[JRESURF]

Completely new to riding still and have about 7000 miles on my 2008 R1200RT (purchased new), and got the green light from the wife to upgrade to the K1600GTL....
Question that might be obvious, but are you MUCH better off to sell your current motorcycle yourself as opposed to trading the MC in at a local BMW dealer? I know the answer to this with cars but have never gone this route with a motorcycle....
Trade in listed at $8920
Retail listed at $12300
Both listed prices from KBB did not account for lower mileage, if that even matters...
Just curious if the dealer would be below the trade in listed above... No experience with this and MCs so figured I would ask.
Thanks for any advice here.
Jed

 

[DanDiver]

Pretty much the same as a car. The dealer generally has a little more responsibility after the sale along with their overhead. You should be able to get somewhere between the list and the trade-in if you sell it yourself.

 

[meese]

Generally speaking, you'll get more cash selling private, but trading in will be much simpler.

The dealer needs some margin available to clean up and resell your bike.

So it depends whether or not you mind the hassle of a private sale, or if you just want to sign & go.

Your best bet is to research real used bike prices in your area on Cycle Trader, Craig's List, or similar, then go talk to your dealer and get his numbers.

 

[JRESURF]

This is great and just what I expected but wanted to gauge since I have no experience with motorcycles in this regard. Since I am in no immediate hurry and possible end of year incentives start cropping up on BMW models around August I might just list and see what happens and in the meantime get in touch with the local dealer discussing options.
Thanks again,
J

 

[New2rt]

Check with your dealer, I would think they would give you a good trade in price on a K1600.
I don't know about VA but in PA we have an in and out which saves you money on taxes, you pay tax on the difference.
For me trading has worked out well, close to the price of selling and none of the hassle.
YMMV

 

[Outbacker]

I had a K1200 LT and tried to sell it for a while privately but had no luck. I eventually took it to the BMW dealership and inquired for a trade in and they offered me 2K less then what I was asking, but I was ok with their offer. I was not getting a lot of responses through private sale and I just got tired of trying to sell it, so a trade in worked for me. Typically you make more trying to sell it privately then trading it in, cause the dealership now has to sell it pretty much for what you would sell it for, only they have to make some profit. Try private and see how it goes, and if not then go to the dealership. Depends on how much time you have to sell it, and how much patience you have with people. I did not have time and found out I do not have that much patience for buyers .

 

[JRESURF]

Thanks again for the feedback... With a motorcycle I was also worried about private sale in the regards of honestly having no real idea of the experience level of the potential buyers coming to check out the bike, asking for test rides etc... If the difference ended up being only 2K I would definitly be interested in bypassing the private sale route/hassle.
This is exactly what I was interested in... Thanks again.
Jed

PS - Are the dealers moving on the 26K price tag yet on the K16GTLs or should I just expect to continue paying sticker through it's initial year? I saw a few demo GTLs listed for 23K which I found tempting, but of course those did not last long.
J

(Not sure if price can be discussed on this forum, I cannot remember if that was posted in the rules but I will review, if so I apologize in advance)

 

[katnapinn]

You might also talk to your dealer about putting your bike on consignment for them to sell it for you. I know at Lone Star BMW here in Austin they charge 5% of the sale price to do that. This way you do not have to mess with selling the bike but still get more money from the sale. The down side is if you do not get the GTL for a while you will be without a bike while the RT is for sale.

 

[JRESURF]

About to pull the trigger...
Did not have time to RIDE the MC yet but while dropping my 08 RT off for service I had time to inspect and sit on the bike and LOVED the riding position, controls, and end to end MC. Obviously, it is premature to sign a deal on a MC of this price without test riding it, but all the prices and trade in numbers are exactly where I need them to be. I plan to test ride the bike Friday and if that goes well I will pull the trigger.
Reviewing the accessories/must haves I have come up with the following list:
Schuberth C3 Helmet - $700
Bluetooth with Helmet - $400
Brake Light for Top Case - $250
NAV IV - $800
$2150 - Total Accessories....
(If pleased with the bike after the test ride going to make offer for purchase with all accessories listed for $1000; since paying MSRP for bike currently I figure this should be a no brainer, but we will see.)
:bmw:
Question for the forum is are there any MUST have accessories I have not listed above?
Thanks,
Jed

 

[meese]

If you're going to ride solo, the Schuberth SRC Bluetooth setup is a good option. But if you're going to ride two-up, then you need the BMW Helmet Communication System to get full functionality.

The Top Case Brake Light lists at $195. I paid $166 for mine from Countryside BMW using their 15% discount code. Installation was pretty easy, as the wire is already in place under the chrome cover.

Another thing you may want to find is a high-capacity USB flash drive. Put your mp3's on it and plug it into the audio USB port in the right storage compartment, and all your music will be available on the dash using the scroll wheel. Works pretty good, too.

 

[DanDiver]

Ask the dealer to replace the horn before they put the bike together. A lot easier then.

 

[JRESURF]

Thanks for the feedback. Bike is already assembeld and on the floor so I guess the horn swap is not an option.... I will have to test that out tomorrow at the dealer, have heard a lot of complaints about the standard here on the forums.
WIll always be riding solo, as the wife would NEVER consider riding as an option so maybe the Schuberth SRC Bluetooth setup is the choice for me, maybe cheaper.... I will use the BT for my Andriod Phone, IPOD, flash drive, & NAVI.
Thanks!
Jed

 

[JimE]

Thanks for the feedback. Bike is already assembeld and on the floor so I guess the horn swap is not an option.... I will have to test that out tomorrow at the dealer, have heard a lot of complaints about the standard here on the forums.
WIll always be riding solo, as the wife would NEVER consider riding as an option so maybe the Schuberth SRC Bluetooth setup is the choice for me, maybe cheaper.... I will use the BT for my Andriod Phone, IPOD, flash drive, & NAVI.
Thanks!
Jed

It's still not hard for them to swap the horn. Do yourself a favor and have that done before you get out in traffic. You might need it on the way home!

 

[JRESURF]

OK everyone on this forum is probably going to blast me for this or be like WTH... I bought the bike tonight and rode it for the first time AFTER purchasing it....
FIRST time I rode the MC was AFTER i purchased it and had QUITE an experience I will relay here...
Accessories I purchased with the bike were:
Schuberth C3 Helmet (ordered)
Bluetooth with Helmet SRC (ordered)
Brake Light for Top Case INSTALLED
NAV IV (ordered waiting)
Saddle Bag Guards (ordered)
Saddle Bag Film (ordered)
Engine Guards (INSTALLED)
Left dealer for first TIME ever riding the MC and as soon as getting on interstate (40 mile ride) DEAD stop traffic construction... Just my luck... So continue my journey and as soon as I am on a bridge tunnel my TPM system goes off saying my front tire is 33PSI (suppose to be 42 according to the manual) so I am about 15 miles from home so I ride this out thinking it is a manufacture defect... Get home and tire pressure is 33. I inspected entire tire and nothing I could find. I pumped the tire back upto 42PSI and I will reinspect in the morning to see if any change occurs overnight. Interesting experience but nontheless I have a BRAND NEW GTL in my garage and I am stoked!
J

 

[sscottc10658]

Good job on the GTL. I traded my 07 RT Tuesday for a red GT. Loved the RT but what a difference. Rode the BR Parkway from Afton Mt to Lynchburg yesterday and it seems to handle a lot better, at least for me. Fast? Good Lord. This things going to be trouble. Again, congrats on your new bike, these 1600's are amazing.

 

[JRESURF]

Yes I am GLAD dealer put the bike in RAIN mode when I left. This is the second MC i have ever owned and I can totally see where I could easily get in trouble with this bike if not careful. One thing I noticed were the highway winds on the GTL barely TOUCH the bike where on the same stretch of highway my RT was getting blown all over the place. GTL is like a rock at 80 where my RT sometimes seemed much looser. Yes I am LOVING my new GTL and looking forward to many miles of FUN ahead!
J

 

[Gruivis]

Congrats on the GTL, it's hard to be patient once the new bike fever sets in.

Did you sleep in the garage?

 

[barryRT]

The only upside to selling privately is getting more money, while there are lots of negatives to selling privately. I'll be changing my bike in a few years and I'm leaning towards a trade-in.
Negatives:
1. phone tag
2. email tag
3. no shows
4. negotiating
5. test riders