Why so much concern about resale?

[hamyoo06]

I've often wondered why so many folks express concern about resale as they consider a new (or used) bike. You're thinking about selling it before you even bought it!

What's more, after all the concern about resale, we add a crap load of bling which is a worse investment than the bike itself. ???

Rarely are vehicles good financial investments. They're luxury items for cryin' out loud! Buy something you can afford, and enjoy the hell out of it.

[xxxflhrci]

Because they are already planning to unload it and get a Harley.

[hamyoo06]

But Harley folks do it, too. I don't see too many people making money on their used bikes.

Almost without exception, the only people making money on Harleys are dealers.

[trooper113]

While I can't speak to anyone else's financial management, I do concern myself with resale of any bigger-ticket item I buy (car, house, motorcycle...) just like I concern myself with shopping knowledgeably for the same items.

[chriscalabro]

I completely agree with this. I am all for people trying to get as much as they can for a Bike when it comes time to sell it. What I can't stand is when you make a fair market offer and people get all flustered, believing that they will recoup all the money they spent on bling etc.

It is amazing how few people appear to do any research at all prior to setting a price. So many are out there with 3-4 year old bikes trying to sell for over current MSRP.

I don't get it

[trooper113]

Originally Posted by chriscalabro

It is amazing how few people appear to do any research at all prior to setting a price. So many are out there with 3-4 year old bikes trying to sell for over current MSRP.

I don't get it

There are still a few uneducated buyers out there who pay too munch money for a Harley and there are a lot of sellers who still think they can make money on selling their used Harleys above MSRP like they (and I) used to, when, in fact, these bikes are now depreciating like they should.

[Jammin'John]

To those folks that worry about resale I suggest that they buy used.
Many cruiser riders don't ride very many miles and are always washing their bikes.
It's very easy for instance to find a 5 year old harley with less than 10,000 miles on the clock.
Let the first guy take the hit.

JJ

[Mr Casual]

I just bought an 8-year-old Suzuki Intruder 1400. It had 9400 miles on it and cost me 4000. Included in that 4000 was delivery from Wisconsin to New Mexico.

Poor resale value for one guy means an excellent deal for another.

[Jeffytune]

Originally Posted by hamyoo06

I've often wondered why so many folks express concern about resale as they consider a new (or used) bike. You're thinking about selling it before you even bought it!

What's more, after all the concern about resale, we add a crap load of bling which is a worse investment than the bike itself. ???

Rarely are vehicles good financial investments. They're luxury items for cryin' out loud! Buy something you can afford, and enjoy the hell out of it.

I see you claim that you do not own a motorcycle.

Well, the issue is this, most on the Japanese manufactures make there bike with the latest technology, changing everything every year it would seem.
This makes it near impossible for a after-market manufacture to make second source parts for there bikes, and the manufacturer's obsolete the parts, leaving the owns with no way to get parts to fix there bikes after the 7 year cut off.

This makes there bike worth scrap prices after 7 years.

Now some of them are coming to the understanding that this is not a good thing, and are trying to follow Harley with engines that will stay in production long enough to make a second source (Aftermarket) manufacture able to offer parts, and they have stuck to keeping parts available longer.

It also comes from the mindset of planned obsolescence, and parts that should be metal made from plastic.

It comes down to this, If I invest 20K into a bike, I want to be able to recoupe some of that If I want to buy a new one.
Buy a Goldwing, and 8 years later it's worth 3-4K, if your lucky.
Buy a Ultra, and 8 years later it worth at least half of the new price.(The new price you paid for it, not the new 8 year later price).
It all because you can get the parts to fix and rebuild it.
And it was made to last to begin with.

[Mr Casual]

Hate to be argumentative, but

1) My bike, the intruder 1400, has been around since 1987, and the same basic bike is still in production today. Only now, they took the backrest off, put on drag bars, and call it a Boulevard S83. The name is lame, but the bike is a real sweetheart, and has been from the beginning.

2) A seven-year-old Gold Wing will cost you about $10,000 if it's in good shape. The Gold wing, by the way, is another bike with an extremely long shelf life and a lot of aftermarket support.

There are a number of Japanese bikes that have been around in one form or another for years and years. Another example is a Yamaha V-Max.

True enough that Harleys enjoy resale and aftermarket support second to none, but to say that a Japanese bike is scrap after 7 years is simply not true.

[Skyview]

Another example,

I had a 1977 Yamaha XS650 which I could still find NOS parts for and people still do engine work for it. That bike was in production virtually unchanged from 1969 to 1983. I sold it to my brother-in-law who still rides it today. Parts are still available on line. Oh and that bike even made an appearance in the first X-Men movie. It was in Wolverine's flat bed he was hauling behind his RV when he picked up Rogue after his bar fight. Thought that was pretty cool.

[hamyoo06]

Originally Posted by Jeffytune

I see you claim that you do not own a motorcycle.

Where?

I own a 2005 fat boy. Doesn't have a lot of miles on it. Bought it just days before I deployed, so it sat for a year before it really got ridden. Before that I had a 1981 Honda CB900 Custom. Liked it a lot. Love the Harley.

[hamyoo06]

Originally Posted by hamyoo06

Where?

In my profile! I guess I never messed with the settings much. I fixed it. Thanks!