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.

"A cvt auto machine with plenty of power doesn't need 5 gears."
IMO this is the factor that makes Honda a step behind with their jerky shift models.
A CVT is always in the right gear. Your wife will like a CVT (you will too).

$7000 for a 28hp 475cc seems steep. I would look at the new 48hp 708cc Kodiak as well.

New Hondas always seem to be overpriced unless you get a leftover model with less features. I saw a new 2014 manual shift foreman 500 listed at a local dealer's website for $5500, no power steering of course. But yeah, the Kodiak has way more power. If you ride both, there is no way you will want to pick the Honda. Trust me, you'll pick the machine with more power and that will be the Kodiak by a wide margin. But it is controllable power so if you want to putt around slowly it can do that just as easily. I bet your wife will prefer the Kodiak as well. Yamaha's independent rear suspension makes for a nice plush ride. You both will appreciate that after a long ride.

For $7000 it has no IRS? Now that sucks.

Thanks for everyone's opinions about Honda and other brands/models.

What I want to know is - how much room does a Honda dealer have?

If you can tell me another brand/model will discount "X%", that would be great too! Then I can weigh your other suggestions.

Thanks again.

From what I have seen locally, the Honda dealers won't deal much lower than any incentives Honda has publicized unless it is a leftover. A lot depends on the dealer and how they operate though, as there are a few mega dealers in the general area that advertise better prices (although plan on adding dealer prep and delivery, etc.)

The north american brands tend to be more aggressive with incentives and percent off msrp. There are some good reasons to pick Honda over those brands, such as those lower hp Honda engines will go decades between rebuilds provided you keep fresh oil and a clean air filter in them at all times.

Dealers and manufacturers keep fairly quiet about the markup the franchise dealer gets. I work for an independent dealer and don't know myself. Car main dealers in the UK used to get about 25%. Like I wrote earlier, if the dealer can sell all they can get hold of at list price, why should they discount?

The only way to really know if you're getting a good deal or not is to shop around. Some dealers will be willing to discount more to make sales while some will hold firm on their prices. There is usually some wiggle room. I would estimate usually around $1000 off msrp is common. Much below that and the dealer doesn't make much money off the machine. I have seen advertised prices lower than that but its usually for leftover models from the previous year. Especially if there is a model change and the leftover models aren't selling. Like in 2014 for instance, Polaris released the Sportsman 570. I bet a lot of people got great deals on 2013 Sportsman 500 models as the 570 was a big step up in power. When a better new model is available, the old models don't look so desirable anymore. I bet the same situation might be happening in Yamaha dealers now. With the new 2016 Kodiak and Grizzly models, any leftover 2014 and 2015 Grizzly 550 and 700 models left are probably being discounted to make room for the new models. I would check and see if this is the case, might be able to get a good deal on a new 550 or 700. For instance, I just looked at a local dealer's website and they have listed new 2014 Grizzly 550 models with eps for $6799. They were selling the non-eps 550's for $5999 but it appears they are all gone. Still, not too bad. A few 2015 Grizzly 700 models as well, $7899 for eps or $7399 without eps.

Go look at a 2015 Polaris Sportsman ETX or the new 2016 Polaris Sportsman 450. Even the 570 will be a lot cheaper than what you're looking at. Polaris is offering up to $1000 rebates and 2.99% financing. I've seen the 15 ETX for around $4800 out the door.

The 570 would be a good choice. I just checked and you can get a $600 rebate on the 570 with eps. The ETX is a bit underpowered, its only 330cc but a claimed 30 hp for that displacement isn't bad. The 570 is 45 hp and costs about $1000 more. That's actually slightly more power than a Grizzly 660 has. The 570 would be the best "bang for the buck", no doubt about that. The Can am outlander 500L and Yamaha Kodiak 700 will both be noticeably more expensive, as well as any Honda Foreman or Rubicon models.

the best for the trails
 

I've had sux different bikes in 17 years, and the best in say for trails is a 1993 honda 300ex. It definitely isn't a new bike, but it will hold up against anything. It has no extra features, just a fun toy for riding the trails in Kentucky