Buying a used bike? Check your dealer or manufactures website.

O

oldrider

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Been looking for a good bike for a while and felt like venting. Prices for used bikes is unbelievable, but not in a good way. Every day I see hundreds of bikes hit the used market. I see things like "don't try to lowball me" , "not going to give it away" and even more severe like " I'll smash it to pieces before I go any lower". That's fine if the bike is a good deal, but MANY are not. Smaller bikes that appeal to new riders aren't even worth buying used in a lot of cases imo. Classic case is cbr125. Dealer quoted me about $2700 out the door ( everything except plates) for a brand new noncurrent 09. Bike itself was about $2200 on Honda Canada website, no charge for freight etc because it's non current. According to the dealer the 2008's were selling for under $2000 the previous year. People want as much as $3000 used for a $2000 or $2200 new bike.
I DON"T GET IT ! I've decided they'd be too small for me, but still check out of curiousity.
So if your in the market for any used bike check with your dealer (I never thought I'd say that) you might be surprised that you can buy new cheaper. Lots of incentives and lots of hungry dealers.
I really think the problem may be sites like kijiji etc. People want to sell their bike so they look around at what other people are asking. It only takes one person with a crazy high asking price to start off a string of overpriced bikes. Seldom do they sell from what I've seen, but people are convinced they can get what the other guy is asking, road rash and all.
My 2 cents
 
A lot of the unrealistic pricing is done by the noob or out of touch riders. You'll see it on beginner bikes often.

My girlfriend was hunting for a ninja 250, and we went to go see a 2010 model that apparently was mint conditions with upgrades $4,300, one of those "I will smash it to pieces before I go any lower" types.

Get there, the guy never looked at the bottom half of his bike because he had never washed it or done an oil change. Obvious signs of damage. Tires must've been at 0 psi they looked damn low just from eye sight. Chain was slacking galore. And he put on an aftermarket slip on, that some guy made for him in a garage, that apparently didn't require any carb work. Of course the bike was slower than my girlfriend's CBR 125R. The kicker: this guy was an engineer! Now I feel safe.

She bought the same model bike from someone who had been researching his next purchase for months, was well informed, and gave her a much much better deal on an unmolested ninja. He was Informed, the other dude knew nothing about riding and came up with his selling price on a broken calculator.
 
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People selling bikes on Kijiji all think they should get paid for the sedimental value their bikes are worth as well.
And all Mods are added to the price at about 80% of the Brand new price (Even if they bought them used).
And of course the infamous "The previous owner dropped it in the driveway" although the scratches are identical to a newb lowside lol.
 
jeffjones said:
"The previous owner dropped it in the driveway" although the scratches are identical to a newb lowside lol.
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That's funny...... because it's true! As soon as somebody tells me it has a few small scratches I start to wonder. The scratches usually start at the mirrors and end on the muffler.
 
A lot of people base there expectations on what their total cost was out the door, not the price paid for the bike. I.e. they add their taxes, their PDI, plates, probably their gear as well and then figure "my CBR125 cost me $4000 so $3000 is a good price". The price should be calculated on the price of the bike, not the out the door cost. That should be one of the advantages of buying used is that you aren't paying PDI and other costs associated with a new bike.

Unfortunately most people don't think it out. The result is either stupid buyers get fleeced or the bike sits unsold.

I have an older bike in my garage that I realize I won't get very much for if I sell it. Certainly not even a return on the thousands I've spent on it in the last several years. But, I need to decide if I want it gone, and take the losses, or keep it, sitting in the garage, unused, awaiting the day that I have spare money for insurance and nothing but time to ride a variety of bikes which isn't gonna happen soon. So, probably sell it for cheap in the spring. But ofr me, I'd rather give it away to someone that will love it and enjoy it then try to rip off a fool or let it rot unused.
 
jeffjones said:
People selling bikes on Kijiji all think they should get paid for the sedimental value their bikes are worth as well.
And all Mods are added to the price at about 80% of the Brand new price (Even if they bought them used).
And of course the infamous "The previous owner dropped it in the driveway" although the scratches are identical to a newb lowside lol.
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sentimental

But I agree.
 
Worst thing I did was trust a kijiji picture. I drove from Mississauga to Ottawa to look at an (87?) fj1200. The price was right for the age and km on the bike. The seller told me the picture was current. When I got there different bike then in the pic. It was complete trash. The guy said " well, make me an offer" I offered $300 and he told me to go away. He said " be reasonable, I was thinking you would talk me down $50 or so". What a dreamer. I hope he still has that rotted out rust bucket consuming room at his place because I'd feel horrible if he suckered a noob into buying the bike for $2000. So sad, but this stuff happens so get used to it. You will find your bike eventually but you got to keep looking. I'm at it again looking for an 02-04 fjr1300 but again prices are unbelievable. Keep Your head up and good luck.

Ever sell a bike before? It can be quite the headache as well. You could list a mint condition cbr600rr that's a year old for $1000 and some a@#hole will come to your place and have a fit that it's a rip off.

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk
 
Griffin said:
A lot of people base there expectations on what their total cost was out the door, not the price paid for the bike. I.e. they add their taxes, their PDI, plates, probably their gear as well and then figure "my CBR125 cost me $4000 so $3000 is a good price". The price should be calculated on the price of the bike, not the out the door cost. That should be one of the advantages of buying used is that you aren't paying PDI and other costs associated with a new bike.

Unfortunately most people don't think it out. The result is either stupid buyers get fleeced or the bike sits unsold.

I have an older bike in my garage that I realize I won't get very much for if I sell it. Certainly not even a return on the thousands I've spent on it in the last several years. But, I need to decide if I want it gone, and take the losses, or keep it, sitting in the garage, unused, awaiting the day that I have spare money for insurance and nothing but time to ride a variety of bikes which isn't gonna happen soon. So, probably sell it for cheap in the spring. But ofr me, I'd rather give it away to someone that will love it and enjoy it then try to rip off a fool or let it rot unused.
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Pm me Griffin, My pm isn't working for some reason. I want to hear about your old bike.
 
Venom01 said:
Ever sell a bike before? It can be quite the headache as well. You could list a mint condition cbr600rr that's a year old for $1000 and some a@#hole will come to your place and have a fit that it's a rip off.

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk
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Haven't sold a bike for many years, but when I did there was no kijiji or internet. If the bike was good and priced well, A friend or a friend of a friend usually bought it. We were less likely to try to get top dollar, and it was usually cheaper because nobody wanted to take any chances when selling to a friend. Back in the oldin days.
 
oldrider said:
That's funny...... because it's true! As soon as somebody tells me it has a few small scratches I start to wonder. The scratches usually start at the mirrors and end on the muffler.
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Unless the scratches are streaked across the side with replaced pegs and such, that's exactly what happens when a bike goes for a nap. Any bit that hits the ground or scrapes when the bike gets lifted up.

Most buyers will try to haggle, so sellers jack up the price to compensate. I've never sold a bike for what I listed it for--they're not investments. Or you can watch for a fairly priced bike to begin with. They sometimes have a few scratches.
 
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People are obviously paying what they are selling for. Otherwise everyone would be dropping their price to actually sell the machine. Not sure how one could actually fix it, unless everyone stopped buying used till prices were forced to drop. People want bikes, complain they are to expensive, and then because there is no real recourse other then endless hunting or going down to the states, they buy for the prices they are going for now.
 
wonderings said:
People are obviously paying what they are selling for. Otherwise everyone would be dropping their price to actually sell the machine. Not sure how one could actually fix it, unless everyone stopped buying used till prices were forced to drop. People want bikes, complain they are to expensive, and then because there is no real recourse other then endless hunting or going down to the states, they buy for the prices they are going for now.
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Exactly my thoughts. Don't complain, just don't spend. You will find what you want for a fair price but you have to be prepared to keep looking and realize it may take time.

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk
 
Griffin said:
A lot of people base there expectations on what their total cost was out the door, not the price paid for the bike. I.e. they add their taxes, their PDI, plates, probably their gear as well and then figure "my CBR125 cost me $4000 so $3000 is a good price". The price should be calculated on the price of the bike, not the out the door cost. That should be one of the advantages of buying used is that you aren't paying PDI and other costs associated with a new bike.

Unfortunately most people don't think it out. The result is either stupid buyers get fleeced or the bike sits unsold.
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If the bike is relatively new (like less than a year old and/or less than 1000 KMs), I don't see any harm in trying to recoup some of the tax and PDI costs.
 
Chaos said:
If the bike is relatively new (like less than a year old and/or less than 1000 KMs), I don't see any harm in trying to recoup some of the tax and PDI costs.
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You forgot the cost of gas and oil changes.
 
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