[Roland]

What can i expect to pay for a 2008 classic with the new avl engine.  my dealer says prices have gone up because of the dollars weakness and has to call and find out what to charge.  Is this B.S.?  after all, the price is on the website isnt it?

[REpozer]

The MSRP is $5000 on the web. I was quoted yesterday for a new AVL classic out the door for $6100. That apartrently is MSRP plus set up ,destnation charge, who knows undercoating and fabric protecter. I was a little taken back. Its making me rethink my budget and look at used and back to Japco.Needless to say I am disapionted.

[ridgerunner]

I bought my 08 Bullet Classic with the AVL in BRG for $5964 out the door including the springer seat front and back.

[Kevin Mahoney]

The prices on the web are MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price), by law we are not allowed to dictate what dealers can charge. Freight is a very real charge that the dealer pays on top of his price. It can vary between $150-$700 or so depending upon where they are located. The bikes are warehoused near Norfolk and they ship from there. So for example Vince and the guys on the West Coast get hit the worst. It gets more expensive every time we go online to get a quote with fuel prices what they are.

Set-up and prep are also very real costs as there is some set-up involved. A good dealer will spend a fair amount of time doing this.

I can't tell any of you what to do, but each dealer has his own pricing structure. The bikes are in demand and most dealers don't discount too much unless they have a old model on the floor or are trying to clear last years models. We have sold more bikes this year than ever before and will probably run short in a month until some more come in. Dealers have plenty on their floors, but my point is that I would be suspicious of deep discounts especially this time of year.

Lastly you can get the best price by showing up in person and demonstrating that you are serious about buying if you and the dealer can reach an agreement. Nothing wrong with shopping on the phone, but every dealer knows that he will never have a better customer than the one right in front of him in person.

As an aside here is a good story about excessive Enfield shopping. A customer drove  about 1,000 miles and bypassed a good local dealer to save a few hundred dollars on a "close out". He showed up with a small car, no truck, no trailer. After he tool delivery he took the bike back to his hotel where he proceeded to take it apart so that he could get it in the trunk and back seat of his car. We would have never been the wiser except that the clerk at the hotel thought someone was stealing the bike and called the police. They came and filed a report and called the dealership for verification. End of story..........not
About a month later we got a call from the customer who was having trouble getting his bike running. He has tried his local dealer who he bypassed initially and the dealer told him that he would be happy to help him, but wasn't going to file a warranty claim for putting it back together. (You guessed right if you thought the guy didn't have any mechanical skills). He told us that he had "loosened the handlebars". At any rate he is on the road now and paid much more than if he has stayed at home. There is nothing more valuable than a good relationship with a good local dealer. You need to eat and so does he.

[REpozer]

Thanks Kev for clearing that up.  No undercoating this time

[ridgerunner]

My personal opinion is that the RE is a good bike at a good price. Certainly there are other bikes one can buy for the price. There are a ton of used bikes at or below the RE MSRP and a few new ones in the same ballpark. I looked at the RE as the opportunity to buy an antique bike I didn't have to restore. The upkeep and maintenance is much like keeping an old bike running. If that's not what you're looking for, I would look elsewhere. If the classics in Walneck's makes you drool but you don't have the time expertise and truckloads of patience and money to restore some basket case.... welcome! You can basically buy a frame up resto of a 1955 Brit legend for under $6k. What a deal! On top of that, you can make it just about anything you want with the help of our host, CMW.

[REpozer]

Ridgerunner, Thanks for bringing back to reality. I got a little frustrated after getting a $1000 quote above what I thought these bikes were going for.This throws a monkey wrench in my budget planning.
I can remember doing 1/2 day of hard yard work in the hot sun for an elderly man when I was 13 and not asking about payment till I was done. He gave me about $1.25, and he thought he was paying right. I politely took my payment and never returned. Looks like I'm getting old.

[LJRead]

Having a new bike now, after having a pretty beat up old one, with bikes, I'd definitely go new, especially since AVL Classics aren't going to be found much in used.  With cars it is different, and I would always go for a good used one, but with bikes, too much may not be right, and better to start with a clean slate.  I'm that way with outboard motors, too - you just don't normally know what one has been through - although there are exceptions.

Then, once I had a nice, new bike, I would look after it well - never being satisfied with half-assed work on it, whether mine or someone else's.

My tendency is to think too much about initial cost, and not always get exactly what I want - then, when I do get something satisfying, I quickly forget the extra cost. 

An R E can be a new outlook on life, and well worth the money.  I would look at it as a long-termed investment, and keep it that way.

[REpozer]

I appreciate your advice, I ve  done well with used cars and even put together an outboard(not the eng,good compression).I like old technology and the term "time tested",this is what attracted me to these bikes.Its been a few years since I bought new.

[LJRead]

In thinking about the cost of bikes there I did a bit of figuring.  If I were to buy a $6,000 Classic AVL and have it shipped and pay duty here in the S. Pacific,  the final price would be right around $11,000.  Since i rarely have much savings, I would have to borrow, and bank rates here run at around 20% by the time all the added fees and costs are included.  Simply stated, I wouldn't be able to afford it.

My wife phoned last night and she talked about how easy things are there in the U.S. where she is temporarily staying. She phones me and gets a half hour on a five dollar phone card, if I phone her, I get about ten minutes talking time for the same amount.  I have lived here so long, I forget how easy certain things in life can be, like just buying parts, getting low cost loans, or even bikes themselves.  Because of marketing factors there, nearly everything is done to make it easy to buy and maintain.  Count your blessings folks!!!

LJ

[REpozer]

LJ, Right now I am looking at about $500 worth of shipping  in addition to what ever the bike will cost out the door.I am waiting on a shipper for another quote.  I don,t have it as tuff as you, but I do live on an island.

[scoTTy]

2007 REx cost me 4800$..

[PaulF]

2008 AVL Deluxe was $5,195, but I opted for some dealer-installed goodies - solo springer, Dunstall exhaust and K&N set up. After shipping, tax and the extras, $6,195. About what I expected.

[REpozer]

A few years ago a coworker was showing me his late sixties 2-door Ford hot rod he was working on. He wanted to add this and that to make it more cool. I shared a few thoughts on how to save $50 here and $100 there . But heres what it boils down to. Hot roding, biking is only fun if you can use your mind and hands and stay withinbudget. No one has a bottomless pit of money.
 RE makes some of the best looking machines I've ever seen ,and I enjoy the folks who make this site work. As prices keep going up I'll have to opt out at some point. As of today to get a stock AVL to my door it will be about $6700. Again I will make a few more phone calls to see if I can do better.

[shrugger]

I just yesterday, paid in full for my 08 classic AVL. When it was all said and done. The
damage came to $5,762.08
I live in Columbus, Ohio so shipping wasn't entirely hidious.
They've had it since last Friday, but it recieved some minor damage in route
somewhere between India and Ohio 
I do hope to have it by Friday though for this coming Memorial day weekend.

[PaulF]

That's a good point. When I saw mine on the showroom floor, they had just finished assembly and had not yet started it. Good thing too, because the oil line was damaged and had been crimped shut. They didn't see it. They would have started it and starved the cylinder head.

Give them a good inspection.

[calman28556]

Mine, with a sidecar, was $8,300.00 OTD in NC.

Cal

[catastrophe]

Well to all my dealer in Delaware was awesome. the sale was done over the phone, he broke the ride in and delivered it to my door in Maryland for 4995 with temp tags.

[blueberry]

Not a classic, but an 08 Electra in 08 was $6,000.00 OTD. $5,400.00 + tax, tag +title. I respect a dealer and know he needs to make $.  I am willing to let him make a fair to both sides profit.. He also gave me spare cables, tubes, tire irons, and a few factory tools. I also received 45 mins. of instruction on the way to check fluids and what to use, and break in procedures.