Million Dollar Question....A Good Dealer?

[Greygoose]

Seems like most people on the forum agree that a good dealer relationship is crucial to overall buyer satisfaction with this brand. I'm lucky enough to have a dealer close to home, but given the volume that these bikes are leaving the showroom, i certainly cant depend on them being around for long. Next closest dealer is 2 hours.

anyway, I'm trying to figure out what constitutes a good dealership . If it has anything to do with the sales experience, i'm in "heep of trouble".

i have to share this story because it falls in the realm of "you think you've heard it all".

I've been riding and buying motorcycles for 40 years, and the sales guy about floored me this one, so i have to share it.

I've got an FJR that i'm considering trading in on the trophy. Yamaha recalled the bike after about a year to fix a problem in the digital dash with the way it was calculating fuel consumption. the dash is one piece , so they had to replace the speedometer  (with odometer) and tach. since messing with mileage is illegal,the manufacture places a sticker on the bike showing the mileage at the time of the change and documents it in their notes under the VIN.

my "trusty"  triumph sales guy has informed me that my mint condition FJR is basically unsaleable here in the U.S. because the mileage cannot be verified, and that he has a guy who buys these kinds of bikes and takes them overseas to iran/iraq where "nobody questions it".
so my bike is worth less than half of the kelly blue book dealer trade in value. 

Thats right ladies and gentleman, now you may have possible heard it all!!!!

So is this what i'm suppose to judge "my dealership" on? I about fell of my chair laughing and thought to myself, 40 years of biking and this triumph guy just hits me with one of the the biggest lines of Bull**it i think i ever heard. 

Wonder what he say it i brought the bike back with an issue?

Who knows maybe i'll join the ranks of the TTSE if i can just convince those overseas guys to call the manufacturer and get security clearance to find out the real mileage.......LOL

This dealer is sending vibes that say "run chicken little ....RUN!!!!!"

Greygoose

[atrophy]

I would ask to speak to his boss and if the boss verifies it, run to another dealer.

I have worked with a fellow sales rep that would tell a lie when the truth was better.  He was a sick man.
As a sales manager I had a guy that was like that but I did not know it until a customer brought it to my attention.  I fired him the next day.

As we get older our Bull S*** detector is much better than young people expect.

[dsinned]

You are almost ALWAYS better off selling your old bike yourself privately!   As a trade-in you'll be lucky to get half what its actually worth on the private market.   I just went through a similar situation.  I wound up selling my old bike by posting online a "free" ad on Cycle Trader.  It had very low mileage and in near mint condition.  I found a buyer fairly quickly and got my full asking price.  As a dealer trade-in on my new Trophy, I would have got half as much.

[w8d4it]

If this guy will tell you this big of a lie when he is buying your bike what kind of lie will he tell you to sell you one?

[Older traveler]

Just my opinion: A good dealership has nothing to do with the sale. You should already know what you’re willing to pay for the bike before you do business with the talking head (salesman). I like to go into the shop and talk to the mechanics. Ask what they think of the bike. How long they worked here. Have they any experience with the bike.

Not sure where you’re located but I’m sure somebody on here knows of a good shop that might be close by. It’s a Triumph so the “good shop” might be two hours away. Mine is about an hour and a half.

Good luck
Gene

[Volfy]

In a sale, only 2 numbers matter: the $$ seller is willing to sell, an the $$ buyer is willing to buy.  All other talk is of zero consequence.  A deal is struck when those 2 numbers meet.  Plain and simple.

Dealers are in business to make money, and it is their job to minimize cost and maximize gain.

Your job is to save money... and trying to do the exact same.

So why fault the dealer?!

One dealer might have experiences with difficulty moving a bike similar to your trade-in in the recent past and don't much care to take another one.  Or whatever the reason.  Go in, get a number... no like number, move on.  It's that simple.  I don't ever view dealers as evil or adversarial.  Sooner you come to terms with playing the game, sooner you'll be at peace with it and start learning how to play it well on your end.

For starters, peruse the dealer's used bike listings, if you see one or more like yours, chances are... it might not be worth your while to bother talking to them.  Peruse their new bike inventory, if they got one or more like yours deeply discounted and haven't moved in a long while... same drill.

[w8d4it]

I hope you are not saying that price delta (no matter how small) is the only thing that matters.  Because dealers that offer the best experience are often not the lowest price.  If sale price is the only thing that matters and a buyer goes to a dealer far away that buyer shouldn't complain when the dealer closest goes out of business or changes his business MO to match the low price dealer just so he can stay in business.  I'm luck because I can buy motorcycle from my brother's dealership but when it comes to cars I don't drive 100 miles to save $100.  In fact when I price shop I always give my local dealers a chance to match or even come close to any deal I've found.  I think a prudent buyer will do anything within reason to ensure that he has a good dealer as near as possible.  It is the same reason I buy all my hardware needs at the locally run Ace franchise rather than running of to Home Depot.  The big box stores won't take care of us.

[Studley]

Hey Greygoose, this is not a new question so I apologize for my cut and paste reply / approach on how I choose a dealer. Apparently my approach is significantly different than some who have posted before me. Below are my earlier posts on this topic from the Explorer forum.

Do you homework and spend as much time on dealer and service dept as you do on bike make and model. You'll be fine

I ask to meet the "supreme commander" either the GM or the principal. We chat, I tell him my history, the kind of riding I do and what I am looking for in a dealership and, the kind of relationship I am looking for with a provider. I am able to articulate my expectations and I get a commitment on each before we get to the next step of bike shopping. Ex: I commit to never arriving on a Friday before a long weekend looking for service or a tire. I commit to giving them as much lead time as possible to schedule my bike in for service. It's not hard to give 2 or 3 weeks notice. If I have a road-trip coming up I want the work done 2 - 3 weeks before my departure date so I have time for a shake down cruise to deal with the unforeseen. In exchange I ask that only their senior / most capable tech wrench on my bike. On my last transaction where there was a change in manufacturer, that conversation led to a similar discussion with the Service Manager and the, Parts & Accessory Manager. The SM brokered introductions to the 2 technicians who would be allowed to work on my bike should I choose to transact with them. (Junior techs don't wrench on my bike) "Do not wash bike" is on my file as well cause I inspect my bike after it has been in the shop and check fasteners are in place and tight prior to any road trip.

This approach resulted in my patronage on the last two transactions and friendships that persist to this day. When schedules allow I take the GM and / or SM for lunch when work is being done and we talk bikes and bike business as well as family etc.  We have a relationship and I am happy & fortunate to do business with them. On a side note, because the money does not matter to me as much as the service, I always get "the good guy discount" "That's retail, hang on a minute and I'll tell you what your price will be." At the same time I make sure there is money in the transaction for them.

IMO If you are looking to win at their expense, that is not much of a relationship.

Best of luck on your negotiations and good luck in striking up a new relationship.


Hope that helps

Studley