Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Anyone got a bit of experience in this area? I'm mulling an idea around in my head but don't have a good idea on the devaluing of sportbikes, otherwise, it'd be a bad purchase.

I looked all over the net for a whole afternoon. Right away found the formula that dealers apparently use:

Cost of motorcycle -- Salvage Value / Estimated Useful Life = Annual depreciation value

Then:

Multiply the value you calculated in above step by the number of years since you purchased the motorcycle. Then subtract that value from the purchase value of the motorcycle to get the depreciated value.

But then factoring in things like Mileage, right? And rarity of a bike for the region too...

Anyway, any help would be appreciated and then I'll pm you the scenario I'm looking at.

Thanks a tonne!

no idea, sorry. we just look at what the current value is on bikes we see coming through the auction, never figure what it'll be worth in a year or two.

Yeah, figure the current value... Plus once you've been around them for a while you just get to estimating proper value offhand. There was a guy around here trying to sell an 01 TL1000R for 6500, I instantly told him it was worth about 4500, went home and looked it up, I was right on the money (sold from a dealer, good condition).

Long_Rider wrote:Anyone got a bit of experience in this area?

Unfortunately - YES. I've experienced it too many times....

What it comes down to is this:

If you must have the latest and greatest you will take the biggest hit. <<< That's a period right there

If you shop around for what was the latest and greatest 1-2 years ago and look for a good price you can ride it for a year and re-sell it for close to what you paid for it. I did this with my GT1000 and I could do it with the Superduke if I wanted to, but I don't

And if you go even older, you can actually make money on your rides with a little time and effort invested. But as for which "formula to use", you need to watch the used adds for a while to get a feel for what things are really worth. Once you have done this for a while, a really great deal will jump out at you when it comes along. It does vary by area and there is no real formula that will work better than gut-feel.

Sportbikes from Asian companys depreciate at an alarming rate, which is odd since they are very good bikes.

Bikes from American companys hold their value very well, but are "less than stellar" when it comes to quality.

Damn if I can explain it...

If you want to see depreciation, buy a Triumph. Un-frikkin' believable what happens to resale value on those....

Is that why you still have two of them?

storysunfolding wrote:Is that why you still have two of them?

I know you're being funny, but actually that's the absolute truth!

I have the Bonneville because I like the bike - it's perfect for relaxed rides down country roads.

I have the Trophy because I bought it from my wife. The bike's running really well. When she bought the F650GS the trade-in they offered on the Trophy was pathetic. It was a sin to let such a good bike go for so little, so I offered her the same money...... if that's all the bike is worth, we might as well keep it in the family. (We have 3 cars due to the same "logic" )

Of course, then she tried to stick me up for more money. Heh. It was an interesting transaction when the dust settled!

From an insurance perspective

Shop floor price less 5% as you ride it out the door less any VAT or GST so you could be anything from 10% to 20% down depending on the tax in you area.

depreciate by minimum 10% per annum and then a further 15% for any damage or repairs. Then we look at mileage and service history.

To be honest the variances are huge and should not be construed as to whether this bike or that bike is a good buy.

I have seen 2 year old K1200S's with 4 000 kms on the clock sell for settlement, 30% less than what they are actually worth. Go figure

sapaul wrote:From an insurance perspective

Shop floor price less 5% as you ride it out the door less any VAT or GST so you could be anything from 10% to 20% down depending on the tax in you area.

depreciate by minimum 10% per annum and then a further 15% for any damage or repairs. Then we look at mileage and service history.

To be honest the variances are huge and should not be construed as to whether this bike or that bike is a good buy.

I have seen 2 year old K1200S's with 4 000 kms on the clock sell for settlement, 30% less than what they are actually worth. Go figure

So I should be thinking (MSRP + TAX/Fees) -25% from total -(10% per year x 1 year)? Equalling around 35%?

Here's some estimates I came up with for my minimum resale price to minimize loss. Maintenance is not factored in so would be an additional loss. Feel free to comment or even make fun, lol

2010 BMW S1000RR MSRP (Canadian) $18,110 (+ 10% for 5% GST and 5% Financing Interest = 19,921) - 9 months of payments for a 36 month term = $14,940.75

2010 Aprilia RSV4 Factory $27,732 (+10% = 30,505.20) - 9 months payments = $22,878.90

2010 Ducati 1198S $26,995 (+10%= 29,694.50) - 9 Months payments = $22,270.87

2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 $17,699 (+10% = 19,468.90) - 9 Months Payments = $14,601.67

So if all these bikes were well maintained, and had 26-39,000 km's on them, would this seem to be a reasonable resale? Obvioulsy I can't compare to online auctions as these bikes aren't released yet, but look at 2009's it seemed like they were about 20% under MSRP. I did not factor maintenance costs into the equation, however, with further cost analysis, I will do so. This was just a test to see some numbers to mentally prepare myself for what I might see. The idea would be to return to dealer (based on predetermined negotiations) or hold an online auction with the bid starting at dealer negotiated trade-in value plus estimate shipping + shop tune-up.

Thoughts?