Bought a Kawasaki Ninja 650R Today + Question

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Nick Pimpin
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Bought a Kawasaki Ninja 650R Today + Question

#1 Unread post by Nick Pimpin »

Yep... bought a new 650R. I started with a Vulcan 750 back in 2002, then went to a Ninja 250 and finally just bought the 650R. I'm 6' 3'' and 180 lbs and had no problems on the 250, but I have wanted something with additional passing power for a long time!

Anyhow, the point is I wanted to post how much I paid for it. Just in case anybody else is in the market.

It is a new 2007 model and I got it from a dealership in Maryland (6% sales tax) for $6000 out the door (aka taxes/tags, freight, dealer prep all included). The MSRP is $6399, and on top of that they can try and add those other costs mentioned above. Dealers have been known to charge $400+ for freight and $300+ for dealer prep if you aren't careful. I think I got a good deal - maybe not the best, but surely not the worst.

The dealer has a 3 year maintenance agreement and extended warranty good for 3 years/unlimited miles for $1399. Does this sound like a good deal or should I skip it? They said I could still get the plan tomorrow if I wanted to sleep on it.

If I posted this message in the wrong forum... somebody please let me know cuz I couldn't find a more appropriate spot to post it than here.

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#2 Unread post by mgdavis »

In my opinion, it's not likely going to pay for itself. Current production motorcycles are very reliable, and I don't believe that there would be a high probability of going in for warranty work in the first three years of ownership.

That is just my two cents, but I recently faced a similar dilemma. I bought a new bike last year, and decided not to go with an extended warranty.
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#3 Unread post by isnowbrd »

I bought my Kawi brand new from the dealer four years ago and didn't get the extended warranty. I'm glad I didn't, because I haven't had a single thing wrong with the bike. That doesn't mean you won't, but these bikes are very reliable if you don't purposely beat the crap out of them and perform some very basic maintenance. I say skip it.
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#4 Unread post by Gadjet »

If that price includes all your basic maintenance at no extra charge (oil changes, valve adjustments, etc), then I would say go for it. If it doesn't, then I would tell the dealer to go pee up a rope. I paid $400 for the extended warranty on my KLR. I still have a year to go, and it has paid for itself already.
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#5 Unread post by flynrider »

You got a good deal getting the 650R out the door for $6000. Now don't go and spoil it by giving your savings back. I'm not generally in favor of extended warranties, mostly because I haven't needed one over the last several bikes and half a dozen cars. On top of that, $1300 is a very high price tag for an extended warranty. It's a Kawasaki, not a Mercedez.

My friend the bike dealer always told me that the extended warranties he sold were almost pure profit. Everybody seemed to buy them, but they weren't used very often.
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#6 Unread post by paul246 »

Set the money aside that you would have handed over for an extended warranty and use it to maintain your bike. The bike will actually benefit from doing this rather than having a piece of paper filed away somewhere.

Extended warranties are a major profit center for any business that offers them.
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#7 Unread post by Nick Pimpin »

It seems like the only person who read the "maintenance" part of my post was Gadjet... lol. The warranty is an extended warranty AND a maintenance agreement... I guess I wasn't very clear on that. It includes oil changes, chain adjustment, all that crap. The other touted benefit is it supposedly gets you to the front of the service line (unless of course other people with the agreement are there before you, at which case it's first come first served).

Thanks for everybody's input so far though. I love TMW :D

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#8 Unread post by Ninja Geoff »

$6000?!!? lucky SOB... Mine was... well, more than MSRP. But anyway, I have about 7k miles on my 06, no issues so far. And that's a LOT for the extended warrenty. I think they offered it to me for $500 or so? What color is it?
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#9 Unread post by bandit600 »

Congratulations and enjoy the bike!! I don't think I have any info to add on top of what others have said about warranties but you bring up an excellent topic that I've always wondered about...

New motorcycle prices from dealers. I feel like when I go in to buy a car I have at least an idea of what a good price would be and whether I'm getting a good deal or not. I can't say the same for buying a new motorcycle. I understand that availability and demand are big factors but if you're looking at a previous year's model that a shop is trying to clear inventory for what's a good price? Do they even post invoice prices for bikes like they do for cars . How does the dealer kickback scheme work for motorcycles? Just some of the questions that I've had in the past.

It would be great if people continued to post information about where, and how much they got their bike for. I think it would be a valuable resource for potential buyers.
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#10 Unread post by flynrider »

Nick Pimpin wrote:It seems like the only person who read the "maintenance" part of my post was Gadjet... lol. The warranty is an extended warranty AND a maintenance agreement... I guess I wasn't very clear on that. It includes oil changes, chain adjustment, all that "crumb". The other touted benefit is it supposedly gets you to the front of the service line (unless of course other people with the agreement are there before you, at which case it's first come first served).

Thanks for everybody's input so far though. I love TMW :D
I guess it depends on your level of expertise in the maintenance area. Most regular maintenace like oil changes and chain adjustments are easily done by the owner. Pretty simple stuff, really. If you want the dealer to do these, then I suppose a maintenence contract might not be a bad idea.
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