used bike pricing question

[afplayboy18]

im fairly sure that i have found the bike that i want.

its a 2005 GS500F with almost 500 miles on it.  the asking price is $4299. 

while inspecting the bike i noticed some rust on the exhaust(i would say 1/2 inch squared)...what is a good amount to ask be taken off for that?

my question is what is a good price out the door i should look for. 

also the kbb value is $3970.

any help would be appreciated.

[Jake D]

4K good price OTD. 

[RVertigo]

Get used to the look of the rust on the pipes... There's more where that came from.

A dealer will always try to up the price...  Jake D is right.

[afplayboy18]

forgot to add...

i will have a blank check in hand so i will be straight up buying the bike from the dealer...will that affect the price??

[RVertigo]

It might...  But, most dealers would rather throw in some gear than drop the price of the bike...

With cash-in-hand you have more leverage...  Go for under blue-book and tell 'em you'll walk for anything over blue-book...

It all depends on how bad you want the thing and if you need any other gear...  (Don't go TOO low...  I've actually been thrown out of a shop for low-balling a little too far  ).



Most times, the more crap you buy, the more they'll pull off the top end...  They make less commission per item, but when they sell 5 things at half commission rather than one at full, they actually make more money.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

As an ex-salesman, I can tell you that nowadays, paying cash does nothing for you, except at mom n pop type places. Most companies couldn't care less how you pay. MANY places will be more inclined to give you freebies/breaks if you finance through them. That way they're making interest on your money. I know my tradeoff was always x amount off, or x free if they'd sign up for one of our cards and put the stuff on it. Again, most places would rather throw in free gear than drop the price. Look at it this way:

Say the bike costs the dealer $3K (it doesn't, I know, but it's for example)
Say the dealer's trying to sell it to you for $4200 (profit of $1200)
Say you ask for it for $3800 (Profit to the dealer of $800 instead of $1200)
Say the dealer has a $400 helmet that costs them $200 (again, for example)
Say the dealer instead offers you that $400 helmet for free, if you pay full price.
If you take the helmet, and pay full on the bike, the dealer makes $1200 on the bike and loses $200 on the helmet. So he just made an extra $200 over what he would have made if he just knocked $400 off the bike.

Just my $.02 as a salesman, hope it helps some. 'Grats on the new bike!

[solarpulse]

come to hali and buy my 05!!! lol

[speedyts49]

As an ex-salesman, I can tell you that nowadays, paying cash does nothing for you, except at mom n pop type places. Most companies couldn't care less how you pay. MANY places will be more inclined to give you freebies/breaks if you finance through them. That way they're making interest on your money. I know my tradeoff was always x amount off, or x free if they'd sign up for one of our cards and put the stuff on it. Again, most places would rather throw in free gear than drop the price. Look at it this way:

Say the bike costs the dealer $3K (it doesn't, I know, but it's for example)
Say the dealer's trying to sell it to you for $4200 (profit of $1200)
Say you ask for it for $3800 (Profit to the dealer of $800 instead of $1200)
Say the dealer has a $400 helmet that costs them $200 (again, for example)
Say the dealer instead offers you that $400 helmet for free, if you pay full price.
If you take the helmet, and pay full on the bike, the dealer makes $1200 on the bike and loses $200 on the helmet. So he just made an extra $200 over what he would have made if he just knocked $400 off the bike.

Just my $.02 as a salesman, hope it helps some. 'Grats on the new bike!

Well said! Great insight

[afplayboy18]

thanks for the info guys...i think i'll go have a little look before work tomorrow