buying a bike

[misscupcake]

hi! i'm planning to buy a bike real soon, like hopefully this weekend soon!
I'm planning to buy a bike from some guy on craigslist and i was wondering if you guys can let me know what's a fair price?

2008 ninja 250 with 49xx miles. with some cosmetic damage on the left fairing



i understand he's not gonna let it go for anything reasonable, being the season of riding.
thank you all!

[thurt88]

Id guess around 2.5k. I only say that cos I have a 2010 one in mint shape with same miles on and I'd let it go for 3.5k.

So yea, if he wants over 3, I'd keep looking.

[misscupcake]

it'd be nice if he was reasonable enough to let it go for 2.5k hahha
but sigh. i live in the bay area/ca and we're always over priced

[Live2ride]

Wow, I got mine with 5,500 miles on it, without a scratch and a free inspection / shogun sliders for $2600 cash. That just shows how much of a difference the east coast is from the west.

[kaiserz]

2k - 2.3k

[misscupcake]

yeah, i ended up giving up on this one. looking at a red one now , cheaper, and newer lol. it's my fault for waiting to get a bike rather than getting it a couple months ago after taking the msf course haha.

it's crazy. people are selling used bikes ('08-09) for almost the msrp of a 2011!!

[kkim]

be patient and keep looking. the bike with your name on it is out there... you just need to be able to recognize it when it pops up.

[rusninja]

thing is at a dealer you have the ca tax,fees etc. so that 4k bike will be prolly 5k range :P

[Yasko]

Be patient and walk away if the price is not right... A good deal will come if you're patient...

I got a 07 with 2500miles for $1000... The bike was like new and I had money to get good gear...

[AMMOCAN]

Originally Posted by misscupcake

yeah, i ended up giving up on this one. looking at a red one now , cheaper, and newer lol. it's my fault for waiting to get a bike rather than getting it a couple months ago after taking the msf course haha.

it's crazy. people are selling used bikes ('08-09) for almost the msrp of a 2011!!

Hang in there misscupcake! It took me over two months to finally get SLIME-R and that was with me constantly looking for one every day and bugging the dealerships. Of course I was also determined to get my color of choice, which was 'Kawasaki' Lime Green.

Unfortunately, even though there is drastic seasonal changes here in Northern California there is no such thing as a 'riding season' at least as far as the dealers here in California are concerned. Plus, Kawasaki manufactures a specific 'California' model to meet C.A.R.B. regulations, so this and the weather, current gas prices, struggling economy, and the DMV 'Use' tax are all variables that keep the prices up here in California.

I had found it extremely difficult to get a fair and reasonable deal from the dealerships and I even tried to make a deal on old 'New' stock that they still had. However, they still wanted to basically charge me the original MSRP. The unwillingness for dealerships to make fair and reasonable deals ultimately has rubbed off on those, who are privately trying to sell their motorcycle, as they are trying to have the 'new' owner inherit their crappy deal.

For example, the person who I bought SLIME-R from had originally paid over $5k for her at the dealership. After about six months the owner wanted to get rid of her and still owed over $4k, which was what they were originally asking for. However, after the owner finally realized that they got screwed over on their deal and that there is no way that someone will be willing to buy their slightly used motorcycle for that price, when they can just go to a dealership and get a brand new one for close to the same price, the owner decided to agree on a fair and reasonable price.

However, before making that deal I had dealt with other private owners who were greedy and unwilling to do the right thing. It was a very frustrating and painful experience, but looking back at it now it was all worth it because I stuck to my game plan and found myself with exactly what I wanted for a price that I could live with. Unfortunately, I still see people paying for and selling these motorcycles for entirely too much.

On average it costs a dealership here in California about $3700 for a new Ninja 250R, as this was indirectly confirmed by several dealerships in my area. However, they all try very hard to sell you it at the MSRP plus add all their fees and the DMV fees on top of that, which ends up bringing the final price over $5k. Every new owner wether they bought new or used must pay for the DMV fees, but there is no reason why anyone should pay or inherit the costs of what a dealer has added onto the MSRP.

If you are not locked into a specific color or year (i.e. '10 Lime Green) then you should have an easier time finding a Ninja 250R. However, I would determine the best deal you could get one from your local dealerships and then determine what the going price for a used one is in your area according to NASDA and Kelley Blue Book and come to a conclusion on your final price for a specific year and color that is in great condition. From there I would shop around until you find the perfect match.

Knowledge is power and can be a great advantage in dealing with private owners who themselves are clueless and are just thinking about how they are going to recover from the ****** deal they made and are now having to pay or did pay. Don't forget to account for the DMV fees that you will have to pay on top of what you purchase the used motorcycle for, which will also include 'Use' tax (basically a sales tax). I say this because this should be considered in your total amount that you are willing to pay for a motorcycle. If you forget about this and pay $3500 for your motorcycle, which was your limit, and realize you now have to pay $350+ in DMV fees you may find yourself in trouble.

Good luck!

[Live2ride]

Originally Posted by misscupcake

yeah, i ended up giving up on this one. looking at a red one now , cheaper, and newer lol. it's my fault for waiting to get a bike rather than getting it a couple months ago after taking the msf course haha.

it's crazy. people are selling used bikes ('08-09) for almost the msrp of a 2011!!

Wow, it sounds like I need to start buying used bikes here and sell them over there, anyone wanna help start the business?

[AMMOCAN]

Unfortunately, the California DMV laws are structured to prevent such a thing like that from happening.

[Too40gawlf]

Originally Posted by AMMOCAN

Unfortunately, the California DMV laws are structured to prevent such a thing like that from happening.

Well, if you have 7500 miles on the bike, you can get around that law.

[AMMOCAN]

Yes, having over 7500 miles and having it be an approved 'California' model will allow you to register it.

[Alex]

It's 7500 miles, or being a California model to register it. If it has a California or 50-state emissions sticker, it can be brought in with zero miles on it. The 7500 mile minimum is for bikes that don't have California-compliant emissions gear.

[phr3ek]

Originally Posted by Alex

It's 7500 miles, or being a California model to register it. If it has a California or 50-state emissions sticker, it can be brought in with zero miles on it. The 7500 mile minimum is for bikes that don't have California-compliant emissions gear.

im pretty sure every cali resident has those ca emissions crap sitting in their garage that we can "install" into the out-of-state bikes


7500 miles is nothing, i managed to rack up that much miles in 9 months

[Alex]

Originally Posted by phr3ek

im pretty sure every cali resident has those ca emissions crap sitting in their garage that we can "install" into the out-of-state bikes

Even so, the DMV won't care. If the sticker is there, great, if it's not, you're screwed. Now this is what we need to get those decal experts working on...

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Alex

Even so, the DMV won't care. If the sticker is there, great, if it's not, you're screwed. Now this is what we need to get those decal experts working on...

[AMMOCAN]

According to the California DMV, regardless if the motorcycle is a 49 State model or a 50 State model if it is coming from a different State into California it will need to be inspected upon registration to see if it in fact meets the California Emission standards.

Also, if the motorcycle is under 7,500 miles it must be a 50 State model in order for it to be registered in California. If the motorcycle has over 7,500 miles then it can be a 49 State model, but must still pass the California Emission standard inspection before being allowed to be registered. The only exemption to this is if the motorcycle is 2005 and older with an engine less than 50 cc displacement.

A 50 State model/California model is identified by having a 'L' at the end of its model number. Of course there are other States who sale the 50 State model, as they have adopted the C.A.R.B. regulations. However, by the time you factor in transportation costs, time, labor, etc. I don't see purchasing motorcycles out of California and bringing them into California as a profitable business venture.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by AMMOCAN

According to the California DMV, regardless if the motorcycle is a 49 State model or a 50 State model if it is coming from a different State into California it will need to be inspected upon registration to see if it in fact meets the California Emission standards.

Right, and the way they inspect it is to look for that sticker. If the sticker is there, it is good to go. If not, it's not. They do not perform any additional technical checks or VIN verification to further verify anything.

[AMMOCAN]

Well, then they are not doing their job, as they are suppose to check to see if it meets the emission standards and verify both the VIN and Engine numbers. Also, if the DMV inspector is not sure if it meets the emission standards then they are suppose to refer the applicant to a Referee for inspection.

[Alex]

They definitely look at the VIN and the engine block number, in fact it was a pain in the neck to find that number on an older BMW I needed to register. But there is no back-end database that allows them to tell by VIN (or by engine number) whether the bike meets CA emissions or not. It really comes down to that sticker that they are looking for. Friend of a friend of a friend hypothetically grabbed a handful of those stickers while visiting the Ducati factory in Italy a number of years ago; the stickers have apparently since come in handy.