I am currently looking at a 2009 1200 custom, vivid black, security system, and a 4 yr extended warranty, with $1000 down my payments would be $210 a month for 60 months, or 186 a month for 72, is this a good deal or would i be getting ripped off?, total price out the door $10,297, $9297 otd after $1,000 down
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what did you pay for your Harley-Davidson 1200 custom?
- Thread starter Daniel
- Start date
I have a 1997 1200 Sportster. Also vivid black. I have added Boss Bags and have upgraded the seat from the upgrade that the guy before me had bought. It also came with a sissy bar and luggage rack. All that to say that when you get it home, you will soon want to add a few options, especially a seat upgrade. The stock Harley seats are like rocks, especially for a passenger.
There are other costs associated with a bike which include riding gear, insurance, service and depreciation. The first cost you will experience is the initial depreciation in value after you sign the papers and ride the bike off the lot. This will be about $1000.
I'm not wanting to rain on your parade. I'm sure your excitement is very high. But what I am suggesting to you is that a purchase of any new bike is never a good deal. Same with new cars. Recently on this forum I answered another question from a guy who wanted to sell his bike but still did not have the title. He was considering taking out a second loan. I told him that in today's market it was likely he would only end up with two monthly payments and still be unable to sell the bike. He was going to be upside down in his loan.
There are good deals to be found in used bikes if you know what you want and are willing to wait until the right bike for you comes along. Let the first owner take the initial hit in depreciation as well as another hit in his lowering the price even more because he has to sell to get out from under a loan he can no longer afford. 60 months is a very long time to pay off a bike. Your out-the-door price sounds good but when you add 60 months of interest onto the OTD price, $10, 297 might be $13,297 depending on the interest rate.
Another thought I'd share with you is that I really enjoy my Sportster. I use it to commute to my job (because the roads I travel are not multilane and somewhat safe) but for long trips, I get out my Softail. The point is that Harley uses the Sportster to get you in the market...they hope you will soon tire of the Sportster and want to upgrade to a Dyna or Softail. This is just what happens to a lot of riders. Try the different bikes out at a Harley demo day event and you will see what I mean.
Here's the story of my Softail. I tried one at a Harley demo day and knew I wanted one. I started searching ads. I was searching and taking notes of prices for 4 to 5 months. My wife suggested we buy a new one. My impulse nature took over and we went and talked to a dealer. His OTD for a 2008 was going to be $21,000. 2007's and 08's had the 1540cc engine and 6-speed trans.
My wife wanted to see if I could find any other dealer who would make a better deal. The guy I talked to let me in on a secret... Harley was in the business of making and selling bikes and also selling loans. It might cost them 7K to build a bike and they make a profit of 3K. It costs them nothing to sell a loan and they make another profit of 3K. You do the math. They love to sell loans and use the buyers impulsive urges for a bike to sell the loan.
Anyway, in looking for other dealers, I found a small mom-and-pop car dealer about an hour away from he. He had the exact bike I wanted. It was a 07 with the larger engine and 6-speed tranny and only had 3K miles. He was running it on eBay. I asked him what his buy-it-now was. He wanted $15,500. I told him I would take it. When I went out to pick it up, he was a bit angry. He had figured out he might have gotten $16,500 for it had he let the auction run to completion. Silently I agreed but the fact was he made an offer and I accepted.
The other owner was an impulse buyer...he bought the bike a year earlier, added a rollbar and took a few rides. Then his eye fell on a pickup and off he went . He lost a lot of money on the Softail, money that basically went into my pocket. The dealer also lost money because he had to move the bike. I waited and made a good deal. Today the bike is still worth more than I paid. I saved $5000 over a new bike because I waited one day over my urge to sign a loan for a new bike thanks to my wife. She was not emotional about the buy, I was.
Great used deals are out there. A lot of guys (and gals) are upside down in loans they suddenly need to get out from under. My suggestion is you buy a bike, not a loan.
In any case, when you do get your bike, ride safe.
There are other costs associated with a bike which include riding gear, insurance, service and depreciation. The first cost you will experience is the initial depreciation in value after you sign the papers and ride the bike off the lot. This will be about $1000.
I'm not wanting to rain on your parade. I'm sure your excitement is very high. But what I am suggesting to you is that a purchase of any new bike is never a good deal. Same with new cars. Recently on this forum I answered another question from a guy who wanted to sell his bike but still did not have the title. He was considering taking out a second loan. I told him that in today's market it was likely he would only end up with two monthly payments and still be unable to sell the bike. He was going to be upside down in his loan.
There are good deals to be found in used bikes if you know what you want and are willing to wait until the right bike for you comes along. Let the first owner take the initial hit in depreciation as well as another hit in his lowering the price even more because he has to sell to get out from under a loan he can no longer afford. 60 months is a very long time to pay off a bike. Your out-the-door price sounds good but when you add 60 months of interest onto the OTD price, $10, 297 might be $13,297 depending on the interest rate.
Another thought I'd share with you is that I really enjoy my Sportster. I use it to commute to my job (because the roads I travel are not multilane and somewhat safe) but for long trips, I get out my Softail. The point is that Harley uses the Sportster to get you in the market...they hope you will soon tire of the Sportster and want to upgrade to a Dyna or Softail. This is just what happens to a lot of riders. Try the different bikes out at a Harley demo day event and you will see what I mean.
Here's the story of my Softail. I tried one at a Harley demo day and knew I wanted one. I started searching ads. I was searching and taking notes of prices for 4 to 5 months. My wife suggested we buy a new one. My impulse nature took over and we went and talked to a dealer. His OTD for a 2008 was going to be $21,000. 2007's and 08's had the 1540cc engine and 6-speed trans.
My wife wanted to see if I could find any other dealer who would make a better deal. The guy I talked to let me in on a secret... Harley was in the business of making and selling bikes and also selling loans. It might cost them 7K to build a bike and they make a profit of 3K. It costs them nothing to sell a loan and they make another profit of 3K. You do the math. They love to sell loans and use the buyers impulsive urges for a bike to sell the loan.
Anyway, in looking for other dealers, I found a small mom-and-pop car dealer about an hour away from he. He had the exact bike I wanted. It was a 07 with the larger engine and 6-speed tranny and only had 3K miles. He was running it on eBay. I asked him what his buy-it-now was. He wanted $15,500. I told him I would take it. When I went out to pick it up, he was a bit angry. He had figured out he might have gotten $16,500 for it had he let the auction run to completion. Silently I agreed but the fact was he made an offer and I accepted.
The other owner was an impulse buyer...he bought the bike a year earlier, added a rollbar and took a few rides. Then his eye fell on a pickup and off he went . He lost a lot of money on the Softail, money that basically went into my pocket. The dealer also lost money because he had to move the bike. I waited and made a good deal. Today the bike is still worth more than I paid. I saved $5000 over a new bike because I waited one day over my urge to sign a loan for a new bike thanks to my wife. She was not emotional about the buy, I was.
Great used deals are out there. A lot of guys (and gals) are upside down in loans they suddenly need to get out from under. My suggestion is you buy a bike, not a loan.
In any case, when you do get your bike, ride safe.
randall flag
New member
that is the going price