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Ok, from the research I've been doing the past few weeks, I've concluded that the cheapest I could get a used 02-06 ninja was 3000. I'd have to have it shipped to my door b/c all the people selling them are way out of my area.

So my dealer had placed an order on 15 new ninja 250s, and when I called to ask, he said 6 had already been spoken for. So I became number 7 with a $250 deposit. I'm hoping, that as number 7 on the list, I can choose the color I want (wanting the blue). However, I haev some questions.

Someone else asked about negotiating with dealers, and yeah, it can be done. But with the popularity of the 250s, I'm a little nervous that if I push too hard for the price of the bike, gear, etc., that they'll just say something like: "look, man, we've got 20 people waiting in line for one of these things. take our price or we'll sell it to one of them."

So, while I'm waiting on the bike to arrive (probably around mid-June), I thought I'd ask around to see what people thought. Is there still room to negotiate on gear, or even the price of the bike? My deposit is refundable, so I'm not bound by anything, and the bike isn't technically mine yet.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Right now, it's your money, so you can always try to negotiate. Yeah, they can say, 'take our price or no sale', but you don't HAVE to buy from them. If the price is too high then try some place else.

The smaller (250) bikes do seem to have a lot of demand for them and it seems some places won't negotiate as much, but you can ask around at different dealers.

Be careful of some of the extra fees they may put onto the bike. Sometimes they might put odd fees that don't seem to be necessary. You could ask for the OTD (out the door) price to try to avoid that. (they'll still add fees, but you're negotiating the final paying price so it really doesn't matter what they decide to make as a fee and as something else)

I got what seems to be an average deal on mine. Try not to let the excitement of purchasing your first bike get in the way of reasonable thinking. That happened a bit to me otherwise I probably could have gotten a better deal. It may help to bring some people who will be objective and not wishy-washy with you.

Ninja_Nate:

I've heard of cases where people paid above retail for the new 2008 ninja. So I feel they are probably not going to move on their price.

It is looking like the new Ninja 250 may well be best-selling bike of the year. For the price - less than some scooters - you get a bike that is really capable.

Just make sure they don't foist crap on you that you don't really need.

RhadamYgg

I just put down a deposit yesterday on a 250.

I was talking to the manager and he said alot of dealers are taking way more deposits then they are getting bikes. I would be careful you're not waiting around for a bike you're not going to get. One thing, dealers can't "order more". They were given an allotment on these bikes which has been set for awhile. Most of the dealers here have been sold out for quite a while. One dealer is already done with their allotment this year. I put down for a bike a month or two away for July. The manager says every Thursday Kawasaki will announce where the bikes are going and they are shipped on Friday, so they don't definately know when a bike is coming until the week before.

Of course, Im not claiming to be an expert so I could be wrong. But saying he still has 16 bikes coming in next month seems really unrealistic, and expecting to be number 7 on a list and getting it in two weeks really sounds like he's screwing you.


Anyway, I could be wrong, just my opinion.

RhadamYgg wrote:It is looking like the new Ninja 250 may well be best-selling bike of the year. For the price - less than some scooters - you get a bike that is really capable.

Yeah they hit a three run jack with that bike! It's a great looking bike that could pass for a much bigger sport bike.

stevep wrote:I was talking to the manager and he said alot of dealers are taking way more deposits then they are getting bikes. I would be careful you're not waiting around for a bike you're not going to get. One thing, dealers can't "order more". They were given an allotment on these bikes which has been set for awhile. Most of the dealers here have been sold out for quite a while. One dealer is already done with their allotment this year. I put down for a bike a month or two away for July. The manager says every Thursday Kawasaki will announce where the bikes are going and they are shipped on Friday, so they don't definately know when a bike is coming until the week before.

Thanks for the advice. I made sure my deposit was completely refundable, and I'll keep calling to bug them about it. The dealer seemed pretty confident that they would get them in (supposedly as promised by Kawasaki). I'm still looking around, so if I can't get the 250, or if something happens, I'm prepared to get something different.

The dealer can certainly order 16 little Ninjas (assuming they still have an allotment), but these days, there's no way to know for sure how many they're going to get, or when. These things are sold out at nearly every dealer in the country. In the past, a dealer in one area might take some bikes from another dealer where they weren't selling so well, but that's not really the case with the Ninja. If your dealer actually has a bike for you in mid June, consider yourself very lucky.

Don't expect the dealer to budge on the price. You can certainly try to negotiate a better deal, but you'll likely just get a chuckle from the dealer. There is no shortage of customers who will be happy to pay MSRP, plus all of the other crap that dealers like to tack on.

Good luck and keep your fingers crossed!