Group Buy for 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R

[pearl]

Please read FAQ's section at the end of this post before posting questions, thanks!
Latest Update: November 7th, Page 37, Post #365

As promised, it's that time of the year again

Last year we were able to round up a group purchase for the all new 2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, and we had great success! At least 10 people on GTAMotorcycle took part in it and we were able to get an insanely great price of 4400 OUT THE DOOR, this means all taxes paid, frieght, PDI, tire tax, all that good stuff are paid. With the only exception of licensing fee of $80, this is to get you a plate and a sticker for the year. For those that are not familiar with the process, this fee is not avoidable no matter what dealership or private seller you go to, because the money goes straight to MTO. Unless you wish to not put a plate on the bike, then you wouldn't have to pay the $80. And of course the price does not include insurance.

Last Year's Ninja 250R Group Buy Thread

But back to the topic.

I've been getting many many PM's about whether or not I will be starting another group buy, and I have promised to give it a try, so here it is!

As per last year, this group buy will most probably be staying in Canada. I will definitely try and get some numbers from south of the boarder, but we will decide at the end where we will take all of our business as a group. And this group buy will primarily be dealing with 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R's, we could probably get some good deals on other Kawasaki's as well, but other brands may be tricky, it will depend on what dealership we end up going with.

I hate to sound like I'm rushing you guys, but I feel I should be fair in giving you guys a heads up. Last year, there were 2 people that were a bit late and did not get their bikes because the dealership ran out of stock, even though they put their deposit on their bike, of course they got their deposit back, but I just wanted to give a heads up, to maximise the chance that you'll get your bike, please: 1) sign up early, 2) put down deposit as soon as we decide on a dealership, and 3)check with the dealership to get a VIN registered to you as soon as possible

I would also like to remind everyone interested in this group buy, that this is a very long and slow process. You should be receiving your bike early next season, but please don't expect to get your bike within the next few months. You will have to be patient to be part of this group buy. I know some people that got it in early March, and a few people that got it in May.

Also, on a less exciting note, this year's price will most probably not be as competitive as last year's 4400, since the dealerships now know how popular this bike is, they will want to get more out of it. So I'll ask as many places as I have time for, and we'll hope for the best.

Process:
Basically, it'll be just like last year's
1) If you are both financially and mentally ready to make the purchase of the motorcycle you are interested in, please send me your name, contact phone number, motorcycle you wish to purchase, and color. Please only send me decisions, not "either this bike, that bike, or that bike" It just keeps things easier for me to manage, thanks
2) Once I find some good quotes and post them up, I will set a deadline to make your final decision. But like I said, the earlier you sign up, the higher your chances of you getting your motorcycle. But please be sure that you are both financially and mentally ready before
sending me your info, don't sign up "just incase" you feel like buying a bike next year with the money you might win from the lottery.
3) Once we're past the deadline, I will stop taking names and info, and then bring the list to the dealership for them to take over.
4) The dealership will then contact you, and from there, I'm no longer involed in the process.

Please also be advised, that I will NOT be telling anyone the name of the dealerships I will be contacting, or the dealership we end up going with. This is to avoid some complications that I have experienced from organizing previous group purchases. You will learn the name of the dealership when they contact you. From there, you are free to (and encouraged to) do your research on the dealership to check if they are legit, so you can feel safe before putting down your money or sign anything.

Now for those nice little fine print and details:
1. I do NOT want to be part of your financial process to purchase this
bike. The arrangement for payment will be between you and the
dealership. In the case that anyone lose or gain any money and/or
property, I am not responsible. I am only trying to find everyone the
best deal, and pass on the names to the dealership, from there, you are
on your own.
2. I am NOT responsible for any losses/damage/injuries/fatalities that may or may not occur to any persons/property involved with the motorcycle/dealership/anything, please be aware that motorcycling is a dangerous sport.

I would also like to ask everyone not to go around to all the dealerships asking if they can beat the price of this group buy. This will anger the other dealerships (again) and cause them to complain with the other dealerships, which wasn't very fun for the dealership we dealt with last year. I have a lot of experience with organizing group buys and working with dealerships. I am VERY confident that the price that I get with a large group of people will be better than the price that you can get by yourself.

And to those that thinks no dealership will be interested in a group buy, this is only half true. Most dealerships will refuse to talk about a group buy, but from previous group buys, most dealerships now know me, so I know of at least 3 dealerships that will negotiate with me

To sum up, basically, if you are interested in a 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, and you are both financially and mentally ready to purchase this motorcycle, send me your name, contact number, and color.


FAQ's Responses

1. How much will deposit be?
Deposit is usually around $500, but this will be between you and the dealership.
2. Can I get in on the group buy with other Kawasaki's? (i.e. EX500, ZX6, ZX14, etc.)
I'm pretty sure we can get other Kawasaki's as well in on the group buy, since we will be going with a Kawasaki dealership, so getting other bikes at a discount price shouldn't be a problem, just make sure you are both financially and mentally committed to make the purchase before you pm me your info
3. Can I get in on the group buy with other brands?(i.e. yamaha, suzuki, ducati, etc.)
This I can't say for sure, since this group buy is meant for the Ninja 250, that will be the focus of the group. If the dealership we end up going with does offer other brands, I will let everyone know and we'll go from there.
4. What are the colors/specs/msrp/date of availability for the 2009 Ninja 250R?
To be honest I have no idea, but probably very similar to the 2008's (this is just my guess)
5. When is the deadline to join in on the group buy?
Deadline is undetermined at this point, it is too early to say, but to give an idea, last year's was around January, this year should be around the same, perhaps a little earlier. Keep in mind that for me to set a deadline, we first need to know the colors/spec/msrp for the bike, only then would I be able to start negotiating with dealerships for a out the door price. Bottom line, deadline won't be at least a month after all the colors/spec/msrp is released.
6. Is there anything I can do to help out with the group buy?
Yes. If you want to help me out, as well as help yourself and other people in this group buy, there are a few things you can do. Spread the word, so that we'll get a massive group, and therefore, a better price. Give me your trust, at least for now, I'm not asking you for any money or to sign anything, so just trust me for now, there's nothing I can do to scam you with just your name and number (which are the only info I'll ever ask you for). Please do not call up every dealership trying to find out who I'm working with, I am NOT asking you to trust me with your money, I am only asking you to trust me until I hook you up with a dealership, from that point on you can do as much research on the dealership as you wish. One thing I am very confident about, is you will get the best prices with this group buy, large groups will always get better prices than a few individuals.
7. If I choose to take part in this group buy, does it mean that I will have to take the bike back to this dealership every single time it requires servicing?
In a nut shell, No. When you buy a Kawasaki in Canada, the warranty will be covered at ANY Kawasaki dealership in Canada. This warrenty, of course, does not include the required servicing from normal use, such as oil changes, brake pads, filter changes, etc. From what I understand, what the warranty does cover are recalls or any malfunction that occurs even under normal use and regular servicing, and this is very very rare. If you'd like to be 100% sure on this, please contact Kawasaki Canada or read up Kawasaki's warranty information available here. Most people will recommend doing the servicing yourself so that you'll get a better understanding of your motorcycle, and save a bundle, but to answer the question again, no, you do not need to take the motorcycle back to the same dealership for servicing. The one exception is if we decide to take the group buy south of the boarder, in that case, Kawasaki USA will not honour the warranty in Canada. I wouldn't worry about this at the moment, because for one, the group buy price we got last year in Canada was very competitive with the US price, and second, use of warranty is rarely required.
8. What about warranty?
Please refer to Q7 above
9. Does taking part in this group buy mean I'll have to pay cash all up front in one lump sum?
This will depend on what you and the dealership agree on, each dealership will have their own preference. From what I can see, I don't see why the dealership will refuse to take financing, because I believe they get more money from you when you finance. The dealership we went with last year did offer financing, as well as trade-in, although I would recommend you not do trade-in, since you will get more money out of your bike if you sell it privately. Again, there is an exception to this question, this would be if we were to take the group buy south of the boarder. When importing a vehicle, it must be fully paid off, so financing won't be an option. With that said, the 2008 Ninja 250R was only $3499 at MSRP in the states, so after taking into the group discount into consideration, it's not going to be a very large number even to have to pay for it all at once.
10. Are we staying in Canada for this group buy?
We will wait until we get the group prices from the dealerships to make a final decision. Don't let this affect your decision to take part in this group buy or not right now, if you are very interested in purchasing a 2009 Ninja 250R for the best prices possible and you are both financially and mentally commited to make this purchase given a good price and correct conditions, send me a pm, the bigger our group, the better our discount will be.
11. When do we actually GET our bikes?
It is impossible to tell an exact date at this point, because it all depends on when the dealership gets the bike in, but last year I know the first person picked up his bike around late February, and a few got them in mid April. I personally could have gotten mine in late February as well, but I didn't go pick it up until late March because I wanted to ride it home on a salt-free road, so the dealership agreed to keep it for me until I wanted to pick it up.
12. I already put down a deposit with a dealership, can I still get in on the group buy?
Yes you can, but you will be taking a risk. There are two possible cases
Case 1 - The dealership we end up with is NOT the dealership you put your deposit down at.
If the group buy is going to a dealership that's not your dealership, you will want to get your deposit back before your bike arrives, or you will have to buy the bike from your dealership at full price.
Case 2 - The dealership we end up with is the dealership you put your deposit at.
You will want to get your deposit back as soon as possible, and let them know that it is for a personal/financial reason, not because of this group buy. The only reason they would offer me a low price is because they want me to bring them a long list of eager buyers, if you are already buying from them with deposit down, there is no reason why they would give you a discount.
So in any case, you should take out your deposit, the reason I say there is a risk is because there is no guarantee that everyone in this group buy will get a bike (For details refer to paragraph 4), so if you choose to take out your deposit, you will likely lose your spot in the waiting list at your dealership. so this is the risk that you'll have to decide to take or not. Is ~600 bucks worth the risk? I would say the risk is pretty slim, but the risk is there. In any case, I suggest you wait until around November 1st to make a decision, because I will have an update by then that will affect your decision.
13. I don’t have my license yet, can I still take part in this group buy?
This will depend on what route we go with, since the dealership we go with might deal with this differently. However, I do recommend that you at least write your M1 sometime in December or January, this way, you will have a license for when the dealership asks you, and you will have your M1 for when you want to do your M2 when the snow is gone.
14. Do I give you the deposit? Or do I give it to the dealership?
This is important, I have also covered it many times in this post(this post #1), so please make sure you read the post to get all the information. But to emphasize it, I will say again that I DO NOT want to touch a cent of your money, everything financial will be between you and the dealership, I am just passing your name to the dealership that gives us the best price, how you wish to pay, is between you and the dealership.
15. When I put down my deposit, am I guaranteed to get the bike the same time as everyone else?
This question is answered within this post around paragraph 4, and a related question is answered in this FAQ, #11

[GoldieTiger]

you got PM'ed!!!

[mapleleafz06]

Hey there, im sorry if this is too early to ask, but do we have a rough idea of how much the initial deposit would be?

[mystifier]

And this group buy will primarily be dealing with 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R's, we could probably get some good deals on other Kawasaki's as well, but other brands may be tricky, it will depend on what dealership we end up going with.

If this is true, and you can get a descent price on any of the 600 series kawi bikes, please post details. I'm looking to upgrade from my kawi 2006 zzr250.

[merauder69]

I too would be interested in a 600 if this gets opened up beyond the 250R

[Blackstone]

Anyone know if the colours are staying the same as the 2008's or if there are some changes for 2009? (I'm going to e-mail Kawasaki Canada directly, too, but I like to cover my bases.)

What's the deadline for making a decision and contacting you?

Thanks for putting this together again this year!

Cheers!

[Dinan]

i'm in... not going to make the same mistake as last year




THANKS FOR DOING THIS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

[Low rider]

Somebody who got in on the last group buy, needs another already.

[RyanK]

Appearently, there are 2 groups of people interested in gettting a ZZR600 or Ninja250R. So can we get more details on these two bikes (such as costs) before anyone has to make a final decision?

[boolawa]

Appearently, there are 2 groups of people interested in gettting a ZZR600 or Ninja250R. So can we get more details on these two bikes (such as costs) before anyone has to make a final decision?

i really wanted a zx6r

[pearl]

Added FAQ section on Original Post

[user751139]

Allright sweet! Been waiting for this post Pearl but you prolly know that. You got my Info :P

Also i got 2 of my friends who are serious as well.. they will send you their info :P

*Edit* Can we get the old Group buy removed and Sticky this one

[csr]

Thanks for organizing!

[Dinan]

would it be a good idea to make a facebook group, might get more people there too...

[Nemy]

I'm in.

[user751139]

Definetly, I wish This would get stickied thou..

[nascar007]

Thnks Pearl for all of ur hard work. We r looking fwd to our new bike. Can't wait.

[newbieracer]

If the zzr 600 is a possible, I am probably in. Let me know what the logistics would be $$ wise.

[ah_long]

Pm'd
I'm in for a black one..

[civilian]

i'm in 100% you got pm