bike buying advice request

[BigChickenStrips]

oh wow, im the first one to ask about this im sure, but a quick search did not find much.

i went to a different dealer, in the next town over, and sat on a ninja 250. i really liked it. i sat on the 500 and it did not fit me well at all. so im thinkign about getting the 250 brand new. my question is-

the MSRP (marked on the bike as well) is $2999. i know they dont have as much wiggle room on a 3K bike as on a 12K bike, but what should i negotiate to? i have to pay 8.35% tax, but i know they will try to ad "dealer prep" and who knows what else? can i tell them im not paing anything but $3000 +tax+tag+title. or are there othe legitimate fees? i have never really bought a vehcle before.

any and all help or advice appreciated.

also second more complex question is: i am being quoted about $680 a year for legal insurance. (state farm and geico)
im 21 years old. first bike. financing it. clean driving record. does this sound abotu right to all of you?

[ZooTech]

Offer 'em $3,250.00, take it or leave it. All they can do is say, "No" and you can try it again down the street.

[ninja79]

I think $3000+tax would be fair (so that's about $3250). If the dealer tries to tack on any other charges, I'd tell him to shove it.

[dieziege]

Good luck!

Or maybe the market is different where you are. Around here dealers were letting me walk out the door at $3500. "...only two left and it's not even May 1st..." was the general attitude. Try $3250 or whatever...but don't build up any false hopes. You can probably get a slightly better price if financing through them, but some dealers think they have gold between their legs right now.

I can't help you on insurance except to say "shop around"... I saw a (not joking) $2000 difference between highest and lowest quote for the same deductables/coverage.

[skinnyjoint]

first bike? dont buy new thats my advice

[Scoutmedic]

I'd try for $3,000 OTD (Tax/Title/License/Etc). If you really want to know how much they're paying, you can get an invoice report online for around $13 at Cyclebuy.

[dieziege]

FWIW, dealer cost (per an online service already named) is about $2849. That's after figuring Kawasaki's standard freight charge and assembly credit.

Tax at 8% is $227.92... so if we ignore dealer costs, comissions, DMV paperwork fees and everything else you are looking at $3076.92.

I couldn't find a dealer that would sell me one for that price.

If he's set on a ninja 250 and wants something "new looking" he might as well buy new. Assuming he pays $3500 he's going to save less than $1000 buying used and he could easily lose that in higher maintenance if the previous owner abused the bike.

The used prices on EX250s are absurd...people ask for near or above MSRP. I found two Suzuki Bandit 1200s advertised cheaper same year Ninja 250s!

To me, it was worth an extra $750 just to have something new and with a known history. I hate having to clean up after other people's screwups... if I'm going to find and repair drop damage I'd rather it was MY drop damage. There is something nice about, at least for a little while, having something clean and pretty which nobody else has messed up.

[NorthernPete]

3 G's OTD ryan, get them to that, or at least throw in alot of goodies if they wont budge, get some rain gear and what not.

[jmillheiser]

try to get it for sticker price OTD. if not, go for 3250 and try to get some accessories thrown in, at least a helmet and maybe a jacket.

fall is definately a better time to shop. Last fall I was just gear shopping at a yamaha dealer. I could have left there with a leftover '05 R6 OTD for MSRP + $400 in goodies + a yoshimura slip on

[BigChickenStrips]

thank you all so much for the advice. one last question-

is it socially unacceptable to call the dealer to negociate the price?
or do i have to go down there in person?

i work, and already took one day off this week. maybe i'll go down there on saturday?

also- is it appropriate to ask them to help me load the bike/tie it down in the back of my truck? i dont know anythign about loading a bike, but i have a truck, and a nice hill where i want to offload it that i can back up against. should htye have a ramp there? can i ask them for help racheting it down? i dont want to insult them, but i also dont want ot (A) pay for delivry of a bike when i have a truck there (B) wreck the bike when it falls out the back of my truck because i didnt know how to tie it down.

thanks in advance for any more input.

-Ryan