I will NEVER buy a new FJR again

because the price of slightly used ones is just insane! Seriously, $9k for one with 18K miles? $5k for a fully loaded 06? $11K for a 2015?

My 08 has 32K miles on it, just barely broken in, and I would guess it is worth no more than $6k despite all the goodies. At that price, cheaper to keep her, even just as a back up bike when buddies come into town. If I ever decide to hop on the new FJR bandwagon, I am going with slightly used or leftover and deeply discounted late model.

If money didn't matter, I would love to have a brand new bike. In the real world, I would rather have the original owner take the 30-40% hit when he sells me his 2 year old vehicle that is likely less than 10% worn out. I am in complete agreement with you!

Sooo, whatcha gonna buy Hudson, a slightly used beauty blue '16 or a bookend '17?

I KNOW you have room for one (or two) more!

--G

It is kind of annoying when companies like Yamaha seem to dump their products on the US market. This hurts their customer base because it adversely effects the value of a lightly used bike. Last year my friend buys a leftover 2015 for 13K and now there is a dealer in PA with an add on eBay for a new '15 for 8K. I payed about that for a '10 FJR (only 900 miles and like new) so what's that make my bike worth now? The Japanese and now Koreans like to play this game.

I find it very hard to argue that Yamaha is "dumping."

There aren't enough FJRs built in any given year to characterize the US allotment as dumping.

The problem is that there is no demand. Americans want Adventure bikes and Umerkan V-Twins.

The market sets the price for leftovers and used bikes. No demand means good deals.

I personally would rather buy a new bike and break it in myself. I enjoy the break in process. And since I've been averaging 2.5 new bikes a year for the last 12 years, I've had a lot of fun.

I do try to buy them right ... I like end of season deals with big discounts and full warranty best.

You can make this argument that it is better to buy a good used sample on just about anything. Guitars come to mind quickly. A late model used guitar will often save you 40 to 50% off a new one of the same model. I don't enjoy guitar break in, so I buy used much of the time.

jammess said:

It is kind of annoying when companies like Yamaha seem to dump their products on the US market. This hurts their customer base because it adversely effects the value of a lightly used bike. Last year my friend buys a leftover 2015 for 13K and now there is a dealer in PA with an add on eBay for a new '15 for 8K. I payed about that for a '10 FJR (only 900 miles and like new) so what's that make my bike worth now? The Japanese and now Koreans like to play this game.

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The "game" you're describing can't be played by firms in market economies, only by firms in socialist economies against those in market economies because the firms are supported by government funding. This is why China has had the ability to dump product at or below cost in the past to drive out competition. Contrary to belief, larger firms are less capable of this practice than smaller firms in a market economy because their expenses are so much larger. In other words, a large firm loses more money far more quickly than a small one when attempting to undercut prices below cost.

The game that's actually played is one where the manufacturer attempts to forecast the demand level in each market as well as the aggregate demand. They do a pretty good job of it too. Dealers also play this game but don't do nearly as good a job of it. The problem that arises then is one of perception. If we cherry pick the dealers that fail to sell their product in a timely manner and decide to free up capital and selling space there appears to be a glut in the market. If we also take into consideration the dealers who sold through their product and could have also have sold many of the unsold units at other dealers, we'd see that the manufacturing plan is typically accurate on the net balance. The glut and dumping occurs at the dealer level, not the manufacturing level typically.

On the used market, the FJR does not command a high resale value, nor should it. Is it more likely that Yamaha is "dumping" product on the market hurting their own margins or that the demographics just don't support a high resale price? The average buyers in the FJR market tend to be people who have a level of riding experience and income level that makes buying new more attractive. Essentially, you have a relatively small market of interested buyers in total and then subtract out all of those who are buying new. What you're left with is a number of interested parties that drives down the price level of the used machines. Also, if the interest level were high enough to support a high resale price, the pricing on new leftovers would have very little affect on the used market prices. The leftovers would sell too quickly to drive down the pricing in the used market.

In short, it's we shouldn't seek to place blame where none exists. It's the actions and decisions of individuals that determines resale value, not some game being played by manufacturers that would only hurt their own profits.

Hudson said:

because the price of slightly used ones is just insane! Seriously, $9k for one with 18K miles? $5k for a fully loaded 06? $11K for a 2015?
My 08 has 32K miles on it, just barely broken in, and I would guess it is worth no more than $6k despite all the goodies. At that price, cheaper to keep her, even just as a back up bike when buddies come into town. If I ever decide to hop on the new FJR bandwagon, I am going with slightly used or leftover and deeply discounted late model.

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Yeah, see'in the FJR is 'bout the most reliable bike out there, buy'in used is a good option. It's not like buy'in a used Ninja 250 that you know was flogged.

And people, please don't feed the troll!

Somebody has to do it, or there won't be used ones.

I got 10K in 2015 for my 08..Of course it was from the insurance company.

Bikes overall have got down in value, they're just like automobiles now.

New or used, they don't command top dollar. Japanese bikes in general don't have high resale values. I've heard it said of HD but I don't know. My BMW, run ragged, brought damn bear what I paid for it, but it was expensive to maintain and repair. I intentionally waited until November, walked into an empty showroom, and walked out with a great deal and great warranty on my FJR.

Hudson, count me in that same category.

I bought an 04 from the dealer for 5K with 33K miles. Great shape, lots of extras. Rode it 55K miles in 3 years. Sold it for almost 3K.

Bought a Used 15ES with 25K miles that has 3K worth of well thought out Farkles. Cost me $9200. I know I will be able to ride it forever the way they are bulletproof. It will get replaced one if 4 ways, I wear it out(Definitely not happening). It gets stolen(Probably not happening) I crash it(Hopefully not happening) and if Yamaha comes out with a Gen 4 Arctic Alpine Pearl White bike(Definitely happening).

BTW, my local dealer still has a 15ES for 14,995 plus fees on the floor. It is in exactly the same spot as 2 years ago. I even marked the tire( well I wiped the dust off an spot on the rim). Same dust mark was there Thursday.

I wouldnt buy new either. Not now at least. I am currently looking at a 2013 fjr with 12k miles for $7,500.00, and there is also a 2014 with 10k miles for under $8,750.000 in the area. So i feel for you all thats purchased new.I purchased my bike just over a year ago under 6k. I can probably sell it quickly for 5k. So I take a hit of 16% or $800 to trade up to a newer model. That's a bit more palatable than most situations.

I believe I paid around 11,998K for my 08 FJR. Since the used market is down I decided to keep it around rather than selling it dirt cheap. I bought my 2015A with a lot more bells and whistles new for 9,995 in PA. Even though I could keep riding the 08 I didn't want to pass up the last chance to get a 5 speed FJR that I can easily work on. I still only have a little over 600 miles on the 2015 and I am getting close to finishing up on my farkling. The wife still has not ridden on the back yet. She gladly reminded me of that today. There's a good chance the 2015 may be my last bike purchase unless something disastrous happens.

Dave

I like to buy used American cars...

and used Japanese bikes.

They all depreciate faster than others, and still run a good long time.... for about 1/2 price of new.

Nothing wrong w/ new stuff... just know you pay a price for putting the first dirt and scratches on it.

BTW... I buy used most everything... clothes , bikes, electronics, anything you need can be found on CL, Ebay, or the local charity.

THIS, is why I will likely have my '13 cremated with me... I've put $18-20k into her and have very low milage (it's an age thing)... I hate to even think about selling her.....

I like new stuff!!

I've done both types of purchase now. When I bought my '05 in '06 it had 10k miles on it and I paid $9k for it from a local used bike dealership. I rode that bike for 8 years and 90k miles with never a serious problem, so I knew that it was the right bike for me.

As Dave said, the feature differences between my old bike and the third Gens were significant enough to want to upgrade. And when they came out with the gorgeous red color for one year I knew I had to have it.

Yes, it cost me more for the new and current model bike than if I had been more patient, but buying a bike is not like buying a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner. It's a lot more emotion driven than pragmatic. I know of one guy that really wanted a 2014ES but procrastinated too long hoping to get a better deal until when he was ready to buy there were none left. The red 14's sold particularly well, especially the ES models, at least around here. There were no leftovers.

I'm pretty sure that I'll never wear this bike out, and doubt I'll part with it for as long as I can keep riding, so whether I paid a little more for it at the beginning is of little consequence. I'll have paid a lot more for tires and farkles than the difference it cost me to buy new. At least that's how I can justify spending so much to myself.

If no one buys new ones there would soon be no used ones.

Being a free market capitalist, I believe the prices of both new and used FJRs are in balance most of the time with the demand for them. I know that a new vehicle loses a lot of value as soon as it is first bought and driven, but I like new vehicles and am willing to pay the price when I have it. I also keep vehicles until they are completely used up, so I rarely sell or trade-in a used one.

El Toro said:

You can make this argument that it is better to buy a good used sample on just about anything. Guitars come to mind quickly. A late model used guitar will often save you 40 to 50% off a new one of the same model.

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Man you got that right.