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Dealer has lost his every loving mind

6K views 39 replies 28 participants last post by  Bevis 
#1 ·
Ever so often I support the dealer here that I dont like ....

I'm probably getting a front tire before the Kentucky trip this Friday , Dennis Kirk can have a Michelin here by Wednesday and get a $25 rebate gift card to boot , for about 170 with shipping , minus 25 = 145 give or take ..

I do my own tires and so I called the dealer just now , bare tire , no install fee is 241 plus 10% tax .. So thats in the nayberhood of 270 ... Crazy Indeed ..

JtB
 
#5 ·
I buy tires from Dennis Kirk and remove the wheels myself. Take tires and wheels to Honda shop who mounts and balances tires for less than half the cost at the Harley shop. However, it really doesn’t matter because the Harley shop will not mount what they don’t sell.
 
#11 ·
Well, the bearings aren't going to just jump into the rim themselves. My dealer gets $100 if you ride the bike in for a tire change. From the sounds of it, His dealer charged that for the tire and another quarter hour labor to change the bearings. Toss in the $20 for bearings and sales tax and you're at the $160
 
#9 ·
sorry, don't think you can blame this one on the dealer. the msrp on that tire is $241.95, so i don't think they're 'raping' you. would it be nice if they would sell parts to us below msrp/cost? sure, but i wouldn't expect it.

you've just gotten spoiled because you haven't had to pay it since you do your own tires and are able to buy them elsewhere cheaper.

(yeah, me too....)
 
#10 ·
if we could convince them that fair prices would result in more sales;
if we could convince them that a face-to-face with a customer is an opportunity;
if we could convince them that if you respect the customer he will respect you;
if we could convince them that the business model of a used car dealer needs to evolve.

when in this situation i go straight to the service manager.
if that doesn't work to my satisfaction i go to the general manager.

and i do it via email so there is a paper trail.

it's too competitive out there to be jerking around customers...
 
#12 ·
Few weeks ago we took a wheel and tire to the HD dealer to have a car tire mounted on it. Of course dealer does not sell car tires so we provided the tire. Also had ride on put in the tire.
$40 was the bill. I can do the tire the old away but just did not want to mess with it.
 
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#15 ·
An HD dealership mounted a car tire for you?
 
#13 ·
Bearings are 25 each here ...

Have no problem with people eating either ..

See the "S" in MSRP you put up there ? That is for "suggested" ...

DK's price is 151 before tax and shipping and rebate , Dealer is 241 before tax ..

That's a 60% markup over DK ..

No problem with a dealer making a fair profit , all for capitalism ..

I was told first hand this dealer is close to $800 to mount a set of tires you buy from them ..

I have an issue with many shop practices .. They put 1.5 qts of oil in the primary and charge you for two qts ..

Shop rate on a job is eight hours , they do it in three and charge you eight ...

Rant over ..

JtB
 
#14 ·
I get the whole "dealer has to eat too" thing but most of the time their prices are crazy. An HD dealer has to sell a tire for $250+ to make a profit? Places like Dennis Kirk and J&P Cycles among others can sell the same tire for almost $100 less yet they still make a profit or they wouldn't be in business. Like already mentioned, MSRP means manufacturers SUGGESTED retail price. I dont mind supporting local businesses and what have you but I try not to get raked over the coals when doing so. I guess I'm fortunate enough to be able to do my own work so I can keep my costs reasonable
 
#17 ·
yeah, i get that 's' is for 'suggested', but have you ever seen a dealer sell their parts for less? i haven't. over, sometimes as much as 20%. now that is a 'stealer' for sure.

i'm not busting your balls. it usually takes me less than 2 years to go through a set of tires. at $700, if i bring the wheels in myself, i found that to be higher than i liked. so yeah, i bought a no mar tire changer and do my own. i can buy a set of american elites, or preferably, avon cobra chromes for less than $350 and do it myself in my garage. i'm not as quick as the dealer would be, but at least i'm keeping some money in my pocket.

if you want to support the local dealer, that you don't like (i get that as well), how about buying a quart or two of oil, and keep doing your tires yourself?
 
#23 ·
Just before I started working at the dealership I had ordered a set of the new Avon Cobra Chrome tires from a friend that owns his own shop in Lakeland, FL. He said he would sell them to me at cost+10% and have them drop shipped. I didn't even ask the price because I figured I couldn't beat his cost plus 10. When he sent me the invoice I was kind of surprised at the price so I looked the tires up on DK's website. I could have actually bought the tires a few dollars less through there. The thing that I then realized is that my friend doesn't buy tires in bulk like these big internet companies like DK, DCP, Revzilla and a few others so his cost isn't anywhere near as low as theirs. Now that I'm working at a dealership I see that we don't keep very many tires in stock other than the stock HD tires. For the touring bikes we will have a few of the Michelin Com II's because they are somewhat popular but we will run out and have to order more but not many at one time. Yes the dealerships have a higher price on tires because there is a bigger % markup but they also don't get the same low price that the internet companies that buy in large bulk get them for. I have seen where the dealership will price match from time to time just to sell the tires and keep from having them sit on the rack. Never hurts to ask.
 
#31 ·
How do you like those Cobra Chromes? I have a set sitting in my garage waiting to be put on in the spring when I do my 10k service.
 
#25 ·
The 2 indys that I had been dealing with for the past 30+ years both closed, so I had to pick a new one for my last set of tires. Because I didn't want to try hand mounting them on Trixie's chrome rims.


I asked the new indy what his mounting prices were usually, and if I brought my own tires (there's is always a difference..). He gave me his price on the Kenda tires I was looking to try, and I told him what the internet price was. He said if I bought the tires from him, and gave him 2 weeks to get past some scheduling issues, he'd discount his price and get me out the door new tries mounted and balanced for $300.00 (also assuming I paid cash..).


He'll be doing my next set too.
 
#26 ·
When I put the Agitators on the 16 I put 2 new Dunlop AEs on. Bought them off Amazon for 325.00 for the set. They were already doing rims so no extra fee to do the tires.

I have an Indy I use for tires. He's a bit above Amazon prices and it's 50 bucks mounted and balanced. Front bit more for the rear. Now that I have a lift I will take him just the tire and rim. Not the bike.
 
#35 ·
The last time I was looking at tires I called the parts guy at my fav dealer and he wouldn't even quote me. Told me to not waste my time and go somewhere else to buy em, then transferred me to the service guy to get a quote for mounting tires I brought in. They only order tires if a customer absolutely insists, keep a few on hand for emergencies. He said they just can't compete.
 
#36 ·
On any given weekend my dealer has a tire special depending on the brand tire you want but at most for the stock dunlops it's $459.00 installed front and rear. It's not a bad deal at all. Don't need an appointment and you are usually out in an our or less and they wash your bike every time. Even for a warranty job.
 
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