Used motorcycle values etc.

[flatfour]

I visited a local franchised dealer yesterday to check on the progress of warranty work on a friend's bike, as I was in the area. I know the staff there quite well (both my brother and I have bought bikes from them in the past) and spent a few minutes talking to a salesman who was having a quiet spell in the Showroom. He mentioned to me that used bike sales patterns are undergoing major change at present, mostly due to the prevalence of PCP deals that are starving the market of the "used but almost new" bike. This seems to be because the normal PCP term is three years and so there are few bikes sold in the six - month to three year category. The same has happened in the car trade, whether it is a good thing or not who knows?

He also told me of a person who had just been to the dealership to try to sell for cash a 2011 BMW K1600 GT. It was, he said a very smart one owner bike with just over 30,000 miles on it and fresh from a major service at a BMW dealer, that had cost significant money. The owner had advertised it privately and taken it around local dealerships and used bike buyers to try to sell it, as he is moving overseas. Apparently, having had no takers at all, the asking price was down to £4,500 at this time. The dealer didn't, however buy even at that price because, as he said, if the owner had been unable to sell it trade or retail, it could be in stock for a long time with winter coming. I recently saw a 2006 K1200 GT advertised (and apparently quickly sold) at £6,500. This gave me two thoughts: Firstly Wolf was probably lucky to sell, even at a lower price that he had hoped for, secondly there is surely something wrong when a bike some five years older from the same manufacturer seems to sell more quickly and for more money than the flagship touring bike from their range? I have ridden the K1600 and K1200/1300 and liked them all myself.

[PRD]

As I understand it the k16 is notorious for its high rate of depreciation. Owning one is risky because you might get stuck with it. The gtr seems to sell better.

[O.C.]

High tariff products have always suffered high depreciation, its all relevant.

I spent over 40 years in the motor trade in a number of different capacities and witnessed exactly this scenario many times     

[Rusty]

A K1600 brand new and out of the box ? 18K or about that ? Its a lot of money but if you intend to keep it for several years then the depreciation doesn't come into it... BUT as you say .. sell it after 24 months and you will lose a fortune .. buy one thats 5 yrs old and been loved ... bargain !

[Wookie]

Please nobody take offence at this its only a hipothisis. ..
What COULD be putting off 2nd buyers is the high cost of service thru BMW.. not everyone can do it there selves.
Bloke wants a K16 and deffo can't afford a new one .. but let's say a 3 yr old one is sitting in showroom for .. eg 8k. .... bike is in his price bracket but service and running costs put him off .. so dealer drops the value by 2k .. suddenly it's a bit more attractive to the bloke
Just sayin like 

[nightrider]

£4500 for a 16gt , that's got to be a bargain, with 30,000m on the clock any thing that could have gone wrong will have done , I have thought that it would have gone easy at that price. , 

[Wookie]

£4500 for a 16gt , that's got to be a bargain, with 30,000m on the clock any thing that could have gone wrong will have done , I have thought that it would have gone easy at that price. , 

Or if it hasn't gone ....it bloodywell SOON will   
However it could be the 1st M.C to come with a disabled blue badge .. 

[davetherave]

That's an awful amount of bike for not a lot of money, especially as it's just had a major service done.

30k miles on a modern 1.6L engine is nothing at all, never understood this anything over 10k miles and don't touch it school of thought.

[O.C.]

That's an awful amount of bike for not a lot of money, especially as it's just had a major service done.

30k miles on a modern 1.6L engine is nothing at all, never understood this anything over 10k miles and don't touch it school of thought.

  Barely run in at 10,000 miles

[PRD]

Only snag if it goes wrong cost of BMW parts.

[Lonewolf]

Wookie, the service costs at BMW are surprisingly low, cheaper in fact than the GTR services were.


Colin, as for me being lucky, it was a case of finding a dealer with the foresight to invest in stock. My local place, Allan Jeffries wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Williams BMW at Manchester couldn't buy it fast enough. 


Within two weeks they'd sold it for a tidy little profit. The salesman said there that they will always buy clean used bikes during the latter part of the year even if it means the showroom is crammed and there is no movement of stock for a couple of months simply because he was confident that come February or March they would sell like hot cakes.

[Lonewolf]

Only snag if it goes wrong cost of BMW parts.

Negatory, all BMW used bikes come with a two year parts warranty. Show me another manufacturer in the bike industry who comes even close to that.

[Rusty]

Mr Wolf has a good point chaps ...

[PRD]

Good point. But they do seem to have reliability and recall issues

[Lonewolf]

Good point. But they do seem to have reliability and recall issues

You keep saying that but never back it up with examples or hard facts!