[davelau]

Just venting. (and adding points) hehehe
My HD dealership/service department is telling me that they won't cover a defect on my locking mechanism/latches on my tour pack. It locks ok, but when the latches are unlocked and the lock is engaged, the top lid lifts up about 1/4 inch. This is seriously NOT how it was designed to lock. Yet , the "service manager" no less, comes out and informs me that that is normal. ??? WTF!!
Whatever! I walk to the sales floor and ask for keys to lock and unlock an 08, 09, and 10 tour pack(s) that they have on the sales floor and they all lock flush with no play like mine. You wanna see a guy wanna get away?? Sheesh!! How dumb can this guy be. Should have seen the look on his face.
SERENITY NOW! lol. I'm just done with these guys. Since my 09 is part of a recall I'll be having everything fixed in a few weeks.

 

[dsjr70]

If it wasn't for HD dealers I would have never found Victory. I was looking to buy a Heritage but just had to many issues with the dealers. That was when times were good and they were just blindly selling to anyone that walked through the doors. God forbid you had a question, like "How much does it cost" and their answers (at all the dealers) "Under $250 per month".
If I would have purchased the Heritage my next two bikes would have probably been HD's. I wonder how many other people felt that way.
I will say one thing, I have allot of friends that have HD's and it must be nice to go to a dealer and buy parts that are in stock... Not talking about break down parts, just chrome and stuff.

 

[stilcrazee]

If it wasn't for HD dealers I would have never found Victory. I was looking to buy a Heritage but just had to many issues with the dealers. That was when times were good and they were just blindly selling to anyone that walked through the doors. God forbid you had a question, like "How much does it cost" and their answers (at all the dealers) "Under $250 per month".
If I would have purchased the Heritage my next two bikes would have probably been HD's. I wonder how many other people felt that way.
I will say one thing, I have allot of friends that have HD's and it must be nice to go to a dealer and buy parts that are in stock... Not talking about break down parts, just chrome and stuff.

My 2 sales encounters were similar.
The first ended with the saleman extending his index finger into his nose, fishing around then roling andreleasing his "catch" to the floor. I was up and spinning on my heel as he released.
The second with a different saleman at the same dealership almost 2 years later ended when I asked of bottom line price and kept being asked what I wanted my payment to be. I gave my usual smart ass, "you asked, I'll answer" answer of $175 per month for 36 months with no money down. The guy laughed and said it couldn't happen unless I put $x down. I laughed and told him he shouldn't ask people what they want to pay when they ask for the bottom line. I stood up and left.
Fortunately there apparently are enough people who simply have to have an HD and can tolerate the bs sales practices at dealerships like that. Not saying they are ALL the same but I suspect a majority are.

 

[bubba]

With some going out of business, I am sure the smart ones will Change. The 2 I visited a few times a year in Chicago were always very pleasant and wanted to know more about my Vics.
Guess it depends on the dealer, no different than some Vic dealers.

 

[dsjr70]

With some going out of business, I am sure the smart ones will Change. The 2 I visited a few times a year in Chicago were always very pleasant and wanted to know more about my Vics.
Guess it depends on the dealer, no different than some Vic dealers.

I think if I went into the dealer today attitudes would definetely be different (I hope). But back then there were people standing in line looking for an HD so I don't really think they wanted to "waste" their time with a probable buyer when there was a sure sale standing behind me.

 

[bikendad]

I've been in a few HD dealers over the past year, they havn't changed a bit.

 

[adamj]

With some going out of business, I am sure the smart ones will Change. The 2 I visited a few times a year in Chicago were always very pleasant and wanted to know more about my Vics.
Guess it depends on the dealer, no different than some Vic dealers.

exactly, my father and i were finishing up a small bike trip last year when we stopped in at Doc's HD in Shawano WI where he made a very impromptu purchase of a heritage, well anyways the salesman was very interested in my jackpot asked a lot of questions and had the opposite of the elitist attitude. I thought it was pretty cool

 

[ZZedmonds]

I come from an auto dealership management and I know the sales game better than most. Selling to me can be painful for the other party if they get on my bad side. I frequently went "trolling" at my local Harley dealer for months before I decided to look at Victory. The arrogance and Slick Willie car salesman like attitudes really turned me off. My Vic dealers were very patient, forthcoming and informative.

As for the comment about it would be nice to buy chrome accessories off the shelf, that may be true but HD is way too proud ($$$) of most of their stuff.

 

[davelau]

Sigh...as most of you know, I'm held captive here in Hawaii. I'd love to ditch my HD right now if there was a Victory dealership in town.
Am I mad at these guys? Well, if itactually costedme money to fix sure but honestly, the damage was done a long time ago. It's just comical right now.
The product is fine. She runs like a dream. I am happy about that aspect of HD ownership. Bottomline, it's the people running (ruining) the show.

 

[sunburstguitar]

There are poorly trained sales and/or service people at some dealerships irrespective of the type: Harley, Victory, Honda etc. One bad rep doesn't speak for all. The kid I bought my Vision 8ball from knew practically nothing about the bike but the parts guy was alot of help. The last Harley I bought the sales guy was great but the Harley finance people - turds.

 

[dsjr70]

As for the comment about it would be nice to buy chrome accessories off the shelf, that may be true but HD is way too proud ($$$) of most of their stuff.

]
I said that To be honest we have all heard the joke that HD stands for Hundred Dollar.... I will bet anyone to go through a Vic catalog and prove any different... Does Vic Motors (VM) stand for $1005 dollars?

 

[randysfishing]

I was looking at the HD Fatboy or the HD rocker and went into two diffrent local dealers.
Nether one would drop the price or budge on it. They both said we dont dothat.Took for ever to get a sales person to even help you.
Not bashing HD as I like them as a company but it seems every time I go into a HD shop it leaves me with a bad taste. The feeling I get is this. They are the one and onlymotorcycle builder and if you dont own a HD you ownnothing as the rest of the bikes arent really bikes and you will be sorry you did not get a HD.
I would also like to take the time thank HD for helping me get my Victory JP because if they cared about thecustomer I would not own a Vic.

 

[mjw930]

When I was shopping last spring, in the height of the recession I asked the salesman at my local dealer (Daytona HD) about the best price he could give me on a Street Glide. He said they would drop the price to MSRP and that was a huge deal because the bikes are so popular and hard to get. As I looked over 5 rows of SG's (50 bikes) I asked, "What do you mean hard to get, you have 50 on the floor and I'll bet another 50 in the warehouse". He asked what I thought a good price was so I said. "$21,000 OTD, tax, tags, everything including the 103" motor kit". He laughed at which point I said I wasn't joking and walked away. 2 days later I bought a Goldwing for $4000 off MSRP.

I went back in there a couple weeks ago and they still had about 30 on the floor and I overheard a deal being done and they are now discounting but still spewing the line about "hard to get".

 

[Gossamer]

like most things in life things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. While I love Victory my first in 99 was a very good deal and my Kingpin in 05 was a steal being a 'leftover'. I paid fair for the Cross Country since I understand dealers have to make money to stay in business.

In a down economy toys lose their value to a certain extent especially the 20k+ toys because by the time they cut production to lower demand there is already an overstock.

 

[Reds3012783]

In my area the HD dealer is my Vic dealer. When I asked them about buying a HD or a Vic. He said "Vic"

So I went and bought a new 08 jackpot.... end of story!

 

[ddawg]

If it wasn't for HD dealers I would have never found Victory. I was looking to buy a Heritage but just had to many issues with the dealers. That was when times were good and they were just blindly selling to anyone that walked through the doors. God forbid you had a question, like "How much does it cost" and their answers (at all the dealers) "Under $250 per month".
If I would have purchased the Heritage my next two bikes would have probably been HD's. I wonder how many other people felt that way.
I will say one thing, I have allot of friends that have HD's and it must be nice to go to a dealer and buy parts that are in stock... Not talking about break down parts, just chrome and stuff.

My 2 sales encounters were similar.
The first ended with the saleman extending his index finger into his nose, fishing around then roling andreleasing his "catch" to the floor. I was up and spinning on my heel as he released.

Holy crap!!! That's disgusting! What a pig!! Good for you - walking out.

 

[Gadget]

Back in ought 8...I was coming off an '03 Victory TC and was really looking hard at an Ultra Classic. I had wanted a Vision but really never thought I could afford one. I went to the major HD dealers in my area and offered (what I thought was reasonable) and in cash money and they might as well laughed me right out the door. I finally got irritated and went by my local Vic dealer (who just happened to offer a test ride) and was immediately sold on the Vision. Went back a while later and offered cash money on an '08 and they thought I was royalty. Got a new one for way under what I had offered for an '08 Ultra. Haven't regretted it once since that first test ride.

 

[bored76]

I was in one of the 2 local HD shops seeing if they knew of any good pin stripers in the city. They were very helpful on that end, but when they asked what I was going to be pin striping (an XR) the sales man changed his tune and figured I was nuts going to a bike with a cast aluminum frame and useing the engine as a stressed member. He did not bash Vic but the way he talked you could tell if it wasn't a normal tube frame, it wouldn't be a good bike. To each their own, but I like thay Vic is thinking outside the box and revolutionalizing the bike industry.

 

[bikendad]

The wife and I have a good friend that is the GM at the local HD dealer. I really tried to buy a bike from him. The problem is when you try to "deal" with them they get this aloof attitude. I couldn't get him to call me back with price on an 09' Ultra Classic demo he had. He said he would call me friday, Saturday came and still no call so I put a deposit down on my XC. He called the following wednesday and was blown away that I bought a Vic! He thought he had me as a captive audience I guess?

 

[aschnelle]

I too want to thank HD for helping me by my Vic XC. Went to my local HD dealer and stood next to the exact bike (Road Glide) that I wanted for almost a half hour... ready to buy... in the middle of the day.... with no other customers in the store... and apparently no salesperson to help or even say hi. I drove across town to the Vic dealer to look at the XC. Didnt have any in stock, but gave me a great walk around on the Vision, and actually said hi within 30 seconds. I test drove the vision, and was immediately sold on thier product. Came back two weeks later and got a great deal on my new XC. THANKS AGAIN HD!!!!