Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Half a hawg ain't gonna get you down the road.

Right now low cc bikes are in high demand. Stealers are not going to budge on the price. Larger bikes are sitting on the floor not moving so the stealers are dropping prices by 4000 or more off of the list.

One day I randomly asked a kawi dealer how much he'd knock off on a 2008 ZX6r and he just said "eh, about 400 bucks"

400 isnt a lot, but I didn't even negotiate or anything. Im sure a lot of dealers will gladly take off more than a couple hundred on a new bike.

I bought a used bike from a dealer and he gladly threw in a new HJC helmet.

So I got a 2000 Shadow 600 VLX for KBB. The dealer had just gotten the bike in when I called and I had him throw in a free helmet.

I've bought several bikes and most were at dealers. Back in the seventies it was mostly msrp. Now with the recession and everything a good deal can be had. A couple of years ago I bought a new Harley Lowrider and was surprised that out of the three dealers I went to two of them sold below msrp. Depending on the state you are in someone should know which dealer is selling for volume. When shopping I asked my friends and checked up on their advice. I found they were right. One particular dealer would sell a $10K bike $ 1-2 k less than msrp. On my Harley they took off about $1200 and threw in $1000 worth of extras that I picked out. I can remember when you had to order a Harley, and now they are actually dealing with you. Honda's are the same, my friend got a left over VTX for about $2K off sticker last year. It can be done, but do your homework and be willing to walk out of the store regardless if they have the exact bike you want or not.

I have owned several bikes, all of which were purchased new. There is pretty little markup on the newer bikes. You can get a deal but you really have to be willing to work at it. It helps if you have an established relationship with the dealer. For me, I try to stick with one dealer. I have purchased bikes, ATV's, and snowmobiles from the same place so they know me and know I'm not just "kickin tires". In my opinion - look for the year old models still on the show room floor. My last bike, a Yamaha FZ6, I picked up a year old model and got it for $1300 less than the current model year and they really hadn't changed a thing on it. To me thats a good deal. If you have to have the newest model, be prepared to pay MSRP or at least close to it.

flynrider wrote:I've been checking Craigslist for late model Kaw 250s (looking for a small in-town bike).

Might try metro motorsports on Bell road. that's where i bought my 07 ninja 250 (2,920 miles). sticker said $2,999 and i walked it out the door for $2,800.

there was a silver 250 ninja sitting right next to it for $2,799. i opted for the black simply because it had more reflectors and such on it, but the silver was just a nice.

Flynrider hit right on the head....... pay no attention to any marked price. Ask what the 'Out the Door' price is, that's all that really matters. It's what you will have to pay out of your pocket that is important. The dealer can toss out any numbers they like for things like 'set-up', 'taxes', 'shop materials', or anything else they can dream up to make the list price sound cheap while still getting your money.

I used to assemble bikes and quads for a local dealer on the side a few years ago. They paid me $50 - $125 each depending on the machine to do this, and I made good money at it. They would charge the buyer $200 - $400 for 'dealer prep' plus a whole list of taxes and fee's that they might 'deal' on with the buyer. The end result was the dealer always made good money and the customer might think he got a deal.... but he didn't.

The only real number in any deal is the out the door price.

And I still hate salesmen on sight.........