Buying a new bike: How to negotiate for the best price

I have shortlisted two bikes, the KTM Duke 390 and the newly launched Honda CB300R.

BHPian saikishor recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Alright, so I searched the forum regarding this but all I could find was negotiations related to cars and not bikes. This might be pretty much the same for both but I am still curious if I might receive any other advice.

Back in 2010, we got a hefty discount on our Beat (mind you, it was newly launched back then) via my uncle who was a GM employee. We got our car for around Rs 4.5 lakh on-road and I think without employee discount the car was selling for Rs 5.3 - 5.4 lakh ish on-road.

Come 2022, I started pestering my dad for a bike to which he agreed on a set of conditions. I plan to buy my first motorcycle in May and have stalked almost every motorcycle in the 150-400cc segment. This is a story for another day, so will stop it here.

I had two bikes in mind, the KTM Duke 390 and the Honda CB300R.

The quotation I got several months ago( I think it still is the same now as well) was Rs 3.35 lakhs on-road.

Below is the price breakup:

• Ex showroom: Rs 2,87,742
• RTO + others: Rs 25,896
• Insurance: Rs 18,221
• On-road: Rs 3,31,859

I am an absolute noob at negotiations and this discount scenario. I remember the KTM sales guy telling me about some free extended warranty when I asked him about discounts.

My questions:

1. Can the above price be brought down by any means? If so, how?
2. I see insurance as a mandatory thing in the price breakup. Can one buy the motorcycle excluding insurance charges and then take insurance outside the showroom?
3. How can one negotiate on old stocks(say, 2021 manufactured bikes)?
4. Will those company recommendations still work in 2022 (like my uncle's reference in 2010)?

Advice and suggestions regarding the above will be highly appreciated.

Here's what BHPian JoeTheWanderer had to say on the matter:

I am probably the worst person to give advice on discounts - I couldn't bargain even if my life depended on it. I've added some thoughts anyway - hope they help.

Maybe just ask for discounts point-blank. Take someone who you know is good at bargaining and ask them to haggle if you're not the bargaining type (and I'm speaking from personal experience here).

Of course, if the product is selling well then you will not get any discounts.

There may be other ways as well. Try to approach the dealer towards the end of a month or quarter (if sales reps have targets to meet, they might consider offering some discounts). If you know someone who works for Bajaj auto or KTM, ask them if they can get you employee discounts (assuming they offer employee discounts at all).

You can absolutely buy insurance from outside (and save a decent amount in the process).

First, take a quote from the dealer to check which insurance company they're using. Next, go to policy bazaar, Coverfox or a similar site and get quotes from the same insurer (be sure to apply all the add-ons i.e. return to invoice, engine protect, 0-dep, etc and apply the max possible IDV).

Now, you can either take this insurance policy (you'll need the VIN number of the bike) or just use it to have the dealer reduce their quote.

Just ask the dealer if they have any December 2021 stock (and haggle like anything). I personally wouldn't consider buying a bike that has been sitting with the dealer for a really long time. Too many things can go wrong which may not be apparent immediately.

If you know someone who works with Bajaj or KTM, it can't hurt to ask them for potential employee discounts. Some companies such as Maruti also offer corporate discounts. I got a Rs 5000 discount (on top of a Rs 25,000 discount by Maruti) on my Alto in 2012 due to my father (armed forces discount).

A few other points:

1. Be on the lookout for bogus charges such as documentation and handling charges. These are illegal - refuse them outright.
2. Most dealers include a fee for "helping" you register the bike, skip this. Based on my experience in registering a car and a bike in Hyderabad, you can do the registration yourself - it isn't difficult. The most difficult part of the whole process is taking a pencil mark off the VIN number on the registration form. Even if you pay this fee, you'll anyway need to go to the RTO for registering your biometrics. PM me if you have any questions about this.
3. Sometimes you're forced to buy an accessory pack by the dealer. Only go for accessories you absolutely want (for example a radiator guard or sliders may make sense). You can add good 3rd party quality accessories & guards later on as you get a feel for the bike.

Here's what BHPian IshaanIan had to say on the matter:

Margins on a two-wheeler are really really small there is no way you will get any discount unless you can find the old stock. Given you are looking at the Duke 390 and CB300R, you simply will not find any old stock of these bikes.

As I mentioned above, margins on two-wheelers are extremely low, especially bikes that retail for less than Rs 5 lakhs. Simply because your family may have gotten a discount on a Chevy Beat many years back, that does not mean that there are similarly chunky margins for dealers to play around with on 2 wheelers. Think about the scale of production a 4 wheeler hatchback's engine would be at. A 5 lac hatchback sells more in India since it is more practical than a 4 or even 3 lac rupee bike. As a result due to the lower volume of sales, every component costs more heck even a set of tyres for either bike that you are looking at, will cost more than all 4 tyres would have for the Beat.

These bikes are in good demand and if the dealer ever feels like replacing their display bike, they will simply give it to the first customer who comes in, if not the second one considering how popular they are.

Do not break your head on negotiations. Perhaps your first lesson on two-wheelers can be that they are sold at small margins but I can guarantee that your next lesson will be that they require a lot of attention and more frequent service than a car. Thus I would instead focus on building a good relationship with the dealer and service centre that you will be utilizing the services of.

Here's what BHPian neil.jericho had to say on the matter:

Saikishor, unfortunately, I do not think that you will be able to get much by way of discounts for motorcycle sales. When I went to the local KTM dealer and asked for the breakup, they had added in some polish and other costs into the final price. But that isn't there in your breakup. Check for the road tax and other charges. There will usually be some delta there for "handling charges". Insurance you can take from outside. I'm sure you have multiple dealers in Hyderabad and if none of them budge, drop a note to Bajaj / Honda and mention that the dealers are not allowing you to take your own insurance. They will relent. The old stock trick may not work because these dealerships will eventually sell any leftover 2021 stock to some unsuspecting bakra who doesn't know about it.

My suggestion is don't break your head too much on discounts for either of these bikes. The Duke 390 is fairly popular and the Honda CB300R is a brand new bike. But whichever one you like and enjoy riding it to the fullest.

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