Your Buying Experience (Facts and Figures) ?

[BigGuppy]

I want to give a "buying experience report" for my local market A lot of what I encountered surprised me. I hope this report will inform future buyers.

Area: NY/NJ area (with a bit of PA)
Time: Summer 2017 (specifically June)
Bike: NC700x DCT
Customer: White Male, Mid-40s
Best Dealer Price: 2016 NC700x DCT with 0 miles -- sticker $6788; total out-the-door $8410

Too Long, Didn't Read (TL;DR): Test rides weren't offered on new bikes, only trade-ins; very few trade-in DCTs, and no NC700s; off-year bikes considered new; bikes could be in stock but not built; only discounts offered were Honda discounts; dealer fees added $825 on top of sticker price and were non-negotiable.



When I was shopping in June, I figured would go in to the dealership that had advertised the bike I wanted and:

• see the bike there
• listen to a salesperson that knew more about the bike than I did
• test drive the bike
• hear up front how much the dealer was willing to negotiate, and
• pay right about the sticker price, after negotiating down and then adding back tax.

I visited four dealerships in NJ and one in PA. Here's what I found this summer:

• no one allowed test rides of new bikes, and "new" bikes included earlier model years that were unsold. Even three years old (big surprise)
• the main used cycle store (Cycle Exchange) didn't offer test rides of USED bikes (insurance risk)
• Honda dealerships DID allow test rides of used trade-in bikes. I was able to test ride a used CTX700 DCT, which was crucial in feeling comfortable with moving forward with a DCT
• I wasted a lot of time driving to different showrooms looking at identical, unsold bikes. It was like driving to different Apple stores and seeing identical iPads. The whole trip to the showroom involved looking at a bike, sitting on a bike, asking questions, and that's about it.
• Sometimes the bike wasn't on the floor; the salesperson would admit it was still in a crate in a warehouse. Calling would have prevented this, but I wonder if I would have been okay asking them to build a bike I was unsure of buying
• No one was able to tell me much about this motorcycle I didn't already know, especially the DCT part. This was just one of a LOT of models in the showroom.
• Prices were not negotiable anywhere I went, for the bikes I was looking at (earlier model year NC700x DCTs)
• Dealer fees were also non-negotiable. Once I accepted there was going to be ~$825 in fees not shown in the sticker price, I had a calmer sense of a real out-the-door price.
• The price discounts I did find were reportedly Honda's that were being passed along to me in the sticker price.

I learned a lot and I'm happy I survived the process. I also wound up getting a great bike from a private seller down in Washington DC late in June.

2014 DCT with 5,750 miles - sticker $4900 , Final $5846
(with center stand, heated grips, madstand windshield, and Givi cases. Needed new tires to pass inspection.)

Sticker: $4900
Tax: $435 tax
New tires: $400
Inspection: $6
Docs and reg: $105
Total: $5846

​

Attached is the best dealer sales quote I got here in NJ in June 2017:

2016 DCT with 0 miles - sticker $6788, Out-the Door $8410

Sticker Price: $6788 ($1311 Honda discount off $8099)
Freight:$399
Prep:$299
Docs: $124
Subtotal: $7610

Sales tax: $675
Reg: $125
TOTAL: $8410

​

I hope this helps people. Comments welcome. Have your own buying info handy? Post it here!

BigGuppy

 

[670cc]

Thanks for reporting on your experience!

Haha: "listen to a salesperson that knew more about the bike than I did." Good luck with that (if you've done your homework).

Marketing regions in the country vary. Back in the summer of 2012, the then new NC700X was selling at midwest (USA) Honda Powerhouse dealers (Mississippi and Arkansas especially) for 8.5% below list with no freight or prep fees. I've never "paid" motorcycle freight or prep fees, and I don't deal with motorcycle dealers that charge them. In the midwest it's fairly common to avoid those fees.

I was able to test ride a new NC at dealers in Texas and in Illinois.

Buying used from private sellers is always your best option, unless the model simply doesn't yet exist in the used market.

 

[HarveyM]

I bought my 2016 DCT sight unseen. It was the first year Canada got the DCT (probably because the Honda was pushing the Africa Twin DCT's). Mine was the first one or second DCT the dealership sold (the other being an Africa twin). My Salesman got a couple kilometres on mine to 'fill up the gas tank', so that was his intro to the bike. I was surprised the dealers were willing to give modest deals on the bikes- about $500 US off list. Also our dealer fees are much lower than your's (like $260 US excluding sales tax).

 

[Pikester]

I just bought my 2016 DCT with 1 mile for $7250 OTD. I flew to Scottsdale, Arizona & rode it back. They were almost a thousand less than local dealers. Love the bike, but can't ride because of a flat rear tire. Can't wait until my Michelin PR4 arrives & I can get it installed.

Ride safe,
Pikester

 

[SilverRocket]

I'd been searching for a 2017 for months, when I saw a demo 2016 bike offered for $6499. The OTD price was $7266. It came with the one year warranty.
We can't really negotiate too much on bikes here in California and most new, leftover 2016's had prices of $7699 with the current $400 rebate.
I've never been offered a test ride on any bikes at any dealership in SoCal.

If you can, try to make it to the big International Bike Shows. I go to the one in Long Beach and the demo rides are pretty good and the folks running them really raved about the NC700 and were willing to talk a lot about its features. Dealerships never know too much about bikes. Perhaps this fall I'll try to demo an African Twin...

 

[Techrat]

After I got my license, I didn't know what bike I wanted to buy. I went to the Progressive IMS to look at bikes. I'm a tall rider and although I didn't want nor could I afford a big cruiser but I just knew my first bike would be a Harley but every one I sat on was way too low. I sat on other makes and every single one was too low. They had a 2016 NC700X ABS/DCT on a treadmill so that people could demo the automatic shifting. I sat on it and it was tall enough and felt very comfortable. I rev'd it up, tried out the shifting and fell in love.
After a ton of research, I made up my mind and visited several Honda dealers. Most of them treated me like I was not worth their time and none of them had the bike in stock. The last two dealers offered test rides as soon as they came in but unfortunately, the bikes never did. A couple of month later I located one IN STOCK at an out of state dealer. Since they still had 14s & 15s on the floor I knew there wouldn't be much wiggle room for haggling. I bought my bike for a little over $9K out the door, without an "actual" test drive. But I've been happily riding it ever since. With a few mods, its now dang near perfect.

 

[BigGuppy]

Heres what unbuilt means i guess

Seen at my local dealer today.

 

[Erik]

I visited a couple local dealers and was basically ignored. They didn't seem interested in selling me anything. I finally cornered a salesman and told him I was interested in a Honda 700, either a ctx or nc700. He didn't have any but was pretty uninterested in showing me anything else. Strange.

 

[BigGuppy]

I visited a couple local dealers and was basically ignored. They didn't seem interested in selling me anything. I finally cornered a salesman and told him I was interested in a Honda 700, either a ctx or nc700. He didn't have any but was pretty uninterested in showing me anything else. Strange.

Thanks especially for this note. It's also the experience I got. I can't state for sure why, though I alternate through different opinions (seller profiling? too busy in the summer? real buyers call ahead? make-em-work-for-it sales strategy?), . But the phenomenon was consistent -- the salespeople I encountered at every dealership also didn't seem interested in selling me anything.

 

[Erik]

Thanks especially for this note. It's also the experience I got. I can't state for sure why, though I alternate through different opinions (seller profiling? too busy in the summer? real buyers call ahead? make-em-work-for-it sales strategy?), . But the phenomenon was consistent -- the salespeople I encountered at every dealership also didn't seem interested in selling me anything.

Well it wasn't because they were too busy in my case, that is for sure.

 

[Dave H. (CO)]

Wild West Motorsports in Greeley, CO is excellent to deal with and will let you test drive the cycles. We wanted to look at a "new" ctx and they went to the back, dug it out, washed it out before even letting us see it so it looked it's best. I told them all I wanted to do was sit on it and I didn't care if it was dirty. They still wanted to clean it up. Had a dead battery but was offered a test drive later if I wanted. We wound up buying a used 250 Vstar for my wife, and bought my 2012 nc700X from a private seller for a fantastic deal. I strongly recommend that dealership.