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Buyers remorse from new bike purchase?

Have you had buyers remorse because you bought a new bike versus a used one?

  • Yes, should have bought used

    Votes: 6 11.1%

  • No, bought one bike new and don't regret it

    Votes: 19 35.2%

  • No, bought multiple new bikes and don't regret it

    Votes: 25 46.3%

  • Undecided, please explain why

    Votes: 4 7.4%
  • Total voters
    54
VFRrider

VFRrider

he leakin'
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Location
Upstate New York
Moto(s)
...
Name
Brian
I rode a whole bunch when I lived out in the bay area, but since moving back east coast, haven't had either the time or money at the right time to keep riding. Within the next 6-12 months I should be finding myself in the fortunate position of being able to purchase a new-to-me motorcycle and get riding again.

I'm much better off financially than I was before, and therefore have a wider option to choose from, but the thought of buying a bike brand new has me torn. One the one hand, there's the thrill of picking up your brand new, never before ridden bike. I've never done this before and have always wanted to. But, maybe it makes better sense to buy a bike used...

For what it's worth, I've had two motorcycles, both of them the exact same 86 vfr 700. Love the bike, but I really want something newer, lighter, better tech, etc.

Have you ever had buyers remorse after buying a bike new instead of used? What are you experiences here? Sorry if the topic has been covered, I searched and couldn't find anything...
 
Depends what you're looking for. If electronics are important, the newer bikes have much better electronics (TC, ABS, etc). If you're looking for a mechanical bike, then a well maintained used bike is the way to go IMO.
 
I got my 1st new bike after 3 used ones. In my case I wanted a rare bike that doesn't have a lot of used sales, and the used versions weren't significantly cheap enough to justify buying them...it was basically retail, and includes warranty, or a slightly used one, out of warranty, but the savings wasn't huge.
 
VFRrider said:
Have you ever had buyers remorse after buying a bike new instead of used?
Click to expand...

No, new bikes are great. So are used bikes if they've been cared for.

True story: A riding bud of mine had the worst buyer's remorse I've ever seen. He had a one-yr-old bike he bought new, but was lusting after another. So he traded his bike for the new bike. After a week he decided he hated the new bike, he went back to the bike shop and traded the new bike for his former bike which they still had for sale.

Cost him a ton of money to end up right back where he started. :laughing
 
My F800 was the first vehicle I ever purchased new. There is a certain charm to knowing I know (and am writing) it's life story. As Happy highway man said, there is not a lot of savings in this particular bike buying used (wasn't even possible when I bought mine).

If you have the money and you cannot get the bike you want used. Why not? Somebody has to buy them new.

Side note, someone rode a sparkling brand new CBR600 into work today. 945 miles on it with lots of unused tire. Date of manufacture is 1/07. Ride whatever you get more than that please. :laughing
 
revnort said:
My F800 was the first vehicle I ever purchased new. There is a certain charm to knowing I know (and am writing) it's life story. As Happy highway man said, there is not a lot of savings in this particular bike buying used (wasn't even possible when I bought mine).

If you have the money and you cannot get the bike you want used. Why not? Somebody has to buy them new.

Side note, someone rode a sparkling brand new CBR600 into work today. 945 miles on it with lots of unused tire. Date of manufacture is 1/07. Ride whatever you get more than that please. :laughing
Click to expand...

Of the eight bikes I've owned, only one of them was fresh off the showroom floor. Another was a left-over from the previous year, zero miles & marked down about 15%. All the others were used and (mostly) well-cared for. :thumbup

RE: side-note - At Trivalley BMW, someone would bring in their '06 K1200r for the semi-annual service. Still has/had the paper plates, never registered with DMV, just had it for show. :rolleyes Why waste such an awesome bike (or any bike for that matter) by NOT using it fully for its intended purpose?? :loco
 
revnort said:
My F800 was the first vehicle I ever purchased new. There is a certain charm to knowing I know (and am writing) it's life story. As Happy highway man said, there is not a lot of savings in this particular bike buying used (wasn't even possible when I bought mine).

If you have the money and you cannot get the bike you want used. Why not? Somebody has to buy them new.

Side note, someone rode a sparkling brand new CBR600 into work today. 945 miles on it with lots of unused tire. Date of manufacture is 1/07. Ride whatever you get more than that please. :laughing
Click to expand...

There's a 1999 BMW R1200C @ the dealer with under 4000 miles on it. I do in 2 weeks what the owner put on per YEAR.
 
Zerox said:
No, new bikes are great. So are used bikes if they've been cared for.

True story: A riding bud of mine had the worst buyer's remorse I've ever seen. He had a one-yr-old bike he bought new, but was lusting after another. So he traded his bike for the new bike. After a week he decided he hated the new bike, he went back to the bike shop and traded the new bike for his former bike which they still had for sale.

Cost him a ton of money to end up right back where he started. :laughing
Click to expand...


I actually saw that happen several times when I worked at a moto store on the east coast.
 
There are a load of used bikes out there with less than 5000 miles on them. I just bought a 950 KTM SM for $1700 less than NadaGuides, with 10,000 original miles, in perfect condition. Private party. My Duc was used, through a Duc dealer, and I paid bluebook for it.

The thing with new bikes, is you lose, in my estimation, 30-40% rolling it out the door, more than I'm willing to lose.

But hey, someone has to take that hit, but it isn't going to be me.
 
revnort said:
Side note, someone rode a sparkling brand new CBR600 into work today. 945 miles on it with lots of unused tire. Date of manufacture is 1/07. Ride whatever you get more than that please. :laughing
Click to expand...

F800GS is one of the bikes i'm considering...

being on the east coast, we are limited by weather, especially where I live in Upstate New York. We do have some awesome roads up here, though. I'll try to ride it more than that guy did :laughing
 
We bought two new motos since '09, no buyer's remorse at all. Don't have to worry about abuse, no servicing, whatever and et cetera.

(Though to be honest, we've never had much luck buying used vehicles, even ones that were professionally inspected. The stakes on two wheels are just too high compared to four for our tastes.)
 
If you know exactly what matters to you in a bike and do your research, you shouldn't be too far off from what you think you've bought. Then you learn to live with its small imperfections or quirks, which every bike has some. Some can be modded, others can't. Make those considerations a part of your decision process.
 
I've bought a couple of bikes new, and while I didn't feel remorse, I didn't feel particularly smart in the long-term for paying a premium for having to break the thing in. The best deals I've gotten have been used bikes.

Admittedly, we're lucky in CA to have such a riding culture; you can get just about any bike very gently used if you're patient. But you can still probably get a well-'farkled' and little-used BMW GS out there if you cast a wide net and wait for the right deal.

I give used bikes a thorough going-over and change the fluids. It's a good idea to give a new bike from the dealer a good going-over, too. Nobody has the same respect for your life as you do. :)
 
Roadstergal said:
I've bought a couple of bikes new, and while I didn't feel remorse, I didn't feel particularly smart in the long-term for paying a premium for having to break the thing in. The best deals I've gotten have been used bikes.

Admittedly, we're lucky in CA to have such a riding culture; you can get just about any bike very gently used if you're patient. But you can still probably get a well-'farkled' and little-used BMW GS out there if you cast a wide net and wait for the right deal.

I give used bikes a thorough going-over and change the fluids. It's a good idea to give a new bike from the dealer a good going-over, too. Nobody has the same respect for your life as you do. :)
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Thanks for the replies so far, everybody, and please keep them coming.

You're right, there's a large riding community out in the bay area that makes for the availability of a wide range of motos for sale on the used market.

In Upstate new york, all i'm finding is Harleys and Race reps, neither one of those get me hot and bothered. I could wait ten years and not see an adventure bike or ducati on craigslist up here, and it's not like we have anything closely resembling barf, so the circumstances are a bit different and my options are limited.
 
I have never bought a new bike. Ex girlfriend bought a new car I was afraid to do anything around it so it didn't get scratched. I prefer used so I don't feel like I ruined a mint bike. Buying used allows me to own multiple bikes.
 
Pretty much every bike and car that I've purchased new was not available used. I've never felt sorry for purchasing any of them.

The only "buyer's remorse" I've felt was purchasing extended warranties or prepaid service. I need to get better at holding out when the finance guys give the hard sell pitch before everything is finalized. :x
 
VFRrider said:
In Upstate new york, all i'm finding is Harleys and Race reps, neither one of those get me hot and bothered. I could wait ten years and not see an adventure bike or ducati on craigslist up here, and it's not like we have anything closely resembling barf, so the circumstances are a bit different and my options are limited.
Click to expand...

Have you tried ADV Rider? You might have to travel, but it's another place to look.

That's when you get into the 'what's your time worth' issue, of course, vs the hit on new. :)
 
Roadstergal said:
Have you tried ADV Rider? You might have to travel, but it's another place to look.

That's when you get into the 'what's your time worth' issue, of course, vs the hit on new. :)
Click to expand...

Not close enough to the time of purchase just yet so I haven't checked. I have poked around on SMJ though just for giggles. Still totally undecided on what the next bike will be but there are a few front runners - just different types of bikes.
 
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