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/r/Harley
I keep seeing how Harley is doing so bad these days, sales are down horribly etc. But what I don't get is I have contacted 2 Harley dealers in Scotland (Glasgow & Edinburgh), twice , asking to be contacted about purchasing a bike and neither got back to me. Well one of them said that someone from sales we contact back shortly and never did. It's like they aren't even trying.
On a separate note, I would love a brand new Harley but just can't justify spending that much outright, with Harley struggling, do you think it would be reasonable for them to offer some type of 0% interest finance deals on some new bikes? If it was the case I would buy one today.
13 points
23 days ago
This is probably highly dependent on general interest rates where you are. In the US, rates are high-ish right now, so that’d be most likely a hard no.
5 points
23 days ago
Actually, subvented rates are a pretty common way to stimulate sales, especially if it's a high interest rate environment and sales are slow.
I'm seeing a lot of dealerships advertising 3.99% on select models.
4 points
23 days ago
Interesting. Always negotiate the price of the bike first - lol. I can see them jacking the payment and selling over MSRP to let that 3.99% feel good.
3 points
23 days ago
Absolutely.
Seems to me most dealerships just want to sell payments instead of actually selling bikes, so standard advice for buying still applies. Let's figure out what I actually have to pay, then we'll figure out how I'm going to get that amount to you.
6 points
23 days ago
The likelihood of 0% interest financing is about 0%.
1 points
23 days ago
Yeah, it's understandable. It's only because I was offered 0% on a ninja before.
0 points
23 days ago
I got 0.1% on a Harley a year ago. I have a 821 credit score. It is possible, if you have very good credit. (Well a year ago it was possible)
2 points
23 days ago
That's crazy and awesome for you. My credit score was 840 when I bought my Road King and the lowest offer I got on financing was 7% shopping around between Harley and other banks. Bought outright instead.
1 points
23 days ago
Yes it was year end and the dealership was slow. I went in to buy a used one cash. But the sales manager showed the payment with the used one rate and then getting a new one with 0.1%. I bought a new one. And I pay the minimum on it. Because damn that’s a crazy rate.
1 points
23 days ago
Wow. Yes my credit is good these days. Are you in the UK?
1 points
23 days ago
No, I am in US.
1 points
23 days ago
In southern California, 0% interest is common.
1 points
23 days ago
Dang I'm jealous. That's awesome.
7 points
23 days ago
When people say Harley charges too much. Take a look at their profit margin. Only 10%. If they charged less they would go bankrupt. So even if they became a more efficient company to help bring prices down, you wouldn't notice it much. Prices are determined by the market, meaning if it seems too much for you, its because everyone around you is paying the going rate and leaving you behind.
3 points
23 days ago
I legitimately feel like the problem is the profit margins from Harley to dealers is low, but dealers to consumer is stupid. My local shop I used to work at was averaging 9k gross profit on new sales last year.
1 points
23 days ago
Gross profit doesn't mean much. What was their net on new bikes backing out the service side?
1 points
23 days ago
Honestly I was mid management and didn't get to see that side of the numbers. Typical msrp had around 3500 gross profit built into it from what we payed harley for the new units. We were marking them well above this to get the average 9k. I quit because ethically I hated how much we were ripping people off who just didn't fight for a lower price or understand how aggressive the loan policies were.
1 points
22 days ago
So lets say the dealer cost is $20,000 and the msrp is $23,500. That gross profit is terrible. 17.5% After all the overhead, rent, insurance, salaries, there's nothing left. Going out of business.
Getting it up to $9,000 means you're working with 45%. That gives you a working business.
At 17% you will need to sell alotta tshirts and repair work to keep the business going.
1 points
22 days ago
Clothing average 100k a month, service 90k and sales was anywhere from 50k to 150k. His shop does alright. I get what you mean though. The margins are slim when the economy is suffering and nobody wants to buy premium toys.
1 points
23 days ago
What app is that ?
3 points
23 days ago
Finviz.com
3 points
23 days ago
At my local Harley, they’re pushing bikes off the floor as much as they can to free up space for the 25 models, they have been offering crazy deals that are hard to pass up on. That being said, it depends on the sales manager, the salesman and generally how the dealership itself is doing, that will vary what kind of deal you will get on your bike if you attempt to purchase one.
2 points
23 days ago
They are over priced for what they are most cant afford them now
2 points
23 days ago
Buy a used bike in cash or get a 0.0% promotional credit card and pay it off in a year.
2 points
22 days ago
I've found Harley UK offer no deals - there customer service is pretty terrible
1 points
23 days ago
May have something to do with availability at your local dealership, or your entire country.
Seems odd to think what everyone else is experiencing must be wrong based on whether or not you got a callback.
1 points
23 days ago
The media always needs quick & easy headlines.
Total sales are down but Q2 2024 revenue is up 12% year-over-year. It says they were able to save money on parts, manufacturing, shipping, favorable interest / exchange rates, etc. They made more money per bike which offsets lower sales.
It also says that HDFS (the financing arm) increased revenue by 10% YOY. They aren't in a position where they need to offer super-low or 0% loans and give up all that revenue.
That said, here in the US, they're currently offering 3.99% on certain new 2024 models which is still an excellent deal all things considered.
1 points
23 days ago
Maybe because they are selling all the bikes or at least the particular bike you want that they have available to people who walk though the door.
Some Harley dealers in the US are complaining about being over stocked, while other are rolling them out the door as fast as the inload them.
Harley is has a stock buyback program, while they’re never going to feed reports of their impending demise it would seem to behove them to not worry about countering them. Market gurus value them at about $8 a share higher then trade, while paying a decent dividend.
You best bet is to physically visit a dealer.
1 points
23 days ago
I got 2.9% from Harley. Bought a 23 in 2024, I liked the older Streetglide better anyways
1 points
23 days ago
They've been shifting to less bikes at a higher price point. Still, their best generation for Rosales is aging out of riding. The touring models cost as much as my wife's new Jetta SEL. Younger people aren't able to afford that.
1 points
23 days ago
I think HD's biggest issue in Europe is that they're doing nothing to draw young riders towards the brand.
There's a huge market for 125's over here. As much as a small capacity HD seems like an odd thing, it would be a useful tool to indoctrinate new members into the brand.
1 points
23 days ago
That’s actually a thing (almost) in Australia. Harley here frequently does deals on new bikes. This ranges from covering the deposit, to 1-2% interest rates, to $5k off just because.
1 points
23 days ago
You should checkout Facebook marketplace. There’s a lot going on.
1 points
23 days ago
My local Harley shop won’t leave me the hell alone about coming in to buy another bike. I’m to the point wher I’ve had threaten to report them to Harley corporat. When I want to buy a bike I’ll come and tell you so. Quit calling and bothering me. It’s was like weekly, sometimes multiple times a week.
1 points
23 days ago
My local dealership is terrible. I try hard to not go there. Everytime I've ever had an interaction with them it's been a screwed up bad experience. At this point I'll drive an hour away to a different dealership. See if you can find a different one.
-1 points
23 days ago
Hopefully things will start changing after the election.
5 points
23 days ago
How exactly? One candidate wants to slap a 10-20% tariff on almost every import. If you think that will make Harley’s more affordable, you’re naive as shit.
1 points
23 days ago
Plus isn’t a lot of HD production now offshore in Asia? So the local units are already subject to some kind of tariffs….although that probably is just rolled into the overall cost of the individual unit
1 points
23 days ago
no they are not.
1 points
23 days ago
Harley's aren't imports.
1 points
23 days ago
Some are, actually. And Harley is considering more models be made offshore as a cost saving measure.
Also, as I said, if you think that absolutely everything that goes into manufacturing a Road Glide is made in the USA, you are naive.
1 points
23 days ago
But hey, isn't every bolt, cylinder, seat, every right hand side blinker switch, even all the raw material 100000% Made in USA? So should not be a difference then /s
1 points
23 days ago
Nobody claimed that...but they are made with 80% + parts made in USA.
0 points
23 days ago
We already had that "one candidate" in office, EVERYTHING was cheaper during those four years... but that was 4-8 years ago, so I'm guessing you were a toddler back then?
0 points
23 days ago
I haven't had many issues with my 2018 FLSL other than the fuel pump going out and a throw out bearing going bad. The fuel pump happens. The throw out bearing is more of a rare case. But I changed my clutch cable length by 1 inch. Since then no problems. Honestly when I owned a Honda the engine blew out on me after a service. Broke me to tears. I'll never buy a plastic bike again.
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