Is the VFR1200 Dead in the United States?

Vfr 1200

Reg
I found one on ADV for sale at $7800 I will PM you the details

 

There is one left at my local dealer. It's a brand new 2012 (TC, newer seat, better mapping, additional fuel load) for $10,999. Al Lambs Honda in Dallas.

 

Holy crap!!! If Dallas wasn't so freaking far away I'd probably buy that one myself! Somebody here needs to snap that deal up! There you go Reg, it ain't gonna get any better than that!

 

Before y'all start circle jerking about the quoted price of a brand new bike, what you should be looking for is the OTD price.

 

Exactly, when I was looking I found brand new 2012's for $9,999, with about $2K in dealer fees added on, then taxes. Still a good deal but I hated being baited in like that.

 

A valid point, but I've dealt with this dealer before for online purchases and found them to be excellent to deal with. IOW, I don't think they're shady crooks, but I've never bought an actual bike from them, just riding gear.

 

Next we will be hearing from the dudes here who work for dealerships saying their dealerships charge much less than two grand.
$1999.99 is less than two grand.

This of course does include the crate disposal fee, tire air, rental fee for an empty gas can needed because ya ran out of gas before making it to the nearest gas station and two bucks to use the john.

 

Kind of like the outfit associated with Amazon that has the DuPont chain lube and cleaner for fifteen bucks and change and another fifteen bucks and change to ship the stuff?

I will have to defer to either Andy Goldfine or Randy about riding gear.

BB's Axiom of the day: If ya don't ask, ya get got.

 

I did get a quote from Al Lamb's sister store, DFW Honda, when they had 2012 advertised for $9999. OTD was $12.1k, which includes TTL (me being TX resident) so if you're out of state, you could knock about a grand off that.

I also stopped by Al Lamb's last month when I had to drive up to Dallas. As expected, OTD was 1k more this time. I wasn't there to buy, so I didn't try if they'd go lower.

If I don't already have the '10, I would have pulled the trigger on the DFW Honda deal. As is, I'm not interested in sinking $4-5k just for TC. I'll wait till Honda sh!tcans the VFR1200 in the USA all together and scoop up one at the inevitable clearance price.

 

OTD is the real price of any bike except maybe a Harley..they sometimes don't get that far..

Lived in Houston for several years way back.. A grand to title a bike? Or is that what the dealer is stickin folks for?

My rides are now all titled in Ogeron.. Best recollection was about thirty bucks a pop. Licensing for two years about 50 bucks.

Hope you didn't vote for ol Rick.. LOL

 

Bought mine there in Feb, 2010 demo for $9999 + TTL. There was a few hundred in fees but not much and at the price I got it for they wouldn't budge.

My salesman that I know up there said they got in 4 recently and each went to out of state buyers since they are dealing on them so hard. I highly doubt people would be flying in or crate shipping them if they were robbing on the setup fees.

At any rate was just trying to help someone out.

 

In TX, the largest part of TT&L (Tax Title and License) is 6.25% excise (sales) tax, IIRC. Then there is Title application fee, license plate & registration , etc. After that, annual registration renewal is usually some $40-45 /yr /vehicle. I've lived in states that charge a lot more, so I'm not gonna complaint.

The deals are what they are. They advertise, you inquire. Deal good, you buy; deal no good, you no buy. No sure what need is there for speculation and innuendos. All cornerexit did was to post up a pretty nice deal, for those who might be looking for one. Any buyer then is on his own to make a deal.

Me? I am a ready cash buyer and I let the seller know. I just bought a '13 Speed Triple R, and the negotiation with my local dealer took all of 20mins, tops. To me, you need 2 things to get a good deal - research and patience. Like for the VFR1200, I do my research up front and monitor for good deals. Once you find one, sometimes you have to pounce fast, or else you snooze you lose. Other times, you let it brew and take a chance that buyer might get impatient and need to sell pronto.

An "unpopular" bike like the VFR1200 is ripe for a killer deal. I done bought 10 bikes in less than 3yrs and sometimes the thrill of the hunt is more fun than owning and riding them. :smile:

I hope some day they'll make ebay/Craigslist hunting an Olympic Sport.:biggrin:

 

Part of shopping for big ticket items is doing homework. Dealers are in business to make as much as they possibly can from a sale of every bike that goes OTD. All those fees including tax, excise or otherwise are fixed and if you walk in to the lions den, Mr. Lion is gonna bite you in the ass while the salesdude is still calling you Bwana.

Cash does talk in private sales. Dealers are not all that impressed though they may look like it when you flash your roll. The time to start talking cash is after the OTD price is in B&W and the friendly salesdude thinks he has the deal sewed up with a nice down payment and financing through one of the friendly dealers even more friendly finance outfits. Buying from a dealer is a strategy. They have the tactics down pat. To even begin to think you know more about bike sales than some dealership and that what they tell you (verbally) is the gospel makes me wonder how many bridges and ignition frambulators you have. Dude...mullets ain't just haircuts..


I can't say I have ever bought that many bikes in such a short span of time but I can say I have sold many more than ten in less time even working part time at a dealership in Houston while in school. To wit: San Jacinto JC, Alvin JC, UofH and Rice.

Tons of how to's on the net when making vehicle purchases. Vehicles for sale by dealerships unless they are consignments by owners are the property of the dealership just like a ten lb. sack of spuds at the supermarket. An analogy would be that the longer the product sits, the less it's value.

Basic stuff? You ain't got a deal until you see it in black and white with both signatures and the dealer is sniffing exhaust as you ride OTD.

 

The car salesman in you sure is doing the talking, but doesn't impress. Play all the games you want, but a smart shopper knows he holds the ultimate upper hand as long as the money stays inhis pocket. You're right that nothing matter except the OTD price. That cuts both ways. Buyer don't agree on that price, dealer make NOTHING. I've walked out on salesman ready to pop a vein. To fricking bad!

I always tell salespeople I dont wat to waste their time any more than they want to waste mine. Those that appreciate it bears a good chance of earning my bidness. Those that don't... don't.

 

That's two unsolicited testimonials for this dealer (one from across the country). Reg, I doubt you're gonna find a better deal than this one. If you're serious about getting on a 12, this certainly merits further investigation on your part. Just make sure you do your due diligence...heaven forbid we have to hear "I told you so" from a certain someone.

 

Nope, never sold cars. Bikes. The dealer at the time was a Triumph and Suzuki dealer. The same dealership is now the HD dealership in Houston. Stubbs.. Jerry died years ago.

Again there are about ten basic scenarios that the "smart shoppers" try to use on the pro salesdudes. The first ones to get kicked under the bus are the tire kickers and dudes that spend a good part of any Saturday hanging around dealerships trying to impress themselves they know the game better than the guys on the home field.

The point is, that they have most of the angles figured before you hit the edge of the shark tank.

 

Heaven? LOL Dealerships are more in the opposite direction..

 

Unless of course they just happen to be an honest dealer with no angles who make their money in volume thanks to a good reputation. I've worked at car and bike dealers. They're not all honest, but honest ones do exist.

 

I've been to Stubbs, near Hobby, and Stubbs 59 a couple of times when I was first looking at the VFR1200. I believe both stores still have a red '10 on the floor - going on 3-4yrs now. Neither will budge on the price, $12.5k IIRC and that's before TT&L. I was talking to a salesguy there (now works in parts) that's cool guy that frequents a local moto forums here. Even he admitted they are probably gonna keep those turkeys forever. Other dealers dump their slow sellers, whatever it takes, to clear out stale inventory that's tying up books and floor space, to make room for hot sellers. Apparently not Stubbs. They probably make so much money at the glitzy Hardley store next door they just don't care about the metric poor house.

I get my state inspection done at the 59 store a couple of times a year. While I'm waiting, walking around their sales floor is just down right depressing. Just a gaggle of saleschumps sitting around watching TV. There are plenty of other shark tanks in town that are much more fun to fish at.

 

The part of the negotiating experience where you've gotten down to numbers and then you throw out the old, well, how much for cash? That may only show that your a serious buyer. I was at a boat show with a with a friend that used that line and the sales guy told him that he would rather finance him as they got a spiff from the finance company to do so. That had never crossed my mind before that.
John