Need Purchase Advice Please

[All4Blakey]

Thanks R1150Rclean.

I've continued looking. I have a line on one that is out of state that I'm taking a look at. We'll see if anything comes of that.

There seem to be more 2002s available than 2004s. I don't think I want to spend that much on a bike that's 8 years old though.

[aja1739]

Hey there - I've been watching your posts on looking for a bike and wanted to commiserate a little. I've found one I REALLY like, but am having a hard time swallowing the difference between the asking price and the NADA. Seller has said his absolute minimum is $6,200 - down from $6,700 - on an '04 with about 15K miles. NADA says it's worth $4,300 and KBB says $6,900 - who to believe? I'm afraid of getting too far ahead of myself and paying more than I should for one, but don't want to miss out on it if it's honestly a realistic price (regardless of NADA).

My previous bikes (Yamaha Roadstar, and HD Sportsters) all had values at least right at, if not higher than what I actually wound up paying, so I'm a little spooked by the "book" value vs. selling price.

Anyway - just wondering what your thoughts/experience is with this. Thanks, and best of luck & best regards,

Andrew

[All4Blakey]

Andrew,

I've run into the same thing. Banks usually go by the NADA price, but individuals (and even dealerships) seem to go by KBB.

There's a beauty of a bike less than 100 miles away from me but I can't get the guy to budge on price at all (he has it listed at $6400). That seems to be the case with most people.

What area of the country do you live in? I've noticed that in California and Arizona sellers price there bikes around KBB price and do not budge. Perhaps it's the time of year too. A lot of people want to ride in Spring because the weather is perfect for it.

The whole situation is really frustrating because I want to upgrade to the R from my Yamaha, but I can't justify paying more than a few grand to do it (actually I was trying to stay closer to $2000), which puts my limit at around $5700 (oddly that's exactly where you land if you split the difference between KBB trade in value for a 2004 R and the KBB retail price). But I can't get anyone to do that!

Right now there's one bike in the running and it's in a different state. I "know" a guy from a different board who is an MSF instructor and works part time at his local BMW dealership. He informed me that a 2004 non-ABS bike came in early this week and I've been on the fence, running the numbers, and generally trying to figure out if I want to pursue it. He has generously offered to check it out, take detail pictures, and test ride it for me.

It's priced at $4300 and even with tax, shipping (around $650), and reregistering it here, it would only be about $5K. So, it's tempting. But, it's a major hassle.

I really don't know what to tell you because I'm in the same boat. I think patience is on our side though. We don't HAVE to get a bike this instant. I've noticed that a couple new bikes seem to become available per week. So, eventually I'll find the right one.

Good luck and I'll be happy to keep chatting about this. It's definitely a process!

[All4Blakey]

Okay, so now the guy only 80 miles from here (the guy with the beauty) has knocked off $400 and we stand at $6000. No windshield.

Decisions, decisions.

I also have a line on a 2002 with 26K miles that's listed at $5500 OBO. That would require reregistering the bike and probably a $70 plane ticket, room for one night, and gas. I imagine my net cost on that one would be about $5500 out the door (including all of those things). Has a windshield.

Then, there's the 2004 that's out of state and would require shipping. My net cost on that would be about $5K. Has windshield.

All have side cases, heated grips, and all are non-ABS.

[aja1739]

The strangest thing just happened. The seller who yesterday was ADAMANT that he wouldn't lower his price emailed me this morning and agreed to my offer. So, even though I'm paying more than NADA, it's at least in my range. So, in a day or so, I'll have a beautiful '04 R1150R in the garage for the price I was comfortable paying. Weird. I guess things do kind of work out in the end.

As for your situation, if you can get an '04 in the $5,500 range, with decent mileage, my guess is it's good. My local dealer (Charlotte, NC) just sold an '02 (with windshield, but no cases) for $3,700!!! It only had 10K miles on it. I was a day late on that one - and they said they mispriced it by $500. But still, at $4,200, it wouldn't have been a bad deal.

Anyway, let us know what you work out.

Andrew

[All4Blakey]

Andrew,

Congrats. Enjoy the ride!

If you don't mind me asking, what was your final price?

Thanks!

Edited to add: I emailed the guy close to home and told him I'd look at the bike. We're meeting on Sunday morning. I'm bringing $5700 cash. If he refuses it, I'll keep looking.

[aja1739]

$5,700 - no joke. I decided that's what i was comfortable with and had the sense to say so and then walk away. It just happened to work out this time.

Best of luck! I'll post some pics when I get it.

Andrew

[All4Blakey]

Andrew,

So which one did you get? The black one or the silver?

[n9owk66]

ilive in so il 2004 r1150 r going for 5 to 5700 just got 2002 abs and payed 4000

[All4Blakey]

In Southern Cal they seem to start at 6K and go up from there.

[All4Blakey]

Well, moving on.

I checked out the bike and it was in really good shape. It had some superficial little scratches here and there. But, it as really clean.

The guy wouldn't budge from $6K. So I told him I'd pass.

In addition, I'm going to have to buy a new pair of jeans because when I was in his garage looking at the bike, I bent down to take a closer look, not noticing his dirt bike behind me. I tore my jeans on it. So, I'm not at all happy.

[aja1739]

Sorry for the late reply - I wound up getting the silver one. Non-abs, but in absolutely great shape, and came with a an extended warranty in place until July 1. Need to check it out thoroughly here and see if any work needs to be done on it in the next couple of months.

The guy with the black ABS '04 wasn't budging much off his $7,500 figure, so I didn't figure I had any hope of getting him below $6k. I left it alone at that point.

Best of luck to you!

AA

[All4Blakey]

AA,

It sounds like you got a decent deal. Having the extended warranty in place for a few months should certainly give you piece of mind.

Who knows what might pop up in the next week or so. I'll just keep my eyes open and keep beating the bushes. If something pans out, great. If not, I'll live.

[All4Blakey]

Crap. He just emailed me and came down to $5800. That's $100 more than I was comfortable with.

Does anyone have any opinions or advice? Thanks.

[chibbert]

tell him to drop $100

[All4Blakey]

I will if I decide to go with that bike. I will ask him to drop the price $200 more.

But I'm starting to think that if I have to spend almost $6K for a 6-year-old R1150R, then if I spent a couple thousand more (if i got a great deal on a used 1200), I could have a newer bike and a lighter bike.

[chibbert]

I sold mine (2003) in 2008 so five years old and 18,000 miles I think - I sold it for $5500

[All4Blakey]

I've looked around a bit and people with low prices on their 1200s seem pretty firm. Not that it's a suprise. I think I mostly went through the exercise to solidify in my mind that the 1150 was the best choice financially.

We'll see if the guy emails me again.

If not, I might drop him a line tomorrow and see if he's ready to come down the last couple hundred dollars.

[Daryl_stamp]

As long as you have something else to ride you can wait until you get a sweet deal, being rideless, however, would suck.
What's $1k +/- for a season's worth of riding?

DLS

[All4Blakey]

I emailed him with my last counter. We'll see if he's willing to do it.