Growing inpatient with my dealership...where's my new Trike?

[JohnC]

Hey folks,

I need to vent.

I’ve had a $10,000 cash deposit down on a black / blue TriGlide for over a month now. I’ve been in my local dealership weekly asking when the bike will ship. All along I’ve been told 17-Aug. I’ve also asked when I can get a VIN number so that I can shop for insurance. Again, I’ve been told I should know a few days before the bike ships.

It is now past the shipping date and no one there can tell me when the bike will ship and what the VIN number might be. I have grown inpatient, not with the fact that the bike isn’t here yet, but with the fact that it seems no one at the dealership is trying to be proactive in an attempt to find out what’s going on. They claim they are at the mercy of their computer systems.

Are there shipping delays? Manufacturing delays?

I'm about ready to get my deposit back and look elsewhere.

Anybody have any suggestions?

[Bikerbozo]

They should have an exact VIN for you that they can track on their computer. I would go in to talk to the owner. I delt with a sleazy HD salesman years ago. Kept making up one story after another. They lost my business for years until he was gone (I eventually got bike. It actually came down to their finally getting a VIN for me and me walking through their warehouse looking for it).
For my Tri-Glide, at same dealership, I sat in owners office. He called another dealer while I sat there. He made a trade for the exact color/model/year I requested and trike was there 4 days later.

[Ironhorsepilot]

I went through the same thing when I was waiting for mine. All I can say is.....I feel for you. But I wouldn't give up just yet. Mine was delayed for almost two months, but I did finally get it. My problem was it was the 09 and they made very few of them, I think only 2500 and they were being rationed out to dealerships. Remember, the 2012's have only been out about a month!

[TaylorMcStrat]

I went through the same ordeal. I got the first '12 TriGlide to cross the dealer's threshhold. I had ordered it back in June, and they originally told me it would ship 7 July. It didn't. I eventually got it three weeks later. If you take your money elsewhere, you may have the same problem and an even longer delay depending on how many have pre-sold at the new dealer.

For some reason, they simply don't or can't track the trikes. I have heard various reasons for this as I checked with a couple other dealers where my friends had contacts. It seems they have a multi-site assembly process for the trikes, and basically, the dealer has to wait for the darn thing to actually show up to get all the info.

Mine arrived on a Thursday while I just happend to be at the dealer, and I took pics of it sitting on the dock covered with its shipping protection, no windscreen, etc. I snapped a photo of the shipping document taped to the fairing that had the VIN, went home, called the insurance folks, and got everything set up. I picked it up the next Sunday.

It took them a few days to get mine ready as they had to install the Kuryakyn Perfect Storm kit, the fairing-mounted GPS, and a seat backrest in addition to normal prep. I called them on Saturday to ask about one more item, and the service guy said he was planning to deliver the following Tuesday, not Sunday as my salesman had said. So I went over, chatted with the service manager, the sales manager, and my salesman and closed the communication loop so it would be ready Sunday as promised.

Instead of pounding on the saleman's desk and threatening to take my business elsewhere, I used the time to build a personal relationship with my salesman, the service manager, and even the dealership owner. I now even have a dedicated service technician in the shop who is the only one allowed to wrench on my trike. Now when I go to the dealership, I get discounts, hugs, and high-fives. I am happy I used the short delay to do this, as this is my first Harley purchase. Even the parts guys call me by name and ask how they can help me.

Throughout the process, my salesman was respectful and open with me. He never made up stories to make me feel better, but he simply couldn't give me an exact date for delivery. Once I accepted that, everything went smoothly. I just had to be patient. Now it's here, and I love it. You will, too.

[O'le Guy]

I read on another board that they are having some problems at the factory. All bikes are on hold for only God knows how long.

[bullet 10]

JohnC look in your Hog map for YEAGERS HD SALES IN SEDALIA, MISSOURI, phone # was by there yesterday and they just got in a Big Blue/black Triglide.

[mastergunz]

I got my blue/black Tri Glide 2 weeks ago and there is another one on the floor in Orange Va

[msocko3]

Hey folks,

I need to vent.

I’ve had a $10,000 cash deposit down on a black / blue TriGlide for over a month now. I’ve been in my local dealership weekly asking when the bike will ship. All along I’ve been told 17-Aug. I’ve also asked when I can get a VIN number so that I can shop for insurance. Again, I’ve been told I should know a few days before the bike ships.

It is now past the shipping date and no one there can tell me when the bike will ship and what the VIN number might be. I have grown inpatient, not with the fact that the bike isn’t here yet, but with the fact that it seems no one at the dealership is trying to be proactive in an attempt to find out what’s going on. They claim they are at the mercy of their computer systems.

Are there shipping delays? Manufacturing delays?

I'm about ready to get my deposit back and look elsewhere.

Anybody have any suggestions?

It sounds like they are speaking the truth, HDnet seems to rule everything they do. When I ordered my 10 I was able to keep track of things because the sales man was excellent and let me see what information they had available on the computer and explained what they could do. At the time the front part of the trike was assembled in York PA and then shipped to SD for final assembly at Lehman, we where able to track it on their computer. Since they now do all the assembly in house it is done in York Pa. The vin didn't show up on the computer until it was through final production and on its way to the dealer. You can either kick back and wait, do some shopping at other dealers or see if your dealer can work out a dealer trade for what you want.

[iaff84]

Seems that the Tri-Glides are popular. Remember when you placed an order for a bike and waited a year or when someone else's came in and they did not want it they went down the list of others with orders and offered it to them? When you went to dealers and showrooms only had used and few to no new bikes. Was a pain, but your bike held its value if you were willing to sell it. A lot of dealers, my own local one included, knew they had a product in demand and full list was the starting point and it went up from there. Now, dealers seem to have new stock to sale, several in each model except the T-Glides. I have only been to two dealers that had two on floor for sale and most just say they roll out the door as soon as they arrive.

I also tried walking into a dealer with a roll of cash, hoping that maybe cash still talked, never worked, they get the bike you want, when they get them and as far as Tri-Glides now, they are not worried about missing a sale, it will sell quick anyway. On the bright side, maybe our T-Glides will hold their value better than other model Harleys. Except in my case, I seem to put too many miles on my bikes and most folks shy away from ones with more than a few thousand miles per year on them. Go figure!!?? I feel your frustration, been there done that, hang in there, worth the wait IMHO.

In this case, your dealer is at the mercy of Mother Harley. Maybe the dealer you are dealing at has less selling power than others and is always at the end of line for orders, who knows.
Dennis

[JohnC]

Thanks everyone. Like I said in my original post, I just had to vent.

Again, it's not the wait that's pi55ing me off, it's the fact that the dealer doesn't seem to care. It looks to me that they couldn't care less if I cancel my order; they know they'll sell the TriGlide to someone else in a heart beat. So why should they take the time to try and figure out where the bike is?

I'm just gonna hang unless I find one a little closer (within 2 hours); thanks to those of you suggesting places I could call. Hopefully the bike gets here soon and before the riding season is over.

[1550vt]

John.....unfortunately, you may as well get use to being frustrated with Dealers. There are some very good ones and then there are those that could seem to care less. If this one doesn't work out...I hope you find a good one. I think I have been in just about every dealership across the lower 48 and a great number of of them just want to sell you some cheap clothes at a high price, but that's about it. I drive an extra 20-miles to the one I use as opposed to the one that's closer. Good Luck!