Okay, i must admit. In my 8 years of driving I have never had to deal with a dealer before. So i decided to go to my local Suzuki dealer today and talk about the new gs. I asked what specials they offer and he excitedly said "$4999!!! It gets no cheaper than that."...But, after TT&L, equipment, and MSF we are looking at about $5600. Bottom line: Im not willing to pay that much for a 39 h.p. bike. Do you guys have any pointers for getting the lowest price out of these salesmen?
I'd buy it if i could get the whole package for less than 5000. For a new bike, resale just isn't enough to warrant too much cash on a beginner bike.
buy used if you're planning on selling it soon
buy Pablo's bike... 8)
i wish i could, but i am hooked on the design of the F model
Buy used and stick an aftermarket full fairing on it :) Like the cool one from Brazil! You'll still come out ahead after all that...
You won't find a cheaper starter bike that looks like that.
Maybe a Ninja 250.
baldwin got it for 4200 + ttl..
invoice is 3750....
Do you have other dealers where you can shop? I got ripped off on my GS, but I bought it used and didn't know anything about motorcycles.
When I bought my last car, I bought it on the last day of the month. I found out what the invoice price was, and I offered $300 over. They said yes. If they had said no, I would have thanked them for their help and gone to shop somewhere else. But I didn't NEED a new car. If I couldn't have gotten a price I considered reasonable, my old car still had a couple of more years in it. And there are a lot more car dealers than motorcycle dealers around here.
Laura
Again, my vehicle buying experience is limited. But I have found motorcycle dealers to be a royal pain in the ass. Much worse than car dealers. It sucks, because shopping for a motorcycle should be a lot of fun, but it turns into being a headache because of the slimy dealers you have to work with.
Wish I could give you better advice. Good luck.
Laura
Quote from: andy23Bottom line: Im not willing to pay that much for a 39 h.p. bike.
The Ninja 500 list price is now $200 less than the GS500F. How about 50 hp for $4800 instead of 40 hp for $5000? :lol: :lol: :thumb:
Motorcycle dealers are different from car dealers. Their market is much smaller so they have to rely upon mark up to get their profit instead of volume. If you can find the same bike at 2 locations you may lower the price some by threatening to go elsewhere but usually the area can't support too many dealers for the same brand so you may be limited. :dunno:
Just ask yourself what a particular bike is worth to you. If you can get it for that price or less then great. Some folks think purchasing is a contest and the one who gets the best deal wins, if you think like that you will always feel that you got ripped off. Bikes are impractical toys that are meant for fun. You wouldn't think twice about dropping another $150 for a rock concert or an extra day at Universal Studios. So whats a few hundred more for the bike of your dreams. :thumb:
Used is an excellent way to get cheap bikes. However, beware, people who would never touch their automobiles suddenly think that they are master mechanics when they purchase a motorcycle. I believe more motorcycles are screwed-up by owners 'fixing' them then by road damage. But its damage you can't see so instead of enjoying a great summer of riding you spend it in your garage trying to figure out why your bike stalls after 30 minutes. :x
Good luck on your bike search. Regardless of the price, when you're on the road on the perfect summer day you'll realize the great value you got.
Quote from: andy23Do you guys have any pointers for getting the lowest price out of these salesmen?
I'd buy it if i could get the whole package for less than 5000. For a new bike, resale just isn't enough to warrant too much cash on a beginner bike.
Did you tell him that? That you would buy it if it was less than $5k? Make him work if he wants to make a sale!
I used to be a m/c salesman back in '89-91, sellin' Kawasaki and Yamaha. We only had about $200 of room to play with on the EX. So if the retail is $4999 you should be able to get it for $4800 without tax & licence. Go back to that dealer and tell him that you'd be willin' to buy it for $4800 without tax & lic. If he says he can't do that, walk away. Or, ask if you can see his cost and tell him you might be willing to pay him one or two hundered dollars more than his cost and then tax & lic., but only if you can see his cost. Set-up fees are bullshit. At most, I can understand that he has to pay a mechanic to set-up the bike; fill & charge the battery, fill it with oil, maybe a little gas...if it's more than $60 tell him you'll take it out of the $200.
Another way to convince the sales rep to deal is to remind him/her that once you make the purchase, you're likely to become a service and parts customer, and THAT is where the dealership makes some real money..not on the original sale.
If you really wanna get, bring the cash! Money always talks!
If they don't give you a lower price, and ask them to give you free helmet which you like or some parts for the bike...
or bring a cute girl with to negotiate with sales... ;)
~*Brat*~
Money does talk. I remeber buying my car, had a bunch saved up from military service and other stuff. Bargained out a price with the salesman, and when it came to payment, he was expecting me to finance... Let's just say the hard cash laid out made him blink... I did give him a good precentage over invoice, so I was being fair :)
Now after a bunch of really f'ed up and bad years, I am like mucho poor... but I still have my Subie, and I have my GS, and I love both of them! :)
I say don't tell the dealer that you've got the cash up front, and act like you're trying to work out a deal with financing. I once read an article where a reporter went undercover selling cars... they have something called a 4 box system where they try to get you one way or the other... price, financing, dealer add-ons (prep), and trade-in I think. If you have the money, you trick the salesman into reducing the price box hoping that they make it up on financing, and then just stick it to them :mrgreen:
Quote from: MstrsLilBrator bring a cute girl with to negotiate with sales... ;)
~*Brat*~
Are you available? I'm in the market...
damn turkina where were you when i needed ya! :mrgreen: , then again, brat has an interesting idea too...(http://www.cycleforums.com/forums/images/smilies/Fart.gif)
Quote from: The_good_guybaldwin got it for 4200 + ttl..
invoice is 3750....
Where did you find the invoice price? I want to know what a '03 cbr600rr (or '04) and an '04 daytona 600, cost....
Quote from: Frost
buy Pablo's bike... 8)
I second that.
This doesn't apply for bikes, but I came in with pages and pages of photocopies listing invoice prices for the car itself, and every one of the options I wanted. After getting my invoice price, and since it was a car in demand, I told the salesman I was going to give him a couple of percent above invoice and calculated it in front of him. After a time or two, he came back from the manager and said okay, and now what about financing... What financing I said! :lol: Always see a few dealers at least before making a deal! Attitudes vary greatly between places... some car dealers wouldn't give a young guy like me the time of day :P
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html That's the car salesman article I read...
As for Brat's idea, that's a good one too :) get some extra stuff with your bike! And especially for girls... teach those salesmen a lesson! I have a friend who got screwed on her car because she went with her limp ex-boyfriend and let the salesman talk her into a really harsh deal! :(
BTW, I don't haggle. I'll gladly pay a bit more than I want to if the deal is honest. (you name a fair price, I'll pay if it is fair, otherwise I'll walk without saying a word). Haggling sucks :P
Quote from: MstrsLilBrator bring a cute girl with to negotiate with sales... ;)
I took my wife with me to negotiate on my Buell. We got it for a LOT less then they were asking (below KBB value even) and got a tank bag, fairing mounted tool bag, Corbin seat and the OEM seat and an extra exhaust system (full system, not just a can) tossed in.
As Erin Brockovich said in the movie...."Their called boobs Ed."
Well, I went in this weekend to look at a new GS500, and the dealer quoted me a $6000 out the door price, which is :bs: . He said they charge freight and set up fees on top of MSRP. Is that common for dealerships to do? I always figured all that stuff was included in MSRP, after all, that IS the retail price.
Oh, and Pantablo, you can get invoice prices on bikes at cyclebuy.com. You have to pay for them though, the GS500 was $13 for the report.
6K... there is new Sv1000 selling arounf here for 5999. OK they not selling for 5999... they sitting at the showroom for 5999.
Cool.
Srinath.
I told the stealer that I would give him $4799 and no more, he said "sold!". I had to visit two different stealers though, one of them wanted 5299 and no less, wouldn't even negotiate. So I went elsewhere. The stealer that didn't get my business cares about nothing but profit and has never had any competition, then another dealer opened up and that's where I bought it, probably why I got a better deal, trying to get the business being new and everything.
Coming from someone who sells stuff for a aliving, dont think that dealers are automatically out to rip you off. The number of crooked dealers is small and shrinking fast. I am tired of everyone bashing up sales people! What we all have to remember is:
1 They have to earn money too. Rent, electricity, wages, superannuation, buildings etc do not come cheap.
2 If you want a dealer in your home town, you have to support him. If his stuff is 10% more than other stores, it may not be because he is a theif. Could be he has higher overheads.
3 The sales person is HUMAN too. Drop the aggro and smart arse comments and you will go far.
4 I like supporting my dealer because he serves me well. I dont know we would have the same relationship if I bought my bike somewhere else and asked him to work on it.
5 Be honest with them and 99% of the time, they will be honest back.
There are rat bags out there no question, but everyone deserves to make money, and everyone deserves to be treated wih respect and common courtesy. You would be horrified of some of the crap I have dealt with in my various sales jobs!!
:cheers:
:guns: :guns: :guns: So you are one of them.... :lol:
Cool.
Srinath.
Quote from: WrencherI took my wife with me to negotiate on my Buell. We got it for a LOT less then they were asking (below KBB value even) and got a tank bag, fairing mounted tool bag, Corbin seat and the OEM seat and an extra exhaust system (full system, not just a can) tossed in.
As Erin Brockovich said in the movie...."Their called boobs Ed."
what kinda tank bag works on a plastic tank? i realize they have to make others than just the magnet kind, but i would like to see it cause my tank is shaped diff than most and tank bags just wanna slip off
Told the dealer that another dealer was selling it for $4600, he made me a deal for $4599. Adding prep & delivery on top of that and it ended up being around $5100.
The amount of $$ I save on gas makes up for the monthly payment... :thumb:
I usaully shop all the dealers in my area and tell them up front what I want, only quote me the out the door price, I'm getting prices from other local dealers and I am paying cash.
Tampa, Fl. area
New 2004 GS500F yellow
Out the door price $5,100 Invoice shows bike at $4150
plus tax, dealer prep, freight, title & tag work.
My first quote came in at $5,800.00 otd.
Mike
Over the weekend here are my quotes I got for a new '04 GS
First dealer told me OTD $5400...
... no negotiating at all,
... I told him I didn't want anything higher than $4500
... He told me to look for a used bike.
... :nana:
Second dealer (with a demo w/ 150 miles) OTD $4999...
... They told me if I gave them a $300 deposit they would "beat up the Fin mgr"...Like they don't already know
... I got a funny feeling from the two salesmen (good cop bad cop routine) so I said no thanks.
... :bs:
Third dealer OTD $4999...
... if paying Cash (not cashier's check, but literally cash) OTD $4750.
... :dunno:
I understand financing or credit card payments would cost the dealer, but what cost is there for a cashier's cash? I just don;t feel comfortable carrying around $5k....I'd have to tie it in a bag around my rottweiler's collar during the 45 mintue trip.
I've heard that the invoice is $4300, where did you hear that the invoice is less than $4k?
I plan on keeping the bike for a while, but hesitating on shelling out $5k. I was hoping to walk out closer to $4500.
Hi Guys,
New member to the forum, but I saw this and decided I should mention it.
In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Ace PowerSports (http://www.acepowersports.com) lists 2004 GS500F's at $4999 MSRP with a $3000 Cash Back voucher, redeemable after 35 months. If your dealers could/would offer something similar, you might be able to work out one heckuva bargain.
My experience with dealers is that you CAN get a decent price, especially if cash is involved but they don't seem to have that much margin, however if you ask for accessories, clothing, helmet etc you can often get a lot of kit chucked-in. I think the margins on these items are pretty good.
Quote from: jedi851508Hi Guys,
New member to the forum, but I saw this and decided I should mention it.
In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Ace PowerSports (http://www.acepowersports.com) lists 2004 GS500F's at $4999 MSRP with a $3000 Cash Back voucher, redeemable after 35 months. If your dealers could/would offer something similar, you might be able to work out one heckuva bargain.
What is the cash back voucher... like after 35 months they will give you 3K if you still have the bike... That sounds good... great...
Cool.
Srinath.
Quote from: seshadri_srinathQuote from: jedi851508Hi Guys,
New member to the forum, but I saw this and decided I should mention it.
In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Ace PowerSports (http://www.acepowersports.com) lists 2004 GS500F's at $4999 MSRP with a $3000 Cash Back voucher, redeemable after 35 months.
Maybe that means you can trade up to another bike in 3 years, and they are guaranteeing $3k on the trade-in?
Well I looked into it a bit further today, and I guess if you finance the bike, they give you a voucher that matures in 35 months that you can redeem for $3000 back. Catch is you finance the entire amount of the bike, but you do get the $3000 back eventually. $3000 plus 3yr old GS500F trade-in = bike upgrade time?
I was in the market for a used GS500 because I rode a GS400 for 26 years and found that the 500 was very similar. I found a 2002 model at 2 Jacks in Wilkes-Barre, PA for $2999. When I called to ask about the condition, the salesman quoted me $2750. Later when I asked them about holding it for me, he apologized and said it was actually a 2001, and he misread the serial number. He offered to knock off another $100 and throw in a new rear tire. (it had 4000 miles). I also had them check the valve clearances so they would be in spec.
When I showed up in January with a trailer (having driven about 450 miles), they gave me a set of sturdy tie-downs and made sure the bike was securely on the trailer.
The bottom line is, I have a great 2001 with 4000 miles, it has no cosmetic damage, runs great and is getting 75 mpg. I paid 2600. I think this dealership is top-of-the-line.