Topic: trivial question about freight damage/TN. Honda dealer early 1970's

[DH]

I am sure this is no longer a practice, but to satisfy my curiousity, does anyone remember ever hearing about
the availability of freight damaged Hondas from a dealer in Martin Tennesee? The place was a legit Honda dealer, as I understand it, and supposedly bought freight damaged bikes at a discount. They then fixed the broken headlight, bent handle bar, tweaked fender, etc. and then offered the bikes for sale with full factory warranty,
to the public. And at a 3-$400 discount from what most other dealers were charging. Just wondered if anyone from here ever heard of that place.

[MoMo]

Doesn't make sense as Honda always reimbursed our dealership for damaged parts and the bikes were sold as new with no one the wiser... Not saying it cannot be true but it just doesn't make sense unless they were getting the bikes before they hit a dealership

[DH]

Doesn't make sense as Honda always reimbursed our dealership for damaged parts and the bikes were sold as new with no one the wiser... Not saying it cannot be true but it just doesn't make sense unless they were getting the bikes before they hit a dealership

I'm not sure how they did it, as I was a teen in '73, but it was some warranty like issue. What you're saying makes more sense. The place was a dealership, or at least they were advertised as one. My dad and uncle made two separate trips from St. Louis and bought bikes. Something made them do that, but I can't remember what exactly. Not really important, just curious as to what that place had goin on. Maybe a sales tax loophole, but for a few hundred dollars savings, it would've been a big loophole.

[vfourfreak]

For a while in the mid '70s in the UK, you could buy brand new Hondas in the crate for a reasonably good  discount over normal retail pricing. No assembly, no pre delivery check, but a full warranty (supposedly). I bought my CB400F that way, assembled it in a mate's garage in Ealing and drove it back to Ireland without a problem.

I think Honda later closed off the supply to such "dealers", but it worked for me.

Kev

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Bought mine new somewhat nearby. Pug Vickers Honda in Huntingdon, TN. Don't remember this but I went to TN as the price was cheaper than in KY. 100 miles $100. Big money back in the day for a young man  $1800.

[DH]

For a while in the mid '70s in the UK, you could buy brand new Hondas in the crate for a reasonably good  discount over normal retail pricing. No assembly, no pre delivery check, but a full warranty (supposedly). I bought my CB400F that way, assembled it in a mate's garage in Ealing and drove it back to Ireland without a problem.

I think Honda later closed off the supply to such "dealers", but it worked for me.

Kev

That seems like  the similar scenario I remember. And the guy who told us about it, notified us later that Honda quit the practice.

 

Bought mine new somewhat nearby. Pug Vickers Honda in Huntingdon, TN. Don't remember this but I went to TN as the price was cheaper than in KY. 100 miles $100. Big money back in the day for a young man  $1800.

I think 100.00 was close to my weekly wage back then ....The place my dads bike came from was called
"King Of Sports Honda". A cb500 with the same keyswitch/ign key as the ones on my cl350 (bought in St. Louis.) We found that out one day while the keys for both got mixed up.