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Dealerships can be funny!

8K views 51 replies 35 participants last post by  drjak 
#1 ·
So I took a visit over to the local Harley dealership today. Believe it or not, I'm considering buying a new Street Glide. I will be trading the R1 in. My R1 is a 2010 with 5,300 miles on it. It needs new tire's, and that's it! They offered me $6500 for trade in.... I decided at that point, it was time for me to leave. I just didn't feel like playing the game today. I know enough about trades, that I don't expect retail, but I did expect an offer in the $8k-8,500 range.... When I traded my 07 Busa (with 16k miles), in for it back in July, the dealership gave me $6500 for it. Which is what I wanted, and thought was fair, for a trade in.
I know I will here some crap from some of you about buying a Harley, and particularly trading in the R1 to buy one, but I'm ready for something different, and a cruiser is what I want. I will be buying a 600 for those occasional days when I want to run out and hit some turns, but most of my riding from here on out will be some cruising. The wife can go with me, since she can muster up the courage to ride her 09 250R I bought her almost a year ago....
Of course the dealer also showed me sticker for the 2013 Street Glide.... I simply told them I would think about it and come back when I'm ready to commit to a deal. I told my sales rep that basically $8K for my R1 was what it was going to take to get me to make a serious consideration. I will also probably be looking at doing $19,500 out the door for the Street Glide. Not trying to play hardball, but I feel those are fair and reasonable numbers.

Let me know what you all think.... :1pok: please hold the flaming. I love the R1, but after 20 years on sportbike's, I'm ready for a change.... besides, I still have my SV650 track bike to get my jones fix a few times a month :sing:
 
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#3 ·
If I wanted a cruiser and I don't, I'd buy metric. Hardlys you are paying twice the price for half the performance. I'd be looking at a ST1300 for wifey on the back, he'll for $19,500 you could get a Goldwing w/Nav. Anything but a Hardly Ableson. Might as well pick our your casket and final resting place :crash
 
#4 · (Edited)
Interesting thread as I did this back in early '09 (traded in a 08 Gsxr 1k for a Vrod)

Yep, I got ass raped on trade in & the dealer didnt even offer a reach around.....

Now here I am looking to trade the Vrod in for a hyper bike (zx14r or Busa)
Part of me just says keep it to avoid the dealer bs & pick up a left over '11 R6
for spirted rides?

Not bashing HD, yet in my personal experence this will be the last HD I own.

My V rod has been nothing but a headache ie; leaks, numerous parts replaced, electrical gremlins etc etc.. all with under 6k miles. WTF?

Best of luck to you & I hope you get a fair deal. :thumbup
Maybe I will as well?
 
#9 ·
Like others have said, I'd get a metric cruiser if I was going the cruiser route. The Vrod is a relatively new Harley design and has had it's problems throughout the first few years. The Streetglide's engine has gone through many changes for the better and is a pretty reliable motor so I wouldn't worry so much on dependability.
 
#5 · (Edited)
gona play devil's advocate here... i usually tell people if i can buy a loaf of bread for a dollar at "x" store why would i go to "y" store and pay $2? same goes for trade in. probably offered you $6,500 because that's what they can usually buy one for. if they bought at retail and sold at retail they wouldn't be in business long. any dealer who is offering to buy at or near retail is getting their money from you in one way or another. probably because what they are selling is gona get jacked up to 120% of retail.
one great thing about a free market society, you can always sell your bike yourself and walk into the dealer with CASH. it's always the BEST. always get a price BEFORE you discuss trade in, cash, finance ect.
btw I'M NOT a dealer...
 
#7 ·
6500-7000 on trade doesn't seem out of line. It needs new tires which is a 250 more. and I'm assuming since you didn't say how it was compeltely modded, it has only the standard stuff. They are selling in the 8500-9000 range all day here private so for them to take the risk and make $1-$2k isn't totally out of line. You wanting 8-8500 is, especially not wanting to pay retail on the bike you are buying.

I'll agree with the above on the Harley. You can get a Star Motorcycle that is more reliable for a lot less money
 
#10 ·
Just my $.02. Think long and hard before you do this. Last December I traded my 07 GSXR 750 for a Yamaha Stryker because I thought I was ready for something different and wanted a cruiser.

Short story shorter, I hated every minute of it. 8 months later, I traded it in for a 2011 R1.

I havent stopped smiling since.
 
#21 ·
lol, I started out on sportbikes and have had many. As I got older I decided it was time to slow down and got a cruiser.
Like you hated it! Dragging hard parts and felt like I was a parachute riding it
My lower back hurt in twenty minutes.
So that was a short lived experience,lol.
 
#11 ·
If I were you I would skip the HD. I'll be the next person to say their a waste of money. You can get way better cruisers for a fractions of the price. I was getting tired of my GSXR600 and R1 at one point. That's when my wife and I decided to buy me a New Busa, and her a ZX14. Well, the Busa still felt like a sport bike and I hated it. The ZX14 was a perfect feeling for me between a cruiser and a sport bike. I rode my ZX14 from Columbia, SC to Cincinnati, Oh in one day and honestly nothing was sore, nothing hurt.

Just my 2 cents. Oh yeah, and try and sell you bike for cash to a private owner. Might be a headache, but worth the extra couple of g's you get.
 
#14 ·
If you want a cruiser, go to where your R1 was bought and check out the new (09+) V Max. Very comfortable AND powerful, most likely to get better trade in $$$ as well. Do yourself a favor and test ride one of any bike you THINK you want.
 
#15 ·
Back in September I traded my stock 2008 R1 w/ 9k miles in for my 2012 ZX-10R. Dealership gave my $7500 trade in NO QUESTIONS ASKED! So I think you definitely deserve more than $6500.

Oh & good luck with the street glide. The baggers are growing on me!! Street Glide or Road Glide you can't go wrong! It takes A LOT of money to get them looking good and riding fast though!
 
#18 ·
Traded my trackbike for a vstar a couple months ago. Mainly for the same reasons you stated. The wife can comfortably ride, ect... I still ride and love my R1 but I must admit I get a stupid smile everytime I ride the cruiser.

I did just find out about yamahas poor design regarding the exhaust removal to access the oil filter and frequent valve adjustments but that is the price of owning a toy. I will be getting the filter relocation kit for sure.
 
#19 ·
I traded in my Shadow for a 05 R1, once I got to riding the R1 I did miss the easy riding of the cruisers but at the same time I liked the thrill of the R1. Now that I ride two up with my fiance she doesnt want to drive the bike but she love to ride and riding 2 up on a R1 isnt my style, so I will probably get a a cruiser for the next bike.
 
#23 ·
i got 14,300 miles on my sportster and i've had it since August 2011 it's been through rain several times freezing weather more than i can remember and i beat the brakes off it everyday and it has only had two issues. an exhaust leak covered under warranty and an electrical short covered under warranty. i had a honda before this bike and it was crap compared to my harley and performance wise line up all those metrics and we'll see who is still standing at the end of the quarter mile. i haven't seen a metric yet that has been able to take my stock sportster. my .02 cents
 
#26 ·
i sold my 07 r6 and bought a vulcan 800 which i bobbed out....i did that because i wanted a couple extra grand in my pocket while still being able to ride something cool. aww man i loved that easy riding on that vulcan. it was like riding a couch that was turned into a bike.
but like many others, i missed the speed. now i'm to the point where i want to get rid of the r1 and get a vstar 1100 and bobb that out and call it a day on buying/selling bikes.

here's that vulcan i turned bobber...i miss it :(



here's a pic of a vstar that is the type of look i want to go for
 
#29 ·
Why not just sell the R1. I know its a little bit more hassle but at $8,000 it will sell in a hurry.

Did you leave your phone number with the dealer? My experience with Harley dealer's is they will call you in about 2-3 weeks and say they still have that bike for you or another one that similar.... Although they will still plan on a$$ raping you.

I had the check written out to buy a Harley at the dealer and they tried to pull some $200 BS fee stuff on a $15,000. I tore up the check and walked out. The look on salesman's face was priceless. Never bought the bike and they kept calling me about it....

Good luck and get the bike you want not what everyone else thinks is for the win.
 
#30 · (Edited)
I can see that a lot of folks here aren't really fans of the Harley. :scoots: Funny things about me, I'm not about what makes everyone else happy. I have owned over 30 different sport bike's over the past 10 years. From the FZR 400 trackbike, 3 CBR 900rr's, 3 Hayabusa's, 3 R1's (01, 04 and 10) along with a host of other 250, 600, 650, 750 and 1000 cc bike's. I still plan to keep sportbike, by selling my SV650 trackbike, and picking up a R6 to use for street and track. I decided I want a cruiser a few months back, when I spent a few days rolling around on a 09 Fat Boy. It was nice taking the wife riding with me, and her being comfortable.... she's not a little girl... even my daughter isn't crazy about riding on the back of the R1, though she loved the Busa.
I like the style and look, as well as the feel of the Street Glide. I have been a speed freak all of my life, but was perfectly comfortable on that 96" Fat Boy, just cruising. I rode my R1 this past Tuesday, and love it... but the Street Glide was more so on my mind. I'm selling the 250r, and the SV650 to pick up, hopefully, a 06 R6. Which will get some suspension work, and spare set of bodywork that is full race wear :cool:. That will be my run with through the twisties bike :riding.

But thank you all for your feedback. Even though most are against it, I will be either selling, or trading in the R1 soon to get myself a Street glide :ncont:
 
#33 ·
just sell the bike on your own bro, no need to get disappointed/upset at dealers! you give another guy a good deal on the bike and this way, he feels like he made out a sweet deal and you get the amount of money you wanted outta the bike! win-win!!!
 
#35 ·
They don't really. They are so different, it's too hard to compare. I really like the Hayabusa a lot. I always enjoyed cruising around on it, and it was even fun in the twisty's. Yet, it's heavy and sluggish compared to the R1. The Busa is a sport tourer, which it does well at. The R1 is a road racer, more aggressive, and agile. Both are very fun to ride, but the motor in the R1 does it for me :)
 
#36 ·
first off have you considered getting a Victory instead? i have heard that they are more reliable than a harley.

also to consider is the Triumph Thunderbird. tops rated cruiser in many magazines and all. i would go for the Storm version, personally.

but i am a little against harley's admittedly. the people are mostly arrogant dicks and walking into their showroom the people that work there are equally arrogant. but these were just my experiences. maybe you have had better than i.
 
#37 ·
I truly had a decent experience from my sales associate, who was polite, friendly and very personable. That is why I did spend a few hours there seriously considering purchasing at that time. Unfortunately, we were unable to make a deal at that worked for me. I didn't like the way the manager came off, but when you have a product that sells so well, you can be somewhat arrogant about it....
I personally don't care for the style, or look of the triumph, or the Victory, enough to buy one. Not knocking them, just not what I'm looking for, at this time. To be honest, once I get board, I will sell it and buy something else. Who knows what it will be at that time. The Street Glide has both the look and feel that I am wanting right now. To me, it has nothing to do with the typical owners.... I know a few Harley owners personally that are great guys/gals. I have run across a great many more than are nice, friendly and non judgmental about sportbikes also. But once again, for me, it's not about that. I don't ride for comradeship, I do so because I love to ride, and I like many different styles of bike's. Once I find a decent deal on a decent condition CB550, I will be building a cafe racer too. I'm one of those rare breed that seems to have an appreciation for a wider range of two wheel toys.
 
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