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[vinceherman]

I am not much experienced in purchasing motorcycles from a dealer.  I am looking at purchasing a Zero (probably an S).
How much negotiation room is there on the MSRP?

For those who did purchase new from the dealership, can you report some basic info for me?

Which model and year, what the MSRP was, what you actually paid, where you purchased.  Thanks!

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Motorcycles are not typically negotiable from a dealer, unless they're left over models from the previous year. It's a good idea not to test your dealer's patience, either, as when it comes time to service your bike, you want friends.


That said, motorcycle dealers do not add fees the way car dealers do. It should be much less adversarial on both sides.

[Richard230]

My BMW dealer (as well as my Zero dealer) will not cut their prices on new models.  The BMW dealer will offer discounts on clothing and accessories if purchased at the same time as the bike and my Zero dealer will drop their "surcharge" (additional dealer profit) that they place on all of their bikes if you press them.  (Business must be good in the SF Bay Area.)

I paid full list price, including the manufacturer's shipping charge, for my ZF14.2 Zero S.  No breaks and no freebees.  But the sales experience was very pleasant.   

[biolife]

I also paid full retail. Before buying, I looked around a lot (as you are) and found that it's not common to negotiate prices on new bikes, especially if they're not ones that have been sitting around for a while. My local dealer has some 2013 DS bikes left over from last year (the demo models), and I'm sure there is some haggle room on those.

I did, however, ask my dealer after if I could get a break on some gear so they gave me a lifetime 10% discount on any gear I purchase through them. They're not always the cheapest, but still makes it nicer to be able to try and buy instead of having to wait for it to ship from some faceless website.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

It's worth clarifying that motorcycle dealerships are typically not huge moneymakers unless it's a boutique arrangement like a Ducati or Harley franchise, so it's not like they have a lot of margin to play with to get your sale. I've seen a few dealerships go out of business since the downturn in Seattle, so even in a major city, don't expect them to be cheating you.

[kensiko]

I saved I think 1500 CAD$ on a demo by simply asking what would be his lowest price at the end of the season. It was in October and snow was coming soon.

[trekguy]

I got a tiny discount on my 2014 SR demo, but the dealer was very friendly and delivered the bike 200 miles to my home...plus a free Zero tee shirt.

[krash7172]

I paid list but the dealer gave me ~ $500 in accessories.

[dkw12002]

Some dealers of gas motorcycles sell bikes for many hundreds or even a thousand dollars or so different than the next dealer, but I don't think that applies to Zero. It's not like you can go around to different Zero dealers and shop either. Plus who knows if people tell you the truth about what they spend.

The Honda Grom might be an example. The MSRP was $3000. I paid $3600 out the door for one. Some people got the same bike for $3200 and others paid $4600 for the bike they said. California seemed to be way more expensive than other states.

I don't know what I paid for my 2 Zeros since I traded other bikes in to get them, but I think your best value might be for a  2014 demo or 2014 new bike left over once the 2015 bikes are available. They seem to offer discounts then. A couple of years ago I bought a new 2011 Gixxer 1000 for less than I was able to buy a 2012 Gixxer 750 even though the MSRP of the 1000 was $1400 more, because the 2013 Gixxers were coming out making the 2011 then 2 years old. Still new and under full warranty of course.

[Doug S]

...or 2014 new bike left over once the 2015 bikes are available.

I'm not sure I'd want to rely on that technique. When I went to my local dealer in October of last year to talk about buying a Zero S, there were none left. The entire years' production had been sold out. He told me to watch for the announcement of the 2014 models a few weeks later, which is when I found out about the SR. I put my deposit down on my lunch hour the same day so it worked out well, but there were certainly no 2013 S's available when the 2014's came out.

[dkw12002]

Right. Last year Zero stopped shipping bikes. But hey, if you want a good deal, you have to take the chance of not getting one. Anybody can go to a dealer and pay what they ask. Don't fall in love with a Zero is the first thing if you want to get a good price. You have to be prepared to walk away. You can always take your $15,000 and go buy a fantastic super sport on sale and have money left over (for gas).   

[NanoMech]

I paid list price for my 2014 DS with small discounts on Zero products and installation of preferred Michelin tires at time of purchase. I paid the shop surcharge, too. I received a small, but gracious, discount from Mission Motorcycles on the purchase of a "no-hassle" second 2014 DS a few months later (3 weeks ago). I received a quote from Hollywood Electric that was >$600 less but that would probably not easily cover the transportation cost to bring up to the SF Bay Area, unless you had a truck and time, of course.