[IBA270]

Motorcycles depreciate very quickly! You will be unbelieveably upside from go, which means you’ll own it for a long time before you get out from under the payments.

Understand what you’re getting into…

[SantaCruzRider]

But then she’ll end up owning a Suzuki — kak kak…

[SantaCruzRider]

Do be careful getting excited about any finance offer until you know you qualify. Suzuki even states right up front that their 1.99% may actually be one of four other rates ranging up to 8.99%.

Some dealers will gloss over that and focus on the fact that they can get your monthly payment down to $XX because they spread the payments out 5 years. Contemplate whether you are ready to commit that long to the bike, because if you change your mind in 3 years, you probably still won’t own any part of that bike.

[Sunny123]

Tks for all the helpful comments ! I am giving this more thought…Where is a good place to look for used bikes? Craigs list….e-bay…etc…

[IBA270]

Craigslist is excellent! eBay is very good and it will allow you to understand what the market looks like for used bikes.

Here is a website for a dealership a friend owns in Dallas. You can use it to compare prices as well.

http://www.southwestsuperbikes.com

As a new rider, I’d shy away from a brand new bike regardless. Too many variables starting out. FWIW…I’ve only bought one brand new bike…and I don’t think I’ll ever do it again!

[Jeff in Kentucky]

How long will these engines last? Generally, the smaller the engine, air cooled instead of water cooled, and if it has higher compression for more power, the shorter the life. A 250cc Ninja might last 50,000 to 80,000 miles before a rebuild, depending on the quality of the oil, how often the oil is changed, how it is ridden, how maintenance is done, and pure luck. Here is a short site about some maintenance tips for the older and newer 250 Ninjas, with some links for more reading or question asking:

http://www.theyeagergroup.com/ninja_250_maintenance_log.htm

[eternal05]

Namely that you

a) don’t need to be an expert mechanic, nor hire an expert mechanic to figure out its problems,

b) don’t need to worry about undiagnosable/unforeseeable problems that might come up because of the lunkhead that owned it before you,

c) have a warranty, and

d) you can break the bike in.

If you can get a new bike on the cheap, there’s nothing wrong with that. The only reason for buying a bike used is to save money, and that only holds water if there is a big price difference (which there usually is, especially with bigger, fancier bikes). However, I bought my ’09 DR-Z400sm for $5,000 (used prices were about $4,500-$5,000 at the time) and my ’08 GSX-R600 for $7,400 (two years later it’s not much cheaper: used ’08 GSX-R600 for $6,995), and I don’t regret either of those decisions.

[Sunny123]

Looking at purchasing through a dealer a 2006 Vulcan 500 with 567 miles on it what is a good negotiating price to start with ? Their listed price is $ 3,889. Blue book is $ 2, 900. Somewhere in the middle ? This will be my first bike purchase and looking at negotiating price.

[gitchy42]

I’d simply say that when you looked it up KBB was $2900, and ask how low they can go. They may say that they get their prices from somewhere else, or they would loose money going that low. However, if they need space in their showroom you would be surprised how fast they will hit their bottom. Something I learned when buying cars, look for dealers that have to move stock to get to just about everything, they are usually begging for space and more willing to take a small profit on something so they have room for something worth more.

Before you go to buy the bike get a good idea of how much you are willing to spend on it and don’t be swayed, but don’t pass up a good deal because it’s $50 more than you want to spend.

[Sunny123]

tks for the feedback I will see what happens today. They gave me the impression there is not much wiggle room but we will see. The dealer is 6 hours away and they also carrying other bikes similiar to this so if I don’t get this one at least I will have a few others to choose from. Our local dealers just basically say this is the only one we have left on the floor and once it goes that’s it. I want to be able to have a variety to look at. Who wouldn’t ?

[briderdt]

…is your willingness to walk away.

[SantaCruzRider]

Smart dealers can smell window shoppers and they would be foolish to start dropping the price until they feel you are ready to buy. So they will always give you the impression that there is no wiggle room, and there won’t be until they have an offer on the table.

If I were in your shoes, I’d do a search of Craigslist and print out a half dozen sheets showing similar bikes for sale. Then print out KBB sheets on each, staple them together and carry them with you when you visit the dealer with the bike you want. Tell him you want the bike, but you plan to only have it for a year or two so you can’t afford to take a huge loss by paying way over blue book. He’ll know the retail KBB is $2,900, and when he sees you leafing through your sheets, he’ll know that you’ve done your research too. He’ll also know that you have other options and you’ll look like someone on a mission to buy a bike today.

Now make your offer. Your first offer tips your hand, so don’t make it the most you want to pay. When they counter, they are likely to come down only 20-50% of the difference between your offers, because they are hoping you will keep meeting them halfway. Instead, haggle them down hundreds while you haggle up tens. For me, it goes something like this:
Me: I can see the value of the low mileage, so I’d like to take it home today and will pay you $2,950 cash.
Dealer: Hell no. Best we can do is $3,700.
Me: Wow, that’s really steep, especially in light of all the other similar used bikes out there. How about $3,025?
Dealer: Let me check with my manager… can’t believe it, but he’s willing to go $3,500, but no lower.
Me: OK, thanks for checking (as I get up). Sure is a nice bike though, … you sure you wouldn’t take $3,100.
Dealer: No way, but let me check… OK, we’ll take $3,100, but we’re taking a loss, I’m getting no commission and you’re stealing from me!

Obviously, this won’t always work. I’ve walked out of plenty of auto and MC dealers with no deal. But, when I’ve bought used, I’ve always gotten in below KBB retail and typically 20-30% below advertised price. My guess is that the dealer has something like $2,450-$2,920 into the bike. Somewhere above that they make money. They don’t make $$ storing used bikes.

[Sunny123]

Tks Santa Cruz …after i did my research and had a idea in my head what the bike was worth they dropped the price down $ 400. It’s getting closer, most bikes that year I see on Craigs list do not have have the low mileage like this one so it’s hard for me to factor in that for price. I know there are variables to this how it was ridden, maintenance etc……tks for your advice….they see a girl coming into the showroom and they think they can take advantage of you….Not….knowledge is power….

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