I doubt that you will have any sucess with any dealer to negotiate a lower price, but you may be able to get them to discount the prices on accessaries that you purchase from them (normally for a set period of time).

 

Yep , dealers have to adhere to their price firmly . This doesn't stop you from negotiating for some ....goodies .
Mine threw in 3 quarts of oil and an oil filter and said if I chose to go back there for its 1st service , "we may be able to tweak the price a bit".

 

I have a decent relationship with a dealer of a different brand and his explanation is how little margin they make on these machines. He showed me the price he paid the factory for a $12K machine and he only made $750 at sticker. So dealers either go "big mark-up" for low volume sales or small profit but turn over a higher volume to net the same in the end. Since parts/accessories are marked up so much, they can throw those around quite easily. Taking a machine that has been sitting there for some time is the best way to get a deal. My dealer had a leftover 2022 650 that was marked down $500 in Feb than an additional $200 when I was in there in May.

As I just purchased mine this spring, I shopped at multiple dealers within 100 mi and could not get a price below MSRP. With each one, I simply asked for an OTD price quote, and they all complied easily enough emailed straight to me. It listed everything: price, prep fees, tax, tags, and doc fees. You'll have to see what they are doing currently but when I purchased, Can-Am was still charging a "COVID" fee. All the dealers passed that on to me. The one I went with did not charge for shipping or mark the price up any. All the others did one or the other or both. And yes I put a deposit of $500 down. I had to if I wanted to guarantee getting that machine.

 

I have seen on Can Am's site that they have a "commodity fee" which I think is BS. Also, the shipping fee is BS too. If you are selling something like an ATV, you have to have it to sell. If Walmart sells a lawnmower, they don't charge you $100 extra because they had it shipped in. It might be figured in to the price already, but you don't "see" it.

 

I was able to negotiate on a Renegade Xxc that a dealer had in inventory for about 6 months. I think that is the sweet spot, if one sits that long. My deal was almost MSRP OTD, I think just shy by $300. I also got the 3 year B.E.S.T. warranty for cost. Deals are out there, but not like they were 4 years ago.

 

I paid full price, but did negotiate a $500 dealer gift card into the deal.

 

same here.$500 dollar gift card. i was told the commodity fee is going to be dropped soon.after i got a new outlander and a commander.i think i'm done buying orv's for a while though.

 

Deals and discounts depend on many things.
How fast are units selling.
how much competition the dealer has
what the dealers bank account looks like at a given moment.

Many dealers will buy with "free flooring" for a certain time period, this simply is the same as buying with a credit card and sero interest for a time period. Once the time period is up the dealer will make the choice.
Buy the unit themselves
pay the interest on the loan which lowers the profit margin
Sell the machine at a discounted rate which also cuts the profit margin.

Older machines on the floor will be costing a dealer one way or another, all it takes is a model to not sell well and a dealer can decide to dump the unit before the competition does. Yes there will be constraints on dealers to prevent this but dealers have methods like gift cards or service deals to get the overall deal to be better. Once a machine is past a certain year the dealers are allowed more freedom to slash prices to stop bleeding interest payments or free up money to buy next years model. Every "deal " you buy is helping / not helping the dealer. They will not be making much money on the unit and possibly still loosing money and at the same time that is much better than having money tied up in a older machine that no one will pay full price for.

I know of many dealers who have shut down due to new model sales being stagnant, yet manufacturers forcing them to buy more new units. In the end most manufacturers are nothing but selling a product and you are not the customer the dealer is, if they get dealers to buy all inventory from the manufacturer then that is a job well done they care less about the dealers sales. At the dealer level they have bought into a franchise with rules so they have to follow them , often buying models they know will be a dud where they are.

As a Mechanic I am going to suggest you take a look around the service area at a prospective dealership.

Clean can be great as it shows they care to keep things neat and organized it also can be a sign they do little to no service work and may not know how to fix something when it breaks due to lack of experience.

Where are the machines from ? if local they may be good but no one is deciding they are worth the drive. Some dealerships will put a emphases on service and have good trained experienced mechanics, you often find people out of their area bringing machines in due to reputation.

Enthusiasts working on the machines, people who care do usually do better work so having employees who enjoy doing what we do will be better than the person looking at it as just a job or you as a walking wallet.

Not all dealers are the same and a good one is worth driving for so support the good ones and hopefully the bad ones take the hint, it does not always happen but we can hope. Buying a "deal" at one dealer and then having another warranty the machine is kind of like bringing your steak to the restaurant to have them cook it, but some times it is a chance for a good dealer to earn a new customer. Usually the good ones are not struggling to find work it finds them.

 

Not all dealers are the same and a good one is worth driving for so support the good ones and hopefully the bad ones take the hint, it does not always happen but we can hope. Buying a "deal" at one dealer and then having another warranty the machine is kind of like bringing your steak to the restaurant to have them cook it, but some times it is a chance for a good dealer to earn a new customer. Usually the good ones are not struggling to find work it finds them.

Totally agree! My local dealer has a rather good service department but only has one Can-Am tech. (They sell/service everything except Polaris and Arctic Cat) Good work and treatment but it takes forever.

 

That is the best scenario you have to think the old time shop has been doing something right but some times they try to pass it on to a new generation or buyer and it ends badly.

Yes wait times are tough when you want to play but everyone else does as well, I often suggest someone in a rush to buy the spot in line from someone who is not in a rush. I am usually 1-2 months out for work so I try and get everyone to bring bikes in the winter so I do not see them in riding season but unfortunately I have only made myself busy year round.

 

I did the thing on Can Am's site where you configure what you want and it sends it to the dealer for them to contact you and give you a quote. It sent it to the dealer that is 30 minutes from me and they emailed me and called me. I received an out the door quote of $12,232.24 for an Outlander Max 700xt with the full front bumper guard and full rear guard, and I'm pretty sure I chose the rear storage Linq box.

HOWEVER, I don't think the dealer paid any attention to the configuration I chose online. I've been to this dealer's website many times and they never had a yellow 700 Max XT. When I talked to the guy on the phone he said no we have the grey one. Also, the one they have is listed as the DPS, not the XT. The price quoted would not be a bad price if it was truly the XT and included the add-ons I chose. But I don't think that's the case. I added everything up myself according to the prices on Can Am's site, and it does match the ATV + sales tax + the upgraded front and rear bumpers. But not a $400 added on rear box, sales tax on the accessories, AND it would mean they're not charging any commodity fee, processing fees, shipping fees, etc.

 

Like dealing with car dealerships, you get varying responses. I have 13 Can-Am dealers within 100 miles. One dealer I called would not give me a quote unless I showed up there, so I never contacted them again. Most dealers I talked to simply provided a quote like the one below. Seemed to be a standard for many and broke down all the info very well. Ones that left out the extras or tried to substitute a different model/color I also disregarded. If they cannot do this simple job of providing an accurate quote, they don't deserve my business. This is also the Bill of Sale document they used when I went to pick it up. This one happens to be the one I went with because the freight was $0 and contained no artificial mark-up.

 

This is just crazy with all the fees

 

"Rigging fee"
Now THAT'S funny 🤪

 

If you want crazy I have crazy in my shop now.

A customer found his dream bike from 20 years ago with 800 miles on it at a collectors shop. He buys it and within 6 months he has spent over $7000 in repairs without ever riding a 800 mile motorcycle! I did not believe him until I saw the bike and invoice from the dealer, new tricks to watch for. ...

Dealer shop rate is $150 per hour which around here is standard dealer rates, but that's not where the magic happens.
Work times were lets say a bit longer than the norm.
Chainging one part I charge 1/2 hour for was billed for 2 hours.
Another job I would bill 1.5 hours maybe 2 if it was special they charged 6 hours for.
On and on the bill grew and grew , then it broke down on him and he lost faith in them.

Maybe I need to work slower and I will earn more money?

 

I have done business with the same dealership since I was a teen and I am just shy of 50 now so I am a bit spoiled. I never pay more than $50 over msrp and all shipping and set up fees have been waved. Recently my wife ordered a 23 XMR from a different dealership since she wanted to get it before and vacation we went on and they had one in stock. I let her be a big girl and work the deal herself and of course they threw over 1200 in setup and delivery fees in. I spoke to the salesman about it, and he wouldn't budge, not only wouldn't budge but also lied to me about why he needed them so needless to say I will not go back to them for even an oil change kit in the future. He can have his 1200 and I'll continue going to the dealer I have always used, even if we have to wait, so his 1200 cost him a few 100k at the rate we purchase stuff.

So long story short, your best bet of working out a better price, at least in my experience, is by getting those fees removed or reduced.

 

Yes, I'm not interested in paying that. It just puts me in a totally different mindset to go from an already overpriced $15,000 machine to an even more overpriced $17,000 machine. It sours me on the whole thing. Factor in the prices of a couple years ago, and it disgusts me even more.

 

I just got my 2023 Outlander Max XT 1000r in blue for $15950 OTD. (MSRP+Tax). My dealer is good to me and I have been a long time customer. I used to get my machines for dealer cost+tax and they would basically make the dealer hold back, but inventory changes...yada yada. I feel lucky that I got a 2023 for that price since the 24's seem to be the exact same thing, in a different color, but more expensive. I like the blue since I already have silver, white and dark grey ones (different models/years). This is NC.

 

Where at in NC? I'm in southern VA.

 

Talked to a dealer in North Carolina today that has the Outlander Max XT 1000. They gave me an OTD price of $17,900! They were $1000 higher than the place near me that I was complaining about yesterday. So one dealer has almost $2000 in taxes and fees. The other has almost $3000 in taxes and fees.

The NC dealer has the Outlander Max XT 700, which is the main reason I contacted them. The OTD price they gave me on that was $13,779. At MSRP of $11,099, that's about $2700 in taxes and fees.

These dealers have me rethinking buying new all together.

 

Don't worry, it's getting better. Car manufacturers are feeling it already. More and more cars sitting on the lots so now they are bringing back rebates and good financing. Ain't seen that since early 2020.

 

I have been getting emails from the local dealer weekly with prices back under MSRP by thousands of dollars.
now if I could get them to stop loading them up with electronics I have no need for.

 

For a couple of years it was difficult to buy a new semi truck, and a long wait to get an order.
Now I have salesmen from 4 truck dealers calling me asking what I want for new trucks.

I bought a new Ski doo last winter, and the saleman called a few days ago asking me about buying a new Ski doo this winter.
Told him that I would not be buying this winter, and he sounded disappointed, and told me they were going to be discounted.

 

We have spent a sh!t ton of money at the same dealership over the years but not because we had to have new. We use our machines a lot. It's not uncommon for us to go 2000 - 3000 miles a season so we buy new while the price to sell our old machines is still high enough to justify buying new. Thats another difference between a good dealer and a bad one, a good one will tell you not to trade in but to sell outright. We generally never sell our old machines until the following season, so we have a backup or two in case something goes bad with one.

But I also know people that have-to-have new machines every year but those are mostly with snowmobiles.

 

Yeah, I never judge anyone on how they do anything because it literally takes all types to make it work. People harp that buying new is "stupid". Screw, you. I hate that condescending attitude. Somebody has to buy new to create used.

 

I prefer to buy things new, but also generally keep them for years.

By the time my 2023 Outlander goes up for sale, it will be far from new.

 

I went by the dealer with 2 guys after work. We're all looking to buy something. I really like the look and feel of the new Outlander 500s and 700s. I like how high they sit without feeling too high. Unfortunately the dealer's site said they had the yellow 700 Max XT in stock but they did not. The guy said he sold it a few days ago. I don't know how I missed it because I've been checking their site almost daily. I sat on the regular 700xt and 500. I really like it. And I liked the yellow online but wasn't sure about in person. I like it in person even more. Just got to play the waiting game on the Max though.

One concern is a video I watched of 2 guys on the 700xt complaining about a weird noise in the rear. Not sure if that's the Can Am clunk they were talking about or not.