I'm waiting on my price quote from AAFES for a FXSTI. I've never purchased from a dealership before so this is new ground for me. The dealership will be probably be Rocky Mountain HD in Littleton/Denver, CO as I live a mile or 2 away from them. I'm getting EFI and a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty extension. I'm not sure if I want to start paying my taxes right away. What kind of add-ons and additional services should I expect to be offered by the dealership? (Prepaid service, HOG membership, etc) Any opinions on ones to take and ones to avoid?

A BT forum suggested dropping the extended warranty. I was curious on the thoughts here since I know I can trust the folks here.

Hi RB.

Well, Columbia Harley in Vancouver Washington is a MSRP dealer on all new Harleys. They have ben around since 1945...and one of the few that is still closed on Sundays.
And, yes I think they might just have one of those in stock.

And, do ask about there Winter sale.....All new Sportsters at MSRP, and they will wave the set-up fee.

Just give them a call, they are good people.

Soooo, your going for the Softail Standard are ya'? Not my first choice but then again I'm not a Softail fan, more a Dyna and Road King person.

As far as the extended warranty goes there are pros and cons.

Pro: good coverage, they are assumable, and add resale value.

Con: start to modify your bike and the warranty becomes an issue.

My persoanl opinion: You have 90 days to upgrade your warranty from date of purchase. Most problem will come up right away. Make your decission while you ride and then decide.

I like the H.O.G. membership. Buy a new bike and you get a 1 year membership included. (I got a discount from my insurance company b/c of it too. :D )

As far as the extended warranty goes there are pros and cons.
We've covered this issue ad nauseum. Extended warranties are worthless and a money making gimmick. Most riders disadain them while others hasten to cancel them only to learn that the fine print makes it pretty damn difficult.

Caveat Emptor

We've covered this issue ad nauseum. Extended warranties are worthless and a money making gimmick. Most riders disadain them while others hasten to cancel them only to learn that the fine print makes it pretty damn difficult. Yup, do a search you'll fine general agreement on this. Have fun.

We've covered this issue ad nauseum. Extended warranties are worthless and a money making gimmick. Most riders disadain them while others hasten to cancel them only to learn that the fine print makes it pretty damn difficult.

Caveat Emptor


I would suggest that instead of an extended warranty, which will cost anywhere from $900.00 to $1500.00 take that money and put it aside into an emergency repair fund. Barring any catastrophic engine failure which is extreemly rare, (and insurance would probably cover anyway) that money would more than cover any legitimate repair you might concievably have in any warranty period. Plus you have the bonus of having the money at your disposal, and won't have to argue over what is or is not covered.

Fox's idea is a good one......insurance companies have jumped on the extended warranty bandwagon because they can make money out of it......If you put that money into the share market you'll make the money on it in the 5 years instead of them

If ya think the bike is gonna sh*t itself in a big way within 5 years..... then why buy it in the first place??????

I've been on my own part time for a while now and even while I was involved with the local dealership I cannot recall any major problem that occured outside of the normal warranty period......if there was a problem it would usually surface fairly quickly..
I've been in the auto side for longer and the same story there.....

Modern vehicles are very reliable barring assembly glitches and they wil normally show fairly early


And if you look at the fine print on the waranty it will probably say if ya change something to non-genuine then they're gonna void it anyway....

Extended warranties are a sucker bet..


ya get the get the HOG club discount anyway.....try and get 'em to put a set of slip on mufflers on it and re-jet.....BUT keep ya stock ones.....the cops are gettin nasty in some areas and I think it may not be long before it will be difficult to get away with a noisy bike...

Thanks all, the thoughts on the warranty makes sense. AAFES automatically adds the extended warranty. I shot them an e-mail asking to remove it from the final quote. I think I will steer clear of pre-paid maintenance/service. I'll consider letting them change the air cleaner, slip-ons, and remap it. I'll change out the seat myself.

AAFES automatically adds the extended warranty.
Imagine that!! :p
I'll consider letting them change the air cleaner, slip-ons, and remap it. I'll change out the seat myself.
whaddya nuts? Do it yerself. It ain't brain surgery.

Rat,
Congradulation on your new bike!

The best thing about extended warranties, are the dollars that the seller gets to keep on top of your purchase. However, there are buyers who ride and sleep better if they buy all that protection.

Extended warranties are a fairly recent money making phonomenon and too many buyers are eating it up!

It's hard earned money that can be put to better use. On top of home and vehicle insurance, why spend more dollars for a product your hoping you'll never use anyway?

Billy

I'm hoping to take delivery during a 1 week R&R home. Family and riding won't leave any time for upgrading before I head back. The AC and exhaust are no problem from my time in here, but I've got to read the other forums concerning the EFI. Most important, I just want to ride.


whaddya nuts? Do it yerself. It ain't brain surgery.

Most HD dealerships can "map-out" your EFI program to compensate for the AC and pipes. I can personally vouch for Vance and Hines straightshots, really nice pipes

joe

Rat,

I am not a warranty guy on anything and never buy the extended plans. However, that said, I bought a four year warranty for my new HD. Had no intention of doing so but they cut another 1% off my financing to have the warranty. I got them to take $200 off the price. The five year was pretty expensive but the four was a few hundred cheaper. So for the savings over the life of the loan, the extra six bucks/month was worth it for me. But if it weren't for that, I would have just stuck with the two year.

Just something to consider.

Gotwa, they did the same thing for me. I actually ended up saving money on my monthly payment by taking an extra 2 year warranty. They lowered my interest rate by 1.5%, so it made the payment about 3 bucks a month less than if I hadn't taken it.

I guess if you're paying cash it's not a big deal, but I'm making payments and I figure lower = better!