In the unlikely event you’d like to overpay for a used motorcycle, then you’ll be happy to know it’s an easy process. Really, there’s just one step: Be foolish and impulsive (or lazy) and do no research.
I could have chosen a lot of examples, but here’s one that works quite nicely. This Cincinnati dealership is advertising this 2009 Kawasaki Versys with just 3,838 miles on it for $4,995. If you don’t know better, and don’t bother to find out, I suppose it could sound like a decent deal. Under $5,000 for a clean, low-mileage bike.
Good deal? You could have bought this used motorcycle new six years ago for less.
I just happen to know better, because that price is a couple of hundred dollars more than I paid for the exact same bike, same color and everything. And the one I bought had zero miles. Brand new. And that was six years ago.
I really wonder. Are there people out there who really pay anything close to the outrageous prices I see dealers and independent shops asking for used bikes?
I suppose there may be some uninformed new rider who doesn’t have an understanding of prices and hasn’t bothered to do the research, but are there really enough people who are both that gullible and also capable of amassing $5,000 to keep these sellers in business? It’s hard to believe.
The truth is, there are incredible deals to be had on used motorcycles, if you decide to be the opposite of foolish and impulsive (or lazy). Motorcycle sales are weak, still not much more than half of what they were in the United States in 2007. Wage stagnation means most people haven’t got a real raise over the last decade and many consumers are tapped out, in terms of debt. For most people, a motorcycle is a very discretionary purchase. Add all that up and it’s not hard to see why getting top dollar for a used motorcycle is difficult, right now.
It may be unfair to pick on Triumph of Cincinnati, because I could point out many other good examples, including some clueless private sellers. But this one is so easy, just because it’s identical to the bike I own. I’m sure if I called them up they’d tell me how their highly professional mechanics inspect the used motorcycles they sell, blah, blah, blah. But I wonder what they’d say if I asked what they did to this bike to add $250 to its value compared to six years ago when it was new.
I have a feeling the conversation would not go well.
It’s easy to make motorcycling very expensive: Be impulsive. Fall in love with a bike that you have to have and don’t do any research before buying. Buy only the hot new bike of the year and then sell it a year later after it has massively depreciated.
It’s also almost as easy to make motorcycling cheap, maybe even almost free: Be patient. Study all the options and research prices. Buy in the fall and sell in the spring. Again: Be patient.
It’s up to you. You just have to ask yourself: Do you really want to get ripped off?
I don’t know if this post is very fair.
A brand-new Versys 650 is eight grand right now. This eight-year-old model with just a few miles on it is nearly a third cheaper. If we can assume the new one could be beaten back by a grand (it can) and this one can also be beaten back by a grand (it can), that’s better than forty percent cheaper compared to a new model on a bike that never made it to its first oil change.
You’re also comparing 2011 dollars to 2017 dollars, and leaving out the fact you got a huge discount because you bought an undesirable bike, evidenced by the fact it was a two-year-old leftover. It’s doubtful you’d see a bike this much cheaper than new on a more popular model.
KBB says that bike is worth $4,095, and that’s assuming it has 18,020 miles on it. Clearly this bike is in nicer shape and has less wear and tear on it than the “typical” example KBB is expecting. Perhaps the dealer is being a bit ambitious, but they’re not really out to lunch on the price.
Of course, this whole article hinges on the fungibility of motorcycles, which is a debate in and of itself.
I’ll quibble with a couple of points and correct one. When I bought my 2009, it had been on the showroom floor less than a year, not two years. While this may end up being 40 percent cheaper than a 2016, they are not identical motorcycles. The current generation Versys has some improvements. Modest, perhaps, but not insignificant. Reams have been written about what the “real” inflation rate is, and I won’t go down that rabbit warren, but officially, at least, the economy is lagging well behind the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. So 2010 dollars and 2016 dollars aren’t wildly different. The real bottom line, of course, is that market value is determined by what someone who actually has (or can borrow) the money is willing to pay, and I see lots of used motorcycles sitting around for months, including some Versys (never did know how to make that plural) because owners have unrealistic expectations. You can buy plenty of other bikes just like this one for less, so that’s why I still think the dealer is out to lunch on the price (or maybe just hoping for a buyer with more money than brains).