Should we insist on demo ride

[sapaul]

When you think of what new bikes cost do you not find it arrogant of dealers to expect you to lay out all this money and the best they can offer is a cup of coffee and a "sit on the bike". I get obstreperous when I go to dealers and when I have convinced them that I am a serious buyer I usually get what I want or I refuse to deal with them.

[BuzZz]

I walked into a Honda dealership in '85 with a fistful of cash, literally wads of $100 bills, looking to buy that day. They wouldn't even let me sit on any machine until I paid for it. I went down the street 4 blocks, test rode and then bought a Suzuki. That Honda dealer still won't let you sit on a bike until you buy it.

Another dealership in town practically begs me to test ride any bike in the place everytime I go in, even after I tell them I am just looking. O.K., begging is a bit of a stretch, but they are more than willing to turn me loose on anything they have on the floor.

Guess which shop gets my bussiness? For anyone in Edmonton, that's Riverside in St. Albert..... worth the 10 minute drive outta town.

Scona Cycle will never sell me a bike. Even if I could sit on the thing first. Strangely, their parts & acc. dept. is pretty easy to deal with. Too bad their sales dept. pizzed in my cornflakes once too often.

[sapaul]

First class Buzz, Spread the word, if they do not want my smelly bum on their bikes they won't get my smelly money either.

[Mintbread]

It is a tricky situation for dealers though. Everyone who buys new wants 0 kms on the clock and the plastic still on the seat, but still wants to ride before they buy. Demo bikes can be treated worse than a rental car so the dealer eventually has to knock a lot off the price to sell the damn thing. Then there is the issue of how long to keep a demo bike around after the new model has come out etc.
They are between a rock and a hard place, but I agree wholeheartedly that a test ride is in order when you are laying down that much money.
It would be nice if manufacturers put on more ride days when new models come out, so the public is able to get an idea if the bike is what they are after. Unfortunately this will affect the impulse buyers such as myself.

[Scott58]

The suzuki dealer i bought my S50 from wouldn't even fire the thing up until the deal was set. i have never been anywhere that wouldn't at least let you sit on them. That's weird and i wonder how they stay in business.

[cb360]

That's just one more in my long list of why I won't buy new vehicles.

[Scott58]

I hear ya, I just like the fact that i know it's never been dropped or abused. My last three bikes have been new. Insurance is a killer and i did have to finance 1/2 the S50 because i didn't wait until next year to get it. I'm not opposed to buying used especially if it's one of those that calls your name as your walking away.

[cb360]

I hear you. The allure of a new vehicle is certainly something I'm not immune to, but I just can't get past the financial part of it. If I had a bunch of spare cash on me and wasn't allergic to financing I'd certainly buy a new vehicle. I walk to work and live in a part of the country where it rains every day or two for seven months so motorcycling is pretty much just a pleasure activity for me. If I was commuting daily I'm sure I could justify spending more money on it. As things stand now I'm trying to save as much as I can to hopefully retire early and get a really nice bike!

[Kaige]

Part of me sympathizes with the dealer. I'm sure if they let people test ride their bikes, you'd get some little coming up later and saying "Can I test ride that Ducati Monster? Duuuude...I already bought the gear to match! Hey but you let that other guy ride!"

That would strike fear into my heart too.

[cb360]

I see the dealers side of it. But if you have the license and insurance and sign a waiver I can't believe it's all that hard to have some demo bikes available that they could sell used. Car lots do it all the time - shouldn't be that difficult for bike dealers.