Hello everyone, and Happy New Year!
You might think I’m crazy, what with all the snow on the ground and the promise of more to come, to be thinking about motorcycles. Maybe I am a little, but frankly this is the perfect time of year to be thinking about finding a great deal on a new bike or upgrading your current one.
This week we are going to speak primarily about taking advantage of the timing to get yourself a new ride. Dealers across Erie are sitting on their inventory – some have even relegated a part of it to storage as they make room for snowmobiles and such. Don’t let this get you down though – they still will bend over backwards to sell you a bike and this time of year you can often get one for a song.
If you are willing to buy a left-over 2011, you can find some terrific deals out there; if you are okay with a leftover new bike that is a little older, then you can really save. Dealers often will have a bike that’s one, two or even three years old, brand new with full warranties. Nothing wrong with these bikes: maybe they ordered too many, or had a deal go sour at the last minute – or just bad sales on a specific model – but now you can benefit.
What I recommend in these situations is to go in-person and check out what they have on the floor, then speak directly to a sales manager if you can. Be straight-up and honest – ask them about their leftovers and if they have something that will tickle your fancy make them an offer. Here’s the catch… it’s got to be a legitimate offer. Sure, they may want to get rid of a bike that’s worn out its welcome, but they aren’t going to just give it away. They aren’t going to give you the same price as if it were a used bike, but I would make an offer a little bit above retail on a used bike and negotiate from there. Or you could just come straight out and ask them. Tell them you are looking for a real deal, and that in order to move the unit they are going to have to make it worthwhile versus purchasing a new model year unit. Honesty really is the best policy –just make sure that you come across sincerely and you’ll score.
As good as left-overs are this time of year I think out and out used bikes are even better. Whether it’s a dealership or a private seller these bikes need to go! I would scour the paper, craigslist and local dealer websites for their used inventories. There is a great Honda 919 at Forest Park Honda that they’ve been sitting on for a while – I’m sure they’d move on it. Off-Road has a few really sweet Harleys, and a ton of metric cruisers, Victories and sport bikes. Harley has a ton of slightly older cruisers and tourers, and you can almost always save a few bucks at a Harley dealer buying their import trade-ins. If you’d rather deal privately there are some great buys out there too. There’s a fellow on Craigslist selling a really nice seeming 2007 Yamaha FJR for $7,500 – it’s a good price already in my opinion but it never hurts to make a slightly lower offer.
Anyway the point is now is the time to find a great deal. I buy almost all my bikes after riding season, and I’ve almost always been able to save enough to actually make a little profit when it’s time for me to sell. My theory (well, I borrowed it from a buddy) is that it’s not really how much the bike costs, it’s how much it costs YOU. If I got that $7,500 FJR for $6500 and then sold it in July for the same price, that means all it cost me was gas and insurance for the most part – so I got a free bike basically. Heck, motorcycles aren’t meant to be investments – if it costs you a few hundred bucks but you get to enjoy the summer then I think you’ve come out way ahead. Another great place to look for used bikes is on motorcycling enthusiast web forums. My favorite general forum is www.advrider.com. Tons of awesome info and a great classified section. There are specific forums for just about every bike so don’t be shy. At this point I would just get busy and start looking – something awesome will come along and you can get a great deal on it.
Good luck and ride safe.
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Assuming the money is about the same, do you think I’d be better off with a higher mileage new model, or a low mileage older model?
Great question Ed. The first thing I would do is look over the features list on both bikes. If there is something that is a must-have for you – maybe ABS, traction control or even a 6-spd tranny vs. a 5-spd – then you I would recommend going with the oldest model that has those features with low miles. For example my buddy is looking at a Harley, but he wants the 6-spd tranny AND a 96″ motor. That means he can go as far back as 2007. There was a mild upgrade to the tranny in 2008 and some big chassis changes on the Touring bikes a year or two later, but he doesn’t care about that. So he’s looking for the right combo of year, mileage and price, going as old as 2007. Once you’ve thought about the options necessary the best thing to do is actually ride the bike with the features you’ve chosen, and make sure they really are worthwhile to you.
If I’m on the other side of the equation, how worthwhile is it to try to sell a bike at this time, versus holding onto it until spring? (And perhaps not driving it, having to do a tune-up then since it’s been sitting a while, etc). Also, I’m holding onto some parts and helmets, but those aren’t taking up much space. Any reason or good plan to getting rid of them now versus waiting until April or so?
-JV
Well, it’s always nice to get cash when you need it – but even if you don’t there is always the chance that the value on the bike might dip a bit anyway. Frankly if I were selling a bike in the winter that I didn’t have to (you know, to get another bike, pay bills, etc)I would list it for a reasonable price and make sure to really sell the value. Talk about what makes the bike special, what made you buy it or customize it the way you did. Helmets I would get rid of as soon as possible, primarily because they have a shelf life. The newer they are the more appeal they will have. As far as parts go winter is a good time too, as it is when people tend to work on their bikes – something we will be talking about rather soon.