I spent the whole day calling and talking to dealers. I'm ready to scream. I called several dealers out of state and called 6 in Texas and visited 1 locally in person. I don't even know how many websites I have looked at. I was looking at 5 different bikes from 3 different brands: Honda, Ducati, and Triumph.
One sales guy told me he wasn't going to try to hard with me.
One dealer told me to call back later because they were having an event. Didn't even take my phone number.
One dealer told me that I could only pre order a bike. It would take 3 to 6 months to get it. Deposit was non refundable.
One dealer told me that Ducati now charges a mandatory $500 fee. Didn't explain what the fee was.
One dealer told me that Triumph has increased their fees - not msrp, fees.
One dealer had a $1,000 discount but charges $3,000 in dealer fees. They said is it's because they 3rd party the uncrating and assembly of bikes. Plus they gotta make sure everything's okay.
2 Ducati dealers told me essentially the same story about Ducati going to a pre order system only, one of them telling me that it takes 6 month to a year to get the bike and that there is a mandatory $500 deposit and that the other one told me that it takes 3 to 6 months to get the bike with a mandatory $1,000 deposit.
Honda dealers give you an OTD and if you ask if they're willing to come down a bit, they flat out tell you; "not in this market." Depending on the model, some charge $2,000 over MSRP - for a $7,000 bike.
I could keep going. This was exhausting. I obviously didn't buy anything. I'll play the waiting game. I believe that (some) dealers are trying to push the pre order on their potential customers to keep prices high. It's a lot easier to collect bs fees when you have someone pre ordering a bike. There's less dealing going on and the dealer can make up whatever excuse they want because you want that bike and it's in short supply.
One sales guy told me he wasn't going to try to hard with me.
One dealer told me to call back later because they were having an event. Didn't even take my phone number.
One dealer told me that I could only pre order a bike. It would take 3 to 6 months to get it. Deposit was non refundable.
One dealer told me that Ducati now charges a mandatory $500 fee. Didn't explain what the fee was.
One dealer told me that Triumph has increased their fees - not msrp, fees.
One dealer had a $1,000 discount but charges $3,000 in dealer fees. They said is it's because they 3rd party the uncrating and assembly of bikes. Plus they gotta make sure everything's okay.
2 Ducati dealers told me essentially the same story about Ducati going to a pre order system only, one of them telling me that it takes 6 month to a year to get the bike and that there is a mandatory $500 deposit and that the other one told me that it takes 3 to 6 months to get the bike with a mandatory $1,000 deposit.
Honda dealers give you an OTD and if you ask if they're willing to come down a bit, they flat out tell you; "not in this market." Depending on the model, some charge $2,000 over MSRP - for a $7,000 bike.
I could keep going. This was exhausting. I obviously didn't buy anything. I'll play the waiting game. I believe that (some) dealers are trying to push the pre order on their potential customers to keep prices high. It's a lot easier to collect bs fees when you have someone pre ordering a bike. There's less dealing going on and the dealer can make up whatever excuse they want because you want that bike and it's in short supply.