Hey, completely off topic, anyone want to hear a feel good story?

I live in Sydney and a mate near Nambucca was looking for a car. He saw a car on carsales.com and called me on June 3 and asked me to check it out for him. Which I did, it was bargain so I gave $500 to a conman as a deposit and he then vanished. We reported it to the cops but they said it happens all the time, so we wrote it off as a bad joke.

Anyway, my mate was sure since then he saw this same car advertsied a few of times so I told him, next time you see it call me and I'll go do a looksee. Well, the other night he called and said the conman was at it again. I set up a meeting, called tha cops, and they met him instead of me. They nailed him! HE'S IN THE SLAMMER. Yeah!!!

The cops said they rarely see such a gift-wrapped pickup, and it turned out to be a regular scam he'd run a number of times. Very pleasing I must say. Good work to my mate for watching carssales.com and identifying this bastard. Sadly, he's unlikely we'll get his money back.

Apparently this guy has been doing this for years. He was arrested 4 years ago and let off with a bond because he claimed hardship and it seems he has been doing it as a form of business since then. The plain clothes detectives who pretended to be my wife and I say he was really slick and there are dozens of complaints but they couldn't nail him until we gift-wrapped the bastard.

If you ever want a great feeling, nail a con!!

Hang on, maybe this isn't completely off topic, hahahahah.

Nice one Grey! My mate nearly got taken by one of these bastards, but pulled out when he smelt a rat. - Low life scum.

You know they cannot help themselves . I was asked to do a load of work , did'nt want it put in a high price got the work employed this guy has a subbie , He was a good tradesmen , done a great job was with me about 4 weeks driving a brand new toyota 4 wheel drive , he had come from qld I got good money for these jobes and passed it on , this guy was earning $2500---$3000 a week for 35-40 hours I had at least another 10-12 weeks for him ,

Anyway he's working out of a brand new car , and rings me on a saturday morning , tells me he's buying a real good van but is $800 short in cash and the fella won't take a cheque and will not hold the van for him all real plausible ,asks can i cash a check . i owe him form the last job anyway so no woriies i cash his cheque , the following friday i pay him up what he's owed on the mon i get a letter from the bank his check did'nt clear . I ring him , you guessed it he fucked off .

Go to cops there not interested until they do a check , then they get interested , apparantly the toyota he had never made a payment bought it under a allias , , he ususlly had up to 12 different names , I just could'nt believe it the guy was earning 3 grand a week for 5 days with another 10-12 weeks in front of him . he was a good tradesman and Fucked it up for the sake of $800 dollars ........ I think these guys just can't help themselves. It could'nt of been the money it must of just been the frill off ripping someone off.

 FYI

 

Speaking to friend at Harley (unnamed), Dealers in Aust get a Softtail at a cost of  around $19,000 and up the price to $27,995 drive away... that $9,000 profit to cover the cost of staffs/shopfront/ads/etc. Cost price seems abit compared to USA....

un australian love it or leave it

I like a Lamborghini - I can't afford one - but I wouldn't bag the shit out of them because I can't!!

HDs are priced as they are - like it or lump it. This thread is full of people complaining that they hate how HD is ripping them off, but are happy to ride off into the sunset on a bike made by the very company they just spat at.

That's just shit in my opinion.

I love my HD. I paid a fortune for it, but was happy to do so. I know not everyone can walk in and buy off the showroom floor like I did, and that's a bit of the attraction. The same reason people with coin will go and buy a Lambo, or Ferrari. Not because they are te best value of money, or the like... NO.. because they want the stigma that comes with it.

I will never believe that ANYONE bought their HD because it was the best bike for the money, or the best quality for the price. If they were to buy a bike based purely on value and quality - I can guarantee it would not be a HD.

In saying that, I am not saying HD's are shit. What I am saying is... dollar for dollar, they are not the best value or quality! That is because you are paying for the brand. It may suck, but that is where your money is going. It is the decal on the side of the tank that puts the cost where it is.

You could easily buy a custom frame, stick an HD motor in it, and build a bike for far less than a new HD.

And the same reason you pay more for RM Williams than you would for Rivers.


When I bought my HD and spent $40k I could have bought any bike I wanted at the price level, but I chose the HD. Why?? One simple answer...

Because it is a Harley Davidson.

Vicki, thanks, the majority feel just like you but every now and then someone stands up and says so and....... well the mongrel pack unleashes its snapping and snarling. So this is for you. Enjoy!

^ Amen to that Bro!!!

+1 to mongrel & Steve.

As for quality, my guards arn't made from plastic.
And the cylinder sleeves are still made from cast iron, not electro plated thin as rolly paper shit composite ceramic lookalike crap.

Wake up for fucks sake.

 

Yes, we do seem to be going in circles don't we? I fully understand your HD passion and reasons etc mongrel, but if you coulda paid $30K instead of $40K for ya bike can I assume you woulda?

That's the whole point - they are available for that sorta money. I love Harleys and I'm not baggin' em, I just can't see the sense in paying 25% to 50% more for a HD because I live in OZ.

 

Steve, Mongrel, Groover, JD, the issue is that this same quality product is sold by the same company for 1/3 less across the pond.

How do you explain that?

And don't start with the shit about an NZ dollar being the same as an AUS dollar. That argument is dead.

We are getting screwed and while I love my Harley and have NO intention to buy anything but another Harley when I buy my next bike, why should I pay 1/3 more than a Kiwi? Same fucking bike, same fucking company selling it.

It is shear and utter stupidity to suggest that Aussies should pay 1/3 more than Kiwis for exactly the same product. FFS!

And stop focusing on Harley, evey fucking foreign motorcycle manufacturer is doing the same and our Government lets them do it. $250 miilion in excess profits are gouged out of Australians each year and sent to Japan, Germany, The US, the UK, Italy and elsewhere. And what does it provide for Australians? SFA, that is not provided to Kiwis who pay less!!

The objective is to remove market controls so ALL foreign motorcycle manufacturers are required to compete. Harley is not the target! And all Australians benefit regardless of the make of bike they want to buy and ride.

Mongrel, if it wasn't for Aus Gov restrictions I could take $20k AUD to NZ, buy a Fat Fucker and bring it back to Aus. That's where the $20k Fat Fuckers in NZ are! People are more than prepared to buy parts from wherever they can get them cheapest. Why not whole bikes? Cut with the shit about earning power. If that were a criteria the arabs in The Gulf would be paying a million bucks per bike. And you fucking well know that ain't happening. As I said before, the A$ / NZ$ earning capacity / minimum wage argument is for mongrels only.

And Steve, I started this thread saying that the discrepancy between what Harley sells for in Aus and NZ is fucking suspicious. I could see it existed but was not sure why. I knew and still know Harley is guilty but had not nailed how they could get away with it. I very quickly learned that they could get away with it because the Government lets them. So, I knew who the perpetrator was, Harley, but had not nailed the fact that they had an accomplice, The Government, and that it was an industry wide issue soon became apparent.

You are still trying to disparage me with ad hominem attacks to distract from the facts. Give it up. If you can't play the ball get out of the game.

 

A bloody long thread going round and round in circles.

I bought a Harley. I like it. It was money well spent.

If I had a problem with the price I would have bought a honda. Fuck that. I wanted a Harley. I don't feel ripped off and isn't that the whole point?

If you feel hard done by, get rid of your Harley and vote with your feet.

+2

 Guys I understand all the views expressed.  Greyco your right we do pay heavily for Harleys in this country. However I have looked at the price of Victory's and Trumpy's also in the the USA. The markups seem to be similar here as Harleys. Reeboks and all the other shit as well are higher here. Is this the price of Freedom? I do not believe that Harleys are a second rate motorcycle for one moment. They may be slower, older technology granted. But they have come a long way from forty year ago. They are still made of metal. The reason I ride a Harley and I am prepared to pay a higher price for my bike over other brands is this. It is who I am, it is who I always was, not what I want to be. My father, my uncles and fathers of friends told me that in New Guinea in the Second World War the Yanks would leave cans of Bully Beef and amo on the dumps of a night so we could blue the fuckers in question who were trying to overtake our country. Without them we would have been history. They lost a lot of sons as well. That's why I ride a Harley. I have no beef with anyone, but I want to know that the familiar rumble under me is like an old mate. I want to know that the country and the people who make that rumble gave a fuck about my country when the chips were down. It wasn't the P-51's or the Thunderbolts who bombed Darwin. It was Mitsubishi's and Zero's. The Sky Harleys were trying to stop the fuckers. If me paying more for a Harley, a Triumph or a Victory helps pay for a blokes kids in America or a blokes kids here then fuck it I will. If me paying more for any item in this country keeps me free and stops wages sliding then fuck it I will. The reason I ride a Harley is not price driven. If my Superglide were ten bucks I would ride one, if they were fifty thousand bucks I would save and ride one. For me the price will sort itself out over time. It is not relevant to why I ride a pig.

That's a nice slant on the topic! Well written.

 looking forward to page 20     

Gregyo, have you stopped and thought about what the end result would be like if you succeeded in your crusade and managed to make HD (among others) drop their prices and stop "gouging" ?

Oh yes, we would have cheaper Harley's.  Cool!  Cheaper parts too, thats always handy...   Not to mention the branded merchandice etc...

Then imagine this as the possible follow-on effect:  Harleys get sold cheaper, dealer makes less turnover at a reduced profit margin which means less "spending money".  Sales service and mechanical service also drops in quality as the money they used to make on the bikes let them retain the great staff but now they sell cheaper with less margin the shop can only afford 1 or 2 mechanics and a bunch of apprentices not to mention the level of service you would get from their new cheaper sales staff if you were to purchase a new bike....  Don't bother asking for advice, these guys are probably paid just enough to cover rent and a bus fare to work for the week, certainly not enough to actually afford a Harley...

Then a few months later you walk back into the shop and there stands just a catalogue and a computer with a sign saying "BUY YOUR HARLEY HERE"...   Wait for a couple of months for it to be delivered to you and then you notice the difference:  Aussie models use a cheap alloy rather than steel for some of the parts,  chrome is replaced with "shined grey paint" and the leather seats become cheap vinyl.  All in the interests of reducing the "costs" so to try and keep some profit margins...

Then a few months later, the shop closes the doors to the Harley showroom and sends back all the flashy HD signage.  Too hard to turn a decent profit any more and instead they sell chainsaws, lawnmowers and tractors...

....and outside the shop stands you, me and a bunch of other Harley owners wanting stuff, service or just to check out the new models with tears running down our faces....

I have seen this exact same scenario happen (and still happening) in the IT industry:  cheaper computers + more internet shopping = bad service in shops, lower quality products, cheap staff and an overall unhappy purchasing experience compared to what it was when PC's were $3k on average.  I don't want to see this happen to the Harley trade...  I don't want my local dealer choosing to close doors and sell tractors for the same turnover and profit margin.   Dealers need profit to survive, HD needs profit to survive and continue shipping to Australia.  Some IT companies I have dealt with have pulled out of the Aussie market citing the low population in the market verse the costs of importing the products and comparing that to other markets nearby (Asia, Africa etc). 

At the end of the day, it has never been about price with almost every Harley owner I have ever met, spoken to, read about or been told about.  Surely you would have known this before looking to buy your first Harley, nothing has changed since.   While I would love to spend less on a new bike, I would rather keep paying the asking price knowing that I'm getting the quality of product and service which I am seeking.

 

 

It still dosent alter the fact that we are being shafted, or have all Harley stealers stateside closed their doors because more people can afford Harleys?     pete.