout another 15 miles to Tilley's and he runs one of the most popular shops in the area. He has many customers that drive by other dealers to get to him........some from 2 states away.

[E-Skunk]

Its only bout another 15 miles to Tilley's and he runs one of the most popular shops in the area. He has many customers that drive by other dealers to get to him........some from 2 states away.

Not to high jack the line here,    but Don is on the leading edge of what works and doesn't in engines. What lifters is he using in his engine builds?

[dlaws01]

Not to high jack the line here,    but Don is on the leading edge of what works and doesn't in engines. What lifters is he using in his engine builds?

Why would you say "Not to high jack the line here" then turn right around and do it anyway?  Just start a new thread .

[E-Skunk]

Why would you say "Not to high jack the line here" then turn right around and do it anyway?  Just start a new thread .

Point taken ...

[mark]

Regarding not pricing merchandise (bikes, cars, etc) that's for sale...if I go to a dealership and they don't have prices on their items, I'm leaving.  My position is that it's the seller's responsibility to price an item, not mine.  Getting a potential buyer to state or admit to how much he/she can afford on a monthy payment is none of the dealership business (it's not a matter of how large a monthy payment I can make, but rather what I'm willing to pay per month) .  This technique takes advantage of the uninformed or first time purchaser. 

[1sharprdkg]

My neighbor and I frequently take what I call His Harely dealer Ride.Generall 4 or 5 HD Dealers.
What I have noticed is that The Sales Men/Women appear to be Pouncing on you much sooner. Several come right out and ask "What's It going to take to get you into a New Bike today?"
Several also Do Not have Price Tags on the Bikes

X2 My local HD is the same way. You have to walk right down the middle of the sales floor to get to the parts counter, in the past if you paused for a second sales person would be on you in a heartbeat, but lately you don't even have to pause...if you just walk thru they are on you, will ask "can I get you on that bike today" and that bike is which ever bike you are standing close to at the time. My local does put Price Tags on the bikes however the last time I checked they were at least $1000.00 over MSRP.   

[Midnight Rider]

Auto dealerships LOVE customers who come in shopping a monthly payment.  As a general rule, those are the ones they make the most money on, both on the price of the vehicle, the price on the trade (if there is a trade in vehicle), and on the financing.  Whatever you tell them, they are going to bump you up in monthly payment if there's any way possible to do so.  And never forget that they make money on the financing end of it too.  With rare exceptions, if the manufacturer is not offering special financing deals that are advertised, the finance officer is going to bump the rate by at least 1%...in most cases, that's how he/she makes his/her money.  Finance officers HATE customers who pay cash or have prearranged financing because all they are then doing is filling out the paperwork.

There is really no reason in the world for a buyer to be uninformed when purchasing almost anything these days....it's all out there on the Internet for free in most cases.

Personally, I think motorcycles should have a sticker price like cars, and it should be a requirement for that MSRP to be ON the bike offered, if it's a new bike.  I would never just take a salesperson's word on MSRP for a new bike...I'll either know before I walk in the door, or will find out for sure before I even start talking seriously about a purchase.

If I'm wandering around on a car lot or in a bike shop, I expect to be approached at least once by a salesperson...that's just part of the process.  Now if they start actually pestering me, that's a different story.