M
mikew
Guest
Was in a Honda dealers today (for no other reason than it was warmer in there than outside waiting for my daughter to meet me) and got chatting to sales chap.
In the course of the conversation, we got chatting about the Varadero 1000, and how much for one, (as a potential replacement for my forever ill V-Strom).
Pulls out the "little book" (Jan 2005 edition) and asks the usual questions, and when he asked the mileage, when I said nearly 8500, a sharp intake of breath came from him.
"Bit high that my friend"
eh?
on a 2002 bike? (irrelevant that I bought it in 2003)
Had a look in the book, and they say for a 2002 DL1000, on a ?02 plate, it should only have 6000 miles on it to be a "normal" mileage for that year!!!!
WTF! that's 3000 a year, are these guys who produce these "guides" serious?
Its a sport tourer fer crying out loud, it's SUPPOSED to do big mileages. That's the whole point of them.
Had a look at the FJR1300, same thing, for a 2002 model, should be expecting no more than 7000 miles!
And since the industry rely on these books as a bench mark for buying and selling, the re-sale value of our bikes is shite.
I was offered, with all the luggage and extras left on the bike (which amounted to around ?1000 when bought) only ?3300 against a new Varadero, but he then says "I may have to adjust that downwards cos of the high mileage". (He has no knowledge of the problems I've had with mine, so that was not a factor here).
Any one else been surprised by the apparent low trade-in values of their pride and joys'?
At that sort of trade deal, I won't even bother looking to change this year.
or next.
or the year after either.
My actual "gripe" ?, it wasn't the value he offered, it was the fact that the "high mileage" started so low. 3000 miles a year? I remember when 10000 was the normal mileage for a bike and a car was around 12000.
Does the market really expect to be able to keep persuading people that once you've paid ?10k for a machine, that by the time you've driven home that it is worthless?
The only way I see out of the situation would be for ALL bikers, be it power rangers, dual sport riders, moped man and the pipe and slipper brigades etc etc etc to simply REFUSE the crap trade-ins offered and not buy the latest all singing all dancing latest coloured 1 mph faster, 0.5 kg lighter, half nanosecond quicker, made from rare unobtainium machines, so they sit in the showrooms for a long time.
Then the dealers/market will have to start paying decent prices for used bikes that have had more than 3000 miles per year use, cos if they don't, then the new metal stays put.
3000 miles a year, christ I walk further than that to have a shit!
I'm not actually looking to sell the bike, I was literally just passing the time waiting for my daughter to appear to fleece me for some money again, but as me and Honda guy got talking, it just riled me a bit to think that the industry seems to want to penalise us for actually having the sheer neck to ride our bikes!
So, is it the industry saying to us
"your bike should only cover 4000 miles a year, otherwise it's high mileage"
and therefore we as the stupid bike riding peeps are actually making sure that we only do 4000 miles....
or is it...
we as the same bike riding peeps do ACTUALLY only ride 4000 miles a year (on average) and therefore industry saying "as that's all the average rider does, so that's what we will set the average per year as?"
So, are we victims of our own desire to have a clean, low mileage, bright and shining posing tool?
Certainly some of the pocket rocket guys would fit into that category, the ones who turn up at the local watering hole with the latest machinery, very few miles, and then spout off about how the Yamasuzkada GBZRF3 is the greatest thing they ever ridden, which is daft cos the bike only has delivery miles on it.
You all know the ones I'm referring to.
Buy it in May,
Polish it in June
Consider riding it in July
Pluck up enough courage to push it outta the garage and go for a ride in August.
Scare themselves, talk bollocks "it ain't quick enough etc etc" so I?m getting shot...
Trade-in in September ....... for a new bike delivery in the following May.
Going back to the price quoted for a hypothetical trade-in for my Strom, the book referred to a 2002 model on an '02 plate.
Which could be as early as March 2002.
And since March 2005 is only 6 weeks away, that reduces the 6000 miles quoted mileage "allowance" from 3000 p.a. to an even more frightening 2000 p.a.
Now that is just plain scary. Now consider this scenario ....
Insurance companies requiring bikes to be insured renewed at the time of the MOT (assuming we have bikes that are that old!), with a certified mileage check
to make sure we don't do more than the 2000 miles allowed!
Then the government steps in and says
"We can reduce the number of accidents by ensuring that riders don't ride very far, so from today all insurance policies will only cover you for 1000 miles p.a."
scared yet?
mike.
In the course of the conversation, we got chatting about the Varadero 1000, and how much for one, (as a potential replacement for my forever ill V-Strom).
Pulls out the "little book" (Jan 2005 edition) and asks the usual questions, and when he asked the mileage, when I said nearly 8500, a sharp intake of breath came from him.
"Bit high that my friend"
eh?
on a 2002 bike? (irrelevant that I bought it in 2003)
Had a look in the book, and they say for a 2002 DL1000, on a ?02 plate, it should only have 6000 miles on it to be a "normal" mileage for that year!!!!
WTF! that's 3000 a year, are these guys who produce these "guides" serious?
Its a sport tourer fer crying out loud, it's SUPPOSED to do big mileages. That's the whole point of them.
Had a look at the FJR1300, same thing, for a 2002 model, should be expecting no more than 7000 miles!
And since the industry rely on these books as a bench mark for buying and selling, the re-sale value of our bikes is shite.
I was offered, with all the luggage and extras left on the bike (which amounted to around ?1000 when bought) only ?3300 against a new Varadero, but he then says "I may have to adjust that downwards cos of the high mileage". (He has no knowledge of the problems I've had with mine, so that was not a factor here).
Any one else been surprised by the apparent low trade-in values of their pride and joys'?
At that sort of trade deal, I won't even bother looking to change this year.
or next.
or the year after either.
My actual "gripe" ?, it wasn't the value he offered, it was the fact that the "high mileage" started so low. 3000 miles a year? I remember when 10000 was the normal mileage for a bike and a car was around 12000.
Does the market really expect to be able to keep persuading people that once you've paid ?10k for a machine, that by the time you've driven home that it is worthless?
The only way I see out of the situation would be for ALL bikers, be it power rangers, dual sport riders, moped man and the pipe and slipper brigades etc etc etc to simply REFUSE the crap trade-ins offered and not buy the latest all singing all dancing latest coloured 1 mph faster, 0.5 kg lighter, half nanosecond quicker, made from rare unobtainium machines, so they sit in the showrooms for a long time.
Then the dealers/market will have to start paying decent prices for used bikes that have had more than 3000 miles per year use, cos if they don't, then the new metal stays put.
3000 miles a year, christ I walk further than that to have a shit!
I'm not actually looking to sell the bike, I was literally just passing the time waiting for my daughter to appear to fleece me for some money again, but as me and Honda guy got talking, it just riled me a bit to think that the industry seems to want to penalise us for actually having the sheer neck to ride our bikes!
So, is it the industry saying to us
"your bike should only cover 4000 miles a year, otherwise it's high mileage"
and therefore we as the stupid bike riding peeps are actually making sure that we only do 4000 miles....
or is it...
we as the same bike riding peeps do ACTUALLY only ride 4000 miles a year (on average) and therefore industry saying "as that's all the average rider does, so that's what we will set the average per year as?"
So, are we victims of our own desire to have a clean, low mileage, bright and shining posing tool?
Certainly some of the pocket rocket guys would fit into that category, the ones who turn up at the local watering hole with the latest machinery, very few miles, and then spout off about how the Yamasuzkada GBZRF3 is the greatest thing they ever ridden, which is daft cos the bike only has delivery miles on it.
You all know the ones I'm referring to.
Buy it in May,
Polish it in June
Consider riding it in July
Pluck up enough courage to push it outta the garage and go for a ride in August.
Scare themselves, talk bollocks "it ain't quick enough etc etc" so I?m getting shot...
Trade-in in September ....... for a new bike delivery in the following May.
Going back to the price quoted for a hypothetical trade-in for my Strom, the book referred to a 2002 model on an '02 plate.
Which could be as early as March 2002.
And since March 2005 is only 6 weeks away, that reduces the 6000 miles quoted mileage "allowance" from 3000 p.a. to an even more frightening 2000 p.a.
Now that is just plain scary. Now consider this scenario ....
Insurance companies requiring bikes to be insured renewed at the time of the MOT (assuming we have bikes that are that old!), with a certified mileage check
to make sure we don't do more than the 2000 miles allowed!
Then the government steps in and says
"We can reduce the number of accidents by ensuring that riders don't ride very far, so from today all insurance policies will only cover you for 1000 miles p.a."
scared yet?
mike.
