Should I trade or wait to sell

[Crawdad]

I have my eye on a 2007RT that is talking loud to me every time I see her. I have my 2004RT posted on several location but so far no luck, I might have been asking to much but that is another story, live and learn. My question is should I start taking the sellable pieces off and listing them individually and then take her down to the dealer for a trade in? The pieces like the Russell seat the highway peg, ect. you know all the pieces we all have and need to make the bike comfortable. Im sure that the dealer dosent care about these quality pieces as long as they can turn around the bike and sell a new one.

[dawn]

Trade or drop your price to the sell it now point. Instant gratification is a wonderful thing!

[John Bentall]

Relist your bike at a lower price without the extras. Get the buyer interested and then explain what is available at additional cost.

[Mike]

It's mostly a matter of how bad lyyou want the new bike. From a financial perspective, the best thing to do is to strip the added accessories off the RT, then sell them and the RT separately to private parties. You seldom, if ever, get the full value of aftermarket accessories if they're still on the bike.

 

Of course, if you're in need of instant gratification and don't mind losing a few hundred . . . possibly thousand . . . dollars, go for it! I traded my RT for my new ST and felt that the dealer was pretty fair on the trade-in he gave me. Since the value of the trade-in is deducted from the new bike's sale price in calculating sales taxes in Illinois, that was also an added benefit. Mostly, though, I just didn't want to screw around with the hassles of selling my RT privately.

 

If you want to trade, that's fine. Just realize that you're paying a price for the convenience of not having to market the old RT.

[grasslander]

If you choose to go for instant gratification...

 

Don't forget to calculate the sales tax savings when trading in. Trade value normally deducts from the sale price (a like kind exchange?) for sales tax purposes. At least this is so in Kansas. A savings of $75 per $1000 trade at 7.5% tax!

[Whip]

If you choose to go for instant gratification...

 

Don't forget to calculate the sales tax savings when trading in. Trade value normally deducts from the sale price (a like kind exchange?) for sales tax purposes. At least this is so in Kansas. A savings of $75 per $1000 trade at 7.5% tax!

 

No sales tax savings in CA.

[GregB]

You mean there are states where you DON'T pay sales tax on the full price of a new vehicle with a trade-in?

That would seem to cut down the private-party sales substantially and encourage dealer trade-ins.

 

That would have been interesting on the trade-in I was forced to do last year where the trade-in was worth triple the price of the one purchased.

 

Rip-Off California would never consider that. Even labor on a repair is only exempt from CA sales tax if it is "Repair Labor"? Then there are vague exemptions for "Installation Labor". Several people have been nailed for not charging sales tax on labor for "Improvements", etc.

[milesandmiles]

Whacha asking?

[marcopolo]

You mean there are states where you DON'T pay sales tax on the full price of a new vehicle with a trade-in?

That would seem to cut down the private-party sales substantially and encourage dealer trade-ins.

 

That would have been interesting on the trade-in I was forced to do last year where the trade-in was worth triple the price of the one purchased.

 

Rip-Off California would never consider that. Even labor on a repair is only exempt from CA sales tax if it is "Repair Labor"? Then there are vague exemptions for "Installation Labor". Several people have been nailed for not charging sales tax on labor for "Improvements", etc.

 

It is also the practice here in Ontario, and many other Canadian provinces, to charge tax only on the net value of the bike purchase, i.e., after deducting the value of the trade-in. Yes, it's certainly a consideration when buying a new bike, especially here where you save 14% tax on the trade-in value.

[GregB]

Well the tax on only the difference is certainly reasonable but 14% tax rate is just incredible!

That kind of tax rate would just have to drive a huge part of the economy underground like much of Europe.

[John in VA]

Well the tax on only the difference is certainly reasonable but 14% tax rate is just incredible!

That kind of tax rate would just have to drive a huge part of the economy underground like much of Europe.

 

Among other things, taxes in Canada pay for a national health system that covers everybody, cradle to grave.

 

Anyway, I am truly amazed that any state charges sales tax only on the DIFFERENCE between the purchase price and a trade-in. A trade-in is an asset being paid to the dealer, the same as cash (better than cash to the dealer because the dealer can resell it at a profit). That makes no sense.

[Crawdad]

I'm asking 12.5k but in hind sight I should have posted it for $11,999 using the same formula that the use for retail such as: its not really $50.00 its $49.99. I researched the Motorcycle blue book and they say $11,525 retail and then the dealer trade in value is $8,105 which is a unacceptable even if you have enough money to take a hit like that my friend and companion is worth more than that. I added the options I put on in and came up with $12.5k.

[beemer_me_up]

In Rhode Island you don't pay a tax on the trade-in value because you have already paid a sale tax when you purchased the bike thats to be traded in. Though for some crazy reason it does not apply to pickup trucks. Full value on the price of a pickup, inless its an SUV. The yuppies cried about this an a law was passed to exempt SUV's.

[TomfromMD]

Well the tax on only the difference is certainly reasonable but 14% tax rate is just incredible!

That kind of tax rate would just have to drive a huge part of the economy underground like much of Europe.

 

Perhaps you should travel to Canada & find out, Greg. A large part of that 14% is a national sales tax which is refunded to Americans & other visitors on most purchases, including lodging. And I notice that the Canadian dollar has gained about 30% on the U.S dollar, approximately since our current administration came to power.

[TomfromMD]

Anyway, I am truly amazed that any state charges sales tax only on the DIFFERENCE between the purchase price and a trade-in. A trade-in is an asset being paid to the dealer, the same as cash (better than cash to the dealer because the dealer can resell it at a profit). That makes no sense.

 

Actually, John, I believe our neighbor, Pennsylvania still uses this system - but I don't know if they collect sales tax when you buy a vehicle out of state and then register it there as Maryland does (and most others, I suspect).

 

Tom

[smiller]

Full value on the price of a pickup, inless its an SUV. The yuppies cried about this an a law was passed to exempt SUV's.

I guess the rednecks should have cried too.

[marcopolo]

Well the tax on only the difference is certainly reasonable but 14% tax rate is just incredible!

That kind of tax rate would just have to drive a huge part of the economy underground like much of Europe.

 

Part of that is a Goods and Services tax (GST) levied by the federal government. You pay that no matter what province you live in. Each province then decides whether it will levy a provincial sales tax on top of the GST. One province does not (Alberta, because its drowning in revenue from selling oil and gas to the US); the others do, so in Ontario it adds up to 14%. It's hard to compare tax rates in different jusrisdictions, unless you know what you get for your tax dollar, like a public health care system.

[jbuchan]

I just finished my purchase on a 2000 RT SE. I thought the price was a little high when I first saw the bike. But the bike was loaded with extras, things that I knew I would add in a short amount of time. All these items we going to add up too 2-3 grand. The Olhins are $1600 alone. But what really sold me was the guy had every service record for everything he had done on the bike and it was in showroom condition. I did not steal the bike nor did I get a great deal on the bike. The point is we were both happy. I have look at so many bikes over the years and IMHO most BMW owners take care of their bikes better and are more knowledgable about their bikes. Dealer service records althought nice, are not a deal breaker for me. Most owner that take care of their own service keep logs. The garage is clean , the bike is clean, other cars are clean. If you bike is clean and everthing is in order, make sure you sell that to the potential new owner. A dealer is going to look at what service your bike needs and how much he can profit on it after he preforms the needed services, period. If you have babied your bike, say it in the ad but make sure it looks like it. I know I feel better when I can sell my bike to another person and share with him or her the history of the bike. And I hate knowing that the dealer is just trying to get my bike for a low ball price. Not condeming dealers, they have to make a profit, I just want to be the one who determines if I take a loss. Just my 2 cents. or 3,4 cents.

[Crawdad]

I have a gentleman coming over tomorrow for a look I have all the service records and the little stickers for the book ready for him to take a look. I gave her a good bath and shined her up real nice. She really drives and looks beautiful. I feel sad to be wanting to part with her kind of like when I had to put my dog down when he had cancer, that last look in his eyes type of feeling. I really get attached to bikes and dogs, they are both mans best friend.

[jbuchan]

I know how you feel, I got 5 dogs and 6 bikes. LOL

[rabbibgr]

How do you like the st compared to the rt

[TomfromMD]

Part of that is a Goods and Services tax (GST) levied by the federal government. You pay that no matter what province you live in. Each province then decides whether it will levy a provincial sales tax on top of the GST. One province does not (Alberta, because its drowning in revenue from selling oil and gas to the US); the others do, so in Ontario it adds up to 14%. It's hard to compare tax rates in different jusrisdictions, unless you know what you get for your tax dollar, like a public health care system.

 

It's been a while since I traveled through Alberta, but I seem to recall paying their PST at that time. How recently was it dropped?

 

Tom

[GoGo Gadget]

I was in your position a few months ago. Pretty much had the same numbers for what I was listing my bike at, and what the dealer was offering. I decided that the convenience of a trade in was not worth the loss. The price difference would make one heck of a down payment.

 

So my strategy was to initially list the bike for sale with all the after market add ons. I stated that the price would change as I removed and sold off the farkles. I sold one item before getting a serious offer on the bike. I sent a mass email out to the 9 dealers in a 160 mile radius to me asking for pricing on an 07 RT. I told them that I knew what the MSRP was, so don't bother quoting that if that is what they sell for. I got two responses, one of whom was willing to deal over the phone. So end result was that I sold my bike for thousands more than what the dealer offered, bought my new one for thousands below MSRP.

 

Got a new bike, lowered my monthly payment, and had cash left over for accessories.

[velomoto]

Well the tax on only the difference is certainly reasonable but 14% tax rate is just incredible!

That kind of tax rate would just have to drive a huge part of the economy underground like much of Europe.

 

Perhaps you should travel to Canada & find out, Greg. A large part of that 14% is a national sales tax which is refunded to Americans & other visitors on most purchases, including lodging. And I notice that the Canadian dollar has gained about 30% on the U.S dollar, approximately since our current administration came to power.

That's the OTHER national pastime in America - complaining about taxes... I once read where America has among the lowest rates in the world - go figure!

 

Back to the original question... If you want to get the most $$$ possible out of your current RT, then definitely take off all accessories and sell 'em yourself - especially if you should decide to trade the bike. That said, a well farkle'd bike will get more interest - but so will a less expensive bike! Good luck!