Hey guys, i got a call from HH today, they informed me that the Iron 883 has gone up in price to $14200, reason for the rise is that "they were selling close to cost to get the market up and running for these bikes"....

i dont really believe that they would be selling for close to cost as i can import a new iron from the states and have it on the road here for around the $11000 mark, if i can do that then where are all their expences?

 

Andrew

 Ask Greg about harleys financials.... 

SJ, seems Terroristone thinks it's bullshit as well, i dont really believe that they would be selling for close to cost as i can import a new iron from the states and have it on the road here for around the $11000 mark, if i can do that then where are all their expences?

And I bet he's not talking about buying a bike wholesale for $4-5,000 like HD Australia does. He's talking about buying it retail from a U.S. dealer for $7,000, paying shipping of say $2,000, paying duty (5%) and GST (10%) and still getting it on the road for $11,000. Harley Australia on the other hand probably gets it from the factory for less yhan $5,000, ships it in a container with 20 others so pays $500 shipping and then adds 5% duty and 10% GST putting it on the road for less than $7,000. They likely take $3,500 in profit and the dealer would get $3,500 profit and bingo Aussie's pay over $14,000.

How can I be sure I'm close to the mark? Because in New Zealand they sell the Iron 883 for just over A$10,000. And as I've said before, at that price it is not worth it for a Kiwi to import a bike himself! In Australia since we cannot import new bikes Harley Australia charges much more, not because they are 'selling close to cost' as they claim, but because they are greedy bastards.

SJ, thanks for highlighting this Iron 883 Price Rise thread.

Others may want to look at the Harley Price Gouging Exposed thread here.

Finally, the NZ market is not struggling to stay alive, so HD Australia is still making a profit there as are NZ HD Dealers. And they are doing that selling bikes for A$10,000.

Seeing they have an up to 3 month wait on 883s, nightsters and 48s and pre sell everything they can get their hands on.. Im hardly surprised, they will continue to raise the price until the public squeals and stops buying them.. Shitty? Probably, survival mode business practice.. Definitely.

Hi there,

I looked into importing a few bikes from the states to take advantage of the Australian dollar, plus their is a large disparity in the price of bikes in the states compared to here (e.g. An 8-Ball vegas victory is AUD20k but only USD13k).

I was very close to importing a custom made bike for a fraction of the cost that you would pay here however then I came across these importing rules.

Besides the cost of importing
- Transpotation
- Stamp duty
- GST
- Additional application fees and handling fees

There are other costs, there is a standard appraisal and modification to the bikes to meet Australian road standards which is up to $1000 (I think, so some transport company was trying to tell me). This needs to be performed before it is released from customs.

Also there is the following criteria that an imported vehicle must meet
Source (http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/importing_vehicles/general/EligibilityCriteria_2.aspx#ninee)
- own the vehicle when submitting the application; and
- have acquired ownership of the vehicle from overseas; and
- have owned the vehicle while overseas; and
- have owned the vehicle for a continuous period of at least 12 months. This is the qualifying period. The qualifying period must have occurred immediately before you (permanently) arrived in Australia.

So the long and the short of it is a bailed on the importing idea as I wouldn't be eligible having not been in the US nor owned it for more than 12mths. But myself an Iron last week, aboslutely obsessed, all the savings I made on buying second hand I have blown on accessories and custom fit outs. (so easy to get carried away with these things)

Only way around it I can think of is if you have a friend (Aussie resident living in the US) who can transport the bike back here under his name. However I even think then is some sort of Carnet surrounding that where they cannot sell it too you.

Essentially it is all about trading restrictions in order to protect the Australian automotive industry. Fair enough

Essentially it is all about trading restrictions in order to protect the Australian automotive industry. Fair enough

Yup, trade restrictions, that's the problem. Fair, NO WAY, there is no Australian Motorcycle industry. And even worse, the premium you pay HD Australia goes back to the U.S. as HD Australia is a wholey owned subsidiary of HD U.S.

Australians are getting gouged and the money goes straight to Milwaukee.

This does nothing for Australian industry or workers or the economy. I do not understand why this 'have to have owned and ridden overseas from new for 12 months' policy is in place and am looking for answers. Can anyone explain?

I think there is about 86 threads going at the moment discussing the topic of HD AU and their pricing scheme.

 Stupid business sense IMO.  Imagine how much more Harleys they would sell if they drop there prices accordingly.  There are no restrictions on buying parts from the US so I will keep buying parts from overseas until I see a fair deal.  As long as I stick under $1000 per order I'm sweet.  Even for the stuff over $1000 I get them to state $900 on the package and skip paying GST & duty.

They gotta know that having a high standard price also gives the feeling of exclusivity (and the shiny showroom to match!).

EG sportscar/ supercar market.

Do they drop the prices to compete with Japan and loose their international schtick?

If I was buying an 883 now, it would smart a little, but I would still buy.... if I was short maybe newish 2nd hand.

So I don't double post I thought I'd just highlight that I've added a new comment to the "Price Gouging Exposed' thread.

See here.