Blue book vs the market
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I hate trying to put values on motorcycles. With cars it is so much easier. I am currently in talks with a dealer on a new bike. He asked me how much I expect to get for my 2005 TW. I said somewhere between the retail and trade-in blue book prices of $1320 to $1995. He pulls out an NADA book that says it's $990 to $1300. Say, what? For that, I think I can afford to keep it.
Funny thing is every single used motorcycle I see for sale whether it's a dealer or private party has an asking price way over retail blue book. When you see an asking price close to bluebook, the ad isn't up for very long.
Mark
Funny thing is every single used motorcycle I see for sale whether it's a dealer or private party has an asking price way over retail blue book. When you see an asking price close to bluebook, the ad isn't up for very long.
Mark
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200 Posts
Over the years, I've noticed that NADA seems to be consistently lower that Kelly Blue Book. Once quick way to find out what stuff is actually selling for is to check eBay. Not the current auctions, but the Completed Listings.
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255 Posts
That's a really good idea, they say that an item is worth what you can get for it and eBay tells you that. Thanks
Some guide values are pretty good, some not even close. I've found that with many bikes, including high end BMWs. Book values are just a guide (just a guide folks) and in some cases not a very good one at that for a given local market. Like others have said here, you can get a pretty good idea of real values by checking current eBay listings, completed eBay listings along with Searchtempest.com which will bring up listings for Craigslist and eBay. This a very powerful tool that is easily underestimated. Much more powerful than anything available just a few years in the ago and can give you a very good idea of the market value in many specific areas.
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7,044 Posts
The going price of anything is whatever a seller can get a sucker to pay, or whatever a buyer can get a sucker to take. Try not to be the sucker whether buying or selling. I've never bought a vehicle for equal or more than NADA or Kelly or MSRP, nor have I ever sold a vehicle for equal or less than NADA or Kelly. If you're buying, seek out a motivated seller. If you're buying, seek out a motivated buyer. Take advantage of people's tendencies to be lazy, self-centered, and impulsive. You can bet your bippy that dealers do. Be persistent with negotiations. Thoroughly understand add-ons such as shipping, prep, taxes, title, and license, registration, and the rediculous ones such as "documentation fee" which is nothing more than paying the dealer directly to do what should be covered by mark-up."Documentation fee" is usually nothing more than the dealer sending someone with your paperwork and your money down to the DMV to register your vehicle and bring back a tag for the mechanic to affix. For the $250, I think I'd prefer to take the paperwork to the DMV myself.
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82 Posts
Qwerty I'm your huckleberry. I am done buying other people's projects so I am only interested in original condition vehicles that have been maintained. Finding the vehicle I am looking for in that condition is pretty rare around here. When I find one I'm totally willing to pay a little more.
I've spent so much time and money in the past trying to bring a vehicle up to a maintained condition and it is never worth it. I used to love wrenching on things, but now I'd much rather be out riding or fishing.
It is not being lazy or impulsive, I was talking to this dealer for over a month. What I won't do is pay a dealer markup over MSRP on a motorcycle in February. I am not sure a dealer really has to pay shipping. A reasonable setup fee would be fine if they actually took the time to do it right and maybe these guys do but I think a guy would throw it in to sell a bike in the middle of winter.
Mark
I've spent so much time and money in the past trying to bring a vehicle up to a maintained condition and it is never worth it. I used to love wrenching on things, but now I'd much rather be out riding or fishing.
It is not being lazy or impulsive, I was talking to this dealer for over a month. What I won't do is pay a dealer markup over MSRP on a motorcycle in February. I am not sure a dealer really has to pay shipping. A reasonable setup fee would be fine if they actually took the time to do it right and maybe these guys do but I think a guy would throw it in to sell a bike in the middle of winter.
Mark
Search Tempest is your craigslist friend just set it up and check daily
Blue book re Motorcycles are BS because it really does not take into account region or cultisms
I had an immaculate 2005 GSXR 1000 traditional blue with 13000 miles...my best bike ever
Blue book at the time said it was worth 7300 started there and the phone didn't ring for
14 months till the price was down to 5000
Blue book re Motorcycles are BS because it really does not take into account region or cultisms
I had an immaculate 2005 GSXR 1000 traditional blue with 13000 miles...my best bike ever
Blue book at the time said it was worth 7300 started there and the phone didn't ring for
14 months till the price was down to 5000
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7,044 Posts
Projects are fine, if you love projects. Scrounging can help with parts costs. Otherwise, spend the money on a rider.
However, sometimes one gets lucky. My current cage is 1992 Achieva for which I paid $250. It had straight, rust-free metal, 56,xxx miles, garage kept, tits on the tires, one owner, and maintenance receipts up until it was parked. Did not run after the original owner parked it and went to a nursing home "a little over a year ago." Owner's son figured a year parked with E10 in the tank would ruin the fuel system. Bought the car to part out. Got it home, the date sticker on the "new battery just before it was parked" was 4 1/2 years old, and the latest service receipt matched that age. Figuring there was no E10 in this area at that time, it might start, so borrowed the battery out of my sons truck and fired it right up. Stuck torque convertor clutch selenoid cleared itself up over time.
250 car
49 battery
23 ignition switch
14 wiper blades
27 Mobil 1 oil
12 Fram Toughguard
375 total project cost
6 months and $4000 miles later, all is well.
However, sometimes one gets lucky. My current cage is 1992 Achieva for which I paid $250. It had straight, rust-free metal, 56,xxx miles, garage kept, tits on the tires, one owner, and maintenance receipts up until it was parked. Did not run after the original owner parked it and went to a nursing home "a little over a year ago." Owner's son figured a year parked with E10 in the tank would ruin the fuel system. Bought the car to part out. Got it home, the date sticker on the "new battery just before it was parked" was 4 1/2 years old, and the latest service receipt matched that age. Figuring there was no E10 in this area at that time, it might start, so borrowed the battery out of my sons truck and fired it right up. Stuck torque convertor clutch selenoid cleared itself up over time.
250 car
49 battery
23 ignition switch
14 wiper blades
27 Mobil 1 oil
12 Fram Toughguard
375 total project cost
6 months and $4000 miles later, all is well.
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1,498 Posts
I love deals like that! Two years ago i new a couple who had a 99 bonneville "148,000miles" and the wife hit a curb and blew off a tire. They had two new front tires put on it and when the tire shop went to align it They said it had a bent frame. I bought it for $500. The bent frame was a bent a-arm so i went to the junkyard and got one for $75 bucks. My wife drove it for about a year and put 8,000 miles on it and we just sold it for $2000. Hummm im thinking another tw.
Grady WHite run about
engine wouldn't turn shop told the guy new long block needed so would be 6K repair
Got it for 1800 Pulled flywheel rotor off front removed exploded
magnets and was running 10 minutes later kept it for 6 years and sold it for 5000
engine wouldn't turn shop told the guy new long block needed so would be 6K repair
Got it for 1800 Pulled flywheel rotor off front removed exploded
magnets and was running 10 minutes later kept it for 6 years and sold it for 5000
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I've tracked hundreds of bikes across several countries and graphed asking price vs Blue Book. As said previously, bike priced "reasonably" that is below dealer, sell quickly. The rest stay on the market for months and months if not forever.
![White Black Line]()
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Welcome!! 
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I looked for a couple weeks for a used one, found a few but had to drive at least 5 hours and hopefully the seller was accurate on condition. I saw most all the dealers had new ones @ 4599.99 . I looked on cycle trader and found a dealer near me had a brand new 2017 for 3695.00. I have seen 2006's for sale for 2800-3200 with 8000 miles on them so it was an easy decision to buy new. Plus I got a 5 year warranty.
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Seriously? Yami gives a 5 year warranty?? I didn't know that...
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The dealership I dealt with is pretty good. I got a year from Yamaha and 4 years added after that. The cost of the 4 year extra plan was less than 500.00 and after wheelin and dealin, I got them to just add that to get me to finish the deal. I do not think these were a big seller around here and he wanted to move it.
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