Before I buy questions... Advice / help

[KIDDX]

Ive been shopping around and going over these forums for awhile now.

I have narrowed my choice down to the STS or the ST Limited. Tough choice as both dealerships I have visited offered more of a discount on the Limited and barely any discount on the STS.

Im in the Fort Wayne Indiana area so Im choosing between RT sales and R&D.

I have read over the dos and donts but I am curious if you guys can give me some pre deal dos and donts?

Ive read things about "maint agreements" "setups" and such not sure what alot of that is so any help anyone can offer so I make the right decision and get the best deal I would sure appreciate it.
O and I will be getting the extended warranty no matter which place I decide on.

Thanks in advance

[MouthPiece]

If you think you will ride a lot of miles the first couple of years, I definitely would get a "maintenance plan". Mine cost $1,500.00. Caveat to what I just said. I am no gear head. Far from it so I'm very dependent on maintenance by my dealer.

Chris

[MikeT]

Your story sounds all to familiar. I am living it now. I'm in Indianapolis. My current ride is a 09 GL1800 Hannigan trike. Right now my quandry is RT-S vs. Limited SE5. It comes down to the package deal on the LTD vs. better color selection on the RT-S. I have NO local Spyder dealers. My research has led me to R&T Sales (Ron). I've not come across much on RD. You are at much more of an advantage than me since you live in the area. You can check both places out and talk to people in your area. If Spyder riders are like Harley riders, they usually hang out at the dealership on Saturdays. You might want to take a Saturday or two and hang out at both R&T and RD, and see what you come away with.
We had planned to come up to R&T's open house today; but not only did something come up; but the weather was inclement. This is the problem with a dealer being 2 hours away. You have to give up 4 hours just to make a round trip. Another dealer you might check out is Honda East. I've put my search on hold for the next 30 days to see if I survive my employer's "reconfiguration" due to a financial shortfall.
Good Luck
Mike

[KIDDX]

Your story sounds all to familiar. I am living it now. I'm in Indianapolis. My current ride is a 09 GL1800 Hannigan trike. Right now my quandry is RT-S vs. Limited SE5. It comes down to the package deal on the LTD vs. better color selection on the RT-S. I have NO local Spyder dealers. My research has led me to R&T Sales (Ron). I've not come across much on RD. You are at much more of an advantage than me since you live in the area. You can check both places out and talk to people in your area. If Spyder riders are like Harley riders, they usually hang out at the dealership on Saturdays. You might want to take a Saturday or two and hang out at both R&T and RD, and see what you come away with.
We had planned to come up to R&T's open house today; but not only did something come up; but the weather was inclement. This is the problem with a dealer being 2 hours away. You have to give up 4 hours just to make a round trip. Another dealer you might check out is Honda East. I've put my search on hold for the next 30 days to see if I survive my employer's "reconfiguration" due to a financial shortfall.
Good Luck
Mike

Well I can tell you that R&D has more RT's to choose from but I do like the small town home feel at RT with Ron. Plus the fact they have been in the Spyder business longer and know there stuff.
Which is why this is hard for me right now cuz I seem to be getting a better price at R&D. Its not much but every little bit counts.

[joet82]

Well I can tell you that R&D has more RT's to choose from but I do like the small town home feel at RT with Ron. Plus the fact they have been in the Spyder business longer and know there stuff.
Which is why this is hard for me right now cuz I seem to be getting a better price at R&D. Its not much but every little bit counts.

So buy the Spyder at R&D and get your maintenance done at RT. Lol

[Ga Blue Knight]

After almost four years and two Spyders it all comes down to two things when talking about Spyder ownership. It's not Price, it's not model selection, it's not color it's not how friendly the sales staff are, it's not how close the the dealership is, it's not how big or how small towny the dealer is. It's how well trained and certified their techs are and well and complete a new bike set up and delivery do they do. All else is flash and does not matter in the scheme of things when it come to having a positive owner experience. If you check the forum for past owner issues 75-80% are do to bad dealer new bike set up. A worse situation are untrained techs not having a clue and keeping bikes for weeks trying to figure out what is wrong with them or screwing them even more. The difference in sales price between an ave price and a deal is tiny compared to the ave maintenance cost difference at dealers that gave you that same bargain then charge you a higher fee for the pleasure of having them service your bike.

[KIDDX]

thx. its all a little scary and exciting at the same time