Over priced bikes?

[Wildman]

After browsing various sites for a suitable bike I keep finding bikes which are £1000 over priced compared to what Parkers are suggesting they are worth? Seeing as its wnter, we're in a reccession and its near Christmas I thought I'd have seen a few more reasonably priced bikes?

[CK & AK]

Why should people lower their prices just 'cos its xmas and a recession? :scratch:

If they can get a good price when offered on the market - then good for them :)
Some who were thinking of selling may well even keep until spring to px in against new models, or to wait for an even better price.

Parkers is a 'guide' - useful for buyers if they think they can get a bike for 'that' price, but not often comparable to the 'real' market out there I'm afraid.
Its good for checking on original prices & dealer prices etc, but in the past 8-10 months has been well off the price for 2nd hand good condition sale prices (meaning its just using a % indicator & hasnt used the current strength of the market)

Good luck in your search, but dont expect something for nowt at the moment

CK

[kneedown]

Why should people lower their prices just 'cos its xmas and a recession? :scratch:

If they can get a good price when offered on the market - then good for them :)
Some who were thinking of selling may well even keep until spring to px in against new models, or to wait for an even better price.

Parkers is a 'guide' - useful for buyers if they think they can get a bike for 'that' price, but not often comparable to the 'real' market out there I'm afraid.
Its good for checking on original prices & dealer prices etc, but in the past 8-10 months has been well off the price for 2nd hand good condition sale prices (meaning its just using a % indicator & hasnt used the current strength of the market)

Good luck in your search, but dont expect something for nowt at the moment

CK
i agree 100% but even shops take the **** this time of year 'if you want to sell /part ex 'it is better to hold on for spring now .

[Half Pint]

i would agree that sometimes peoples perception of worth is much greater that the core are willing to pay, however it always comes down to 2 factors:

1, what someone is willig to pay
2, what the seller is willing to accept.

there will always be someone willing to pay what the seller wants to accept it just comes down to time and how quickly you want to buy/sell.

A good friend of mine is always looking at the worth of items he is willing to buy as expensive and trying to get a discount, but when it comes to selling his items its always about how much more than simular items his is worth, makes me chuckle.

[Pomp1]

Parkers is one of those guides that when I go to a dealer and pulls it out and says "this is what is worth" I walk out. New bikes may be cheaper this time of the year, but used bikes tend to fetch quite well as people tend to buy used more (especially now).
Anyway, what have you got in mind?

[bigredduke]

Doesn't Parkers refer to the price you would get if you traded it in so selling prices are proportionately higher to allow for profit margin. Or have I got that wrong?:scratch:

[Pomp1]

Doesn't Parkers refer to the price you would get if you traded it in so selling prices are proportionately higher to allow for profit margin. Or have I got that wrong?:scratch:

Parkers gives you both trade/private good/poor

[Scootaboy]

Parkers is the guide dealers use to buy a bike off you - normally for a fair amount (a £1000 is about right) what you can get second hand. They would never sell the same bike to you at that price.

You could of got my monster 695 a month back for £2600 on ebay (9000 miles, fsh) - no one bid on it so I accepted the dealers part ex value of £2600 (they went by parkers). The same dealer (metropolis) had the same bike (untouched) up for £3700 a week later. Obviously they would take an offer on it but that still meant some sucker paid £800+ more for a bike thats only got a one month warranty anyway.

You wont find a better time of year to buy, but you need to be patient, and dont comprimise just because you havent seen any on the first week you're looking.

[Scootaboy]

ps. people will take an offer if its been up for a while!

[Wildman]

Thanks for the replies. Scootaboy I'd have snapped yours up if it was for sale now ;)

I'm not expecting people to lower their prices in a reccession but Parkers must be way out according to this http://tinyurl.com/yzg22ed

I went into a local dealer yesterday and saw a Monster 1000 SIE http://tinyurl.com/ygcc7vj http://tinyurl.com/yzzhuxe Maybe I have set my standards too high for what I can get for my money?

[Scootaboy]

I should have also mentioned parkers are a fair bit out normally with regard to ducatis - although in this climate they were spot on for once.

In the summer they were going for around £500-£800 more in the same condition

[Wildman]

I should have also mentioned parkers are a fair bit out normally with regard to ducatis - although in this climate they were spot on for once.

In the summer they were going for around £500-£800 more in the same condition

Bugger. The colourway of your 695 is my preffered choice...

[NewMon]

Is it still the case that a lot of used bikes are being bought by mainland Europeans taking advantage of the exchange rate? That was keeping used prices high a few months back. I haven't been in the loop recently so I don't know if this is still true. It wouldn't surprise me if the guides were reflecting this though.

[Semi]

I was looking for a bike a couple of months back, and although the general market (dealers) seemed somewhat expensive, there were quite good offers popping up every week. Way below dealer prices.

I may be a little narrow minded here, but if you really think about it, why should it be possible to find a "good" offer at a dealer? Certainly they must always be looking for a profit (in exchange for a quite limited warranty and better options for you to really have a close look at your potential choice prior to parting with your money), simply because it is their living. I fully comprehend that this is attractive to a (large?) selection of buyers but if you are very focused on price, your best bet, imo, is the private market.

At least, when I was looking, not once did I see an attractive offer from a dealer, compared to bikes offered privately. A biased statement of course.

I can't imagine that 2.5k would not get you what you are looking for.

Good luck with the hunt.

[Semi]

And to prove my point, an s2r is now posted in the sales section of ukmoc at a price I don't remember seeing at any dealers...

[Albie]

Surely if you take interest in a bike. Chat to them and do a deal. If not walk away with the cash you was prepared to give them. They lose and you dont get robbed at the price you dont like. I bought my s4 near xmas and it was in a reduced price sale and got it cheap. My m1100 I got cheap because I refused to pay asking price. Cash sales always get them twitching generally. If you dont ask then you wont get.

[StuartJames]

I was talking to the guys at ProBikes in Newbury last month. They said the exchange rate meant European dealers were buying bikes from them at showroom prices. One dealer bought £100K of bikes and shipped them back to Europe.

The European dealer wanted a bigger discount for buying in bulk, but ProBikes said no, you can have the normal discount because they can still sell the bikes for the same amount here.

It's all a case of supply and demand. Unfortunately for most of us, some foolish people are happy to pay inflated prices instead of holding back and waiting for dealers to lower their prices to sensible levels.

You can't blame the dealers, they're in it to make money. It's the people buying the bikes at crazy prices that's the problem.