They used to have them; they were family owned. Harley is closing them in favor of corporate owners. They've closed about a dozen shops just here in the Pittsburgh area, including the one that I bought from that was three miles away. The nearest store is 20 miles away.
As a nee HD customer, I quickly why they are struggling. My first stealershit experience will be my last... absolutly horrible experience. Wasted my entire weekend and two hours of driving.
Some dealerships are a complete nightmare… three years ago I brought my bike (with very low mileage, almost brand new) to a dealership for a quick service. They ended up breaking my oil pan, welding and painting it!! They didn’t tell me a thing but I knew something was wrong with my bike. It was leaking, but I never imagined they could do something like that. I brought it over and over again because of the leaks. They acted as if I was the problem… I documented everything, so when I brought it to another dealership and they told me about my oil pan, I made that first dealership pay for the repairs. I’m the end everything got fixed, but I was so pissed because they lied and because they didn’t care about putting my life in danger.
Several months ago I went to my local dealer to buy/order a bike. They offered me a deal at almost $4k US over sticker. I told them I had an offer at MSRP with NO additional fees from another dealership about 2 hours away. If they would match the deal, I'd buy it from them instead. They "called my bluff" and told me to buy it at the other dealership. So I did. Was very satisfying to ride the bike up to that dealership (the overpriced one) and show off the bike that I got for a price... and this is their words.... "Too good to be true". They have also lost me for all of my service, all of my parts, everything. Not joining their HOG chapter, not buying clothes from them, nothing.
Same thing happened to me. I branched out about 200 miles from my house to find the bike I wanted. No dealer would even offer to work with me on the price and wanted me to finance through Eagle Financial. One dealer even laughed at me and gave me some BS about how bikes were "flying off of the floor." This was in May of 2020 during the height of covid. I walked into my local dealer and said to the GM, "Don't bullshit me, and I won't bullshit you." He found my bike in New Orleans, gave me 1k off, and even steered me towards a local C.U. where I got a great apr. I shook the man's hand and bought the bike. I added about $3600 in extras and gave him $2500 down on the spot. I emailed the dealer who laughed at me a pic of my new bike and what I paid. Funny, he never replied. My dealer has been great ever since.
I had that problem once 2002 camero ss told me 24000 back in 2004 I told them it was to much they told me the same thing went bought a 2000 z28 for 1500 same car just different badges and no leather seats went back to show them they told me if I come back I was trespassing and cops will be called I laughed as I walked out the door and was told i was a person who “ had no right practicing those bad business practices” but I knew right there that I won and was not just a lying kid in his 20’s I’m 40 now and that place is still in business but has a bad name on dealing a price for a car
I've had a similar experience from a HD dealership also. Nobody in that dealership EVER approached me for anything. So I walked out after about an hour and never looked back. I have a Goldwing now and I'm so so happy I made that choice. Just check my tires, gas up, and just ride and ride and ride.
Actually, his first mistake was buying a new Harley when the market is loaded with really good used ones that are relatively cheap. His second mistake was going 2 1/2 hours away. His third mistake was continuing after the first call about the tires and clutch. He should right then said I coming to get my old bike a ND my deposit.. Then call your lawyer.
@@jerryjones2818 Not everybody thinks that way, there are a lot of used bikes that people are selling becuase they have problems, some people just want brand new with a warranty. I do understand what you are saying some just want new.
@@jerryjones2818except most of thoes bikes are "customized" and it always seems that prior to someone posting their bike on marketplace they smoke a ton of crack and demand insane prices
I had a 96 lowrider that the salesperson offered $2000 in trade towards 2022 Street Bob. It was a little low, but the bike did need some work. After they checked the bike out the next person in the sales lineup said they would give me $1500. I laughed and walked out and put the bike up for private sale asking 5k. Sold it two days later for $4000. Went back to the dealership and continued my purchase. They ran my credit and got greedy when it returned at just over 800. The finance guy did the typical try to sell you a bunch more crap and mess with the points to increase their profits. I was fed up at that point and went to plan B. Which was pulling an envelope full of cash and buying the bike outright. They still got me paying a little over the MSRP but I kept the bleeding down to a minimum. Harley dealerships are the worst.
Not to go too much into it, but the dealership I dealt with left me in the dark after several emails and phone calls not being returned. So I got on LinkedIn and looked up who was their regional manager was. I emailed him at 10:30pm, showing proof of emails and phone calls. Had an email at 11:30pm with everyone that needed to be involved to correct that situation. I had so many phone calls and emails the next day. Everything was taken care of, I hate to do stuff like that but it was a lot of money and we as customers are paying a premium for these bikes and sometimes crap customer service.
I agree it’s not fun to go over someone’s head, but sometimes it has to be done to get any movement. I agree that for the price we are paying good service should be expected.
I drove 2.5 hours away, when I had a dealer 30 minutes away. I bought a used bike and got there at 5pm. They close at 6 pm. They stayed to make sure we closed the deal and at 7 pm, helped me load the bike. Pig Trails in rogers Arkansas was amazing. They let me pick out a jacket and ship it to me since they didn't have my size. I'll make that drive again for sure.
I don't know how things work legally in Canada but here in the USA as soon as they changed the terms of the sale I would have backed out. You have far more patients that I do.
Would seem that if you have a signed contract with your trade-in value listed they would have to honor it. Sleazy way to do business but sadly not surprising.
I wanted to buy my first Harley last Fall. It was the worst experience I've ever had trying to purchase something. Ranging from being totally ignored to bait & switched multiple times. Having agreements in writing they wouldn't honor when I showed up in person. I ended up spending 2 months talking to 8 different dealership in my surrounding area and ended up so frustrated by the whole thing I went out and bought a BMW. The BMW dealer gave me a fair OTD price the first time I asked, no BS, then handed me the keys for a test drive and didn't send a nanny along to babysit me. Came back from the test ride and bought the bike. The BMW was a great bike but just didn't do anything for me. I love the bikes Harley makes, but I can't say I've enjoyed any other aspect. I still want a Harley.
Depending on the model you bought, I'm surprised the BMW 'didn't to anything' for you. They can fit well into whatever style of riding, unless you bought a model that's designed for a type of riding you're not into. They're well-made and designed high-quality and reliable machines. Their performance typically will run circles around typical Harleys. I've owned BMW since 2003 and have put 150,000 trouble-free km on mine... Compared to BMW, Harleys are heavy and mediocre performers that use old technology. They only change to more modern technology when legislation forces them to, such as going liquid cooled to meet emissions regulations...
@@garymaclean6903 The BMW (R1250GSA) was the best motorcycle I have ever ridden and I don't think any motorcycle is going to change my opinion on that in the near future (except maybe the new 1300GS). However, I found the bike pretty boring to ride, unless I was riding it like an asshole. Everyone's use case is different. I'm a weekend warrior and I'm not going to take a 590 lbs motorcycle on much more than a gravel road. I have a 300 2-stroke for trails. My riding is purely recreational and I just didn't find the BMW to excite me in any way, it felt like an appliance, it was just really good at everything. It's not a criticism, it just wasn't the bike for me. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is interested in one. My dad has been riding BMWs for decades and they are great motorcycles.
I went into a dealership a few days ago looking for my first harley/second bike. I walked in with a $15k budget with a little bit of wiggle room. With them being the biggest dealership in the area they have an entire underground parking garage of used bikes. My dream bike is a street glide. I sat on two bikes, neither of which were street glides and didn’t tell me anything about pricing. As we went back upstairs I saw an entire row of used street glides that he didn’t show me AT ALL, and proceeded upstairs to try and get me into a ‘23 street glide at TWICE my budget. Bad experience all around and has given me a bad taste in my mouth of ever owning a Harley.
Similar experience here. Went into a Harley dealer with $10k down looking specifically at a used ‘22 low rider s with under 1000 miles. They made the deal/math so bad on that used bike that when compared to deal/math on brand new bike looked better. Had a choice of getting straight ripped off on a used dropped bike or go new and pay about the same over the length of the loan. I’ll only ever lowball and tire kick in Harley dealerships.
A few years back I came across a 79 XLH, low mileage and almost completely stock. I had a new one when I was young and I couldn't resist. You know, relive your youth thing. So I go to my local Harley dealership to pick up some fluids and plugs, I did basic maintenance on my first one and kind of enjoyed it. Plus now I could afford more Loctite and better torque wrenches. I handed my list to a young guy at the parts counter and told him to take his time because I wanted to look around. The last time I had been at a Harley dealership was 1982 and I wanted to see what had changed. Pretty much everything. Dealers back then were small, usually family owned. No wall of chrome or a clothing store. The old shops had character, this place had none of that but everyone was wearing the same style of shirt. When I went back to parts the young guy had everything but the plugs. It seemed there was one mechanic in there that had ever actually worked on an Ironhead and they were waiting for him to get back from lunch to suggest a plug. Harley wants visiting a dealership to be an experience but judging from the comments on videos like this one, probably not the experience these people are commenting on. I think Harley has forgotten where they came from and its hard to know where you are going when you can't remember where you've been.
I can relate to your experience . I rode Harleys all of my life until just two years ago at 72 and I can tell you that Harley has never cared about their customers ( Just give me your money and go away ). I bought five new Harleys over the years and had many issues that would take too long to explain . But the worst experience was when I bought a new 1979 Low Rider and had to take it back for a leaking head gasket . The bike only had fifty miles on it when I took it in . They had it for a week including a weekend and when I went to pick it up the speedometer showed over 250 miles indicating that someone took it home over the weekend for a joyride . No explanations, apologies , compensation , nothing . They just didn't care. You should have named the dealer.
Good lord that’s terrible. I had better experience with dealers when they were smaller independently owned shops. Now they’re all getting bought up by large companies. Their service just keeps going down.
@@canadiansa1nt309 The change to car dealers owning Harley dealerships was spearheaded by Harley Davidson itself. In Calgary, the same thing happened, a Harley dealer that goes back to the '60s has to become an independent shop. The only Harley dealership is owned by a car dealership.
Sorry to hear that you went through that, I'm from Pennsylvania, U.S.A. and in 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic, I purchase a 2021 Road King Special. The bike had to be order and of course I have to put a deposit down too, sounds pretty much like your situation. However, in my case, my local Harley dealer did not increase the price after the MSRP and I did not turn in my trade in (2010 Road King Classic), until the new bike was in the dealer's possession. I respectfully say to everyone, that the moral of the story here is, "Never turn in your trade in before the new bike is in front of you". I do trust my local dealer, and I'm sure that there is maybe more details about your story, but even as much I trust my local dealer, I always keep in mind that their are in the business to make money. God Bless everyone!! Ride hard but ride safe...
I had the same experience as you first when I wanted to buy my fat boy, and then when I wanted to customized it and I guess something similar could happen now that I'm thinking about trading it for a new model, and I really appreciate your honesty and detailed explanation to understand what we (I mean your followers) must avoid and prevent before doing any deal with them, thank you! I tell you my friend, we must love a lot out Harley bikes to ignore that kind of bull shit coming from Harley Dealerships and this is happening because HD is not listening and paying attention on this kind of problems that everyday we must face, but someday someone must see this and correct the problem. All the best and congratulations for your new bike!
The biggest problem we have is that this lack of customer service has become a contagious disease in the 21st century. Old fashion customer service by dealerships is a thing of the past, it seems employees are rewarded on how much 'short' term profit they make. This model/policy/disease is designed to boost the bottom line by not allowing 'customer loyalty' to be factored into the sales model for HD dealerships.
I totally understand. Real soon I will be uploading a FULL video regarding the horrible Dealership experience I had here in SO Cal, and with Harley's Customer service. I will say this, Bike in shop 10 October, 2022 Under WARANTY Promised back November, etc. The Monday before Thanksgiving I was in the dealership where told my bike was being totaled. 2 hours later found out it was NOT my bike,. Then told it was 1000% covered and they would move me into another bike just as if it was 100% fixed (red flag #3 for the day) Then the sales manager tried to super lowball me because the engine was blown, yet sell me an older used bike with more likes and NOT an Ultra CVO for $30K, meaning I overpaid for replacement and gave them my Bike. Come to find out the dealership 1st contacted HD for warranty on 3 Feb 23, 4 MONTHS after the got my bike and kept promising completion nd tracking numbers (Which I have never gotten) Now, 11 May 2023, no bike, no tracking numbers, but they are trying to pressure me to "give" them the bike (they don't know when they parts will be there) and but a new one at over retail. OH, I forgot, HD told me I was no longer welcomed to call Corp. I am waiting on what my attorney does this coming week before uploading. As I told the dealership back in November "I want my bike fixed post haset and I will never see any of them again including their employees who migrate to another dealership. Yep, I finally had enough. Video coming soon.
I haven’t had anything near the issues you have with a dealership but I can’t begin to tell you how disheartened I have become with HD. My first experience with HD was buying my first Harley from my local dealer 45 years ago. I was a snot nosed twenty year old who went in drooling over every bike on the floor. Figured out there was no way I could afford the Low Rider I was in love with so I went for a Sportster. I never talked to any of the sales people as they all sort of either were too busy to talk to me or blew me off. I can’t say I really blame them, as I didn’t really look like I could afford to buy a new bike. Not to say there were that many sales people. The dealership in those days was a small old school dealer. I went to my bank to talk financing and while I was there the bank guy called the dealer, and was asked asked who the salesman was I talked to. Well after saying I hadn’t been able to get a salesman to talk to me they put me on the phone. It was the owner I was talking to and he got me squared away on not the bike I was wanting (kick start), but another one identical to it with electric start. I later learned that he held a sales meeting and totally reamed the entire sales staff a new one over my not having been able to talk to anyone. I bought my bike and found myself on a first name basis with just about all the staff as well as the owner and his son (the head mechanic). I always got treated right by those people even after they were forced into building the NEW big fancy dealership that HD demanded all their dealers build. Quite a few years ago however that ownership passed from that family to another. No longer were the price tags placed on every bike telling you the exact price. Ask a salesman the price and get an answer like “Oh anywhere between 23 and 27 thousand.” So ok which is it for this bike right here? “Oh well it’s hard to say right off. Let’s go over to my desk and talk sales and we can work up a price for you.” Yeah no thanks. A lot of folks still in and out of there but I have long since lost my enthusiasm for the place and any loyalty I had has long since passed. Now yet another family has purchased the place and I was struck at the difference between my fist experience and the experience I had on my last visit. A salesman who was just as pushy as he could be from the moment I walked in the place trying to sell me a new bike. It was almost amusing. I’m still riding my 18 year old bike, the last one I bought from the original family and with what I have been seeing from my own experience and experiences of others like you here, I’ll keep on riding it for some time to come. Used bike prices are such that I wouldn’t consider a new bike anyway and I often wonder if I decided to go new, if I might just start at the Indian dealer. This isn’t your daddy’s or your granddaddy’s Harley Davidson anymore.
It seems that a lot of the family run operations are getting fewer and fewer as big companies buy them up. I had very few issues with dealers when they were smaller. Now the ones here all have big new buildings and with that came higher overhead and a loss of customer service. It has become more about the brand and the profit than the customer. I would not blame you for not wanting to buy new, or going to a different company altogether.
I am a new rider. Took the MSF course through a HD dealership. Great instructor!! Great experience!! Now for the bad.... I started looking at HD sportster models at a local dealership. At first things were good. I was treated very well. Then that gradually turned sour. Intimidation, pressure, borderline harassment. Inflated prices, outrageous fees and financing. The sales manager became very rude when he saw that I was not falling for they're crap. I told them to never contact me again. Fast forward a month later. I found the HD that I wanted(not through a HD dealership btw which saved me thousands!). After that I've dealt with a further away HD dealership for service, customizing ECT. They have been fantastic. They have went above and beyond in providing the best possible costumer service. Thanks for the video. Enjoying your channel
Yeah true enough. I just don't understand why HD headquarters doesn't have the same guidelines/customer service across the board. If they're trying to stay afloat and appeal to new riders like myself they need to learn a thing or two. I told that the dealership. Congrats on loosing a sale. Harley is slowly dying. You'd think they would wake up. Just my opinion
We always traded in our ultras every 4 years or so and we always knew that we had to come to the table with an extra $12,000-$15,000 to make the deal. This year we went to two dealerships and they both came in around $22,000 more in addition to our trade. I walked out and told them they are making it very hard to be brand loyal.
Running a dealership under the constraints imposed by a manufacturer is an art form that many dealer principals/owners either fail to grasp the concept of, or are simply incapable of. The upsizing of motorcycle shops brought on by corporate mandates has sounded the death knell for small, eager to serve, family owned businesses where all employees involved rode motorcycles and understood motorcycle riders. HD values the 'customer journey' through the purchasing process, however, they themselves have created this monster that due to the amount of parties involved, breaks down when one variable is not in place. With my 46th motorcycle, having ridden for 53 years, I miss the small dealerships where a tire change was done correctly in less than a hour without an appointment, and there were no pre-qualifying questions to determine a customer's worthiness.
Man, that's nuts. I bought my first bike a few months ago, and emailed the Honda dealer asking for the OTD price, and they just sent it to me. Went in, paid the amount they told me beforehand, and left with my bike. Like, I wasn't even there long enough to even get an idea of how most of the employees are, lol.
Good for you for speaking up! I have experienced this type of "upsell" (also in Canada) and you are bang on. It affects future sales more than they think.
@@canadiansa1nt309 Bought a brand new harley, after 40 years of other models, when I retired. So pissed off at all the bullshit I sold it and will never buy another. Love my Indian
It doesn't end with just Harley dealerships. I've bought bikes from powersports dealerships, same thing. Once the salesman is done with you, he never looks back. There is a big miscommunication between sales, parts, and service. I've bought used bikes from a powersport dealership and when they called me to pick it up. They can't find the keys. My buddy had a similar issue with one of those places. He bought a used Harley, he wanted the apes replaced with more stock handle bars. It took them 5 weeks to change those and they couldn't find his keys. When he got the bike home, we had to re-solder all the extended wiring. bad connections. But we weren't going back there, ever. Word to the wise, don't ever, ever trade in your bike at a Harley dealership. They will rip you off royally. Sell it privately. I wouldn't even use Harleys financing. I'll buy parts from the HD dealership, that's about it. They don't touch my bike. There's plenty of smaller shops out there that don't try to bullshit you in parts you don't need replaced. Two seasons ago, I had my Night Train stored at the HD dealership for the winter months. They do their 30 point inspection. They told me, I need 600 dollars in parts and 2600 hundred in labor. I'm like; Don't touch it. When I got the bike back, I took their list to the place I go to. Turns out, I needed rotors and pads. It didn't cost me 3200. HD dealerships have always been known to be greasy. All the small mom and pop dealers are gone. Now its just big HD dealer chains. Their too big to care about their customers.
The dealership I use to always deal with until the owner got too old to run it which he sadly sold. I did not like the sales person, but the price stated was always extremely fair, the work was always spot on and if they could do it for free or a very low cost they would. I got a small scratch on the paint and they touched it up at no cost to me. I was shocked, but they had a customer for life.
I bought my first Harley in Mesa Az. I walked away and told them they were charging to much. I got a helmet and a 18k bike for 12k signed. I got a used bike with a 2 year warranty. You walk in and start negotiating. Most people don’t no how to negotiate because they used to walking into a store and paying sticker prices
Im a die hard HD owner for over 35 years and owned many of them , IMO the when Willie G retired and the new styling came into play for the younger crowd the whole ship started to sink , I hope they can hold on !
These HD dealers think they're doing you a favor selling you a bike. My local family owned small dealer got shut down and I never bought another one. Also, these castle dealerships are being paid for by you and other buyers with these $800 prep fees, $300+ doc fees, $500 oil changes, msrp, and other surcharges. Wing DCT Tour for me now, and I think it's an absolutely incredible bike.
Harley dealerships have gotten awful. I bought a bike this winter at a dealership in St Louis. It turned into a shit show. There are a lot of good independent mechanics. Order your own stuff, and take it to one of these decent people just making a living. Dealerships are getting to the point, where they have no redeeming qualities.
Subbed bud. Enjoyed the story. I worked at a Harley Dealer for a bit and really liked the people and the dealer. I have ran across another Harley dealer not far from the one I worked at that treated people pretty similar to how you were treated.
There is a HD Dealer in my town about 4 miles from my house. I bought a couple bikes from them and had them do my service. They are now corporate owned and treat their customers like crap (unless you are about to buy a new bike). I now drive past that dealership and ride 40 miles to a family owned dealership in San Diego County (Biggs) and do business where I am always treated like a valued customer.
My experience with Harley-Davidson goes back to 1973. At that time I purchased an eight-year-old 65 Harley from a dealership in Syracuse New York. In time I came to realize the dealership had a reputation of being a total rip-off. To no one's surprise I had a very negative experience dealing with them and unfortunately that hasn't been the exception to the rule over the years I have had in all my service done by aftermarket small shops. Not all of those have been positive but I have been fortunate enough to find a few really competent service people. Dealerships don't work to keep customers. People do if you find a competent mechanic that is honest treat them with respect
We live and learn. Had an issue with my local kawasaki maintenance department, long story, dropped off first bike, they had it a week, didn't do anything to it, switched out bikes and they had that one for a week, they did nothing to it, switched again the bikes. Had it another week, called them a week later, still had not touched it. Took another week to get first one done. 180 dollar oil change. I was to leave the second bike for it to be worked on, but the guy had an attitude with me. I am nice like you. Rode bike that was done home. Ran 6 miles back to pick up the other. Took it 25 miles the next week and they did the work while I waited. Found my dealership.
@@canadiansa1nt309 HD I believe has gone more corporate owned and don't care much for the small dealerships that spent millions on the standard they set forth. Kawasaki that I know of are all independently owned and they get to run it the way they want. Service a lot of times is a separate third party. This facility had no care if I had my bike serviced at the dealership or not. He stated he had 200 bikes he needed to get out. He didn't need the work.
I agree this is a terrible experience. I always get all the paperwork up front before I agree to purchase. Including the purchase agreement, valuation for a trade in, etc. Also you have to watch when they do inspections. Never let your bike out of your site. If they do not agree to this, run don't walk out.
This would be first inspection I was not there for. That would be why they tried to tell me the back tire was bitched and the clutch had an issue. Never again.
16:29 the biggest thing i realized with my last interaction with HD is that they seemed to be over 90% used car salesmen, and when you have dealt with both sides you can definitely tell when people dont ride
I had such a horrible buying experience with Harley that I'll never buy another one. They could have made money off of me for years to come but they're short sighted. I feel your pain.
After 15 Yrs of Riding Harleys, and 3 New Harleys over that Time span. I traded my last Harley for a BMW R1200GS. I have Never looked back. It’s 100 Times better than Any of the Harleys. Harley Dealerships act like they are doing you a Favor letting you Buy one. Meanwhile they Screw you over on anything they possibly can! They want to charge really High Interest Rates on their Loans, even if you have a Great Credit Score!!! I will never Buy another Harley, there are so many Better Built, Better Riding, Reliable Bikes out there, who needs a Harley. They use the same z as Frames from 30 Yrs ago with New Skins and same Motor just bigger. They never really improve much. I’ll stick with other Brands. Thanks for the Video.👍👍
A had a absolutely piss poor experience buying my 22 fxlrst at badlands harley in medicine hat too. They took advantage of me on the price charging me 2k more for a used one than what they quoted me for a new one. They bungled the install of parts to such an extent it was truly unbelievable. 30% too much oil, riser stud that wasn't even locktited and came loose on me, wiring that wasn't even plugged in, crimp connector one end wasn't even crimped and on and on and on. After I politely refused to bring the bike back in to get "fixed" it was total non communication. Not so much as a single reach out to say sorry, to say how can we make this right, nothing. Considering I was a brand new customer, only 40 so they could have had 25 years of new bikes, parts, swag etc from me and bought 15k of parts and gear on top of the bike, was beyond unacceptable. I will never step in that dealership again as long as I live, and I'm sure to tell anyone will listen about them too.
@@canadiansa1nt309 Yea apparently since the automotive group took over and Ivan has stepped back as owner it's all gone to crap. Wish I would have know that before dealing with them. At least calgary was able to figure out on their dyno and while jiggling it, that the last piece of wiring the hat did that I didn't remove cause it looked and tested ok while bike wasn't moving (throttle extension cause of taller risers), was actually done as piss poor as all their other work and was what was causing the bike to randomly rev up and down on its own as high was 4500rpm, throw codes, and go limp mode. That sure made riding overly exciting for a while. lol
I am not sure you can blame the dealership for your poor purchasing skills but i can see how that would sour a relationship; however. if you paid too much, that is 100% on you. Its the dealerships job to sell for as much money as they can get, if your job to buy for the lowest price you can get it for. Somewhere in the middle is where a deal is to be made and by the sounds of it, you failed on you end, thats not the dealership! Ive been to Badlands Harley, they are an awesome dealership with a lot of repeat customers
@@snakebite6511 Oh totally I agreed to pay it and did because I was excited and didn't want to wait. That still doesn't mean it wasn't slimy to quote and order me a new one for x then when a used one comes up magically mark it up 2k over the price of new on me take it or leave it. I bought another 15k of stuff there too so it's not like they weren't getting a lot of money out of me. No need to gouge me on top of it. Also how is that good business sense when they made 2k extra in the short term and as a result of that and truly horrific work by the mechanic lost out on a literal 25 years of brand new motorcycles and parts and servicing and merch buying from me. Especially when the number one problem harley is facing is the riders aging out. How is it good business to not even reach out to say how can we make this right when they found out about the all the problems caused directly from their mechanic including pictures and videos of said issues. I'm happy for you your experience was different but they are absolutely not an awesome dealership. Not since Ivan stepped back and that auto group took over. Downhill and in a bad way. Even his son got the hell out of there instead of taking over.
I was looking for a Softail/Street Bob a month ago. Not once, from 3 major dealers in Denver, was the actual price revealed to me. They would generalize the price like high teens or low 20s. All of their websites say click for price. "We have to do an evaluation of your bike". I bought from a private guy and probably saved 8k and a lot of headaches. Your situation is over the top. At least you have the bike and can enjoy it. They are lucky you didn't walk.
It sounds super fishy that they don't give you the price of a new frigging bike beforehand. In my country all the new bikes cost pretty much exactly the same, no matter what dealer is selling it
Bought a used street glide on February 1 2023. It was my first Harley so I bought a used 09...beautiful clean bike. I road it once and brought it back...needed clutch plate, basket, starter, new wiring harness, and several other things. In 90 days I had to bring it back 7 times for the same issues. My dealership went above and beyond to dial the bike in...didn't cost my a dime. The owner had the GM cut me a check for my troubles. The bike is now in my garage and runs like a top. While it was at the dealership, I went out and purchased a 05 goldwing...starts every time. I will never buy another Harley, but my dealership was amazing.
@@canadiansa1nt309 Godwings are bulletproof. Love my Harly but the GoldWing is a completely different riding experience. It's a 1,000-lb sport bike with tons of storage.
I did my BRC course at a Harley Dealership in the panhandle of Florida, if you have been in this area, you can probably narrow it down. There are only three dealerships in that area. During this training, they of course have a part where you go out to the floor and "find the bike that fits you the best" well I go to the preowned lot, and a salesman begins to help me. I ask a simple question that I legitimately didn't know the answer to at the time "what's the difference between a Dyna and a Softail?" I could not get an answer from him, it took his manager to come over and explain the difference. The same salesman proceeded to pester me weekly for about a month and a half to come ride on a bike and buy one. I've now owned three Harley's, and all of them I have purchased through private sale with either cash, preapproved loan, or both. I don't think I will ever purchase from one of their dealerships. Especially with the horror story you just told. I'm glad it finally worked out but that is a horrendous experience.
Me too. All my 4 brothers have HD bikes, from rat bike to Soft Tail Slim to Fat Bob to Road King. I’m the only sibling with a Honda VTX1300 since I had to put my son through medical school and undergrad studies. I am truly lucky! Peace Be The Journey!
Congratulations on the channel; fellow Canadian here. Sole negative experience was 17 years ago at a major H-D dealership - they went through three service managers (and I dealt with them; they were NOT accommodating) in six months. However, all thanks and humble praise to my initial dealership: they replaced the handlebars I wrecked on my first bike - the night I got it - FOR FREE (tried to pay for it twice; they wouldn't take it). All hopes that the place you were dealing with cleans up their act.
Sounds like they closed the wrong dealership. The dealership you are dealing with needs new management for sure. Harley Davidson needs to know everything that happened. A phone conversation with Harley Davidson is what I would want. You would be doing Harley a huge favor by letting them know.
I feel fortunate! My first experience was at Arrowhead HD in Peoria AZ and it was great a little over a year ago on my first bike. A 2015 Heritage. What a great bike that was. Then i had a great experience at Thunderbird HD this past weekend on a new bike! Y’all rock Thunderbird!
I bought my first Harley from Durham Harley Davidson in 2022. It was hands down the best experience I’ve ever had purchasing a new vehicle. Top notch staff in every department.
I’m gonna say something good about my nearby HD dealership in Owen Sound, ON. That had a Honda VTX 1300 used for sale, it was a local trade in. I wanted to trade in my 9 year old minty-ish Suzuki VStrom. Easy negotiations and only $1500 in difference paid with the taxes and I was out the door in a week. Pickup and drop off was done inside a week as planned, everything was buttery smooth! Their old name was “Fox Harley Davidson!” Their new name is Georgian Bay HD. It helps that the sales guy was used to working with veterans from a nearby Army Training base, he respected that fact that I ran matches (precision rifle; read…..sniper) on base. You Merican cousins would call us “CMP” or civilian marksmanship program (equivalent). The dealings could not be any better. Life is Good!! Peace Be The Journey!
The riding school is a secret sales pitch, a very good one, but I had to block the dealership due to the amount of sales calls afterward. I don’t think I’d ever buy a Harley new, but I’d definitely look at a gently used one.
I just purchased my first Harley Davidson Breakout from Warhawk Harley in Monroe Louisiana. I went in at around 10am and by 2:30pm I was riding my new bike home. No pressure by the salesman. Great experience all the times I've gone in since to buy extra stuff and a tshirt or two. Everyone I've met there is courteous and professional.
I'm currently in Calgary and I must say that Calgary Harley Davidson did an awesome job when I ordered my Road King Special. The color I wanted, Deadwood Green 2021, was not available anywhere in Canada, as the 2022 models were already being advertised. However, the dealer managed to locate one for me in British Columbia. I made several upgrades to the bike and placed the order while signing all of the necessary paperwork. Overall, my experience with Calgary Harley Davidson was excellent. They have an excellent inventory and regularly host events to stay connected with their customers. They are a great dealer to deal with.
Financing was annoying there, Edmonton North hooked me up… I liked that Calgary shop though, if it wasn’t for the financing I’d have bought my bike there.
Agreed, Calgary also and also very Happy with Calgary Harley for all new bikes i have ordered; however, i have never factory ordered a new Harley, ive always just picked something off the floor because they carry a huge selection
Wow, what an ordeal. I'm fortunate that I have had pretty good experiences with the dealer I use. My only exception was during the supply chain situation a couple years back. Repair of my bike was held up waiting for floorboards and no local dealers wanted to sell or part with any of their stock to get it done. My bike took close to three months due to an accident not a purchase and required much more than just the floorboards.
When I ordered my Harley it just happened to be an anniversary year, 03. I ordered it some time in early summer in 02. It took until December of that year to finally get it. Other than a long wait, I had no issues with Dean's Harley Davidson.
Sorry to hear about your problems. It’s experiences like this at a bike or car dealership that ruins the entire experience. We found a dealership that is perfect. Unbelievably good. So good, we’re going to seriously miss it when we move away. Hopefully you are enjoying your new ride.
@@canadiansa1nt309 my current bike I bought in 2017. Only 8 payments left! Won’t be buying a new one for a variety of reasons. I’m from Denver, Co. I think at the time I bought my current bike, we had 10 dealerships within an hour of each other. Some good reps, some not so good. They all don’t exist today. Just 5 years later.
I've been wanting to buy a Harley for a few years. I've gone through the purchase process a couple times and the HD dealers are so frustrating and difficult that I cancelled the deal. The dealers try to over charge, wont disclose information until I'm in the finance managers office. At this point I think I'm going to stick with other brands because its the dealer that the customer has to interact with, not the manufacturer, and I don't trust HD dealers.
That’s too bad. There are some good dealers out there but they are hard to find. I had one here until 2021 when Harley closed them. I wish I had the answer but it seems like the dealerships just get bigger until they just don’t care about customer service anymore.
Msrp is just the starting place to negotiate. Ask to see invoice? Holdbacks? Rebates? Buying experience the worst part when it should be an exciting experience. I hate even walking into dealerships anymore with their shenanigans. I buy on line and have bikes/cars shipped. The trade ins are still a problem but less shenanigans with in line purchases.
Yup! had a surprise charge when trying to buy a used bike and got a whopping $2500 fee on top of the $6796 price of the bike! Not including all the other fees. I walked out! Started shopping on marketplace.
I've found I hate going to the dealer now for anything, crap attitudes and crap service, just give us your money and don't bother us till you're ready to buy another new one. I'm grateful I can wrench on them, I buy used and build the bike I want with the money saved, and it's paid for!
A few years ago I was helping my son buy his first bike a Sportster 1200C to establish credit. He already had the bike picked out but they tacked on so many fees I told him to forget it. We don't need their service nor do I really want anyone else working on my stuff so we found a used one in literally showroom condition with very low mileage, two years old, and got his loan through my credit union. Overall cost was about half of what the new one would have cost. He paid it off in less than a year, still has it and has done all the maintenance and customization himself. I love Harley's and they closed my favorite dealer and the next closest one is a huge mega dealer that I don't like from some previous experiences so I just did the same thing with my new (to me anyway) Road King. Not much I can't do to the bike myself and with the cost of new Harley's I just can't see it. May make sense for people that are not gearheads but for myself probably not.
Great Video and very informative. I live in the US and never really was interested in Harley's. Early on they were notorious for breaking down thus the nick name "Hardly Davidson". I have only owned Honda's and Kawasaki's and I currently have a 2010 Triumph Rocket 3 Touring. This Triumph is by far my favorite. My Honda CB 750-4 was back in the day. I bought that one brand new in 1978. I was not surprised that BMW is popular in Europe. How is the Triumph market there and where you are? They are based in Great Britain and have been for a long time (started as BSA). They are quite respected here, but the used market is flooded with Harley's and Indian, as you noted, is gaining ground. My next motorcycle just may be an Indian Scout, when I decide to downsize. Keep up the fine work, I look forward to your upcoming videos!
Thanks. I like the Rocket 3. Their hp and torque is quite impressive. I’m not aware of any Triumph dealers around here and I can’t remember the last time I saw one on the road. Harley is a big player here, and I tend to see a fair amount of sport bikes like Suzukis, Yamahas, and Hondas. Actually, I don’t see many Indians either.
wow, I guess experiences will vary. I recently bought a 24 Street Glide from Winnipeg HD and they gave me a better than expected trade value for my 13 Ultra Limited and the SG was 500 below MSRP. The overall experience was very positive.
I contacted the Harley-Davidson dealership in Reno Nevada, told the guy what I was looking for and then they proceeded to spam me with texts and emails and phone calls incessantly. Sending me examples of anything but what I asked for what period they were pushy and overbearing and it turned me off to even buying a Harley-Davidson. I am with a private route and bought a Victory Cross Country
I went through a similar scene with my dealer (Toys for big boys) and I believe it is all about attitude they seem to think they are doing you a favor for allowing you to deal with them , pitiful .
I used to have a Dyna, my last bike. The Harley dealer in Tucson is owned by a carport patios that owns most of the ATV and motorcycle stores here. They are so bad that most of the owners go two hours out of town for anything.
most of the issues are dealer issues .. these were not Harley Davidson factory issues. I mean if you like Harleys, don’t blame the brand. there is a pricing guide for labor called a flat rate manual. I was a motorcycle mechanic at three different dealerships. I got paid flat rate. If the manual said I would get paid one hour for changing/swapping out a pair of handlebars, then I would make one hours pay at whatever the flat rate was at that time. If it took me 45 minutes, I still got paid for an hour. But if it took me five hours, I only got paid for one hour. most mechanics, in fact, every mechanic I have ever worked with at those different dealerships, could always beat flat rate. Example. if I had to put a head gasket on a Honda, CB 750 which required pulling the engine. I would get paid eight hours labor. But I could do that job in five hours… I still got paid eight hours.. warranty work was different, you had to go buy that manual, and it always pay the mechanic Less.. The flat rate manual for that same job doing warranty work, would only pay about five hours pay, because they knew how long it would actually take.. pretty much every mechanic hated doing warranty work for that reason.. you know, the fact that that dealer overcharged you, that was actually worth it to you. Look what you have learned. It’s like lending a friend money, ….if you never see them again-- It was worth it…
Gentlemen please (and I do mean PLEASE) hit up Nathan at Avalanche HD in Golden Colorado. He’s a stand up guy. No bullshit involved. I just bought a 2023 Fat Bob and I believe I got a GREAT deal. Another good dealership is Natchez HD in Tuscumbia, AL. Don’t lose hope !!!! There’s still a few dealerships out there that are decent. 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
You'll love this. Here in the Philippines I've been pretty spoiled by low labor costs. A service costs about $5 US. ;). Sometimes you have to supervise, but everything gets done. 😅 I've had to contact Yamaha directly to get the useless dealer cabals (Motortrade/YamahaS3) to get the dealer their product to sell to me after waiting months. Then losing the receipt for.tye $6 part and having to get an affidavit notorized at my own expense to get the part that the only white customer they had ordered. Why? "That's our policy, sir..."
USA Indiana, local dealer are rude, I was thinking about a trade in on baja orange RG and then my job started to talk layoffs so I told him that I couldn't take the chance at this time, then 3 weeks later I went in for a workshop and I went up to the guy to be nice and say hi, he stared at me, I asked him you remembered me he said yeah and pretty much walked away 😂
They started going down hill with the end of the shovel after that it was all about the money and the hell with the customer. Doing you a favor to buy Harley you see?
In my opinion Harley did a good job with the evolution. But I agree that in the eighties they became more and more about the brand rather than the service.
I went to a harley shop, to buy the 500 with 27 miles. After the paperwork was done a $5000 bike price shot up to $12,000 they didn't know I had cash in hand I told them it was a great price I hung for about an hour. Checking out the dealership until I seen the dealer snickering about the possibility of the sale. I told them I will be back...left and bought a Royal ENFIELD shotgun 650 instead..dealerships act like used cars salesman. Totally turned off on that dealership. Just out of curiosity I called another harley davidson shop, about the same 500 bike and a guy gave me a price of $6300...no harley davidson ever
Like somebody else said I wouldn't have gave them anything. I would have to test ride the new bike. I know patience is hard at times. Always remember you're mostly paying up for the name. I also like Harley-Davidson.
Not for nothing, since covid, customer service is crap, in all retail, may it be bikes, cars, regular everyday shopping. With that said, last year I bought a brand new Indian Motorcycle. Also was told 4+ weeks, for shipping, now I could of had one that day, but it wasn't what I wanted so I was willing to wait. Long story short, bike came in 3 weeks, extras I wanted was put on within a day, I was riding earlier than expected. Since then the dealership has been fantastic. Just food for thought.
I thought it was funny towards the end , your comment about where you live. I haven't watched your channel before , but mid way thru the video i was curious so i looked at your page and figured it out in about 1 minute. Internet videos are seen by quite a broad range of people and have a huge impact on businesses. Glad you finally got you bike !!!
I took a Harley into Wilkins Harley in Vermont with a clutch issues. The clutch had a totally different problem, when i got it back. Whatever the mechanic did gave the clutch a mystery problem. i kept returning the bike for the next two years trying to get it fixed and they never did. They would put the bike in the back of the line and call me weeks later and say it's fixed and charge me. I would drive it, it would have the same issue, so i would take it right back and they would put it in the back of the line. I didn't have it to ride for two years. i finally just gave up on Wilkins and they never did me right. I've taken the bike now to multiple different shops and no one can diagnose what the problem that started at Wilkins. Now after spending way more than the bike is worth on fixing the problem, the clutch still slips every time i hit a bump. i won't sell it like this, so it sits in the garage. It still makes me sick when i think of how much money i gave to wilkins trying to fix a problem that Wilkins created.
That definitely sucks. My Low Rider developed a transmission issue when downshifting. No one could diagnose the issue. Not the dealer, and not the motor company. They pissed around with it for weeks before finally just changing out the entire transmission guts. Oh, and they also lost the parts in transit. Harley would be well advised to do much better by their customers.
Interesting, I had a very similar experience with a dealer that sold aircraft engines. They had every excuse in the book why my parts have not arrived. I called their suppliers and one of them told me that the factory had them on credit hold. They had not been paying their bills. It would not surprise me at all given the lack of inventory in high interest rates many dealers are ready to fold. Before I put my hard cash down I would do a financial check on the company I’m doing business with. This may save everybody a lot of grief. In my personal opinion I would stay far far away from a dealerThat is feeding you a lot of BS. Most likely they’re covering up a serious problem. Could be lack of leader ship could be there in financial trouble. Just my two cents hope it helps
That truly was a terrible dealership experience. When I was restoring an 02 Sportster 883 a few years ago, I had a really sour experience with a local dealership trying to get parts and stuff. When we sold it after it was done, we said no more Harley Davidsons. Then I started hanging out at a friends food truck that was parked on the property at Fox Harley Davidson in Owen Sound here in Ontario. Long story short, there is now a 2021 Pan America and a 2022 Nightster 975 in the garage. I have dealt with many dealerships in my 40 years of riding but I have never had the truly fantastic experience that I got from the team at Fox. I can’t say enough positive things about them, they really treat you like part of a family. I just wanted to let you know that there are still good H-D dealerships out there. I’m happy that you finally got your bike home with the parts you wanted on it. Keep the rubber side down.
Great video,,, when you purchase a bike understand the purpose you choose that model,,then you can keep it for more 2 years and won't have the costs and headehces,,,🇨🇦🤸✌️
I no longer buy Harleys. It is too stressful dealing with the dealers. I know i'll catch hell for this but a bought a new Goldwing from the dealership and it was a breeze. I think I like my Goldwing more. It's quieter, smoother, more dependable and a lot less expensive.
You nailed it…never go back. That would be my answer. We have 7 HD dealers here in the greater Denver-Front Range area, and I’ve dealt with half of them with no real issues. Only negative if you want to call it that is my most recent purchase of a used Limited…the finance guy seemed almost offended I turned down all the “extras” he tried upselling. Lol. But that was his problem, not mine. But generally speaking the dealers around here are decent to deal with. Google reviews are pretty positive. They all ride. Friendly. Spend time with you thru the process and no high pressure or bait and switch tactics. Come to CO for your next bike!
I agree with everything you have said, as a Professional Dealer (the one your speaking of) they do this shit day in and day out, it definitely sounds like they are Nickle and dimeing you for Profit.. sad and aggravating. But your not wrong brother. Good view on the situation.
A deal is a deal on paper. If you pointed out that it needed tires, and they made the deal, that’s on them. once everything is in Inc. and signed, you have a court case against the dealer, unless he has a disclaimer clause at the bottom. The big print gives it to you, the little print takes it away. dealers generally do not own their new motorcycles. They only pay 1% interest on the loan per month, that is what is known as the floorplan. Generally, the factory will pay the interest for the first six months on the floor plan. Dealers that want more motorcycles to sell, will take a larger order of motorcycles, and the factory may pay the interest on the loan for a year, and include some billboards near their competitors, and some radio ads if the dealer takes a big enough bite.. The trade-ins belong to the dealer 100%. They are 100% profit. A vehicle is worth what it is worth minus what it needs. So if your motorcycle was worth $8000 on paper towards retail of the new motorcycles, price, and then the dealer comes back later after all, the papers are signed, telling you, you owe him more money, which he will add to your loan, that is actually illegal.. how do I know this? for 17 years, I’ve worked in five different motorcycle dealerships, at first, as a builder of new bikes, then a mechanic, then, when I got a real job, I worked in three different motorcycle shops from January through May, selling new motorcycles. I would not dare put a value on a trade-in as a salesman. I wouldn’t do that. But we love trade-ins… when I sold a brand new motorcycle, I got 3 1/2% of the taxable amount of the sale, including freight and set up and accessories. But when I sold a used motorcycle, I generally got 10% of the taxable amount as commission… but you better have a mechanic check out all trade-ins before you make the deal. You don’t know if second gear is bad, you don’t know if the bike mileage is correct, you don’t know if they had done modifications inside the engine that didn’t work. and if the book value retail on a trade-in was $5000. And the trade-in value was $2900, the dealer would offer $2500 off of retail for the new bike. That means no discount whatsoever on the new bike, and the dealer will offer less than NADA book value on a trade.. any extras or accessories on a motorcycle have no value to the dealer. Many times we would take off the fairing or saddlebags or special seat that the owner installed on his trade-in, and we would put it on the side in a box, and we would offer to give that stuff to the new buyer of the used bike for free if they wanted it. When a customer comes in and sees a bike completely different than what he has seen in pictures on the Internet, that is a turn off… if you modify a new bike with special seating, sissy, bar and grips and pipes, make sure you keep all the Stocks stuff because all of those accessories have zero value. You would do better to take all those things off, put all the stock stuff back on, and then trade in. Then you could sell those accessories on eBay and get about 50% of your money back out of them… I never include the extras when I saw one of my motorcycles because you end up giving them away for free. I always sell all that stuff on eBay after the bike is gone… but if you have a contract, saying what the value of your bike is, and you turned the vehicle over to the dealer, and then the dealer wants to kick you in the balls again, go right to a magistrate in the dealers area and sign a complaint.. that receipt you have is a legal document, and the dealer has already worked on the trade in?? You can’t lose this case, take it to court
I would agree with a lot of what you said. However, I’m assuming you don’t live in this jurisdiction. I’m sure you would agree that laws and regulations are different from place to place. Although things on their face appear to be slam dunk, I’m not sure I would go that far. I used to work for the courts here. I’ve seen far too many matters that people thought were an easy win blow up in their face. Regardless, the issue is now long since over. I appreciate the detailed, very thorough comment. It’s good to hear from people with industry experience. Thanks for watching. 👍
Many websites state parts in stock but they are not. Until you click and buy you do not receive the sad notice of backordered. Cancelled many an order. Just buying a mortgage for your home. It’s not really your bike until it’s really your bike as you can still walk away. Therefore parts not ordered. I wanted to do some mods on a home before purchase but not your home until it is your home
I have a similar story. I bought a new 22 ultra limited. Had to order it. 2 weeks turned into months. I ordered a two tone with chrome. Bike came in two tone with black. Dealership was swapping the painted parts with a black with chrome when I got there. Long story short. I got $1900 off the original price and $2000 in dealership gift cards.
I'd tell them to get f'd on the front tire price if you disclosed it. Also, $1700 for two tires and a clutch adjustment? Can I get some of that Canadian weed they're smoking? It must be better than what we have here.
I bought my first and last brand new Harley road glide from a dealer. Horrible experience. 26K. Plus an extended warranty. Plus the maintenance package. And then when I noticed they were giving $1000 cash towards upgrades. They told me I didn’t qualify because they gave me a good value for my trade-in.
Today with so many car dealership companies buying Harley-Davidson dealership having a bad experience and being overcharged is the only experience you can expect. Maybe it is like an initiation if you want a Harley then go through the bad experience.
I’ve always had good experiences in the past. This was the first that was terrible. But I agree companies buying up the dealerships is leading to bad experiences for customers.
I was trading in a 2 year old FXLRS to an HD dealer, I had the integrated rear brake / signal set up. They wanted to deduct $600 off the trade-in value to put back on the stock signals. Said no thanks and walked. Such a scam. Went to a Ducati dealer and they snatched the bike up with no questions or issues and had it sold within 72 hours.
Why would they want to put it back to stock? Unless there’s something illegal about your set up I don’t see the issue. Sounds like an HD dealer alright.
Bought my bike from a dealership that told me before I bought it that they would treat me like family, then charged me 10K over MSRP. When my roommate went to the 3WMC the dealership treated her like she knew nothing about bikes. H-D must not want to sell bikes.
I'm new to bikes admittedly but I thought everyone knew MSRP was a bogus number significantly above the dealer's cost that gave dealers an opportunity to negotiate down so the customer feels like they're getting a good discount. Yet, when I was shopping for a Kawasaki last year I got that same line from multiple dealers. Either they're all telling the same lie or the manufacturers are giving us a lowball MSRP to get us into the dealers. I suspect the former. Either way I eventually found a dealer who would sell $100 below MSRP so.... Second thing that just strikes me here is how do they get to just change the trade-in valuation? Isn't that in a contract? I would have thought that would be illegal in fact. I don' t think I'd have let that stand but I get that it's hard thing to pull out when you're that deep in already. It's seeming to me like there are a lot of crooked dealerships out there. I think we need to all just start walking as soon as they start lying or pulling bait and switch or they'll keep doing it and feel like it's 'normal'.
It’s sometimes hard to find a dealer willing to sell for msrp. As for the trade in, technically you could tell them that the deal is off if they mess you around on value. The issue is that you end up putting non refundable money down to get a bike ordered. Once you’re that far and you pull out, you’re just giving them a donation with nothing to show for it. But you are correct about dealerships. Good ones are getting harder to find as big parent companies buy them up from independents.
If someone could start a dealership that is actually customer focused and not just playing pretend, they would set records.
There’s not many like that out there anymore.
They used to have them; they were family owned. Harley is closing them in favor of corporate owners. They've closed about a dozen shops just here in the Pittsburgh area, including the one that I bought from that was three miles away. The nearest store is 20 miles away.
WAKE UP!!! INDIAN IS WAY AHEAD OF YOU!!!
As a nee HD customer, I quickly why they are struggling. My first stealershit experience will be my last... absolutly horrible experience. Wasted my entire weekend and two hours of driving.
Would've owned one years ago scumbag dealers have made a name for themselves soo many story's can't put any confidence in any of them
Some dealerships are a complete nightmare… three years ago I brought my bike (with very low mileage, almost brand new) to a dealership for a quick service. They ended up breaking my oil pan, welding and painting it!! They didn’t tell me a thing but I knew something was wrong with my bike. It was leaking, but I never imagined they could do something like that. I brought it over and over again because of the leaks. They acted as if I was the problem… I documented everything, so when I brought it to another dealership and they told me about my oil pan, I made that first dealership pay for the repairs. I’m the end everything got fixed, but I was so pissed because they lied and because they didn’t care about putting my life in danger.
Wow. That may be the worst story about a dealer yet. Glad you finally got it taken care of.
Several months ago I went to my local dealer to buy/order a bike. They offered me a deal at almost $4k US over sticker. I told them I had an offer at MSRP with NO additional fees from another dealership about 2 hours away. If they would match the deal, I'd buy it from them instead. They "called my bluff" and told me to buy it at the other dealership.
So I did.
Was very satisfying to ride the bike up to that dealership (the overpriced one) and show off the bike that I got for a price... and this is their words.... "Too good to be true".
They have also lost me for all of my service, all of my parts, everything. Not joining their HOG chapter, not buying clothes from them, nothing.
Same thing happened to me. I branched out about 200 miles from my house to find the bike I wanted. No dealer would even offer to work with me on the price and wanted me to finance through Eagle Financial. One dealer even laughed at me and gave me some BS about how bikes were "flying off of the floor." This was in May of 2020 during the height of covid. I walked into my local dealer and said to the GM, "Don't bullshit me, and I won't bullshit you." He found my bike in New Orleans, gave me 1k off, and even steered me towards a local C.U. where I got a great apr. I shook the man's hand and bought the bike. I added about $3600 in extras and gave him $2500 down on the spot. I emailed the dealer who laughed at me a pic of my new bike and what I paid. Funny, he never replied. My dealer has been great ever since.
I had that problem once 2002 camero ss told me 24000 back in 2004 I told them it was to much they told me the same thing went bought a 2000 z28 for 1500 same car just different badges and no leather seats went back to show them they told me if I come back I was trespassing and cops will be called I laughed as I walked out the door and was told i was a person who “ had no right practicing those bad business practices” but I knew right there that I won and was not just a lying kid in his 20’s I’m 40 now and that place is still in business but has a bad name on dealing a price for a car
I've had a similar experience from a HD dealership also. Nobody in that dealership EVER approached me for anything. So I walked out after about an hour and never looked back. I have a Goldwing now and I'm so so happy I made that choice. Just check my tires, gas up, and just ride and ride and ride.
Good! We need more people like you who stick to their guns and aren't afraid to walk.
It’s a joke. Harley dealers in general are dragging the brand to its demise. I know like 3 people under the age of 30 that ride Harley.
Your first mistake was letting them take the trade in before your new bike was ready to be delivered.
Actually, his first mistake was buying a new Harley when the market is loaded with really good used ones that are relatively cheap. His second mistake was going 2 1/2 hours away. His third mistake was continuing after the first call about the tires and clutch. He should right then said I coming to get my old bike a ND my deposit.. Then call your lawyer.
@@jerryjones2818 Not everybody thinks that way, there are a lot of used bikes that people are selling becuase they have problems, some people just want brand new with a warranty. I do understand what you are saying some just want new.
@@jerryjones2818except most of thoes bikes are "customized" and it always seems that prior to someone posting their bike on marketplace they smoke a ton of crack and demand insane prices
@@jerryjones2818 I agree! Experience indicates these kinds of problems don't get better; they get worse!
Absofuckinlutely
I had a 96 lowrider that the salesperson offered $2000 in trade towards 2022 Street Bob. It was a little low, but the bike did need some work. After they checked the bike out the next person in the sales lineup said they would give me $1500. I laughed and walked out and put the bike up for private sale asking 5k. Sold it two days later for $4000. Went back to the dealership and continued my purchase. They ran my credit and got greedy when it returned at just over 800. The finance guy did the typical try to sell you a bunch more crap and mess with the points to increase their profits. I was fed up at that point and went to plan B. Which was pulling an envelope full of cash and buying the bike outright. They still got me paying a little over the MSRP but I kept the bleeding down to a minimum. Harley dealerships are the worst.
Their value on your trade in was ridiculous. But I’m sure you surprised them paying cash 👍
Ya man. You really taught them a lesson when you bought the bike anyway, even after they tried to screw you. That'll show 'em!
@@canadiansa1nt309
I do the same also, cash 💰 is king 👑
Not to go too much into it, but the dealership I dealt with left me in the dark after several emails and phone calls not being returned. So I got on LinkedIn and looked up who was their regional manager was. I emailed him at 10:30pm, showing proof of emails and phone calls. Had an email at 11:30pm with everyone that needed to be involved to correct that situation. I had so many phone calls and emails the next day. Everything was taken care of, I hate to do stuff like that but it was a lot of money and we as customers are paying a premium for these bikes and sometimes crap customer service.
I agree it’s not fun to go over someone’s head, but sometimes it has to be done to get any movement. I agree that for the price we are paying good service should be expected.
I drove 2.5 hours away, when I had a dealer 30 minutes away. I bought a used bike and got there at 5pm. They close at 6 pm. They stayed to make sure we closed the deal and at 7 pm, helped me load the bike. Pig Trails in rogers Arkansas was amazing. They let me pick out a jacket and ship it to me since they didn't have my size. I'll make that drive again for sure.
Sounds like they are guys to stick with. Not everyone will give you service like that.
I don't know how things work legally in Canada but here in the USA as soon as they changed the terms of the sale I would have backed out. You have far more patients that I do.
It was mostly an issue of having non refundable money down.
Would seem that if you have a signed contract with your trade-in value listed they would have to honor it. Sleazy way to do business but sadly not surprising.
Exactly....
I wanted to buy my first Harley last Fall. It was the worst experience I've ever had trying to purchase something. Ranging from being totally ignored to bait & switched multiple times. Having agreements in writing they wouldn't honor when I showed up in person. I ended up spending 2 months talking to 8 different dealership in my surrounding area and ended up so frustrated by the whole thing I went out and bought a BMW. The BMW dealer gave me a fair OTD price the first time I asked, no BS, then handed me the keys for a test drive and didn't send a nanny along to babysit me. Came back from the test ride and bought the bike.
The BMW was a great bike but just didn't do anything for me. I love the bikes Harley makes, but I can't say I've enjoyed any other aspect. I still want a Harley.
This is the reason I buy used. Well that and saving money 😂
Depending on the model you bought, I'm surprised the BMW 'didn't to anything' for you. They can fit well into whatever style of riding, unless you bought a model that's designed for a type of riding you're not into.
They're well-made and designed high-quality and reliable machines. Their performance typically will run circles around typical Harleys.
I've owned BMW since 2003 and have put 150,000 trouble-free km on mine...
Compared to BMW, Harleys are heavy and mediocre performers that use old technology. They only change to more modern technology when legislation forces them to, such as going liquid cooled to meet emissions regulations...
@@garymaclean6903 The BMW (R1250GSA) was the best motorcycle I have ever ridden and I don't think any motorcycle is going to change my opinion on that in the near future (except maybe the new 1300GS). However, I found the bike pretty boring to ride, unless I was riding it like an asshole. Everyone's use case is different. I'm a weekend warrior and I'm not going to take a 590 lbs motorcycle on much more than a gravel road. I have a 300 2-stroke for trails. My riding is purely recreational and I just didn't find the BMW to excite me in any way, it felt like an appliance, it was just really good at everything. It's not a criticism, it just wasn't the bike for me. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is interested in one. My dad has been riding BMWs for decades and they are great motorcycles.
Same experience as you. The HD salesman actually swore at me. I bought a Honda.
And that's why there is Indian motorcycles and a whole slew of independent Builders out there that use high quality S&S Motors.
I went into a dealership a few days ago looking for my first harley/second bike. I walked in with a $15k budget with a little bit of wiggle room. With them being the biggest dealership in the area they have an entire underground parking garage of used bikes. My dream bike is a street glide. I sat on two bikes, neither of which were street glides and didn’t tell me anything about pricing. As we went back upstairs I saw an entire row of used street glides that he didn’t show me AT ALL, and proceeded upstairs to try and get me into a ‘23 street glide at TWICE my budget. Bad experience all around and has given me a bad taste in my mouth of ever owning a Harley.
Those salesman need to cater to the customer and show you what you want. It seems all they care about is the money now days.
I’ve bought 2 cars and then my first bike and have never had such a bad experience than I had at the Harley dealership
@@Peter-nm1ps yeah. Sure dodged a bullet by sticking with Honda
Similar experience here. Went into a Harley dealer with $10k down looking specifically at a used ‘22 low rider s with under 1000 miles. They made the deal/math so bad on that used bike that when compared to deal/math on brand new bike looked better. Had a choice of getting straight ripped off on a used dropped bike or go new and pay about the same over the length of the loan. I’ll only ever lowball and tire kick in Harley dealerships.
They don't call them "stealerships" for nothing !!!
A few years back I came across a 79 XLH, low mileage and almost completely stock. I had a new one when I was young and I couldn't resist. You know, relive your youth thing. So I go to my local Harley dealership to pick up some fluids and plugs, I did basic maintenance on my first one and kind of enjoyed it. Plus now I could afford more Loctite and better torque wrenches. I handed my list to a young guy at the parts counter and told him to take his time because I wanted to look around. The last time I had been at a Harley dealership was 1982 and I wanted to see what had changed. Pretty much everything. Dealers back then were small, usually family owned. No wall of chrome or a clothing store. The old shops had character, this place had none of that but everyone was wearing the same style of shirt. When I went back to parts the young guy had everything but the plugs. It seemed there was one mechanic in there that had ever actually worked on an Ironhead and they were waiting for him to get back from lunch to suggest a plug. Harley wants visiting a dealership to be an experience but judging from the comments on videos like this one, probably not the experience these people are commenting on. I think Harley has forgotten where they came from and its hard to know where you are going when you can't remember where you've been.
That’s a pretty good way of putting it.
I have an older Sportster too. It’s a 1988 so not quite as old as yours 👍
I can relate to your experience . I rode Harleys all of my life until just two years ago at 72 and I can tell you that Harley has never cared about their customers ( Just give me your money and go away ). I bought five new Harleys over the years and had many issues that would take too long to explain . But the worst experience was when I bought a new 1979 Low Rider and had to take it back for a leaking head gasket . The bike only had fifty miles on it when I took it in . They had it for a week including a weekend and when I went to pick it up the speedometer showed over 250 miles indicating that someone took it home over the weekend for a joyride . No explanations, apologies , compensation , nothing . They just didn't care. You should have named the dealer.
Good lord that’s terrible. I had better experience with dealers when they were smaller independently owned shops. Now they’re all getting bought up by large companies. Their service just keeps going down.
@@canadiansa1nt309 The change to car dealers owning Harley dealerships was spearheaded by Harley Davidson itself. In Calgary, the same thing happened, a Harley dealer that goes back to the '60s has to become an independent shop. The only Harley dealership is owned by a car dealership.
Yes sir. That is the reason for YT.
Name & shame. That should tidy their BS up. Just be weary to not get caught in lawsuits
Sorry to hear that you went through that, I'm from Pennsylvania, U.S.A. and in 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic, I purchase a 2021 Road King Special. The bike had to be order and of course I have to put a deposit down too, sounds pretty much like your situation. However, in my case, my local Harley dealer did not increase the price after the MSRP and I did not turn in my trade in (2010 Road King Classic), until the new bike was in the dealer's possession. I respectfully say to everyone, that the moral of the story here is, "Never turn in your trade in before the new bike is in front of you". I do trust my local dealer, and I'm sure that there is maybe more details about your story, but even as much I trust my local dealer, I always keep in mind that their are in the business to make money.
God Bless everyone!! Ride hard but ride safe...
My only issue is that they would not have agreed to order the bike until they knew they would have the trade in. But it’s good advice nonetheless.
I had the same experience as you first when I wanted to buy my fat boy, and then when I wanted to customized it and I guess something similar could happen now that I'm thinking about trading it for a new model, and I really appreciate your honesty and detailed explanation to understand what we (I mean your followers) must avoid and prevent before doing any deal with them, thank you! I tell you my friend, we must love a lot out Harley bikes to ignore that kind of bull shit coming from Harley Dealerships and this is happening because HD is not listening and paying attention on this kind of problems that everyday we must face, but someday someone must see this and correct the problem. All the best and congratulations for your new bike!
Thank you. This was the first time I had ever really had much of an issue buying a bike from a dealer.
The biggest problem we have is that this lack of customer service has become a contagious disease in the 21st century. Old fashion customer service by dealerships is a thing of the past, it seems employees are rewarded on how much 'short' term profit they make. This model/policy/disease is designed to boost the bottom line by not allowing 'customer loyalty' to be factored into the sales model for HD dealerships.
I think a lot of the problem is dealerships being owned by big companies. Once you move away from the family business it’s all about the bottom line.
I totally understand. Real soon I will be uploading a FULL video regarding the horrible Dealership experience I had here in SO Cal, and with Harley's Customer service. I will say this, Bike in shop 10 October, 2022 Under WARANTY Promised back November, etc. The Monday before Thanksgiving I was in the dealership where told my bike was being totaled. 2 hours later found out it was NOT my bike,. Then told it was 1000% covered and they would move me into another bike just as if it was 100% fixed (red flag #3 for the day) Then the sales manager tried to super lowball me because the engine was blown, yet sell me an older used bike with more likes and NOT an Ultra CVO for $30K, meaning I overpaid for replacement and gave them my Bike. Come to find out the dealership 1st contacted HD for warranty on 3 Feb 23, 4 MONTHS after the got my bike and kept promising completion nd tracking numbers (Which I have never gotten) Now, 11 May 2023, no bike, no tracking numbers, but they are trying to pressure me to "give" them the bike (they don't know when they parts will be there) and but a new one at over retail. OH, I forgot, HD told me I was no longer welcomed to call Corp. I am waiting on what my attorney does this coming week before uploading. As I told the dealership back in November "I want my bike fixed post haset and I will never see any of them again including their employees who migrate to another dealership. Yep, I finally had enough. Video coming soon.
Good lord. That sounds like a huge pain in the ass. The very least they could do is give you a bike while they screw you around.
I haven’t had anything near the issues you have with a dealership but I can’t begin to tell you how disheartened I have become with HD. My first experience with HD was buying my first Harley from my local dealer 45 years ago. I was a snot nosed twenty year old who went in drooling over every bike on the floor. Figured out there was no way I could afford the Low Rider I was in love with so I went for a Sportster. I never talked to any of the sales people as they all sort of either were too busy to talk to me or blew me off. I can’t say I really blame them, as I didn’t really look like I could afford to buy a new bike. Not to say there were that many sales people. The dealership in those days was a small old school dealer. I went to my bank to talk financing and while I was there the bank guy called the dealer, and was asked asked who the salesman was I talked to. Well after saying I hadn’t been able to get a salesman to talk to me they put me on the phone. It was the owner I was talking to and he got me squared away on not the bike I was wanting (kick start), but another one identical to it with electric start. I later learned that he held a sales meeting and totally reamed the entire sales staff a new one over my not having been able to talk to anyone. I bought my bike and found myself on a first name basis with just about all the staff as well as the owner and his son (the head mechanic). I always got treated right by those people even after they were forced into building the NEW big fancy dealership that HD demanded all their dealers build. Quite a few years ago however that ownership passed from that family to another. No longer were the price tags placed on every bike telling you the exact price. Ask a salesman the price and get an answer like “Oh anywhere between 23 and 27 thousand.” So ok which is it for this bike right here? “Oh well it’s hard to say right off. Let’s go over to my desk and talk sales and we can work up a price for you.” Yeah no thanks. A lot of folks still in and out of there but I have long since lost my enthusiasm for the place and any loyalty I had has long since passed. Now yet another family has purchased the place and I was struck at the difference between my fist experience and the experience I had on my last visit. A salesman who was just as pushy as he could be from the moment I walked in the place trying to sell me a new bike. It was almost amusing. I’m still riding my 18 year old bike, the last one I bought from the original family and with what I have been seeing from my own experience and experiences of others like you here, I’ll keep on riding it for some time to come. Used bike prices are such that I wouldn’t consider a new bike anyway and I often wonder if I decided to go new, if I might just start at the Indian dealer. This isn’t your daddy’s or your granddaddy’s Harley Davidson anymore.
It seems that a lot of the family run operations are getting fewer and fewer as big companies buy them up. I had very few issues with dealers when they were smaller. Now the ones here all have big new buildings and with that came higher overhead and a loss of customer service. It has become more about the brand and the profit than the customer. I would not blame you for not wanting to buy new, or going to a different company altogether.
I am a new rider. Took the MSF course through a HD dealership. Great instructor!! Great experience!! Now for the bad.... I started looking at HD sportster models at a local dealership. At first things were good. I was treated very well. Then that gradually turned sour. Intimidation, pressure, borderline harassment. Inflated prices, outrageous fees and financing. The sales manager became very rude when he saw that I was not falling for they're crap. I told them to never contact me again. Fast forward a month later. I found the HD that I wanted(not through a HD dealership btw which saved me thousands!). After that I've dealt with a further away HD dealership for service, customizing ECT. They have been fantastic. They have went above and beyond in providing the best possible costumer service. Thanks for the video. Enjoying your channel
Thanks. The dealers seem to get into a frenzy once money is involved. Definitely not a bad idea to try to avoid certain ones.
Yeah true enough. I just don't understand why HD headquarters doesn't have the same guidelines/customer service across the board. If they're trying to stay afloat and appeal to new riders like myself they need to learn a thing or two. I told that the dealership. Congrats on loosing a sale. Harley is slowly dying. You'd think they would wake up. Just my opinion
@@leeshepherd8486 They’re like McDonalds. Different manager, different policies.
We always traded in our ultras every 4 years or so and we always knew that we had to come to the table with an extra $12,000-$15,000 to make the deal. This year we went to two dealerships and they both came in around $22,000 more in addition to our trade. I walked out and told them they are making it very hard to be brand loyal.
It’s getting harder to get a fair price these days.
Running a dealership under the constraints imposed by a manufacturer is an art form that many dealer principals/owners either fail to grasp the concept of, or are simply incapable of.
The upsizing of motorcycle shops brought on by corporate mandates has sounded the death knell for small, eager to serve, family owned businesses where all employees involved rode motorcycles and understood motorcycle riders.
HD values the
'customer journey' through the purchasing process, however, they themselves have created this monster that due to the amount of parties involved, breaks down when one variable
is not in place.
With my 46th motorcycle, having ridden for 53 years, I miss the small dealerships where a tire change was done correctly in less than a hour without an appointment, and there were no pre-qualifying questions to determine a customer's worthiness.
I used to use a smaller dealership here that I had no issue with. Harley closed them in 2021 of course.
Man, that's nuts. I bought my first bike a few months ago, and emailed the Honda dealer asking for the OTD price, and they just sent it to me. Went in, paid the amount they told me beforehand, and left with my bike. Like, I wasn't even there long enough to even get an idea of how most of the employees are, lol.
That would be nice. Most Harley dealers aren’t like that.
The Japanese could show Americans, any day, how to sell their product. They "fall over backwards" to sell their product.
Good for you for speaking up! I have experienced this type of "upsell" (also in Canada) and you are bang on. It affects future sales more than they think.
Well, they won’t be getting any future sales from me, that’s for sure.
@@canadiansa1nt309 Bought a brand new harley, after 40 years of other models, when I retired. So pissed off at all the bullshit I sold it and will never buy another. Love my Indian
It doesn't end with just Harley dealerships. I've bought bikes from powersports dealerships, same thing. Once the salesman is done with you, he never looks back. There is a big miscommunication between sales, parts, and service. I've bought used bikes from a powersport dealership and when they called me to pick it up. They can't find the keys. My buddy had a similar issue with one of those places. He bought a used Harley, he wanted the apes replaced with more stock handle bars. It took them 5 weeks to change those and they couldn't find his keys. When he got the bike home, we had to re-solder all the extended wiring. bad connections. But we weren't going back there, ever. Word to the wise, don't ever, ever trade in your bike at a Harley dealership. They will rip you off royally. Sell it privately. I wouldn't even use Harleys financing. I'll buy parts from the HD dealership, that's about it. They don't touch my bike. There's plenty of smaller shops out there that don't try to bullshit you in parts you don't need replaced. Two seasons ago, I had my Night Train stored at the HD dealership for the winter months. They do their 30 point inspection. They told me, I need 600 dollars in parts and 2600 hundred in labor. I'm like; Don't touch it. When I got the bike back, I took their list to the place I go to. Turns out, I needed rotors and pads. It didn't cost me 3200. HD dealerships have always been known to be greasy. All the small mom and pop dealers are gone. Now its just big HD dealer chains. Their too big to care about their customers.
Their prices are generally way out of line.
The dealership I use to always deal with until the owner got too old to run it which he sadly sold. I did not like the sales person, but the price stated was always extremely fair, the work was always spot on and if they could do it for free or a very low cost they would. I got a small scratch on the paint and they touched it up at no cost to me. I was shocked, but they had a customer for life.
We need more dealers like that. 👍
I bought my first Harley in Mesa Az. I walked away and told them they were charging to much. I got a helmet and a 18k bike for 12k signed. I got a used bike with a 2 year warranty. You walk in and start negotiating. Most people don’t no how to negotiate because they used to walking into a store and paying sticker prices
Im a die hard HD owner for over 35 years and owned many of them , IMO the when Willie G retired and the new styling came into play for the younger crowd the whole ship started to sink , I hope they can hold on !
We’ll see. I’m more interested in how they continue to handle the environmentalists.
they got rid of the entry level Sportster, Now Yamaha & Indian have that market share. HD only wants to sell high end
These HD dealers think they're doing you a favor selling you a bike. My local family owned small dealer got shut down and I never bought another one. Also, these castle dealerships are being paid for by you and other buyers with these $800 prep fees, $300+ doc fees, $500 oil changes, msrp, and other surcharges. Wing DCT Tour for me now, and I think it's an absolutely incredible bike.
Walked away from owning Harleys in the 1980's. I have had Kawasakis since and will never go back. My current bike is a VN2000, love it.
I’m sure you’re not the only one.
Harley dealerships have gotten awful. I bought a bike this winter at a dealership in St Louis. It turned into a shit show. There are a lot of good independent mechanics. Order your own stuff, and take it to one of these decent people just making a living. Dealerships are getting to the point, where they have no redeeming qualities.
I can’t say I would disagree with that.
Subbed bud. Enjoyed the story. I worked at a Harley Dealer for a bit and really liked the people and the dealer. I have ran across another Harley dealer not far from the one I worked at that treated people pretty similar to how you were treated.
Thanks. It’s getting harder and harder to find good dealers these days.
There is a HD Dealer in my town about 4 miles from my house. I bought a couple bikes from them and had them do my service. They are now corporate owned and treat their customers like crap (unless you are about to buy a new bike). I now drive past that dealership and ride 40 miles to a family owned dealership in San Diego County (Biggs) and do business where I am always treated like a valued customer.
That definitely sounds how the dealers work. They’re not bad until a corporation buys them out. You’re right to drive on by and go somewhere else.
My experience with Harley-Davidson goes back to 1973. At that time I purchased an eight-year-old 65 Harley from a dealership in Syracuse New York. In time I came to realize the dealership had a reputation of being a total rip-off. To no one's surprise I had a very negative experience dealing with them and unfortunately that hasn't been the exception to the rule over the years I have had in all my service done by aftermarket small shops. Not all of those have been positive but I have been fortunate enough to find a few really competent service people. Dealerships don't work to keep customers. People do if you find a competent mechanic that is honest treat them with respect
👍
We live and learn. Had an issue with my local kawasaki maintenance department, long story, dropped off first bike, they had it a week, didn't do anything to it, switched out bikes and they had that one for a week, they did nothing to it, switched again the bikes. Had it another week, called them a week later, still had not touched it. Took another week to get first one done. 180 dollar oil change. I was to leave the second bike for it to be worked on, but the guy had an attitude with me. I am nice like you. Rode bike that was done home. Ran 6 miles back to pick up the other. Took it 25 miles the next week and they did the work while I waited. Found my dealership.
Sounds like Harley isn’t the only dealership that has some issues.
@@canadiansa1nt309 HD I believe has gone more corporate owned and don't care much for the small dealerships that spent millions on the standard they set forth. Kawasaki that I know of are all independently owned and they get to run it the way they want. Service a lot of times is a separate third party. This facility had no care if I had my bike serviced at the dealership or not. He stated he had 200 bikes he needed to get out. He didn't need the work.
I agree this is a terrible experience. I always get all the paperwork up front before I agree to purchase. Including the purchase agreement, valuation for a trade in, etc. Also you have to watch when they do inspections. Never let your bike out of your site. If they do not agree to this, run don't walk out.
This would be first inspection I was not there for. That would be why they tried to tell me the back tire was bitched and the clutch had an issue. Never again.
16:29 the biggest thing i realized with my last interaction with HD is that they seemed to be over 90% used car salesmen, and when you have dealt with both sides you can definitely tell when people dont ride
I had such a horrible buying experience with Harley that I'll never buy another one. They could have made money off of me for years to come but they're short sighted. I feel your pain.
That sounds about right. They just want the money now without looking towards the future.
@@canadiansa1nt309 exactly 💯💯💯
After 15 Yrs of Riding Harleys, and 3 New Harleys over that Time span. I traded my last Harley for a BMW R1200GS. I have Never looked back. It’s 100 Times better than Any of the Harleys. Harley Dealerships act like they are doing you a Favor letting you Buy one. Meanwhile they Screw you over on anything they possibly can! They want to charge really High Interest Rates on their Loans, even if you have a Great Credit Score!!! I will never Buy another Harley, there are so many Better Built, Better Riding, Reliable Bikes out there, who needs a Harley. They use the same z as Frames from 30 Yrs ago with New Skins and same Motor just bigger. They never really improve much. I’ll stick with other Brands. Thanks for the Video.👍👍
A had a absolutely piss poor experience buying my 22 fxlrst at badlands harley in medicine hat too. They took advantage of me on the price charging me 2k more for a used one than what they quoted me for a new one. They bungled the install of parts to such an extent it was truly unbelievable. 30% too much oil, riser stud that wasn't even locktited and came loose on me, wiring that wasn't even plugged in, crimp connector one end wasn't even crimped and on and on and on. After I politely refused to bring the bike back in to get "fixed" it was total non communication. Not so much as a single reach out to say sorry, to say how can we make this right, nothing. Considering I was a brand new customer, only 40 so they could have had 25 years of new bikes, parts, swag etc from me and bought 15k of parts and gear on top of the bike, was beyond unacceptable. I will never step in that dealership again as long as I live, and I'm sure to tell anyone will listen about them too.
Geez, I hadn’t heard that about Medicine Hat. Good to know, though. I actually had the loctite issue with a handlebar install at my local dealer.
@@canadiansa1nt309 Yea apparently since the automotive group took over and Ivan has stepped back as owner it's all gone to crap. Wish I would have know that before dealing with them. At least calgary was able to figure out on their dyno and while jiggling it, that the last piece of wiring the hat did that I didn't remove cause it looked and tested ok while bike wasn't moving (throttle extension cause of taller risers), was actually done as piss poor as all their other work and was what was causing the bike to randomly rev up and down on its own as high was 4500rpm, throw codes, and go limp mode. That sure made riding overly exciting for a while. lol
@@2kanchoo sounds like pretty crappy deal. At least you got it figured out.
I am not sure you can blame the dealership for your poor purchasing skills but i can see how that would sour a relationship; however. if you paid too much, that is 100% on you. Its the dealerships job to sell for as much money as they can get, if your job to buy for the lowest price you can get it for. Somewhere in the middle is where a deal is to be made and by the sounds of it, you failed on you end, thats not the dealership!
Ive been to Badlands Harley, they are an awesome dealership with a lot of repeat customers
@@snakebite6511 Oh totally I agreed to pay it and did because I was excited and didn't want to wait. That still doesn't mean it wasn't slimy to quote and order me a new one for x then when a used one comes up magically mark it up 2k over the price of new on me take it or leave it. I bought another 15k of stuff there too so it's not like they weren't getting a lot of money out of me. No need to gouge me on top of it. Also how is that good business sense when they made 2k extra in the short term and as a result of that and truly horrific work by the mechanic lost out on a literal 25 years of brand new motorcycles and parts and servicing and merch buying from me. Especially when the number one problem harley is facing is the riders aging out. How is it good business to not even reach out to say how can we make this right when they found out about the all the problems caused directly from their mechanic including pictures and videos of said issues. I'm happy for you your experience was different but they are absolutely not an awesome dealership. Not since Ivan stepped back and that auto group took over. Downhill and in a bad way. Even his son got the hell out of there instead of taking over.
I was looking for a Softail/Street Bob a month ago. Not once, from 3 major dealers in Denver, was the actual price revealed to me. They would generalize the price like high teens or low 20s. All of their websites say click for price. "We have to do an evaluation of your bike". I bought from a private guy and probably saved 8k and a lot of headaches. Your situation is over the top. At least you have the bike and can enjoy it. They are lucky you didn't walk.
Sometimes private is the way to go.
It sounds super fishy that they don't give you the price of a new frigging bike beforehand. In my country all the new bikes cost pretty much exactly the same, no matter what dealer is selling it
@@TzeiEm some places around here are definitely shady.
Bought a used street glide on February 1 2023. It was my first Harley so I bought a used 09...beautiful clean bike. I road it once and brought it back...needed clutch plate, basket, starter, new wiring harness, and several other things. In 90 days I had to bring it back 7 times for the same issues. My dealership went above and beyond to dial the bike in...didn't cost my a dime. The owner had the GM cut me a check for my troubles. The bike is now in my garage and runs like a top. While it was at the dealership, I went out and purchased a 05 goldwing...starts every time. I will never buy another Harley, but my dealership was amazing.
Sounds like that dealer went above and beyond for you. Not many like that anymore.
I hear those Goldwings will go forever 👍
@@canadiansa1nt309 Godwings are bulletproof. Love my Harly but the GoldWing is a completely different riding experience. It's a 1,000-lb sport bike with tons of storage.
@@markbarrett4482 I’ll have to try one out sometime.
I did my BRC course at a Harley Dealership in the panhandle of Florida, if you have been in this area, you can probably narrow it down. There are only three dealerships in that area. During this training, they of course have a part where you go out to the floor and "find the bike that fits you the best" well I go to the preowned lot, and a salesman begins to help me.
I ask a simple question that I legitimately didn't know the answer to at the time "what's the difference between a Dyna and a Softail?" I could not get an answer from him, it took his manager to come over and explain the difference. The same salesman proceeded to pester me weekly for about a month and a half to come ride on a bike and buy one.
I've now owned three Harley's, and all of them I have purchased through private sale with either cash, preapproved loan, or both. I don't think I will ever purchase from one of their dealerships. Especially with the horror story you just told. I'm glad it finally worked out but that is a horrendous experience.
Once upon a time my dream was to buy a Harley. Not any more.
Me too. All my 4 brothers have HD bikes, from rat bike to Soft Tail Slim to Fat Bob to Road King. I’m the only sibling with a Honda VTX1300 since I had to put my son through medical school and undergrad studies. I am truly lucky! Peace Be The Journey!
Congratulations on the channel; fellow Canadian here. Sole negative experience was 17 years ago at a major H-D dealership - they went through three service managers (and I dealt with them; they were NOT accommodating) in six months. However, all thanks and humble praise to my initial dealership: they replaced the handlebars I wrecked on my first bike - the night I got it - FOR FREE (tried to pay for it twice; they wouldn't take it). All hopes that the place you were dealing with cleans up their act.
Thank you. I hope things clean up at the dealership but as it’s owned by a big power sports company I have my doubts.
Sounds like they closed the wrong dealership.
The dealership you are dealing with needs new management for sure. Harley Davidson needs to know everything that happened.
A phone conversation with Harley Davidson is what I would want. You would be doing Harley a huge favor by letting them know.
Harley and the dealership’s parent company are aware of my experience there 👍
I feel fortunate! My first experience was at Arrowhead HD in Peoria AZ and it was great a little over a year ago on my first bike. A 2015 Heritage. What a great bike that was. Then i had a great experience at Thunderbird HD this past weekend on a new bike! Y’all rock Thunderbird!
Sounds like you’ve found some good people. 👍
I bought my first Harley from Durham Harley Davidson in 2022. It was hands down the best experience I’ve ever had purchasing a new vehicle. Top notch staff in every department.
I think someone else mentioned them as well.
Good to hear !
I’m gonna say something good about my nearby HD dealership in Owen Sound, ON.
That had a Honda VTX 1300 used for sale, it was a local trade in. I wanted to trade in my 9 year old minty-ish Suzuki VStrom. Easy negotiations and only $1500 in difference paid with the taxes and I was out the door in a week. Pickup and drop off was done inside a week as planned, everything was buttery smooth! Their old name was “Fox Harley Davidson!” Their new name is Georgian Bay HD. It helps that the sales guy was used to working with veterans from a nearby Army Training base, he respected that fact that I ran matches (precision rifle; read…..sniper) on base. You Merican cousins would call us “CMP” or civilian marksmanship program (equivalent). The dealings could not be any better. Life is Good!! Peace Be The Journey!
The riding school is a secret sales pitch, a very good one, but I had to block the dealership due to the amount of sales calls afterward. I don’t think I’d ever buy a Harley new, but I’d definitely look at a gently used one.
That’s probably a good idea.
I just purchased my first Harley Davidson Breakout from Warhawk Harley in Monroe Louisiana. I went in at around 10am and by 2:30pm I was riding my new bike home. No pressure by the salesman. Great experience all the times I've gone in since to buy extra stuff and a tshirt or two. Everyone I've met there is courteous and professional.
Sounds like good place. Hope the Breakout does you well 👍
I'm currently in Calgary and I must say that Calgary Harley Davidson did an awesome job when I ordered my Road King Special. The color I wanted, Deadwood Green 2021, was not available anywhere in Canada, as the 2022 models were already being advertised. However, the dealer managed to locate one for me in British Columbia. I made several upgrades to the bike and placed the order while signing all of the necessary paperwork. Overall, my experience with Calgary Harley Davidson was excellent. They have an excellent inventory and regularly host events to stay connected with their customers. They are a great dealer to deal with.
Thanks for the info. You are actually not the first to mention Calgary Harley as a good dealer.
Chd is an amazing dealership im on bike #4 from them always amazing!
Financing was annoying there, Edmonton North hooked me up… I liked that Calgary shop though, if it wasn’t for the financing I’d have bought my bike there.
Agreed, Calgary also and also very Happy with Calgary Harley for all new bikes i have ordered; however, i have never factory ordered a new Harley, ive always just picked something off the floor because they carry a huge selection
I to have been very happy with Calgary HD. 👍
Wow, what an ordeal. I'm fortunate that I have had pretty good experiences with the dealer I use. My only exception was during the supply chain situation a couple years back. Repair of my bike was held up waiting for floorboards and no local dealers wanted to sell or part with any of their stock to get it done. My bike took close to three months due to an accident not a purchase and required much more than just the floorboards.
There seems to still be some decent dealers out there.
When I ordered my Harley it just happened to be an anniversary year, 03. I ordered it some time in early summer in 02. It took until December of that year to finally get it. Other than a long wait, I had no issues with Dean's Harley Davidson.
Sorry to hear about your problems. It’s experiences like this at a bike or car dealership that ruins the entire experience. We found a dealership that is perfect. Unbelievably good. So good, we’re going to seriously miss it when we move away. Hopefully you are enjoying your new ride.
Thanks. I had a good dealer here too until Harley closed them.
@@canadiansa1nt309 my current bike I bought in 2017. Only 8 payments left! Won’t be buying a new one for a variety of reasons. I’m from Denver, Co. I think at the time I bought my current bike, we had 10 dealerships within an hour of each other. Some good reps, some not so good. They all don’t exist today. Just 5 years later.
Good onya mate stick it up them this is becoming too frequent I admire you for sticking too your guns.
They’ve been doing this crap for far too long.
I've been wanting to buy a Harley for a few years. I've gone through the purchase process a couple times and the HD dealers are so frustrating and difficult that I cancelled the deal. The dealers try to over charge, wont disclose information until I'm in the finance managers office. At this point I think I'm going to stick with other brands because its the dealer that the customer has to interact with, not the manufacturer, and I don't trust HD dealers.
That’s too bad. There are some good dealers out there but they are hard to find. I had one here until 2021 when Harley closed them. I wish I had the answer but it seems like the dealerships just get bigger until they just don’t care about customer service anymore.
Look for a dealer that isn’t part of a chain or owned by a car dealership. A dealership owned by a family or individual is way better.
They’re getting harder and harder to find.
Msrp is just the starting place to negotiate. Ask to see invoice? Holdbacks? Rebates? Buying experience the worst part when it should be an exciting experience. I hate even walking into dealerships anymore with their shenanigans. I buy on line and have bikes/cars shipped. The trade ins are still a problem but less shenanigans with in line purchases.
Yup! had a surprise charge when trying to buy a used bike and got a whopping $2500 fee on top of the $6796 price of the bike! Not including all the other fees. I walked out! Started shopping on marketplace.
I've found I hate going to the dealer now for anything, crap attitudes and crap service, just give us your money and don't bother us till you're ready to buy another new one. I'm grateful I can wrench on them, I buy used and build the bike I want with the money saved, and it's paid for!
A few years ago I was helping my son buy his first bike a Sportster 1200C to establish credit. He already had the bike picked out but they tacked on so many fees I told him to forget it. We don't need their service nor do I really want anyone else working on my stuff so we found a used one in literally showroom condition with very low mileage, two years old, and got his loan through my credit union. Overall cost was about half of what the new one would have cost. He paid it off in less than a year, still has it and has done all the maintenance and customization himself. I love Harley's and they closed my favorite dealer and the next closest one is a huge mega dealer that I don't like from some previous experiences so I just did the same thing with my new (to me anyway) Road King. Not much I can't do to the bike myself and with the cost of new Harley's I just can't see it. May make sense for people that are not gearheads but for myself probably not.
Had exactly the same three problems with my purchase back in April
Sorry to hear that 😬
I wouldn't go back either! That salesman needs to be fired! Glad you called someone.
Calling Harley directly seemed to be the only way I got any movement.
Great Video and very informative. I live in the US and never really was interested in Harley's. Early on they were notorious for breaking down thus the nick name "Hardly Davidson". I have only owned Honda's and Kawasaki's and I currently have a 2010 Triumph Rocket 3 Touring. This Triumph is by far my favorite. My Honda CB 750-4 was back in the day. I bought that one brand new in 1978.
I was not surprised that BMW is popular in Europe. How is the Triumph market there and where you are? They are based in Great Britain and have been for a long time (started as BSA). They are quite respected here, but the used market is flooded with Harley's and Indian, as you noted, is gaining ground. My next motorcycle just may be an Indian Scout, when I decide to downsize. Keep up the fine work, I look forward to your upcoming videos!
Thanks. I like the Rocket 3. Their hp and torque is quite impressive. I’m not aware of any Triumph dealers around here and I can’t remember the last time I saw one on the road. Harley is a big player here, and I tend to see a fair amount of sport bikes like Suzukis, Yamahas, and Hondas. Actually, I don’t see many Indians either.
I like your style. Common sense, respectful, yet calls bullshit when sensing it. Subbed 🤘
Thanks boss 👍
wow, I guess experiences will vary. I recently bought a 24 Street Glide from Winnipeg HD and they gave me a better than expected trade value for my 13 Ultra Limited and the SG was 500 below MSRP. The overall experience was very positive.
That’s good to hear 👍
I contacted the Harley-Davidson dealership in Reno Nevada, told the guy what I was looking for and then they proceeded to spam me with texts and emails and phone calls incessantly. Sending me examples of anything but what I asked for what period they were pushy and overbearing and it turned me off to even buying a Harley-Davidson. I am with a private route and bought a Victory Cross Country
I went through a similar scene with my dealer (Toys for big boys) and I believe it is all about attitude they seem to think they are doing you a favor for allowing you to deal with them , pitiful .
You have more patience than I would at 4 weeks!!!!!!!
Every Harley experience is HORRIBLE.
I’ve definitely had better.
I used to have a Dyna, my last bike. The Harley dealer in Tucson is owned by a carport patios that owns most of the ATV and motorcycle stores here. They are so bad that most of the owners go two hours out of town for anything.
most of the issues are dealer issues ..
these were not Harley Davidson factory issues. I mean if you like Harleys, don’t blame the brand.
there is a pricing guide for labor called a flat rate manual. I was a motorcycle mechanic at three different dealerships. I got paid flat rate. If the manual said I would get paid one hour for changing/swapping out a pair of handlebars, then I would make one hours pay at whatever the flat rate was at that time. If it took me 45 minutes, I still got paid for an hour. But if it took me five hours, I only got paid for one hour.
most mechanics, in fact, every mechanic I have ever worked with at those different dealerships, could always beat flat rate. Example.
if I had to put a head gasket on a Honda, CB 750 which required pulling the engine. I would get paid eight hours labor. But I could do that job in five hours… I still got paid eight hours..
warranty work was different, you had to go buy that manual, and it always pay the mechanic Less.. The flat rate manual for that same job doing warranty work, would only pay about five hours pay, because they knew how long it would actually take..
pretty much every mechanic hated doing warranty work for that reason..
you know, the fact that that dealer overcharged you, that was actually worth it to you. Look what you have learned.
It’s like lending a friend money, ….if you never see them again-- It was worth it…
Gentlemen please (and I do mean PLEASE) hit up Nathan at Avalanche HD in Golden Colorado. He’s a stand up guy. No bullshit involved. I just bought a 2023 Fat Bob and I believe I got a GREAT deal. Another good dealership is Natchez HD in Tuscumbia, AL. Don’t lose hope !!!! There’s still a few dealerships out there that are decent. 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿
Good to know 👍
You'll love this. Here in the Philippines I've been pretty spoiled by low labor costs. A service costs about $5 US. ;). Sometimes you have to supervise, but everything gets done. 😅
I've had to contact Yamaha directly to get the useless dealer cabals (Motortrade/YamahaS3) to get the dealer their product to sell to me after waiting months. Then losing the receipt for.tye $6 part and having to get an affidavit notorized at my own expense to get the part that the only white customer they had ordered. Why? "That's our policy, sir..."
Jeez. The prices are right but the service is lacking.
@@canadiansa1nt309 I tend to stick to the same shop for that reason, even if it invalidates my warranty.. you find out who you can trust.
USA Indiana, local dealer are rude, I was thinking about a trade in on baja orange RG and then my job started to talk layoffs so I told him that I couldn't take the chance at this time, then 3 weeks later I went in for a workshop and I went up to the guy to be nice and say hi, he stared at me, I asked him you remembered me he said yeah and pretty much walked away 😂
Sounds like a dealer. Most won’t give you the time of day unless you’re spending money.
Power sports is a company I’ll never work with again. DECEPTIVE SHADY BUSINESS PRACTICES.
The family owned places seem to be the best. Unfortunately, they seem to be more and more a thing of the past.
Thanks for the honest review.
No problem. Thanks for the view. 👍
They started going down hill with the end of the shovel after that it was all about the money and the hell with the customer. Doing you a favor to buy Harley you see?
In my opinion Harley did a good job with the evolution. But I agree that in the eighties they became more and more about the brand rather than the service.
I went to a harley shop, to buy the 500 with 27 miles. After the paperwork was done a $5000 bike price shot up to $12,000 they didn't know I had cash in hand I told them it was a great price I hung for about an hour. Checking out the dealership until I seen the dealer snickering about the possibility of the sale. I told them I will be back...left and bought a Royal ENFIELD shotgun 650 instead..dealerships act like used cars salesman. Totally turned off on that dealership. Just out of curiosity I called another harley davidson shop, about the same 500 bike and a guy gave me a price of $6300...no harley davidson ever
Like somebody else said I wouldn't have gave them anything. I would have to test ride the new bike. I know patience is hard at times. Always remember you're mostly paying up for the name. I also like Harley-Davidson.
Not for nothing, since covid, customer service is crap, in all retail, may it be bikes, cars, regular everyday shopping. With that said, last year I bought a brand new Indian Motorcycle. Also was told 4+ weeks, for shipping, now I could of had one that day, but it wasn't what I wanted so I was willing to wait. Long story short, bike came in 3 weeks, extras I wanted was put on within a day, I was riding earlier than expected. Since then the dealership has been fantastic. Just food for thought.
I thought it was funny towards the end , your comment about where you live. I haven't watched your channel before , but mid way thru the video i was curious so i looked at your page and figured it out in about 1 minute. Internet videos are seen by quite a broad range of people and have a huge impact on businesses. Glad you finally got you bike !!!
Thanks. It’s definitely not hard to figure things out once you know where I live.
I took a Harley into Wilkins Harley in Vermont with a clutch issues. The clutch had a totally different problem, when i got it back. Whatever the mechanic did gave the clutch a mystery problem. i kept returning the bike for the next two years trying to get it fixed and they never did. They would put the bike in the back of the line and call me weeks later and say it's fixed and charge me. I would drive it, it would have the same issue, so i would take it right back and they would put it in the back of the line. I didn't have it to ride for two years. i finally just gave up on Wilkins and they never did me right. I've taken the bike now to multiple different shops and no one can diagnose what the problem that started at Wilkins. Now after spending way more than the bike is worth on fixing the problem, the clutch still slips every time i hit a bump. i won't sell it like this, so it sits in the garage. It still makes me sick when i think of how much money i gave to wilkins trying to fix a problem that Wilkins created.
That definitely sucks. My Low Rider developed a transmission issue when downshifting. No one could diagnose the issue. Not the dealer, and not the motor company. They pissed around with it for weeks before finally just changing out the entire transmission guts. Oh, and they also lost the parts in transit. Harley would be well advised to do much better by their customers.
Interesting, I had a very similar experience with a dealer that sold aircraft engines. They had every excuse in the book why my parts have not arrived. I called their suppliers and one of them told me that the factory had them on credit hold. They had not been paying their bills. It would not surprise me at all given the lack of inventory in high interest rates many dealers are ready to fold. Before I put my hard cash down I would do a financial check on the company I’m doing business with. This may save everybody a lot of grief. In my personal opinion I would stay far far away from a dealerThat is feeding you a lot of BS. Most likely they’re covering up a serious problem. Could be lack of leader ship could be there in financial trouble. Just my two cents hope it helps
Thanks. The dealership I used looked to be pretty financially stable. They actually just built a big building last year that they moved into.
That truly was a terrible dealership experience. When I was restoring an 02 Sportster 883 a few years ago, I had a really sour experience with a local dealership trying to get parts and stuff. When we sold it after it was done, we said no more Harley Davidsons. Then I started hanging out at a friends food truck that was parked on the property at Fox Harley Davidson in Owen Sound here in Ontario. Long story short, there is now a 2021 Pan America and a 2022 Nightster 975 in the garage. I have dealt with many dealerships in my 40 years of riding but I have never had the truly fantastic experience that I got from the team at Fox. I can’t say enough positive things about them, they really treat you like part of a family.
I just wanted to let you know that there are still good H-D dealerships out there. I’m happy that you finally got your bike home with the parts you wanted on it. Keep the rubber side down.
Thanks. It’s good to know there are still some good dealers out there 👍
The dealerships will be Harley’s down fall
There definitely aren’t as many good ones out there as there used to be.
HD is headed for downfall
Great video,,, when you purchase a bike understand the purpose you choose that model,,then you can keep it for more 2 years and won't have the costs and headehces,,,🇨🇦🤸✌️
Agreed 👍
I no longer buy Harleys. It is too stressful dealing with the dealers. I know i'll catch hell for this but a bought a new Goldwing from the dealership and it was a breeze. I think I like my Goldwing more. It's quieter, smoother, more dependable and a lot less expensive.
No hate here. I could see why someone would buy a Goldwing. They seem to be a quality bike.
Nothing ever changes with Harley.
I feel your pain brother, Like I said once the sale is done, they won't even remember your name.
You nailed it…never go back. That would be my answer. We have 7 HD dealers here in the greater Denver-Front Range area, and I’ve dealt with half of them with no real issues. Only negative if you want to call it that is my most recent purchase of a used Limited…the finance guy seemed almost offended I turned down all the “extras” he tried upselling. Lol. But that was his problem, not mine.
But generally speaking the dealers around here are decent to deal with. Google reviews are pretty positive. They all ride. Friendly. Spend time with you thru the process and no high pressure or bait and switch tactics. Come to CO for your next bike!
There are some good dealers out there. They just seem to be few and far between.
I agree with everything you have said, as a Professional Dealer (the one your speaking of) they do this shit day in and day out, it definitely sounds like they are Nickle and dimeing you for Profit.. sad and aggravating. But your not wrong brother. Good view on the situation.
It would be nice if things would change.
A deal is a deal on paper. If you pointed out that it needed tires, and they made the deal, that’s on them. once everything is in Inc. and signed, you have a court case against the dealer, unless he has a disclaimer clause at the bottom.
The big print gives it to you, the little print takes it away.
dealers generally do not own their new motorcycles. They only pay 1% interest on the loan per month, that is what is known as the floorplan. Generally, the factory will pay the interest for the first six months on the floor plan. Dealers that want more motorcycles to sell, will take a larger order of motorcycles, and the factory may pay the interest on the loan for a year, and include some billboards near their competitors, and some radio ads if the dealer takes a big enough bite..
The trade-ins belong to the dealer 100%. They are 100% profit.
A vehicle is worth what it is worth minus what it needs. So if your motorcycle was worth $8000 on paper towards retail of the new motorcycles, price, and then the dealer comes back later after all, the papers are signed, telling you, you owe him more money, which he will add to your loan, that is actually illegal..
how do I know this?
for 17 years, I’ve worked in five different motorcycle dealerships, at first, as a builder of new bikes, then a mechanic, then, when I got a real job, I worked in three different motorcycle shops from January through May, selling new motorcycles. I would not dare put a value on a trade-in as a salesman. I wouldn’t do that. But we love trade-ins…
when I sold a brand new motorcycle, I got 3 1/2% of the taxable amount of the sale, including freight and set up and accessories. But when I sold a used motorcycle, I generally got 10% of the taxable amount as commission…
but you better have a mechanic check out all trade-ins before you make the deal. You don’t know if second gear is bad, you don’t know if the bike mileage is correct, you don’t know if they had done modifications inside the engine that didn’t work.
and if the book value retail on a trade-in was $5000. And the trade-in value was $2900, the dealer would offer $2500 off of retail for the new bike. That means no discount whatsoever on the new bike, and the dealer will offer less than NADA book value on a trade..
any extras or accessories on a motorcycle have no value to the dealer. Many times we would take off the fairing or saddlebags or special seat that the owner installed on his trade-in, and we would put it on the side in a box, and we would offer to give that stuff to the new buyer of the used bike for free if they wanted it. When a customer comes in and sees a bike completely different than what he has seen in pictures on the Internet, that is a turn off…
if you modify a new bike with special seating, sissy, bar and grips and pipes, make sure you keep all the Stocks stuff because all of those accessories have zero value. You would do better to take all those things off, put all the stock stuff back on, and then trade in. Then you could sell those accessories on eBay and get about 50% of your money back out of them… I never include the extras when I saw one of my motorcycles because you end up giving them away for free. I always sell all that stuff on eBay after the bike is gone…
but if you have a contract, saying what the value of your bike is, and you turned the vehicle over to the dealer, and then the dealer wants to kick you in the balls again, go right to a magistrate in the dealers area and sign a complaint..
that receipt you have is a legal document, and the dealer has already worked on the trade in??
You can’t lose this case, take it to court
I would agree with a lot of what you said. However, I’m assuming you don’t live in this jurisdiction. I’m sure you would agree that laws and regulations are different from place to place. Although things on their face appear to be slam dunk, I’m not sure I would go that far. I used to work for the courts here. I’ve seen far too many matters that people thought were an easy win blow up in their face. Regardless, the issue is now long since over. I appreciate the detailed, very thorough comment. It’s good to hear from people with industry experience. Thanks for watching. 👍
Many websites state parts in stock but they are not. Until you click and buy you do not receive the sad notice of backordered. Cancelled many an order. Just buying a mortgage for your home. It’s not really your bike until it’s really your bike as you can still walk away. Therefore parts not ordered. I wanted to do some mods on a home before purchase but not your home until it is your home
I have a similar story. I bought a new 22 ultra limited. Had to order it. 2 weeks turned into months. I ordered a two tone with chrome. Bike came in two tone with black. Dealership was swapping the painted parts with a black with chrome when I got there. Long story short. I got $1900 off the original price and $2000 in dealership gift cards.
That sounds about right. At least you got something out of it.
I'd tell them to get f'd on the front tire price if you disclosed it. Also, $1700 for two tires and a clutch adjustment? Can I get some of that Canadian weed they're smoking? It must be better than what we have here.
It was way overpriced. Totally agree with you on that.
I bought my first and last brand new Harley road glide from a dealer. Horrible experience. 26K. Plus an extended warranty. Plus the maintenance package. And then when I noticed they were giving $1000 cash towards upgrades. They told me I didn’t qualify because they gave me a good value for my trade-in.
That sounds horrible.
Today with so many car dealership companies buying Harley-Davidson dealership having a bad experience and being overcharged is the only experience you can expect. Maybe it is like an initiation if you want a Harley then go through the bad experience.
I’ve always had good experiences in the past. This was the first that was terrible. But I agree companies buying up the dealerships is leading to bad experiences for customers.
I was trading in a 2 year old FXLRS to an HD dealer, I had the integrated rear brake / signal set up. They wanted to deduct $600 off the trade-in value to put back on the stock signals. Said no thanks and walked. Such a scam. Went to a Ducati dealer and they snatched the bike up with no questions or issues and had it sold within 72 hours.
Why would they want to put it back to stock? Unless there’s something illegal about your set up I don’t see the issue. Sounds like an HD dealer alright.
Bought my bike from a dealership that told me before I bought it that they would treat me like family, then charged me 10K over MSRP. When my roommate went to the 3WMC the dealership treated her like she knew nothing about bikes. H-D must not want to sell bikes.
NEVER EVER Trade in to harley
I'm new to bikes admittedly but I thought everyone knew MSRP was a bogus number significantly above the dealer's cost that gave dealers an opportunity to negotiate down so the customer feels like they're getting a good discount. Yet, when I was shopping for a Kawasaki last year I got that same line from multiple dealers. Either they're all telling the same lie or the manufacturers are giving us a lowball MSRP to get us into the dealers. I suspect the former. Either way I eventually found a dealer who would sell $100 below MSRP so....
Second thing that just strikes me here is how do they get to just change the trade-in valuation? Isn't that in a contract? I would have thought that would be illegal in fact. I don' t think I'd have let that stand but I get that it's hard thing to pull out when you're that deep in already.
It's seeming to me like there are a lot of crooked dealerships out there. I think we need to all just start walking as soon as they start lying or pulling bait and switch or they'll keep doing it and feel like it's 'normal'.
It’s sometimes hard to find a dealer willing to sell for msrp. As for the trade in, technically you could tell them that the deal is off if they mess you around on value. The issue is that you end up putting non refundable money down to get a bike ordered. Once you’re that far and you pull out, you’re just giving them a donation with nothing to show for it. But you are correct about dealerships. Good ones are getting harder to find as big parent companies buy them up from independents.