Triumphrat

HookEmHorns · 10-30-2007

I know this "dealer" has been brought up before (& I use "dealer" loosely as they could care less about truly being a dealer), but I'm so pi$$ed that I can't see straight. I'm going to rant & ramble, so please just give me a minute & then I'll be fine.

First, I'm TRYING to become a member of the RAT pack for the first time & am truly looking forward to purchasing one of these beautiful & unique TRIUMPH machines. I bought my first bike this summer (2007 Hyosung GV650) to 're-wet' my feet so to speak & re-familiar myself with motorcycles in general. I purchased my bike from a local small-town dealer who sells ATV's at about a 10:1 ratio to motorcycles. No biggie, because I researched the bike & knew that it was what I wanted to get. Because my bike is not a name brand ride, I know that trading it in will be more difficult, but it should not open me up for stupidity, rudeness & disregard from any dealer whom I choose to do business with. Which brings us to today.

I decided I was ready to start looking at the Triumphs & contacted the B'Ham dealer via their website. I made it clear that I wanted to talk a possible trade in & exactly what the bike is. The email response was immediate & what I expected: Sure we have one in stock, the price is $10,399 & we'll have to see the bike before we could give you any kind of trade-in value. Okay, no problem. So, that Saturday, I loaded up my 1 1/2 yo baby girl (SHE LOVES the bike!) in the truck, trailered the bike, & took off on the 90+ mile trip to the dealer. When I got there, I had to approach the salesman (same guy from the emails) & initiate the contact. I told him which bike I wanted & that I was ready to deal. We talked for a minute & he said he remembered me, except this time he quoted me a price of $10,499 + tax, title, license & fees (all total $11,600 or so OTD). I didn't balk about the price, as I expected there to be add-ons, but I did notice he tacked on an extra 100 from the start.

I reminded the salesman about my trade-in & he then informed me that he'd spoken to the owner & was told that they did not want to take my bike in on trade. I kindly told him that that piece of information would have been nice to know BEFORE I loaded up my baby girl & bike & drove all the way up there to see them (I mean he had my phone & email information & could have contacted me at any time). The salesman did apologize for not contacting me, but it seemed as shallow as his drive to make contact with a customer on the floor. After this exchange, I said thanks for nothing & started to leave. He immediately said, "Well...let me take a look at it, see how it looks & I'll talk to the owner."

Showed him the bike, which he said was real clean & well cared for. He asked me what I wanted to get out of it, so I told him I'd like to get around $3,500 - $4,000 on trade (New Bikes are $6200, kbb.com lists trade in @ $3,850). I expected them to come back with about $3k which was really what I was looking to get.

He said he would not be able to talk with the owner & get back to me until Tuesday with any sort of answer. I gave him my contact info, AGAIN, & he said he would call me at 2pm on Tuesday with an answer.

Well, today was Tuesday. 2pm passed, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm...still no call. After riding my bike to work I checked my phone only to find he still had not tried to contact me, so I called him. When he answered, he still did not recognize my name (seems to me that after 3 emails, a personal visit, lack of communication to a potential customer & a promise to the same customer to contact them at a set time, that you'd KNOW who they are). He said he had been too busy to call, but that he'd talked with the owner & all they could give me was $2,500. I promptly said, "Well, I guess you can't help me then. Thank you. Goodbye."

I've contacted MANY different Triumph dealers (Chattanooga, Decatur, Atlanta, Pensacola) & they've all been straight with me. Decatur & Pensacola did not have what I wanted in stock; Atlanta doesn't take trade-ins unless they are name-brand popular or a brand they sell new (honesty); Chattanooga doesn't take trade-ins at all & couldn't be of any help (again, honesty). How hard is it to be HONEST with a customer?!?

I know this is long & rambling & probably sounds trivial, but all I ask for when I'm dealing on a car or bike, or anything, is HONESTY & RESPECT. Don't d!@& me around. So I didn't go blow big $$ on a name brand hd-hondasuzaki for my first bike. That doesn't make me any less of a rider or potential future customer. My bike is my TOY, & the wife says my TOYs have to be paid for in cash. I'd call that a SURE SALE for any dealer, too bad B'ham judges you by what you ride (or don't ride) before you come in the door.

Rant over! Thank you for listening.

SCbonneville · 10-30-2007

Hookem'... trading a bike is always a loosing proposition...especially when it's (and I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful here) an "off brand" or a brand that does not have a well known market presence... I tried to sell a Moto Guzzi for a friend a few years back... not one nibble.... And that a bike that has a brand history... Although not a well known one to the general public...

You might want to try selling the bike on your own via cycletrader.com or ebay...

I would also like to recommend a great dealer over here in South Carolina... I know it's a tote over here but you won't find a more straight up bunch of guys to deal with...

Check out their website: http://www.ridgemotorsports.net/

I'm not sure of the model you're looking for but the price you mentioned leads me to think Speed Triple or Tiger... I will tell you that Jeff has sold off most of his '07 inventory and is waiting on the '08 stuff to arrive.. So he may not have what you're looking for. He's been begging bikes from where ever he can get them!

If you decide to give the guys at Ridge a try, you'll undoubtedly talk to Jeff the owner... Tell him Tom in North Augusta recommended them to you...

Good luck finding a doable deal...

HookEmHorns · 10-30-2007

I agree. Trading anything is 99% of the time a losing proposition. But that doesn't mean I have to like it, or settle for it. $3k trade in is just over a 50% loss on my bike & I think that is more than enough. I know I have an "off-brand", but that doesn't make it a lesser bike either. It still has the remainder of a 2yr UM warranty & could easily be resold for $4k. That would be $1k profit after trade-in.

My biggest gripe is more in the laxidazical (?sp) attitude that I was met with. That's really what's got me so aggrivated.

Thanks for the info on the SC dealer. If all else fails, I may give them a call.

FWIW - I have resigned to the fact that I'm going to just have to sell my bike outright & then go to a dealer which is fine with me. It would have just been easier to trade it in is all.

Shawn · 10-30-2007

Sorry to hear about your difficulties.

Most smaller dealers won't do trades because of the financial challenge it causes. Allow me to explain:

New bikes sit on the floor with a "floorplan" associated in the form of a monthly payment from a financing company. Triumph and the Triumph Distributor are paid upfront by the floorplan company. The payments can start anywhere from 1 month to 6 months or more after the respective bike is delivered to the dealer. I've known some manufacturers to deliver bikes without floorplan costs/contracts at all for the first few months; as an incentive for the dealer to sell the units quickly.

When a new Triumph is sold, part of the dealer's administrative paperwork includes reporting what VIN was sold so that it can be adjusted from the dealer's floorplan.

If the dealer did a trade, then he would have part of the sale tied up in a separate bike and would have to access his own funds in order to pay the the cost of the new bike, which is now owes to the floorplan financing company because he sold the bike.

So regardless of how little he gave you for your trade-in, he would be looking at a financial loss, until he managed to sell your trade-in.

Some Triumph dealers are up-front and offer to sell your used bike on consignment, but won't do trade-ins. Larger dealers who do a lot revenue aren't as concerned about the financials of a single motorcycle sale. Right or wrong, this is why Japanese Brand Dealers regularly take trade-ins. To them, it's all a part of what makes the bottom-line; they are too busy to look at it any other way.

For any dealer, the challenge of providing leadership is as tough as finding good salespeople. The dealer should instruct their salespeople to provide immediate answers on subjects like this and encourage you to consider an alternative deal that includes both you purchasing the new bike, and what they will do to sell your bike on consignment in their shop for you.

That way, you would have been able to take a new bike home, and left the Hyosung at the shop to see if it would have sold. You and the salesperson could have come up with whatever asking price you wanted, and probably would have come away with at least something financially close to what you would have gotten in a trade-deal.

It would have been a longer overall sales cycle that way, but both you and the dealer would have gotten what you wanted. It would have also helped you develop a working relationship with your dealer. There are some times when solutions can be done in moments, and others that take a bit of time and effort.

Again, sorry for your troubles. Hope this helps.

LoVel · 10-31-2007

I've never dealt with the Triumph salesman. I bought mine from the BMW guy. He would treat you much better I'm sure. The messing with you and not telling you the truth has got to come straight from the top or else a who cares attitude because of the way they themselves are treated.

Sorry you had a bad experience.

Shaunlee · 10-31-2007

Shop around. I have been to several Triumph Dealerships and found only a few I would buy a bike from.

Some were OK but wouldn't trade or come off of msrp. Others downright rude, and the worst the ones who waste your time and lie.

Bought my last one from a dealer 180 miles away in the middle of BFE, but it was worth it to be treated with a little respect and to have someone know who you are when you visit.

Baltobonneville · 11-13-2007

Some dealers are less motivated to sell if you make it clear that you intend to pay up front for the bike (cash or financing separate from the dealership).

One would think that it would be the other way around, but not anymore. They earn commissions from the financing, generally designed with interest rates for 20-somethings with no or negative credit records.

Tri-oomph! · 11-21-2007

Hey Hook,

I don't know if this would work or not, but if you're willing to take 3k, perhaps the Hyosung dealer might be willing to buy it back outright. If, as you say, he could sell it for well over 4k, it might be a possibility. Not sure, but worth a phone call.

ELewis · 11-22-2007

Some small dealers often can't afford to take in trades or don't have the room for trade-ins. I know this is the case with Augusta Triumph/Ducati. I also know that Tom will put the bike on the floor (if he has room) and try to sell a bike for a customer by posting it on his websites and/or trying to match it with another customer. He's done this with what he sells and has also done it with other types of bikes. Now isn't a good time to try to put a bike on the floor because 2008 models are coming in, but I know he'd work with anyone interested in buying a bike to sell what they have. Contact Tom and ask him. I've always known him to work with his customers.

www.augustatriumphducati.com

LongRoadHome · 11-22-2007

I'm always amazed at the most basic lack of salesmanship at the majority of dealers I visit, including the big, shiny high-dollar stores. I'm not talking "slick" techniques, just basic good business practices--tell the truth, do what you say; say what you do, basic courtesy, treat each person with respect knowing each person is a potential buyer at some point in life, no matter what their circumstances are at the moment.

I'd try to sell it myself, given it's not a "top" tier bike (neither are Triumphs in the big scheme of things). I'd try cycletrader.com. I got much better quality of prospects through cycletrader than I did through craigslist. Still, I'd list in craigslist and every Hyosung forum I could find. Any bike I'm interested in, I'll always check the forums for that bike.

Good luck.