An ode to High Country Harley Davidson / Buell.
So it all started with the dawn of a new spring and the desire to get a bike that does more in and around town then the zx-14. I started looking around and fell in love with the new Buell 1125R. I Read numerous reviews, lurked the Buell forums all in the search of knowledge about the new offering by Buell. The bike sounded like an absolute blast and I had to check it out. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I learn that High Country Harley Davidson / Buell has a demo 1125R for demo so I take off and cruise up to Firestone to kick the tires. The sales man was nice, knowledgeable and not at all put off by my interest in the HD/Rotax bastard child. I take it for a spin and all I can say is wow... what a fun bike. Comfortable, lots of torque... what else can I say. I leave pleasantly surprised and generally interested in the bike.
So I spend the next week contacting my credit union to get approved for a new loan, calling about insurance rates, and emailing the salesman about trade in values on the 14. All comes back good so I plan to roll up there on Saturday to make a deal. Well, Saturday comes and its cold as all get out... may be fine for a jaunt down to Fay to watch Britton, but not a ride up to Firestone so I call a buddy and load the 14 into the back of the truck. We roll up to HCHDB and this is where it gets interesting.
We stand around for almost a half an hour before I can even speak with the salesman, get the bike off the truck while enduring the ever so expected taunting about buying a real bike from the service techs, among other minor annoying but easily overlooked issues. Finally, I sit down with the finance guy. First off, the email my credit union wasn't good enough and neither was the payoff for the 14. Funny, because it's no different than the paperwork I used to get the 14. Well we go back and forth for the better part of an hour and I finally agree to finance through HD knowing full well that I can refi with my credit union on Monday. Annoying has now become irritating with the constantly repeating notion that "they've been burned before" and "that's not how they do business"... unlike any other dealership I've ever dealt with.
Next, the finance guy asks if I have insurance. Well of course, I have a policy on the 14. He asks about the 1125R. Well how can I have insurance on a bike I don't own? So he starts throwing down policy quotes. I'm not interested in buying insurance; I'm interested in buying a bike. I already have insurance and CO state law allows a 14 day carry over to get the new bike under my name. Again with the "that's not how we do business" and "we've been burned before". So I call State Farm while sitting in the finance office and set up the policy. State Farm faxes over a certificate of insurance. The finance guy grabs the insurance fax, flips back and forth for a couple of minutes then announced in quite a condescending manner that it's not good enough... heard that before. I ask what the problem is. Apparently, the form State Farm uses doesn't have the new lien holder on it and the finance guy explains that they won't get paid if they don't have a binder. Like they're going to get a check on a Saturday night as soon as the deal is done. I call State Farm back, put the cell on speakerphone and have the finance guy and State Farm battle it out. They go back and forth for a couple of minutes and get absolutely nothing accomplished. He then presents me with the quote for insurance and I again explain that I'm not interested in buying insurance. Well, he wanders off to the GM's office and then comes back and states that my insurance just won't do... I've had State Farm for over 16 years and it's always been just fine... I guess that's not how they do business.
Finally, in a moment of utter frustration, I ask for my keys back and step away from the table. I have never had so many difficulties trying to buy a bike. I go outside, get my gear out of the truck and start putting it on. I'm so frustrated; I don't even want to take the time to load the bike back into the truck. The salesman comes out and tries to sooth the situation... no help. I again explain that I was interested in buying a bike, not insurance. Nothing I did was unique and that I'm in a financial situation that buying this bike should prove to be no problem. Again with the "we've been burned in the past"... I'm thinking they need to use it as a marketing slogan because it seems to be ever so present on the lips of every employee in the place.
So my buddy drives my truck back while I freeze my ass off heading back to Aurora. On the ride back I had some time to think. I've never been treated like so much of a criminal by a dealership. I'm sorry that they feel the need to treat their customers in such a fashion. My anger and dismay grow along with a strong dislike for the bike that I had so much fun on a week earlier. I've bought bikes from numerous dealerships and have NEVER been treated in such a way. I would have expected a bit more scrutiny if I was dropping 30K on some chromed out pig, but this was a 12K bike... probably one of the cheapest bikes in the dealership. I didn't realize that the economy was going so strong that they had a line out the door waiting to buy bikes. BTW, the finance guy had 4 deals for the week on his little marker board... including mine (or what would have been mine).
I now have no more love for this bike, the dealership, or the manufacturer if this is how they choose to conduct business.
So take my experience as what it was... mine. If you've had good dealings with this dealership, good for ya mate. I for one am not accustomed to being treated like a criminal or vagrant while trying to buy a bike. That's not how I do business. So, if some time in the distant future, Buell happens to trip my trigger, there is absolutely no way my shadow will ever darken the door of High Country Harley Davidson / Buell again.
I just wanted to share my experiences so that no one else will have to suffer the same problems.