Dealer trade-in negotiation?

[Gremlin]

That's ok in akld or Hamilton/wgtn where you have multiple options. But in the provinces if you are buying new each dealer has a defacto monopoly on one or more brands.
And your going to have to get it serviced by them for warranty too. What annoys me is where they say they don't take trades but you've seen other trades parked in their showroom floor often....

I've bought the BMW from Mt Maunganui because it was the only one in the country of the spec I was looking for. I was still prepared to walk away if the numbers didn't stack up as there would always be another. It's serviced in Auckland, but I'd travel if I had to (like to get the suspension serviced I travel to New Plymouth every 1.5 years ish).

I bought my van from Chch as there were very few in the country of the spec I wanted, and the others I looked at didn't pass viewing. Essentially, to get the right item, I'll travel if I have to.

[Tazz]

I'll travel if I have to.

And it's not like NZ is that bloody big anyway.

[Big Dog]

And it's not like NZ is that bloody big anyway.

Aye, but it all depends on how flexible your bosses are.

When I was buying my last bike I set myself a limit of a 2 hour drive but then I had to take a pregnant wife who was due any minute to go to see them and I wanted to limit the number of trips to going tiki touring all over the countryside.

The internet is wonderful at shrinking distances but you would be surprised how many muppets on trademe have 5 year old photos that are no longer representative of current condition.
Nothing beats seeing it in the flesh.

[jellywrestler]

I suspect the real question behind the query is one of "What is the best strategy for negotiating the best price" - and unfortunately there is no single answer to that. It depends on the situation....your bike....the bike you are buying...the ages and values of everything....the personality and skills of the dealer and yourself. There are far too many factors in order to be able to lay out a 'best strategy' that will apply most of the time....beyond expressing what you wish to accomplish and being reasonable....not immediately accepting the first proposal but being willing to have a discussion and compromise - without being unreasonable or expecting the dealer to make no money on the deal.

it also depends on the desirability of the trade in, it may be easier to move than the bike they already have so that will have a huge impact on the whole deal.

[AllanB]

I'm starting to wonder why threads are being started like... can I negotiate? I mean, it pretty much boils down to two alternatives:

Option 1
You: Hey, can we negotiate on that price?
Dealer: No, fuck off!
You: *leave*

Option 2:
You: Hey, can we negotiate on that price?
Dealer: Sure
You: *start negotiating*

I mean... is it really that hard? Either side can say no at any point, but if you're entering negotiations you're interested. They want to sell bikes. Ta-da, fucken negotiate.

Sure, you don't HAVE to negotiate. Pay full asking. Dealer love you long time.

1 & 2 are pretty much it.

Recently looking for a car for my daughter - I walked away on many non-negotiable ones. Each phoned me up after wanting to 'talk' and were rejected. Nobody pays list price on a 10 year plus used car FFS.

[AllanB]

Just remembered I purchased two bikes over the phone from a Dunedin dealer some years back - second deal was trading back my first purchase from them on a new Hornet 900. Shame they went out of business. Retrospectively probably because of the epic deals they were doing!