Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
New bikes are golden, no matter how you acquire them.
Do you know how many "Left Nuts" are missing, in lieu of new bikes ?
Yet you have no idea about dealer cost or what a salesman gets paid.
whats your name zookrider, and why would you buy parts from a honda dealer
if you're a zookrider?
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
a good profit is 10% on bikes and maybe 20% on parts but that is all different when it comes to the real world.
some bikes get more and most WAY LESS DUE to supply constraints or overages. mainly its overages unless its Suzuki who seem to have a better knowledge of supply and demand.
parts get about 23% for most brands but are way less depending on price. say a spring get 28% markup a piston might get around 12%. think of it. a piston with a retail of even as high as $50 will only provide the dealer with a gross margin of, well, it pretty bad. doesnt even pay the salary of a parts guy to look it up and ring up the item with the slow pace of customers appearing at dealers these day.
just remember; you local dealer needs to survive with a little extra income in order to provide you with knowledgeable employees, update service staff and maybe, JUST MAYBE, a decent supply of parts on hand so you dont have to wait for you online parts order to arrive from some cut house price whore online store like you know who...
support your local dealer. go into them and lay it all out on the line a make a deal- tell them you want to have them as 'your dealer' but you expect a fair two way deal and that as long as they will try to have what you need when you need it they will get a fair negotiated deal on the bikes.
whats wrong with that?!
Hard parts, are around 30% mark up on the average, but as low as 10%, some accessories are as much as 100% mark up.
I know, because I was the guy buying, receiving, labeling, selling, as well as paying the bills.
However, the question is what's fair on the bike sales...I say suggested retail price, tax, and license. Every dealer should do so.
I then went to a Honda,Kaw dealer and was a service mgr for several years and then went to the parts counter of one of the largest Yamaha dealers in the country.
Even now I will go work for them a few hours a week during the summer hours just to stay involved with them so I do believe I I have a pretty good understanding of how it all works . You say 20% average mark up on parts but the average MSRP book price on parts is 30% to 40%.
Low dollar items can be marked up from 100% to 1000% and the high dollar parts may only be marked up 1%-2% and that runs pretty standard with the big four.
Some dealers do straight dealer retail book pricing other may do retail book + 10% or 15% or what ever they think they can sell it. It is up to the market and they are free to sell at what ever they choose.
One thing I have seen working at shops for over 30 years is that very few stay in business or have the same owner for long periods of time and the ones that have been in business the longest all have the same thing in common. The people at the shops all ride and treat their customers fairly.
I agree with Slow pro on what he thinks pricing should be on bikes, Look at how Harley dealers stuck it to everyone with massive markup OVER MSRP and built these multi million dollar buildings and now with the cooling economy and slowing market they will feel it.
Anyway, I believe that this thread is missing the correct focus. You can always look around for better prices (other shops, big internet shops, ebay, etc.).
If you want to get the best prices, develop a relationship with the shop of your choice. Our local shop has taken care of my family for more than 12 years and through two owners (first one retired). It has been a good relationship for both of us. They treat me quite well with pricing on bikes, ATV's, and parts. For my part, I do my best to present the shop to everyone I know as the place to do business with. When I hear that someone has had a problem with the shop, I go and talk with the owner so he can address the problem. He has gone out of his way to listen and address any problems. When I want to purchase a new bike or ATV, I go see the owner so that I'm not hurting any of the salesmen with a lower commission than they might otherwise get.
If you develop this kind of a relationship, there is no need to worry about how much who is making. In my opinion, this is the way to go.
They sold his trade in and "supposedly" got 4500 out of it thus making 2400 dollars
So with this one customer they sold 12,000 of goods and made 3600 dollars.
That is a 30% profit margin off the whole transaction. Most major corp. report a 30% margin each quarter, is that fair then? Do you think homebuilders are or were making 30% I would guess pretty damn close. So why can't the place, where you probably love going the most make the same?
What kind of percent do you think Fox Racing makes if you buy it direct from them? Probably more like 55% to 60%..........
LOL just looking at your profile, you get upset that I was talking about the shop you work at? And were you at River Valley a couple of weeks ago? I saw the 686 JD bike, gave me a quick chuckle wondering what JD thought as he was passing himself.
There are good dealers and bad dealers..the trick is trying to find a good one....shop around and go with the dealer and price you are comfortable with..
Pit Row
Post a reply to: What's Fair????