My grandpa always told me there is three things in life you will never lose money on. a Corvette, John Deere tractor and a Harley Davidson if you keep each one long enough you WILL sell it for more then what you paid for it. I like it that Harley's hold their value. Sure it sucks trying to buy a used one but you will love it when its time to sell. Think about what you saying, if every used Harley you have found is in your opinion way over priced are the sellers all crazy or is your budget to low? I had the same problem when looking for a used car, I wanted a Lamborghini but every seller was out of their mind on what they were asking! Of coarse it couldn't have been that cars were just out of my budget, I just know it had to be the sellers fault.

 

Send me a PM. I have a dealer license and can look up the current auction listings for what your looking at. What book are you going by ? Are you looking at average retail prices when you say your are seeing 2010 Road Glides and Street Glides for 14000.00 ?

Like others have posted its hard to buy used from individuals. They put thousands in accessories and upgrades and expect to get that money back. I have pretty much given up buying from individuals and even accepting trade ins because Harley owners are typically unrealistic in what their bike is worth. I pretty much buy Harley's strictly from the bank and repo auctions.

 

This spring I sold my 01 deuce with 20,000 miles and I just had to add $2000 to the proceeds to buy my current bike a 08 RKC with 4500 miles

Deals can be found both way if you have patience

A new 13 RKC here is $24,259.00 plus tax

 

I had the same feelings when looking for my Deuce. People were asking crazy prices for them. I'd been keeping a close eye on Craigslist and ebay for months (looking every hour or so for new ads). I saw the ad for this one literally three minutes after it was posted and sent him an email, called him, saw the bike and made the deal the next day. Fortunately I was the first one to contact him because he said he was swamped with email responses after we talked. And he was an honorable guy...didn't try to gig me for a higher price because of the interest in the bike. I had told him on the phone that if the bike was as presented in the ad I'd take it for the price he was asking. He honored that price.

There ARE good deals to be made out there, BUT..you have to be vigilant in your search and when one comes up that you think you might be interested in you have to jump on it immediately. Do your research and know what the one you want is worth. You'll find it eventually, but, like others have said, it may take a while. Good luck. Have fun with the search

 

If you look at HD marketing, it's theme is image and emotion. I get several pieces of mail a month, and 5x that in emails from dealers, pushing the image that HD markets so effectively. When was the last time you saw a sanctioned HD advertisement touting the reliability, hp, riding comfort, or any other technical advancement they have. Not out there. Image is what they push and many, maybe most, buyers purchase that dream they have been sold in the ads. Some cars also hype that some but there is a technological side to it too.

When an owner has made a purely, or mostly emotional, decision when they bought, they can not be bothered by reality when it comes time to sell. They see the bike as an enhancement to their virility, a fulfillment to their lifestyle, a definition of "who they are" (bad boy/girl biker sitting at the dealer on a Saturday morning in the pirate outfit having the free hotdog), etc. How often do you see a several year old TOURING for sale but only has 2K on it? A low mileage "bar hopper" with 15 thousand skulls on it, wanna-be decorations?

Attitudes; seller sees his bike as a classic example of motorcycle design and innovation, different from everyone's elses, the ultimate statement of manhood. In reality it's a used bike with gaudy covers and emblems that most people don't want. A USED vehicle with little value to the modifications. Dealer might give 10% to more normal and desirable on them.

Anyone who buys a new motor-vehicle an investment, really doesn't understand about vehicle purchases and values. Hardly anything on wheels will have even the same value the day after purchase, and years later a significant depreciation. Once in a while a seller can find a buyer who is totally absorbed in the image, has more dollars than sense, and can be convinced to over pay for a used motorcycle. Rare event though. As has been stated, E-bay, Craigslist, FSBO lots and selling mags, are filled with over priced machines and those ads will be there next year too, or they will quietly lower when they are tired of looking at that "tarnished image" sitting outside.

What's the answer? As a potential buyer, separate the emotion from the financial reason for buying. Do research. Get values from KBB, NADA, E-bay asking, and recent sales, and other selling venues. If a modification is something you want and would have put on anyway, it has some value (not 100+%), make a reasonable offer and be prepared to explain your offer and walk away.

Am I saying that image should be totally discounted when purchasing? No. It's a part of the decision but should not be the driving force.

 

So true. Many times in the past I have looked at vehicles, car/truck/bike, that the original buyer had put $0 down, paid more than MSRP, rolled all fees taxes etc.s, into the loan, and is immediately thousands upside down on the loan. When the Mazda Miata first came out, the sticker was around $16K as I remember. Dealers were selling them for 5K more than MSRP. A year later, the hype and fun factor had worn off and these cars started showing up for sale for more than a new one. Seriously doubt that any of them sold however.

Same thing happens all to frequently when buying a motorcycle.

 

I have a friend that owns a car dealer. One time years ago, he said to me " there's lots of dreamers in Autotrader." IMO, that about sums it up.
There are deals out there, but you will need patience.
In the end, it isn't what you pay, it's what you get.

 

I hear all that, but am not that myself. I bought a used 05 Ultra a little over 2 years ago with 28K miles... I traded it in a month ago with 78K miles on it and got squat. Why, cuz it was past it's "prime" trade in miles of 30K. Hell I had that on it in 5 days after buying it.

My 12 FLHTK had 3900 miles on it when I bought it. I put 2K on it in 2 days! I ride, so unfortunately my bikes will never retain high value in dollars, but have high value in my soul!

 

I would say most people (not all but most) trying to sell a late model bike are upside down on their loan. Way worse than people are on car loans.

A guy buying a $20,000 bike after adding freight, setup fees, backrest luggage rack, add on chrome goodies, exhaust and sales tax paid or got a 7 year loan for around $25,000.

One other thing that is not really worth mentioning is 2013 minus 20009 is 4 years not 5.

 

I am with you on that. I have 22K on my 18 month old FLHTK. While certainly not a record for mileage, I still have a job and and limited vacation. I don't do barhopping, most distance riding. When I retire next year I'll put more serious miles on it. I also didn't purchase it as an investment. I bought it to ride, made modifications to it to improve ride quality, and will leave the "inside" of the engine alone. If/when I ever sell, someone will get a well used high mileage bike that has had careful and meticulous maintenance. I take care of my stuff, be it a pet, vehicle, or tool.