09-08-2013, 11:14 PM
What is it worth to you?
I usually will have a figure in mind on what I want to pay for something, be it a car, motorcycle, blue jeans, gym shoes or a meal. Things have certain value to me. If the item exceeds my perceived value I won't buy it. For example my kids wear gym shoes that cost over $100, jeans that cost over $50, t shirts that cost over $25, and are willing to pay $75 for a meal at a fancy restaurant. Those are all too high in my opinion. So I buy gym shoes for less than $50, jeans for under $25 and T shirts for under $15 and eat in restaurants where a meal might cost me $25 because that's all I'm willing to pay for those items. (BTW I won't wait to get into a restaurant over 20 minutes either...if they tell me it's going to be 45 minutes I go somewhere else). I figured the CB was worth $10,000 and I negotiated with the dealer for that amount out the door (non abs). If the dealer had insisted on more than that, in all likelihood I'd have just kept my old bikes and would not be a part of this forum.
Another point...which I have told people many times... what something like a motorcycle costs you, is " only the difference between what you pay for it, and what you sell it for" (minus taxes and upkeep while you own it). In this regard you always come out better buying used. I bought my previous FZ-1 used for $3000 rode it for 4 years and sold it for $2850. So in essence it cost me $150 to own that motorcycle (again, minus taxes and upkeep while I had it). No way to come out that good on a new motorcycle unless you stick it in a barn and hope 30 years down the line it has become a collectible. There is a Honda CB 1100 in our classifieds right now for $8000. Should you buy that (saving $2000 over buying a new one), ride it a couple of years and sell it for $6000 it will have only cost you $2000 to own it, the same it is going to cost the original buyer for owning it just a couple of months.
I usually will have a figure in mind on what I want to pay for something, be it a car, motorcycle, blue jeans, gym shoes or a meal. Things have certain value to me. If the item exceeds my perceived value I won't buy it. For example my kids wear gym shoes that cost over $100, jeans that cost over $50, t shirts that cost over $25, and are willing to pay $75 for a meal at a fancy restaurant. Those are all too high in my opinion. So I buy gym shoes for less than $50, jeans for under $25 and T shirts for under $15 and eat in restaurants where a meal might cost me $25 because that's all I'm willing to pay for those items. (BTW I won't wait to get into a restaurant over 20 minutes either...if they tell me it's going to be 45 minutes I go somewhere else). I figured the CB was worth $10,000 and I negotiated with the dealer for that amount out the door (non abs). If the dealer had insisted on more than that, in all likelihood I'd have just kept my old bikes and would not be a part of this forum.
Another point...which I have told people many times... what something like a motorcycle costs you, is " only the difference between what you pay for it, and what you sell it for" (minus taxes and upkeep while you own it). In this regard you always come out better buying used. I bought my previous FZ-1 used for $3000 rode it for 4 years and sold it for $2850. So in essence it cost me $150 to own that motorcycle (again, minus taxes and upkeep while I had it). No way to come out that good on a new motorcycle unless you stick it in a barn and hope 30 years down the line it has become a collectible. There is a Honda CB 1100 in our classifieds right now for $8000. Should you buy that (saving $2000 over buying a new one), ride it a couple of years and sell it for $6000 it will have only cost you $2000 to own it, the same it is going to cost the original buyer for owning it just a couple of months.