Test Ride and Sticker Shock
I was staring at my phone (as one does) looking at motorcycles for sale, when I came across an ad for one that captured my attention – a brand new 2021 Honda CRF 300L Rally for $5249! I quickly brought this to Angela’s attention, and we immediately agreed that at that price it would be worth buying the bike to try it out. After all, we had failed to this point in finding one to test ride, but for that price we could buy it, ride it and then sell it, and if we took a small loss we’d chalk it up to the cost of research.
We contacted the person who listed the bike for sale, and learned that it was new on a dealership floor. So, we arranged to go and see immediately, with the expectation that we would be purchasing this bike.
We arrived, and discovered a few things. First, the bike on the floor had ABS; the guy who had listed it said it did not have ABS. Second, the price it was listed at online was wrong – instead of $5249, the price was actually $6249. Ouch!
The bike was not available to be ridden – the dealership said they don’t do test rides. Fortunately, they had a 2015 CRF 250L on the lot for sale, but it was the dealership owner who had to approve a test ride on that bike. We assured him that the test ride would be what sealed the deal, so to speak – it would confirm for us whether we would be making a purchase.
Angela and I took turns riding it up the street a few blocks and back. Now, I realize there is a difference between the 2015 and 2021 models, so this test ride would only get us into the ball park. I’ll admit, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s one thing to read about how others have taken this machine around the world, and quite another to actually ride it and get a feel for it. It was far peppier than I expected for just two dozen horses. But, the test ride introduced another decision point – do we buy the new bike, or do we buy the used bike?
We had arrived at the decision that it would be worth getting one of these bikes and testing it out long term, but which one – the new bike or the used one? I mean, liking what we experienced over 10 minutes doesn’t automatically confirm that this bike will be a satisfying steed for the long haul. We stood and debated the merits of buying the older bike and riding it over the next 6 months. That trial period would settle the debate for sure. Then, we could sell that bike and purchase two new Hondas, or stick with the Teneres.
We asked the sales guy to write up both bikes with the total out-the-door cost and email it to us to review, with the promise that we’d have an answer for him the next day. Then we received the email.
I’m still reeling. The bike I saw advertised at $5249 had an all-in price of $8833.51! Okay, so maybe I haven’t purchased a new (or any) vehicle from a dealership since 2005. Maybe that sort of lift is “normal”; I get there will be taxes and a registration fee, so I expected that. But then there is a flat $399 documentation fee to cover the cost of preparing and filing the sales contract and other paperwork. I’m not sure how a dealership sale differs from a private sale, but I’m quite certain the person who bought my minivan from me didn’t pay the DMV a documentation fee, so that chafed a bit, but not as bad as the freight/build/prep fee. Honda lists that fee as $400 on their website, but this dealership wanted to charge me $1700! Okay, I get we’re still suffering the consequences of the pandemic and so shipping costs are up. However, a quick check confirmed that our favourite Canadian dealership back home is charging the equivalent of US$800 for both freight/build/prep and documentation on the exact same bike. Honda’s main website states the freight/build/prep fee in the US for this bike is $400. So, something didn’t smell right here.
The used bike also had the $399 documentation fee tacked on, driving its out-the-door price up to the point we are certain we could buy one privately for significantly less.
So, all that to say we turned down both bikes. We’ll keep looking to see if we can either rent one for a week or buy a used one at a more reasonable price – we still want to give this bike a fair trial, but not at the cost of an arm and a leg. Honda, do you hear us?
