jill

Ahh a dealer.

I don't know what the going rate is for these. That said, you can always haggle. He probably took it in part-ex for £1000 or something. Three suggested ways of attacking this:

1 Ask him what it 'owes him'? Be up front and say you only have x amount of money but you don't want to service it yourself. You want him to make something on the deal, that's only reasonable, but still, you can always walk away. Eg, if he 'paid' £1500 for it, and it costs him £100 to service, then £1800 is reasonable.

2 Be polite and tell you will pay x but you want the service done too. Tell him you'll bring it back for the next service if he does - this carrot might not work if he hasn't any vested interest in service income.

3 Ask what his absolute rock bottom price is, and if it's unacceptable, say thanks, and walk away.

Hint 3: Smile, be friendly, be honest, be very prepared to walk. There are many other Monsters in the sea!

Warranty: Even if he offers you some, assume it's not worth the paper it's written on. Get more money off instead/as well as.

(Disclosure: I worked with car dealers for ten years, my boyfriend sold bikes for 2 years.)

And I should add, if you're happy with the price, then pay it. It's just that dealers are easier to haggle with, owners have a different perceived value of their babies.