Most dealers are open outside of "normal business hours", so I would think you'd be better off talking to them on the phone, than trying to text/email for everything. What dealer in St. Louis were you contacting? I'll let you know whether they are worth while or not.

 

Those are dealers that obviously don't need your business to stay in business. Bike dealers today are like car dealers 40 years ago. Games, games, games.

There are dealers who truly want to sell bikes though. When I bought my FZ-07, I got an OTD price from the 4 dealers within 100 miles of me, and compared their price to a firm price from a dealer 6 hours away. We are talking a bike with an MSRP of $7300. The OTD range was $1500 from low to high.

It is hard to negotiate a trade in far from home. It would have to be a dealer that knows he can sell the cruiser a lot faster than the Versys.

 

Put yourself on the receiving end of this email inquiry about the purchase of a bike...It reads eerily similar to the countless scam messages any one selling inevitability gets everyday. Far away, can't talk, value my trade blindly, etc...Try to make the time to talk with someone as that can go a long way in this "e" age of communication... Good luck on the "V" pursuit!

 

Under normal circumstances I would agree. However, I typically am not in a position to be able to call dealers while I am at work. Plus I typically work 6 days a week. Nothing should be unbelievable or abnormally unusual about that. Plus, when dealing with large purchases I prefer conversations to be in print, in case I need to reference something that was said previously. Emails and texts are not a new thing. In fact, for many people these days it is the preferred form of communication. It's not like these are private individuals and I am taking them away from their private lives. It's their job to try to sell motorcycles.

Also, since I failed to point out in my original post, when I tell them I'm looking for numbers on my trade-in, I specifically mention that I realize they cannot make me a hard offer without seeing it in person, and that I am just trying to see if we're even in the same ballpark. Since some of these dealers are anywhere from 3-6 hours away, loading up my trade-in and driving 6-12 hours roundtrip on the hopes that we can agree on prices is not ideal.

Those dealers know you are price shopping and they don't want to play that game.

Well of course I'm price shopping. They wouldn't go and spend several thousand dollars on something without checking prices from a few different sources first, why should they expect me to?

 

Dealers are dinosaurs and most of them are running themselves out of business whether they believe it or not.

On the other hand, I sell a lot of bikes and cars online. I can tell you that 99% of the interactions you describe end up going nowhere. I don't even respond to most people that can't pick up the phone and have a conversation. Those dealers know you are price shopping and they don't want to play that game.

Walk in with cash and show them you are a serious buyer. Only then will you find the real OTD price.

 

Running out of Time

Normally I wouldn't respond to this. I heard for years the awesome deals, never ever saw them until late winter / spring 2016, that is when I bought my 2015, they are usually January February March and early April. A couple things, as everyone has said, texting / email, good luck, once you have a message, you could be the manager for the region, and just caught one of your dealers under selling . Even calling on the phone is questionable. The way I would do it is partially the way you have done but in 3 stages. First explain you can't cal between these hours, briefly explain what you want to trade and a address where you can send pictures and possibly a short video of your bike. Next try and get a name and phone number you can call during your available hours . Now a days there is face-time, skype , numerous ways to communicate. The only time to expect a price in a email or on paper is when you are ready to buy, at that time ask if you can use a credit card for $500 down and then do the final transaction when you arrive, this can all be worked out. I found my 2015 on Kijiji , placed by a dealer, and in all honesty, the very best dealer I have ever found, 100 KM from me, however I have a local one 20 KM away, will never deal with them again, unless it is a breakdown situation and I can't get to my good dealer in time.

I hope this helps, as has been said before, I have sold numerous stuff, wasted hours of waiting and replying to no shows and price checkers, and in reality you may be better off trading with the dealer rather than a private sale.

 

It doesn't sound like any of them need to do the amount of work you seem to require of them to purchase a bike. Plenty of people show up in person, with their trade, to talk numbers. Try that. It isn't their fault you live hours away.

 

How hard is it to give someone an OTD price without a trade. Than tell them with out looking at your bike it could be worth x amount of dollars" no guarantees"
Or tell them with this OTD price we are not interested in a trade.

 

I think it's still an old business. Lots of face to face dealing. They haven't quite caught up with the rest of commerce yet.

I tried to buy from a local dealer, I tried working with them over email and phone, and it just wasn't working out. I had a broken leg at the time and only wanted to make one trip - to pick up the bike (I'd have someone else ride it home). I ended up just buying from a private party instead.

 

I have become really perplexed with my experience with motorcycle dealers as of late. Here's my situation: I'm currently looking for a 2015 or 2016 (preferably the latter) Versys 650LT.

When I was looking for my 2017 almost all my local dealers said they had them in stock on their websites but in reality did not when I called. They were "on their way".

Looking for a 2015 or 2016 may not be in stock despite what some website is telling you.

I will add when I bought mine after the deal was done the salesman said it was great to do a deal over the phone. And this was coming from the internet sales manager. I never asked for him, just he answered my first call about the 650LT. Admittedly it was shocking he said that but it told me talking over the phone and then in-person worked "best" for this dealership.

Good luck in your search. Getting on the phone is the best way but that doesn't seem to be an option.

.

 

Right now is their busy season. A few warm weekends and everyone just got their income tax checks.

They're crazy with sales questions, wannabe owners, price shoppers from two states away, and trying to get people financed.

The service bays are filled with all the bikes that arrive in March and April - because why would anyone want to get their bike fixed in December when it's cold ? Just wait until one week after they wanted to actually ride it.

I buy and sell several bikes a year. From this limited sales experience - I can tell you that I give preference to local buyers and those who pick up the phone and call. If there's a trade involved - then I have to see the trade, in person. It's amazing what some consider "Excellent condition"

If sales are going well - the salesmen are likely to only pick the low hanging fruit. If the sale requires a lot of attention or the buyer is a pain in the backside, then the sales guy is probably going to ignore him.

Our local dealer is in a mode right now that can only be described as "frantic". I'm staying away until the dust settles.

 

Back when the V650 first became available in the US - 2008 - and had just been named "MOTY" by Motorcyclist magazine, I was waiting for my new AZ 'winter-residence' home to be finished building, and wanted a new Versys to be 'delivered' at the same time.

I sent e-mails to EVERY dealer around or near Phoenix, explaining the above, asking for a price. ONLY one responded, so I gave him a credit-card deposit as well as a "target-date" to pick it up (completion of building my house), then picked it up simultaneous to the house "closing", rode it there and put it into the garage to wait till we would come down for the winter, about a month later. :thumb: - :thumb:

For the LAST car I bought new in Calgary, a Mazda Protege5, I approached the two (or three...) Mazda dealers in person one morning, explained that I WOULD buy one that day from which ever one gave me the lowest price, but that I would NOT come back to 'dicker' on a lower price - WHATEVER price they gave me that morning would be the FINAL price - NO trade-in.

FIRST salesman I spoke w/ agreed w/ my request, so I detailed what I wanted; he listened, writing it down; THEN said he would have to go to the sales manager to get HIS input....

I told the salesman that IF he wasn't going to do what we'd agreed to do just minutes before, that he was dishonest, and under NO circumstance would I buy it from them. Went to the other (or other two) dealer(S), got a price and bought the car, just like I had said I would.

 

I just bought my Versys a couple weeks ago. They were busy as hell. I sent emails to 5 dealers and only one replied (several days after I bought my bike from someone else). Called three: two weren't interested to discuss much other than sticker prices over the phone and were more of the "come have a look" type and the third gave me a specific breakdown of the OTD price and some initial negotiations on the pricing with the vibe that more could be done in person.

I don't know for sure if things are better with emails at other times of the year, but I'd say right now is the worst time for that kind of communication. They will give priority to phone calls and even then, the shops are full of customers looking to either buy a new ride or get theirs ready for the season. It's fair to assume online inquiries are an afterthought right now, especially considering those using that mean of communication are usually the flakiest customers.

 

Wow - sounds to me like a lot of the folks above might be working for the "stealers," with all the excuses they're making. I'm with you, FL410 -- I don't know how these sales people sell anything at all.

It seems to me that they won't deal over the phone OR online because they want to get customers in the shop for the hard sell. Apparently there are enough really stupid impulse-buyer types to keep these places in business. And what they don't make in sales, they make up for in service charges. My local Kawi, etc. dealer charges $125/hr. for labor. I told them I never even paid that much to have my Harleys worked on. When they gave me a quote of $150 just to LOOK at my bike, I went home and figured out to fix the problem myself. I told them flat-out I'll never be back there again.

Plus, even though I was there for service, I had some 20-something salesboy following me around the entire time I was there, like a desperate puppy. He even put his hands on my bike when he was talking to me! I told him to take his hands off my bike, and to be grateful I wasn't a 1%.

I have also seen a lot of "bait and switch" going on. I see a bike at a good price, so I call the dealer. They tell me to come on in, and when I get there, tell me that the bike was just sold. OR there's the $2500 worth of fees they somehow manage to tack on. Getting an OTD price, itemized, is practically impossible until they have your money.

I was lucky - I bought my 2015 Versys slightly used from a little place in western PA south of Pittsburgh. I lived four hours from there, and they gave me the real price over the phone, so I made the trek and bought the bike. But here in FL, I have yet to find an honest dealer of any kind, except for Fletcher's H-D, which was sold 5+ years ago. All around here, it's caveat emptor.

FL410, I wish you the best of luck. But hang in there -- it's worth it!

 

The biggest problem I see is that regardless of your intention, you are 6 hours or so away from a dealership that probably has some young guy who sat on it for 15 seconds and is ready to fill out paper work with a Credit score of 590 and pay 12% on a bike for 6 years. Dealerships (and Banks) obviously tie togther to try and pay more attention to THIS kind of buyer, because it makes them both more money, as opposed to someone like yourself who is knowledgeable about the product has a price idea up front etc.. Its all business..

 

In this area, most of the Japanese manufacturers dealerships sell 4x4's of all sorts and water craft along with a few motorcycles to stay in business. I was lucky the local dealership had a good deal on a Versys at the right time. The far vast majority of motorcycles sold around here are HD's.

 

I am quite amused by all the fuss. Let's see: You don't want to talk on the phone during business hours but you have time to email back and forth. You want the absolute best OTD price in email form from the salesman and you want someone to commit to a trade-in value by email and your six hours away. Wow! what's the big deal. Get real man! Either you can afford to buy the bike or not. Sell your current bike then try to get the best deal on a Versys new or used.

 

He didn't say he wanted the absolute best price. He said he wanted their price. Many of us feel the same way. We don't want to play games with haggling and talking with managers and finance people. Just tell me how much it is.

The original poster also said

...Sorry for the rant. I just need to vent my frustration of the situation.

He's not asking you to fix his problem or give him advice. He just wanted to vent a little. So if you don't have anything nice to say, why even hit the post button?

 

The truth is I feel bad now. I'm not one of those internet jerks who tries to make people feel like crap.

OP, I'm just messing around here so hope ya don't take offense to my silly comments.
Hope you find what you're looking for.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I too did a lot of online shopping and calls and ran into the same things as you. Until I found a good price on CycleTrader. I assumed that when I would contact them they would add on some ridiculous "dealer fee". They did not. They were extremely quick to respond with OTD price it was the lowest of anyone. I rented a U-haul trailer for $16 and drove the 5 hours to pick it up. They had it all ready to go, priced as promised. Very straight forward dealer easy to deal with. Mine was a 2016 650ABS. The dealer info:

Josh Duckworth
josh@yamahaofsi.com
Ph: 618-988-9194
Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki dealership - Good Guys Motorsports Herrin, IL (855) 891-3521

Much better than the 10 other dealers I called and or visited. I did not have a trade however. Sold my old bike pretty easily on CycleTrader.

Good Luck

 

I was in sales for years & years. When i moved from Texas to Cali the company wanted to keep me so they put a virtual office in my house. Everything i did was over the internet & phone. I was top sales guy every year I was so far ahead of the other sales people they wouldn't allow me any sales in Texas where the company was based. Even so i still remained the #1 guy. Some people work the internet & phones others are lazy and want the customer to come to them.

 

BTW the only calls e-mails or faxes that i ever blew off were from guys needing quotes on equiptment for government bids. They would send you tons of detailed specific pain in the ass stuff they wanted priced out and you would have to spend way too much time getting the quote together for something that was not going to happen. The only reason they contacted you in the first place because they already had the vendor for the equipment they wanted they just needed 2 other quotes to get their ordered processed.

 

It's quite possible they don't even have the bikes you're inquiring about. I asked about the dealer in the St. Louis area for this specific reason. I won't name the dealership, but it's kinda like the Sam's Club of motorcycle dealers. They had a few bikes listed on Cycle Trader that I was interested in. So I went to the dealership a few days later and when I inquired about them, was told they sold them. So they sold them all in a couple days? My bet is they never had them. They put those adds on there to get people in the door to sell them something else. Also, when I was in there, they had about 5 salesmen all sitting down with customers working on selling them bikes. With that kind of volume, there is really no need to answer someone over an email when they're meeting their quota already. I'm not saying it's right at all, I'm just saying that's how it is. I much prefer the small dealerships, but I'm sure you can have the same problem with them.

 

He's not asking you to fix his problem or give him advice. He just wanted to vent a little. So if you don't have anything nice to say, why even hit the post button?

Im sorry, i did not realise that when you post on a public forum you are only allowed to receive positive responces ... as a newb on here, i must be misguided in regards to the rules....... oops, i hit the post button again .. my bad.

 

I do all my own maintenance and repairs, but am thankful for you and your friend helping to keep the dealer in business.

Somebody has to keep em in business ... as far as my mechanical ability goes ... I have sexy hands, everything I try to fix I screw up.

It is far less expensive for me to get them to do the job right the first time, than to fix up my mistakes first and then do the original work required.

I don't have the knowledge, the time, the tools nor the interest .... I would rather be riding than wrenching with the limited time that I have at the house.

 

...I don't have the knowledge, the time, the tools nor the interest .... I would rather be riding than wrenching with the limited time that I have at the house.

At least you're being honest!

:thumb: - :thumb:

 

Well, here's what I did....

I have become really perplexed with my experience with motorcycle dealers as of late. <snip>

Sorry for the rant. I just need to vent my frustration of the situation.

I went through this last year.

My .02:
Do your homework previous to contacting dealers.

Sell your bike privately. Keep it simple for the dealer.

Walk in with $$ and/or finance already set up. Again, keep it simple for the dealer.Understand what deals Kawasaki is offering so you understand how much skin the dealer is willing to put in the game. (Kaw last year was a $500 kickback, the dealer offered $400 off list price. I explained the math to what he was doing, and gracefully declined the deal. He came back with a MUCH better offer.)

Look for dealers where they're a slow seller (I found mine in Moses Lake, Wa where the dealer goofed and ordered 3x 2016 LTs. Not a one had sold. (heheh for me. :smile2: )

Check online stocks at dealers, most dealers will show their stock on their websites, or even Kaw does it? (I don't remember, don't hold me to that last comment.)

Put a deadline on the deal, i.e. "I'm interested in a 2016 650 LT, cash out the door price. (We're keeping this simple for the dealer, right?) I would like to wrap up the deal by [pick a day of the week, day of the month]. If I don't hear back from you within 3 days I'll assume you're not interested in a cash deal."

Don't be afraid to hike on a crappy deal.

Don't forget about "fly 'n ride", I think you're already looking @ non local dealers, so 'nuff said about that.

Check all essential bolts, nuts, etc. before leaving the parking lot. Ask me how I know...

Be prepared to tell your local dealer (if you have one), when you take it in for service: "You could have sold me this bike you know..." (Don't do that if the dealer's a nice or small dealer or the service manager looks like the type that would pee in your gas tank to get even..)

Remember to save about 1-2% for essential and non-essential farkles..

 

I went through this last year.

My .02:
Do your homework previous to contacting dealers.

Sell your bike privately. Keep it simple for the dealer.

Walk in with $$ and/or finance already set up. Again, keep it simple for the dealer.Understand what deals Kawasaki is offering so you understand how much skin the dealer is willing to put in the game. (Kaw last year was a $500 kickback, the dealer offered $400 off list price. I explained the math to what he was doing, and gracefully declined the deal. He came back with a MUCH better offer.)

Look for dealers where they're a slow seller (I found mine in Moses Lake, Wa where the dealer goofed and ordered 3x 2016 LTs. Not a one had sold. (heheh for me. :smile2: )

Check online stocks at dealers, most dealers will show their stock on their websites, or even Kaw does it? (I don't remember, don't hold me to that last comment.)

Put a deadline on the deal, i.e. "I'm interested in a 2016 650 LT, cash out the door price. (We're keeping this simple for the dealer, right?) I would like to wrap up the deal by [pick a day of the week, day of the month]. If I don't hear back from you within 3 days I'll assume you're not interested in a cash deal."

Don't be afraid to hike on a crappy deal.

Don't forget about "fly 'n ride", I think you're already looking @ non local dealers, so 'nuff said about that.

Check all essential bolts, nuts, etc. before leaving the parking lot. Ask me how I know...

Be prepared to tell your local dealer (if you have one), when you take it in for service: "You could have sold me this bike you know..." (Don't do that if the dealer's a nice or small dealer or the service manager looks like the type that would pee in your gas tank to get even..)

Remember to save about 1-2% for essential and non-essential farkles..

From personal experience that 1-2% for farkling is woefully inadequate. Puig, Chameleon +, Rostra, H&B center stand, Seat Concepts, T-Rex side guards, some other stuff. And the previous owner put on the MaKaw top case, gear indicator, Givi hugger.

I'd say between the previous owner and myself we are north of 20%. Just sayin'.

And I still haven't put on a Fenda Extenda(or similar) or a rad guard. I'd best get on those two.

 

(I found mine in Moses Lake, Wa where the dealer goofed and ordered 3x 2016 LTs.

I have been to Moses Lake ... they must have been parked right next to the 2016 horse and buggy's LOL

 

we are north of 20%.

Same here, and I have had the bike a little over 2 weeks. LOL