Added Fee Shock on New Bike

lcrken

lcrken

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I was looking at buying a new bike a couple of weeks ago, a 2018 KTM 690 Duke still in the showroom at a local dealer, and had a real shock when I called to get the out-the-door price. I expected it to be like pulling teeth to get them to give me the actual cost, but they were pretty good about it. But it still hit me as a large shock. They advertised the bike at a $5,995 sales price, not including fee like sales tax, dealer prep, etc., etc. The actual OTD price was $8650. That means the added fees are 44% above the retail price. It's been a long time since I bought a new bike, and that came as a real shock to me. I'm wondering if that is now the standard everywhere, or if California is just a particularly expensive place to buy a new bike. I did check around a bit, and other SoCal dealers have similar added fees.

So now I'm looking for a low mileage used one instead. I've found a couple that look in my price range and just need to get out and see them.

Ken
 
That is dealership BS.

I dont know where exactly in SoCal you are, but using the DMV calculator for Riverside the fees on $5995 are:
Total Registration Fees:$197.00
Total Use/Sales Tax:$525.00
Grand Total Registration Fees:$722.00
 
Onder said:
Bottom line is all that matters. Rest is totally hot air.
Click to expand...

Of course. That's why I'm so annoyed at the dealers for lumping so many other costs as fees so they don't have to show them in their advertised price.

FWIW, the fees typically include sales tax, DMV registration fees, "processing fees", dealer setup fees, cost of shipping to dealer, additional markup, and whatever else they can separate out to make the advertised price lower. Several of those fees are clearly cost-of-doing-business expenses and should be included in the advertised sales price. But they aren't.

I know that's always been the case to some degree, but since the last time I bought a new bike it has become really extreme. I just wondered if that was the normal case now and not just a California thing. Or maybe I just wanted to rant a little:mad:

Then I realized, it's the same scheme the phone company and cable companies use to lure customers in with falsely advertised prices. Just the way of the world now, I guess.

Ken
 
Election year charges
Assembly fee
Air, fuel (@$10/gal) & oil (@$10/qt) charges
Supervisory charges
Destination charges
Importation logistics fees
Dealer charges
Dealer overcharge fees
etc
 
A friend I ride with a lot has a 2013 690 Duke R. It goes like the clappers & can stay with my 920 Commando on acceleration. I've just had it in for a full service & apart from needing to be a gynecologist to remove the valve cover it's okay to work on. The one thing to watch out for is the roller rockers, as the bearings are a known weak point & seem to fail between 5,000 & 20,000 miles with little warning. The motor has a single cam with forked rockers operating two valves each.
It's a lot of fun to ride fast but awful at town speeds as there is very little in the flywheel department.

Martyn.
 
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