[h4re@hotmail.com]

i went to the royal enfield dealership today in san bernardino california. the bullet 500 b5 was listed at $5999.00 USD. after tax, freight charge,set up, doc fee, dmv fee etc, the total came out to $7974.62. the sales man said he would work with me on the price. how much should i be paying for the bike? how much discount can i push for? i am new to buying bikes so i dont know what the range is as im only used to buying cars. i have found that car dealers give huge discounts off the msrp, but i dont know if the same applies to bikes?

[Blltrdr]

I would call some other dealers and see if they will give you pricing.

[walken4life]

I guess I would wonder if the nebulous list of additional costs included the CA state sales tax.  Looks to be 7.5%, which works out to $450.  Do you have a better itemized list?

Maybe someone from California can shed more light on the registration fees, etc., that apply out there.  That being said, it does seem like an awful lot over list price for the final cost.  I would take Blltrdr's advice and get a quote from another California RE dealer.  That should give you the best apples to apples comparison.

Something important to consider also is the dealership's reputation when dealing with RE's.  Do they do a good initial setup, have Service personnel experienced with these bikes, responsive to warranty claims, etc.  If someone else on the forums has dealt with them they could give some valuable insights.  Is it Douglas Motorcycles?  That is the only dealer I see for San Bernadino.  The complete list of California RE dealers can be found here:

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/locator/dealers/usa/states/CALIFORNIA

[barenekd]

Charging sticker price on Enfields is pretty common around here (SoCal). Anything above that is tags, taxes, and shipping. That part is pretty fixed. You could call around to other dealers and see what they are getting, or you would probably be better off stopping at the dealer in person for a deal.
The Enfields don't have the markup that cars do.
Bare

[Blltrdr]

Another thing to think about is the UCE Bullet is designed so it can be sold in all 50 states. You should be able to look in Nevada and Arizona if you are interested in saving some money on the initial purchase. The problem could be servicing at a later time as a California dealer could put you on the back burner if you didn't purchase at their dealership. Many people bought Bullets a few years back from different dealers in different states to save money. If I remember correctly a dealer in Montana was selling new Bullet's between $2700 and $2900 at the time. Man those where the days. Our host ran a deal for quite a while where they would have the bike prepped and delivered to your front door (or as close as possible to your door). Things have changed a bit over the last few years with the UCE Bullet. One of them is the cost! One last suggestion is to look on Craigslist. A dealer here in Washington State has new Bullets listed all the time.

Good Luck Shopping

Brad

[72westie]

I thought California had their own special machine, that's why it took so long to get the CARB approval? I would double check before you bought a new bike out of state and tried to bring it home.

[D the D]

I thought California had their own special machine, that's why it took so long to get the CARB approval? I would double check before you bought a new bike out of state and tried to bring it home.

Yeah, don't the Cali models have a gas burp thingy box on the front of the frame?

[GreenMachine]

Well the enfield is kinda of a bling thing for some...Cali, I would think has huge potential for the new UCE especially if gas prices rise to say 7 a gallon  ...It's hard to imagine a B5  going out the door for 8k..What's the tax rate out there?  Cost to rent a place with a small maint area might be more than alot of areas in the U.S....Is the machine located in a small shop geared towards British Iron. etc or thrown in with other Far East appliances...Hey its California, anything is possible...
D n D is correct about the extra bump thingie.. Actually it use to be u could only import enfields if they were used with a certain amount of miles"" ...Bare would know the specific on that and whether it changed...My bet is if u live in Cali. u got to buy a enfield there or put the thingy on it and have it pass Smog/Fog/ and whatever is required to make it legal..Good luck and welcome to the

[Arizoni]

I own a California model G5.
It does have the extra emission stuff on it including the charcoal fuel tank vent tank, the valves to control it and a sealing screw on gas cap.

These models cost more than the 49 State models because of this.

On the + side, they didn't mess with the computer settings to help with the emission requirements so the engine power and the fuel mileage that can be expected are the same as the other RE's.

As I understand it, there isn't a whole lot of markup on the dealers cost so there isn't much to work with to get the price reduced.

As many of us know, a new RE comes with a spare inner tube, throttle and clutch cable and a can of touch-up paint so getting these things isn't a bonus but, sometimes a dealer will be willing to throw in a luggage rack or crash bars to sweeten the deal.

[h4re@hotmail.com]

here is the breakdown from the dealer for the bullet b5 in california (san bernardino) . the base price i will negotiate with him but please inform me if the other charges are valid.

cost      $5999.00
freight   $695.00
set up   $495.00
doc fee  $55.00
dmv      $152.00
ctf         $3.50
total      $7399.50

8.000% sales tax
total tax $575.12
sub total $7974.62 with tax

[72westie]

I would LOVE to get 495.00 for Set-up.

If I remember correctly, the last one we got in the freight charge to us was under $300.00, but its been a year or so since I have gotten one. They are shipped out of Virginia yet I think, so California is a lot farther away then us here in Ohio.

Doc fee seems around normal, we don't charge the DMV fee's, the customer pays that when they get their own plates/30 tag.

I would call around to some other dealers (In California only though) and see. A longer drive may end up saving some $ in the end.

[rrjung]

I had the same problem in the LA/OC/SB county area.  So, I took the Amtrak down to San Diego and bought mine through Rocket Motors.  It was almost $1000 cheaper.   

[cafeman]

i went to the royal enfield dealership today in san bernardino california. the bullet 500 b5 was listed at $5999.00 USD. after tax, freight charge,set up, doc fee, dmv fee etc, the total came out to $7974.62. the sales man said he would work with me on the price. how much should i be paying for the bike? how much discount can i push for? i am new to buying bikes so i dont know what the range is as im only used to buying cars. i have found that car dealers give huge discounts off the msrp, but i dont know if the same applies to bikes?

Just my opinion, but I would say you can push for as much discount as you can get. Research similar used low mileage bikes for sale, "watch like a hawk" Blasco's www.royalenfields.com site for the countless bikes for sale around the country. Most are listed for months, and the prices come down quite a bit. Don't pay high only to reconsider motorcycles later and have to sell low.......or be stuck with the bike trying to get what nobody will pay for a used bike. The dealer wants a customer like you always.......new to bikes and not as up on things. I say take your time, be indifferent, let them know right up front you are only buying "new" if you can get a great price,  (that msrp is negotiable).....otherwise you let them know you will just buy used. Do some financing work beforehand if that is your route of purchase. And don't buy into their spiel about warranty, service, parts, you don't know the history yadda yadda yadda. You have this site.......YOUR MOST POWERFUL WEAPON!!! There are Enfield experienced people here that will go above and beyond to help you in time of need....unlike any dealer. Read the posts and you will see.  Take your time and be educated. Good luck, they are great bikes......severe fun!!

[LDB]

cost      $5999.00
freight   $695.00
set up   $495.00
doc fee  $55.00
dmv      $152.00
ctf         $3.50
total      $7399.50

8.000% sales tax
total tax $575.12
sub total $7974.62 with tax

Both freight and setup seem too high. Bottom line, they must sell the bike but you are not required to buy the bike. Also, I'd question sales tax on freight and fees. I'd offer
bike $5999
freight $250
setup $200
doc/dmv/ctf $200
tax $480 (based on bike alone)
$7130 out the door, perhaps even less, maybe start with an offer of "I can buy it today for $7000 total or I can leave without it.".

(Obviously with the recent price reduction those numbers change but I'm staying with the original posting)

[Blltrdr]

You might look on craigslist. A dealer here in Washington advertises on there. That bike has to be shipped clear across the country, is that shipping cost of $250 accurate. You have to remember these bikes come in a crate and the dealer has to assemble, set up and test. As far as tax goes, you will pay tax on all costs the dealer accrues and that includes any profit on labor, materials et cetera. So as far as what you are quoting the only thing that might change is the price reduction on the bike itself. You will probably have to shop around a bit.