Whats reasonable to pay?

[breakdirt916]

pfffffft...I don't think you can generalize what a good deal is...it really depends on where you are

imho - to find the best deal in your market, ya gotta call like 5-6 dealers and use game theory

here's how it goes:

D-Billz: "Hello, I would like to buy a CRF150R expert by 5pm today, what is your lowest price?"
Dumbass Dealership: "Well, why don't you come down, and we'll talk about a price."
D-Billz: "There is no reason for me to be at the dealership for you to tell the price, what is your lowest price?"
Dumbass Dealership: "Well I'm not going to tell you my price. Then you're going to call all the other dealers, tell them my price, and get it lower than what I'm offering."
D-Billz: "Well than you're not giving me the lowest price. What is your lowest price?"

Then after you get the price, get off the phone, call the other dealers and repeat until you get the lowest price.

The dealers that are actually giving you the lowest price will say "Well, the other dealership is a good price, you should take it."

Some people are straight - they'll tell you the MSRP, and their invoice price (which should typically be the same at all dealerships...so write this down once you learn it!), and explain how they have to make money on the bike somehow. If that's the case, offer to finance it through the dealer so they can make the money back on interest. Hopefully by then they've lowered the price as low as they can go, then make sure there's no early pre-payment penalty, sign the papers, bring the bike home, then pay off the full balance of the financing in cash.

You do have the full balance in cash, right? If not, then go put on a low-cut shirt and go git a damn job!!

edit 1: yes, I'm indian...I squeezed a penny so hard it turned into a dime.

edit 2: make all the calls from your gmail/google voice account. If you give your actual cell number, expect calls anywhere from quarterly to weekly from dealerships trying to sell you ANYTHING. At least from google voice, it's easy to block.

[Sheppo]

pfffffft...I don't think you can generalize what a good deal is...it really depends on where you are

imho - to find the best deal in your market, ya gotta call like 5-6 dealers and use game theory

here's how it goes:

D-Billz: "Hello, I would like to buy a CRF150R expert by 5pm today, what is your lowest price?"
Dumbass Dealership: "Well, why don't you come down, and we'll talk about a price."
D-Billz: "There is no reason for me to be at the dealership for you to tell the price, what is your lowest price?"
Dumbass Dealership: "Well I'm not going to tell you my price. Then you're going to call all the other dealers, tell them my price, and get it lower than what I'm offering."
D-Billz: "Well than you're not giving me the lowest price. What is your lowest price?"

Then after you get the price, get off the phone, call the other dealers and repeat until you get the lowest price.

The dealers that are actually giving you the lowest price will say "Well, the other dealership is a good price, you should take it."

Some people are straight - they'll tell you the MSRP, and their invoice price (which should typically be the same at all dealerships...so write this down once you learn it!), and explain how they have to make money on the bike somehow. If that's the case, offer to finance it through the dealer so they can make the money back on interest. Hopefully by then they've lowered the price as low as they can go, then make sure there's no early pre-payment penalty, sign the papers, bring the bike home, then pay off the full balance of the financing in cash.

You do have the full balance in cash, right? If not, then go put on a low-cut shirt and go git a damn job!!

yes, I'm indian...I squeezed a penny so hard it turned into a dime.

as a former salesman in motorsports and auto's .... your presence is your leverage. You would not get my best price over the phone. I did OK. The hour sucked.

[xxaarraa]

as a former salesman in motorsports and auto's .... your presence is your leverage. You would not get my best price over the phone. I did OK. The hour sucked.

Disagree and agree with everything breakdirt said.

I change cars over a lot and never indulge dumass dealers who say "come on in and well talk". No need to come in to have a simple question answered. Coming in person is reserved to test drive before picking up vehicle, AFTER purchase decision is already made. I have no time or patience for a stupid ass trainee salesman to shove forms in my face and try to "profile my needs" and just waste my time. If a dealer cant give me a price over the phone, ill take my business to the other 99 dealers who will.

Always a buyers market if you have cash/good credit, and half a brain. Dealers who dont realize this truth are fast becoming extinct, as they should.

[Slyder]

MSRP is roughly 15% higher than invoice

wait what?

[Sheppo]

Disagree and agree with everything breakdirt said.

I change cars over a lot and never indulge dumass dealers who say "come on in and well talk". No need to come in to have a simple question answered. Coming in person is reserved to test drive before picking up vehicle, AFTER purchase decision is already made. I have no time or patience for a stupid ass trainee salesman to shove forms in my face and try to "profile my needs" and just waste my time. If a dealer cant give me a price over the phone, ill take my business to the other 99 dealers who will.

Always a buyers market if you have cash/good credit, and half a brain. Dealers who dont realize this truth are fast becoming extinct, as they should.

you would get a good quote, not a great quote. Show me your serious! I never forced anything down anyones throat and I did well at what I did.

[xxaarraa]

you would get a good quote, not a great quote. Show me your serious! I never forced anything down anyones throat and I did well at what I did.

If a buyer is asking for something very specfic - "e.g., do you have a 11/12 CRF150F big wheel in stock" it's a very clear sign they are serious. As opposed to someone who walks in asking "do you have any dirt bikes in stock" Seriousness and level of sophistication of a buyer is pretty easy to read and that's where most dealers drop the ball.

Most of us that are on forums and such usually know exactly what we want and a dealer that doesn't keep up just isn't worth giving my business to, however small or big my business might be to him.

[Sheppo]

If a buyer is asking for something very specfic - "e.g., do you have a 11/12 CRF150F big wheel in stock" it's a very clear sign they are serious. As opposed to someone who walks in asking "do you have any dirt bikes in stock" Seriousness and level of sophistication of a buyer is pretty easy to read and that's where most dealers drop the ball.

Most of us that are on forums and such usually know exactly what we want and a dealer that doesn't keep up just isn't worth giving my business to, however small or big my business might be to him.

You can tell if someone is realistic like you said by the questions and the specifics. BUT 90% of the calls weren't and if they are calling on a generic bike, say... 'Give me your best price on a gixxah 600' that is specific but in no where near serious, Using your example of a 11/12 CRF 150F big wheel, that is a whole lot more specific and got a different answer. I was more answering the way breakdirt went at it.. give me your best by 5pm... I wanted to make a sale, make the customer happy and have him for a repeat customer or one who would refer me. It's not all about price but how you treat a customer. I had more than one tell me they could have gotten a deal cheaper elsewhere but I listened and talked to them.

[breakdirt916]

sheppo - unfortunately you're a rare breed...most other dealers are not like you. I called about 12 toyota dealers in southern cali, and I get the feeling that other car salesman think they can sell cars on some sort of formula. For me it was a combination of profiling my needs (as xaraa mentioned), telling me I had to come down, some tried to convince me I should just get into a more expensive vehicle because "it's a better deal", and almost everyone said "I really want your business, tell me what I can do for you.". I got calls weekly asking if I was still looking, then would say they had great deals, but when I got down there they still didn't have what I was looking for at the price I wanted.