As you scour the local dealerships or perhaps attempt to buy an ATV secondhand, you might be wondering where you will find the best value and the lowest price. With that in mind, you might be curious as to the flexibility that ATV dealers offer on their vehicle prices.
ATV dealers are often will negotiate on the asking price. However, the amount will depend on the season, availability, your research and price point, and many other factors. To find the best deal on an ATV, be sure to buy off-season and be flexible to various ATV models available.
Clearly, you can see that there are many factors that make up if and how much ATV dealers will be willing to budge on their selling price. Interestingly, the more the ATV costs, the more the dealer is able to work with a flexible price as the profit margin increases for them.
However, there are many other tips and tricks that you can implement to get the best deal on your ATV. Continue reading to learn more.
Can You Negotiate with ATV Dealers?
Purchasing an ATV is similar to purchasing a boat; both vehicles are used in seasonally appropriate settings and can vary in price based on location among other factors. Often, you will find that the law of supply and demand truly goes into effect with the sales of ATVs.
You can negotiate with ATV dealers to find the right price for you and them. More often than not, ATV dealers genuinely want the best ATV for you, but they also have a price point that they must maintain. Negotiating with an ATV dealer requires research, patience, firm points of interest, and reasonable expectations.
There is a difference in being taken advantage of and being willing to pay an appropriate price for the ATV you are attempting to purchase. Keep in mind that even if the price of the ATV itself is not negotiable, there are plenty of perks that the dealer might be convinced of providing in the included cost.
A few benefits worth negotiating for when buying an ATV include:
- The title
- Tags
- Registration costs
- Insurance costs for your ATV
- A year or so worth of maintenance on your vehicle
- Fuel costs
- Other ATV gear like helmets and safety goggles.
While your ATV dealer might not be able to toss in all of these benefits with the purchase of your ATV, it is still acceptable and appropriate to ask for a few of the perks to be included.
Since the ATV dealer can generally spare the profit margin in these areas more than they can flex on the price of the vehicle itself, it is worth keeping these perks in mind as a large component of your overall ATV deal.
Here’s a good video with some tips for buying a motorcycle, but these tricks also apply to ATVs.
Regarding what you need for negotiating with an ATV dealer, consider the following:
1. Research Available ATVs and ATV Dealerships in Your Area
One of the most important tips in getting a good deal on an ATV is researching to know what a good deal will actually look like. Not only does a good deal include a low cost on the model (or similar model) that you are interested in, but the deal should be respective to the season that you are buying in and the area in which you live.
For example, buying during the off-season will more typically yield lower costs than buying an ATV during the more standard buying season (summer). There are a variety of reasons that this is true, but mainly it has to do with supply and demand.
Check out our Best Time To Buy an ATV article for more tips on ATV seasonality and what time of year is best to purchase.
Since more ATV riders (both experienced and newbies) are looking to buy and ride ATVs in the summer months, ATV dealers often spend the cold winter month restocking.
This potentially gives you an opportunity to reap the benefits of a dealer looking to get older models off of their showroom floor to make room for the newer models.
Along with knowing what season to buy in, you need to know what dealerships are willing to do in your area. This will be influenced by the climate as well as the number of dealerships in the area.
If a small dealer is known for cutting deals, this might mean that they are not as stable in their business and need to cut deals to maintain some sales. Or, perhaps they are good enough to keep their prices low. Either way, you can benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, you need to research the ATV models that you are interested in. As there are many different options available, an ATV dealer will know whether you are knowledgeable or not within the first few minutes of the conversation.
This allows them to perceive how much a “deal” they need to give you to make the sale.
Not that they are taking advantage of you, but if you are inexperienced with buying ATVs and have not done your research, then you might be more easily won over by “shiny” perks that you would not otherwise be inclined to purchase.
So, in doing your research beforehand, you can have more of an idea of what you are and are not willing to pay for- especially what you find necessary and unnecessary for your new ATV.
2. Remain Patient When Searching for Your Next ATV
The next tip in finding the best price for your new ATV is to remain patient. Rushing into a search not only limits your options, but it limits the window in which you have to find the vehicle that may end up being your favorite.
Patience with an ATV dealer (or several dealers) can also help you to wait out on a sale or the new release of a certain model.
When a new model is released, you can often scoop up the previous year’s model at a reduced price. This is a similar concept as buying the latest phone or car- once the “new” year has passed, the model’s novelty depreciates and the price reduces.
If you know that your favorite manufacturer is about to release a new model, and you are willing to go with a different model than the new release, then you can expect to find a good deal. However, this obviously implies patience in waiting for this release.
Further, you need to remain patient in the season that you plan to buy your ATV in. Since buying during the summer will likely not yield the best overall deal on your ATV, just wait a few more months and buy in the off-season.
You will experience an increased likelihood of finding the deal that you are hoping to find if you simply wait a few months and make do with what you have for this season.
Of course, this is not always practical if you find that you are in the middle of the summer and do not have a working ATV that you can ride. But, when it is possible and you are simply waiting to upgrade, then waiting until the off-season can come in clutch.
Being patient with the local ATV dealers can also help you out. ATV dealers are people, too, and will generally look to help you out more if you are polite and patient with them. Now, this does not mean that you should bend to their every request- as they are attempting to make a sale and you are attempting to cut a deal- but being patient with them can pay off.
Keep your eyes open at the various ATV dealerships in your area. If you live in an area that the nearest ATV dealers are within 100 miles, then you might have to use their websites or insist on a deal over the phone.
By telling an ATV salesman that you mean business and you are unwilling to drive all over kingdom come in search of a deal, they will see your dedication and firmness in your motivation to buy.
3. Maintain Firm Points of Interest in the ATV You Hope to Buy
The third tip to finding the best deal and negotiating the price of your ATV is to maintain firm points of interest in the ATV you hope to buy. In essence, you need to know what you are looking for before you go into the dealership, and you need to demonstrate this knowledge competently with the ATV dealer.
Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that your points of interest might look different than your buddy’s. While the price of the vehicle might be the ultimate deal-breaker for you, your buddy might be more open to a flexible price as long as maintenance is included for the year- or something similar.
It is important to decide what the maximum price point you are willing to reach is before you enter into the dealership.
Additionally, you should know what you are looking for in an ATV and try not to be too set on one model. If you are flexible with your options, then you might be more willing to take a good deal on a model you had not originally considered.
Here’s a good video explaining some common negotiation tactics and strategies you could use when searching for a deal.
4. Set Reasonable Expectations
Finally, setting reasonable expectations on what a “reasonable” price is for your ATV is important. Often, this simply comes as a component that will (or will not) earn you the respect of the dealer.
If you come into the dealership looking to pay $1,000 for a $4,000 model, for example, then you are likely not going to get the deal you are looking for.
However, if you choose to keep a budget range and will stretch to the higher range of the budget as long as a few perks are added to your buy, then you might end up with a better overall price on the ATV and perks included. This can save you in the long run, even if you are spending to the top of your budget.
Ultimately, it is important to be realistic with what you can buy, what the ATV dealer can offer you (as they have to make a profit to pay their bills), and respect the process. By following these reasonable expectations, both you and the ATV dealer will be thoroughly satisfied in the deal that you make, and you can walk away with your new ATV at a reasonable price.