• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Paying with Check @ dealership: OK to ask for discount?

motobecane10 said:
Here's my thoughts on any buisness wanting to defer the CC fee to the consumer...absolute total :bs they want to offer CC services as a way for the consumer to do buisness with them then accept whatever fees accompany them instead of passing it along to the buyer
Click to expand...

If a merchant passes the credit card fees to a consumer, they are in violation of California law and their agreement with Visa/Mastercard. Report 'em here:

Mastercard:
http://www.mastercard.us/support/merchant-violations.html

Visa:
https://usa.visa.com/checkoutfees/contact.jsp
 
fast4d said:
talked to someone who just bought a zx10r through the costco program. multiple dealers referred to would not sell at club price. he had to get kawasaki to beat them into submission. that program works IF the bike you want is not a seller.
Click to expand...

It's probably in their contract with Kawasaki to be a dealer that they have to honor the costco deal.. so like you said, you should be able to "get kawasaki to beat them into submission".
 
Cahvus said:
$800 in freight/setup fees due to the bike being a 300cc (100-250 are $600, 251-800 are $800).
Click to expand...

Um..... NO.

First of all, as already said, freight is part of the dealers overhead. That is a cost that should be absorbed into the 17% or so profit MSRP gives them.

Secondly, dealers get their bikes by the truckload. They probably pay around $50 in actual freight charges, and another $20 to the Lot Dude that takes the cardboard off, and sticks the front wheel on.
 
Or you could pay a little more and develop a good longterm relationship with the shop. That 300 Ninja is a new model that is, IMHO, going to sell out fast.

Do comparison shop, but if it's +\- 3% out the door why beat on the dealership? I don't mind paying more for my motos and gear at a local retailer. It's damn well worth it to have a good dealership around.

/rant
 
cynner said:
If a merchant passes the credit card fees to a consumer, they are in violation of California law and their agreement with Visa/Mastercard.
Click to expand...

That used to be the case, but there was an antitrust settlement recently which allows merchants to pass on those fees to buyers. Looks like the settlement hasn't been finalized though.

"Before the settlement, retailers weren't allowed to add an additional fee to cover the cost of processing credit cards. That means consumers—whether they paid with credit, debit, or cash—had that swipe fee integrated into the goods and services they purchased. Retailers argue that with the ability to apply a surcharge to just credit card users now, they can charge only those who are using the more expensive payment method instead of dinging all consumers with an extra 2 to 3 percent fee."

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...s-swipe-victory-in-credit-card-fee-settlement

And...

"Ten out of the 19 retailers and trade groups that are parties to the class-action lawsuit against the credit card companies say they're trying to block the deal because they believe it would allow the credit card industry to continue to take advantage of merchants and their customers while stopping competition."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/swipe-fee-settlement-retailers-block-deal_n_1961412.html
 
Looking for new old-stock gets you some pretty sweet deals. I just recently bought my new 2010 Aprilia for several thousand less than MSRP - out-the-door.

Of course, this doesn't help much if you're looking a brand-spanking new model...
 
rodr said:
I've heard that before, but how do gas stations get away with charging more for credit vs. cash?
Click to expand...

They give you a discount for paying cash. I know it's the same thing as charging a premium for credit, but it is technically different.
 
Cahvus said:
Was it inappropriate to ask that? Are the in house dealerships in such a bad spot with the economy that they need all the help they can get?
Click to expand...

Depending on who you were talking to, they might have been incentivized to hit a certain sales target. They would probably see your offer as a 1% loss in their commission if they get paid on the total cost of the transaction rather than net profit.
 
Mustn65 said:
That used to be the case, but there was an antitrust settlement recently which allows merchants to pass on those fees to buyers. Looks like the settlement hasn't been finalized though.

"Before the settlement, retailers weren't allowed to add an additional fee to cover the cost of processing credit cards. That means consumers—whether they paid with credit, debit, or cash—had that swipe fee integrated into the goods and services they purchased. Retailers argue that with the ability to apply a surcharge to just credit card users now, they can charge only those who are using the more expensive payment method instead of dinging all consumers with an extra 2 to 3 percent fee."

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...s-swipe-victory-in-credit-card-fee-settlement

And...

"Ten out of the 19 retailers and trade groups that are parties to the class-action lawsuit against the credit card companies say they're trying to block the deal because they believe it would allow the credit card industry to continue to take advantage of merchants and their customers while stopping competition."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/swipe-fee-settlement-retailers-block-deal_n_1961412.html
Click to expand...

Another good example of this is Arco stations. You can't pay with a credit card, only cash or debit cards. No fees for using a debit card, though.
 
Kornholio said:
Another good example of this is Arco stations. You can't pay with a credit card, only cash or debit cards. No fees for using a debit card, though.
Click to expand...

Arco stations definitely charges a fee for debit card use. It's about 50 cents at the arco near my house. I've been to others that do as well.
 
aram said:
It's probably in their contract with Kawasaki to be a dealer that they have to honor the costco deal.. so like you said, you should be able to "get kawasaki to beat them into submission".
Click to expand...

I think it's just "participating dealers". If they agreed to participate then they need to honor that.

By the way, stories about "selling out" and "high demand" and "freight fees" are all pretty much irrelevant. The reasons and subtotals that go into a dealer's willingness to sell at a given price are really not your concern. You make an offer, they accept or refuse or counteroffer. When they go on about blah blah blah and their costs it's a waste of time and a distraction.
 
radvas said:
Arco stations definitely charges a fee for debit card use. It's about 50 cents at the arco near my house. I've been to others that do as well.
Click to expand...

If I ever saw them do that to me, I'd stop using them. So far so good. :dunno YMMV
 
Tydive said:
Or you could pay a little more and develop a good longterm relationship with the shop. That 300 Ninja is a new model that is, IMHO, going to sell out fast.
Click to expand...

Overpaying establishes a good longterm relationship? Sure, they know they've got a sucker and they want a 'good longterm' relationship with suckers. Pay as little as you can, and if you like the dealer maybe buy a 2nd bike from them in the future and/or patronize them for service as long as they're not price gouging for service. That sounds like relationship development to me.

But for a big 4 sportbike, who cares? I bought both my bikes brand new from the same dealer and got a decent deal but have no loyalty to go there first next time I buy a new bike(which I have no foreseeable plans on anyway)
 
Last edited:
Stormdragon said:
Um..... NO.

First of all, as already said, freight is part of the dealers overhead. That is a cost that should be absorbed into the 17% or so profit MSRP gives them.

Secondly, dealers get their bikes by the truckload. They probably pay around $50 in actual freight charges, and another $20 to the Lot Dude that takes the cardboard off, and sticks the front wheel on.
Click to expand...

17%? :wtf That must be a motorcycle thing because I know for damn sure my F-150 didn't have a 17% gap between the invoice and the MSRP. There was MAYBE $2000 tops. At with a $32,000 truck, $2000 ain't exactly a lot...only about 6%. It's well known that auto dealers don't make shit from sales. They make it from service/parts.
 
Last edited:
Cahvus said:
Any idea how much of a discount it is? I don't have a club card right now but the biggest expense on buying from the local dealer is the $800 in freight/setup fees due to the bike being a 300cc (100-250 are $600, 251-800 are $800).
Click to expand...
Walk away from that dealer
 
fast4d said:
costco gives you a OTD price and sends you to a dealer.
Click to expand...

I don't know how it works for m/c's but it looks like the same online form for the m/c program as for cars. They don't give you the price for cars - they give you the dealers contact info (and give your contact info to the dealer) and then you need to go talk to them to get the price. Over the summer they were offering a costco gift card and 20% off gear/accesories if you bought a bike. Not sure if that's still going on or not.

costco email said:
Promotion cannot be combined with any other offer. Members must purchase through a participating dealership and be a current Costco member to be eligible for the promotion. Subject to stock and availability.
Click to expand...

OP: good luck with you purchase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top