Good deal?
Let me put it this way. If , you were a dealer. any dealer, not just a Triumph dealer, you'd have built in, fixed overheads. Employees, real estate, benefit packages, workers comp, franchise fees, personal property tax on floor planned vehicles, heat and light, sewer, water and a whole raft of other incidentals. Those have to be covered from the profit gleaned from the sale of new vehicles, the sale of parts and the service department. The funds don't come from the tooth fairy. They come from the customers. The customers are you and me.
Now, you go in and nickle and dime the dealer on the initial sale and then you never go back and purchase anything again because his accessories are too high or his shop rate is too high or you got your panties in a twist over something and you are never going back. Guess what.....without retail sales, he's out of business.
I try to support my local dealer (whichever brand) when I can. My local Triumph dealer went bankrupt and I suspect it was fickle customers that contributed greatly to his demise. I support my local Kawasaki Dealer (KLR).
Some items aren't available at dealers in general. Some brands require dealers not to carry aftermarket accessories or only certain 'approved' accessories. It's all in the way the franchise agreement is written and that's why, in a Harley Shop you only see HD 'approved' accessories or endorsed items because that's the way the franchise agreement is worded.
Not all dealers are created equal...I mentioned that in my 'Baxter Thread' but despite that, I still try to patronize my local dealer(s) whenever I can, and spend money there, so that he can be there in the future.
I happen to know what the markup is on Triumph Motorcycles as stipulated in the Franchise Agreement but I'm not telling. All you need to know is the dealer has the option to either sell the vehicles at the MSRP or deviate from that, but any reduction in sale price tendered to you as the purchaser is subtracted from the price that the dealer pays for the vehicles he consigns from Triumph....or any manufacturer.
If, Triumph authorizes a sale or a reduction in advertised price, the dealer and Triumph will agree in advance what the ratio of dealer contribution is to the rate of manufacturers contribution. It's also advantageous for any dealer to finance a vehicle for a couple of reasons. Like mentioned in a previous post, most lending institutions will (I hate the term kick back) refund a portion of the total note financed, usually a couple percent. It's also profitable for a dealer to offer extended warranties or other special services because, again, he receives a percentage of the sale directly from the outside seller or institution. The dealer really don't want cash other than he can immediately offset the wholesale price of the vehicle, but ultimately he gets the money from the bank or whatever lending vehicle he employs.
Today, everyone is pretty knowledgeable about the price of a vehicle before they go buy one and, it's possible, especially in these difficult economic times, to beat a dealer down to a negligible profit and sometimes even to a negative profit ratio on a vehicle depending on the time of year, amount of like vehicles in stock and the dealers receivables. But remember one thing, the 'deal' you might get, might just seal the 'deal' on that dealer going out of business. Then you have no dealer...like I have.
