Haggling with motorcycle dealerships

[slowside]

So I'm off to look at a used bike this weekend at a mixed marque dealership.

I've always managed to haggle decent discounts when buying cars, but this is my first trip to a bike dealer.

What are people's experiences of getting discounts on used bikes?

As I type this, I realise it might be a bit of a daft question (why should there be any difference between a car dealer and a bike dealer...) but I guess they tend to be lower volume than most car dealerships.

[ThunderGuts]

Depends on how much they want to get rid of it . . . my nearly new (1 yr) bike I got 1% discount . . . wow . . . got about 7% on my 12 year old Kwak which was a bit better, although I accidentally haggled too hard (he thought I was including transporting the bike to me in the figure, but I wasn't ).

Chance your arm - nothing to lose, just be mindful of not being outrageous. It does seem to be a different world to cars though . . .
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TG.

[Polarbear]

I don't know if this is correct but 2nd hand cars in a car dealership seem to be an aside to the main business of selling new cars. I've always had success knocking them down a bit.

Bikes much less so. Unlike cars 2nd hand bikes form as much a part of the dealership sales model as the new bikes do and they need them to sell well. 2nd hand or trade in cars they just seem to want shot of.

That said though, it's just how it's come across to me. I've no figure or stats to back it up.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[MCN]

[almostthere]

most cars on dealer forecourts are bought at auction washed and punted out at a discount,
there aren't so many bike auctions hence the higher price
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Beer, It's the reason I get up every afternoon
www.mfairco.uk

[Shaft]

[Hong Kong Phooey]

Get them as low as you can, then say thanks you're still a bit high, off to see some more and start walking off.

If they chase after you then they're still making a profit.

If not, you already got it as low as it can go.

After a quick fag in the car park go back in and say you changed your mind!

Keep in mind the warranty situation, business rates, pension payments, NI, insurances, heating, rent etc they're paying and it's not worth them punting on a bike with less than £500 profit in it - so expect them to be at least that much dearer than sold prices on Ebay etc.

Always test ride. However once you've gelled with a bike it can cloud your judgement.

Used bikes they've had in a long time can be discounted - but fresh stock they won't want to reduce so much.
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'81 CG125, '97 FZS600 : '99 CBR600F4, '09 KTM RC8

[stevo as b4]

The above is actually good advice. Bear in mind though that this is one of those situations where '' bikes aren't cars".

As said fewer dealers, more spread out around the UK and with much more limited stock storage space too. Forget about overheads and dealer profit though as its less relevant than some more important points.

The next thing is the market. What percentage of bike sales shall we put as leisure purchases? In fact over 125cc shall we say 75% are toys or back up vehicles, or weather dependent semi useful vehicles? Totally different market as I'd say 85-90% of new and used car buyers are buying a needed daily dependable A-B.

The people who buy second cars for fun, projects, off road, racing, track days, classic and specialist use don't generally get these from dealers as much. And neither do biker's. EBay, club classifieds, specialist vehicle sales shops, classic clubs, private sellers, Facebook groups etc are more likely to be used for a purchase.

So dealers don't have much floor space for a huge selection of nearly new bikes, nor the sales demographic of car dealers. They also have been hit by rising new bike prices, forcing the used bike market prices up, but also by the reduced supply of good second hand stock after boatloads were shipped out of the country. If they only sell a few thousand new bikes a year, then there's not going to be 3-4times that amount of used bikes available for sale logically.

Bikers are a different bunch to car owners, and don't have anything like the desire to keep up with the latest flash new thing, because they are toys, and because the machines they have got don't see much use, and they are more likely to be looked after than cars too. Then there's the thing that a good condition 10year old bike is still a missile compared with slightly better newer models so by changing bikes they aren't seeing life changing differences in performance or capability.

Cars in 10years have developed alot more than bikes and feel very different to drive, where as 10year old bikes were past our skills and abilities then and so a must have new one isn't that vital. Also there's little public street cred for bikes, most people don't know or care about bikes. But they notice if you drive the latest M-sport, AMG, ST etc etc. So there's more desire to impress people with the latest car. We don't generally give a shit about that, and aren't going to buy on a whim.

Finally bikes are getting more expensive due to more of them every year emerging as cult classics. You can buy a sought after appreciating bike up to the end of the 90's at least now, and because there's not thousands of (example: Honda SP2's) all in a line on dealer forecourts, your not going to find daftly priced ones the dealer is desperate to shift. Cars aren't like that in fact there's a very small percentage of under 20year old cars that are really sought after and soaring in value. You need to go much older in cars to start appreciating in value.

A local new bike dealer to me probably has 1/4 of their floor space filled with bikes from the 70's to the 90's. And they are gleaming resto's or nicely preserved original examples. In bikes there's a huge classic and nostalgia perversion that used car dealers don't get the same level of interest in. I bet a fair few people have gone into such bike shops after a brand new bike, and come out with an appreciating modern classic instead. If said dealer wanted a sea of 5year old bikes he'd get rid of those old clunkers in an instant. But he must know that a sea of 5yr old bikes like the next shop isn't going to make him a fortune or get people coming in through the door and saying '' Wow look at that! ''

[slowside]

Some helpful replies, much appreciated.

As it transpired in the end, the original dealer I’d arranged a viewing with didn’t have test ride insurance and the bikes battery was flat, so unfortunately I couldn’t even see it running.

Thus I went to a local indie trader today and haggled £200 off a Triumph Sprint RS. Ended up spending half of what I was looking to spend on the original bike (decided I’d go for something a bit older and just save a chunk of cash).