It basically come down to $. If $ is the case then stay away from the stealers, they rape you on used bikes more often than not. As stated look around, they are out there. I sold my old bike to a friend of mine at a very fair price and he knows he got a really good bike. So if you can find one locally from someone you know then you are even further ahead. Good luck!

 

Of course it comes down to money.... it should regardless of what you get and where you get it.... especially in this economy. Why pay more for something than you should or have to. Regardless of what bike you want to get... research it and it's values (look at retail, private party etc).... use all resources (Ebay, KBB, Craigslist across state lines, etc etc).

A great used bike on Craigslist could very well have a butt load of accessories that you might want to add to "your ride".... but if they are already there installed... great. Selling a bike with add on accessories usually doesn't get much for the accessories (ask any dealer ... they don't figure those in and will tell you that). Now is a great time to buy.... the season (winter), the economy (and people losing jobs, wage cutbacks etc). Some might not be able to hold on til the Spring Selling Season and will take a beating now to unload their toy in favor of saving money.

If you can't deal with a used bike and gotta have a new one.... now is the time to deal with dealers.... it's their slow season too, and the economy isn't all that great where everyone has disposable cash to lay down on a bike...

Find your bike and then make a deal that you are happy with. After all.... you gotta be happy with the bike you ride and the deal/payment you make.

Good luck....

 

People, you need to learn to say NO! I had a trade in offer of $8,500 for my 9month old '09 FXDC with over $2,500 in add ons. I'm lucky I didn't buy it brand new at MSRP, but used with only a few hundred miles on it. Can you imagine losing $7.5K on a 9 month old Super Glide Custom in showroom condition?

Of course their brand new '10 was worth MSRP + Doc fees, freight, set up and all other loaded up profits. I smiled, said no and walked out, now determined am going to make MY FXDC even better.

Some of you want Harleys to always retain their values, this was never the case when dealing with the stealership. When its there's it retains its value. Many of you had to pay higher prices to a private party only because they were upside down in their ride. You didn't know how to deal.

Learn how to deal and learn how to say NO! Stop being a sucker. Don't let a stealership rule you. If a dealer tells you they don't allow test rides, move on. If you all did this, this would change. Stop paying msrp, tell them NO and leave your number, smile and walk out. Don't be a sheep any longer.

Believe me, stealerships are there to make money and not collect bikes. If no ones a sucker, prices will fall.

Ebay can be your friend as well.

 

Try the below links:

 

I bought mine used with 2000 miles on it from a dealer (not Harley) and it is still under factory warranty until next summer. I looked around a lot, including craigslist, but they had the color, model, etc., that I wanted. I still paid way less than similar used bikes the local Harley dealer had for sale.

 

I have noticed around here the bikes on Craigs list usually are listed at about 2,000 more than they are worth.Got a great used bike for a great price through the local Harley dealer,I was very surprissed!

 

I found a 2006 Streetglide with 10,000 miles on it and my brother bought it for $11,000 (private sale). There are deals out there, you just have to do your homework--then look. If your happy paying more for the dealer to keep his big building, then go for it.

 

Diligence is the key to finding a deal. Most people like to stay in their comfort zone and find a bike near them so they can look/feel, and the dealer showroom can suck in most people simply because you feel like you're a kid in a candy store and let's face it, they're dealers and they're trained to close a sale. I just bought my first harley, a '07 road king police two days ago. I started looking seriously about 5 weeks ago everywhere imaginable. On ebay, I watched the listings, looked at the completed listings especially because there you'll find the reality is only about 1% of the auctions actually end with a bike selling, and even then beware because that same "sold" bike will pop up again next week. Watch "other items" from the same seller, look at his feedback, look at his other completed listings. Craigslist has a button to email the listing. Send it to yourself and make a folder in your email to track them. You can use a search engine called "search tempest" to search craigslist around the country really quickly. You'll find, especially this time of year, the same bike re listed for weeks and the price continuously dropping. Even the guys who say "firm price!". I actually made a spreadsheet with year, mileage, state, phone numbers, KBB values, etc. and was tracking around 40 bikes for sale. Bottom line is I ended up with a 2007 103" 6speed un molested bike for the price guys were getting for '99s. Now is the time. Visa bills from Xmas are rolling in and guys are heading north with their sleds. The bike is the last thing on their mind and you can hit the sweet spot with cash. I live in Michigan and bikes have been collecting dust since October. I figure there's about 3 weeks left and then the bike shows and swap meets get going, and the spring issues of the mags come out and the fever starts to go up. One l last thing, sometimes the dealers give too much on trade in to close the new deal so thats why the used bike prices are high there. However, they also are hitting the auctions this time of year and getting great deals themselves and are selling low. By the way, the great deal I got was from a dealer.

 

Ive bought 3 bikes from a guy in hillsboro oregon that has a motorcycle dealers license All his bikes are pretty much 2007+ low mileage And pretty much always cheaper than craigslist Quite a few get shipped to other states

 

If you buy new.... then you KNOW everrything about the bike,
when you buy used... it's a pig in a poke, as they say.... (well DUH!!!)

But there's a lot of "wiggle room" in buying used.... unless the seller was "upside down" and many of them are... do your home work, and know what the TRADE-IN value is.... then offer some more. if the dealership balks... walk away.


I bought my Road Glide for a song, was the personal bike of the owner... had more sparkles than I would get...but the price was right.... and it's NOT a popular model, in a popular color. Everyone seems to want Street Glides, and Road Kings, so prices on the used side are higher... but then, I never did follow the herd