Pre-purchase advice please
 

First time poster :)

Will the dealers negotiate on the price? I am debating on purchasing 2 - 2015 Foreman ES (TRX500FE1F).

A local dealer says MSRP $7,349 "their" price $6,349.

Is that a good price? Can I do better?

Thanks in advance! NICE SITE!!!!

1k off a Honda is good, but yes many dealers will deal, at that point it is usually a % off accessories and stuff.

Does it have power steering? If so, that's not bad. I'd offer less though. The worst they can do is say no. MSRP is always ridiculously high on any new unit. There's always some wiggle room on price. The bigger the dealer, the more they generally will negotiate. Bigger dealers rely on the volume of sales to make their money, not the profit on each sale.

Thanks for the replies! No power steering on that model.

I just came back from the dealer. They didn't offer anything off MSRP, instead they added $500 to it and said that was the actual purchase price. ($350 destination charge, and $150 dealer set-up.). He said the owner may offer a small discount for the purchase of 2, and I would get a discount off of accessories.

When I asked about the models on their website that was $1000 off, they said those were Honda sponsored $500 off, and the owner matched $500 to get rid of them. If I wanted 2, they would acquire the 2nd one for the same price, but I still had the additional destination & set-up charge :(

Is this how all the dealers are going to be? Is the Honda brand that strong that nobody needs to deal?

Honda is like that in general, yes. North American brands are more likely to discount, more so this time of year as the 16s are shipping soon. It pays to shop around and have an idea what features you want. Flexibility with brand is helpful too.

I would just buy a Yamaha instead. Yamaha reliability rivals that of Honda and you get better performance for the same or less money. I'd take a look at the new Yamaha Kodiak 700. Its about the same price as the Foreman but with much more power.

Honda dealers are playing "hard ball" at the moment so I suspect they can sell all they can get without giving discounts. Four years ago when they were selling the air cooled 500FM with a reputation for faulty gearboxes, and 420s with a dodgy rear axle, they were a lot easier to deal with. It is far too early to tell if the new Grizzly is a good machine or a turkey. Yamaha are getting near to Honda reliability but I suspect Honda have improved the reliability of new models well beyond that of their old ones.

Dealers says the Ranchers are the No. 1 selling bike.

We like the 2015 Foreman ES w/ Power Steering. MSRP $8049, his price $7049. It is electric push button shift, PS for the wife and daughters. 475cc liquid cooled, fuel injected.

A 4x4 Rancher with electric shift and PS was 6899 I think. You couldn't purchase the electric shift and PS on the Rancher without upgrading to automatic transmission, so that added a grand to the price of a Rancher right there.

At that money, the $7049 Foreman makes the most sense. I will make him an offer next week and see where it goes.

Thanks again!

Does it have to be Honda? Other manufacturers have comparable machines for less $$. Pays to shop around, even if you still end up riding red.

New Can Am Outlander 570L or if you get lucky, a new 2015 500L(would cost less) would be another choice in the same price range that has significantly more power than the Honda Foreman. I used to think Hondas were the best and only ride red. For a used quad, most of the time they will be the most reliable. When buying new, they are all reliable. Spend a few hundred extra for an extended warranty and you're set in case something does go wrong. Honda's 500cc machines just don't have enough power for me. They ruined the Rancher by making it the same size as the Foreman, in my opinion. It was better as a mid-size quad. Now, its just an underpowered full-size quad. The Yamaha Kodiak 700 is a bit smaller than the Grizzly 700 but it has the same 48 hp, 708cc engine. The clutching is a little different so its not as quick or responsive as the Grizzly but it will run circles around Hondas underpowered Foreman. The only thing the Honda really offers is the ES push button shifting, nobody else has that. If you must have that, then Honda is the only one. A cvt auto machine with plenty of power doesn't need 5 gears. Low ranger is still there for when you want to use it for slow speed stuff where extra torque is needed like pulling a heavy trailer or plowing snow or slow, technical trails.