What is wrong with the dealerships ???

[dewjantim]

In the past few weeks I have tried several times to purchase a bike on line from various dealerships. In every case the dealership wanted hundreds and oft times thousands of dollars over the NADA retail price guide. In a couple of cases I even offered more than the bike was worth but they wouldn't sell. Seems to me a pretty bad business practice especially during this time when most of the dealerships being closed due to the pandemic.......

 

[HerrDeacon]

That does sound weird, you'd figure with the pandemic on the go and everything pretty much shut down they'd mark them down just to move some product.

 

[pidjones]

Some here were still closed last I looked.

 

[doc_rot]

Ive rarely had good experiences with dealerships. I even worked at a Ford dealership many years ago. Lots of scumbags. Rampant price gouging. Little care for customer retention. My most recent experience was buying valve shims from my local KTM dealer. They were charging $10 per shim, I can buy the exact same Hot Cams 70 piece valve shim kit for $50 that they have online. I capitulated because I already had the engine apart and didn't want to wait for a kit to arrive by mail. Now they will never get my business unless I have no other choice.

Also note many dealers will charge you seperately to sign the title over in additonal bullshit fees.

 

[Rider52]

Most were open in Georgia as they are considered essential. The local shops are pretty sorry. They have had a good run, but I suspect many will go out of business before the economy returns. I know one of the parts guys and he said a lot of folks came in with their $1200-2400 stimulus money and used it for down payments on new and used bikes. They get delayed payments for 60-90 days depending on the lender. He said the shop owner expects everyone of them to be repossessed after the first payment is due. I tried to buy my Can Am Ryker locally. I asked for a cash out the door price and got bait and switch. They added over $1000 of fees after I had been given an out the door price. I found a dealer in Florida with a good reputation and got the trike $1200 less than local guy's beginning price so essentially it was $2200 less than the local shop. The Florida dealer also delivered it to my door which was included.

 

[Maritime]

yep, hard to find a good dealer for a lot of stuff these days. We have a couple around I can trust to be fair but not many. The worst around here are the official Honda bike dealers. They all suck. Thank god I have a former dealer who knows their stuff and can still order oem bits when I need them. They are 3 hours away now but worth the drive when needed

 

[Hurco550]

I've been the same with car dealerships. I have bought 2 or 3 vehicles off of the same dealership that is an hour or so away, just because they shoot straighter than any other i've tried to deal with. Honestly, I am glad that I don't have much of any desire to own a new bike, because there is nothing appealing to me about the dealership process.

 

[iatethepeach]

It seems like all the parts I order from my local Honda dealer come from Partzilla. I don't understand the arrangement, but the prices are pretty much the same and presumably the dealer gets a cut (and I don't have to pay for shipping), so I'm generally happy to buy from them. About a year or so ago, however, the dealer took their parts fiche and ordering form off their website, which made placing orders kind of a hassle. On the other hand, I place plenty of sub $10 orders, and I'll probably never buy a new bike, so they may consider me kind of a hassle, too! They're always very friendly when I go in there, though.