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Which wethead would YOU buy?


bendbill

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BMW Escondido has this nice used 2017 with 2980+ miles for $15,995 OTD--13 months on warranty. See film from Stir. http://funwithmikeandjamie.com/BikeRide01092019.mp4

 

 

OR BMW of Western Oregon with a used 2018 with 3 miles for $18,700 OTD--34 months on warranty https://www.emcwor.com/Pre-owned-Inventory-2018-BMW-Motorcycle-Scooter-R-1200-RT-Carbon-Black-Metallic-Premium-6540807?ref=list

 

 

 

I chose one over the other, but I can see many riders going the other way

 

Bill

 

Edited by BendBill
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Definitely option 2 for me.

 

I presume it's only used by virtue of being pre registered?

 

It's virtually brand new with almost 3 times more warranty.

 

The extra money isn't massive.

 

The model year is the last of the 1200s

 

Edited by Pickaxe
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Definitely the 2018RT ! Only 3 miles must be a typo error maybe 300 or 3,000 miles if pre owned. If the mileage is only 3 miles I doubt that it is preowned and your warranty will be 36 months or 36,000 miles which ever comes first.

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highly skeptical #2 has 3 miles due to several after market adds. Must be 3000. new tire nubs gone and exhaust has a bit of the brown... Buy the one you like best.

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I understand the feeling there's a mistake on the mileage. Except there isn't.

 

However, there is an interesting 2-part backstory to the tale of my choice, the 2018 black:

 

part 1--A buyer in my town of Bend, Oregon, bought the ride in Nov. He had it trailered to his place [ I'm guessing the westside.] He had someone else receive it at his place. It stayed in his garage, where he or some other mystery person applied the carbon fiber film, which the dealership *thinks* is from Wunderlich. Someone else installed the Akrapovic exhaust. Buyer called the dealership several days ago and asked for it to be returned by trailer transport. It had never been ridden. I keep imagining that the mystery person is somewhere muttering, "BMW . . . . Rosebud"

 

part 2----Ready for this part? : It's the 4th motorcycle that mystery buyer has bought and returned. I haven't been able to verify yet from the sales staff, but this ride MUST be the lowest-mile return yet. It's gotta be a record.

 

Which leaves me with 2 remaining questions:

 

1--Doesn't anyone think the white 2017 is still a great--even a better-- buy? I debated with myself but honestly thought more riders who know how to wrench would have chosen the white 2017. And I will say again that Rudy at BMW Escondido was a pleasure to work with; I'm sorry I did not buy his offering. However the 2018 black struck me as way better for resale and warranty even though I prefer the looks of the white

 

2--I wonder if some riders may call the dealership and ask to be put on the call "LIST" for any future purchases by our mystery buyer :-)

 

NOTE-- after re-reading David/skywagon's comment on tire nubs, I confess I'm out of my league on tire wear. I just ask why a buyer would go to such lengths to conceal mileage and how the dealer service dept would have missed it.

 

 

Edited by BendBill
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Both are good deals but I agree with most of the other responses .... if you can afford the 2018 that would be the one! For all the reasons already stated.

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... person applied the carbon fiber film, which the dealership *thinks* is from Wunderlich.

 

Sorry I missed that bit. Where is this 'carbon film' applied?

 

And without a doubt, the 2018 has to be the bike to go for. Don't leave it long or it'll be gone!

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BMW of Austin still had a 2018 red fully loaded RT on the floor 2 weeks ago for $15,800 OTD. Might be worth a call to save $3K for a brand new bike.

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Andy S, I cannot attach an image because I do not have a website. If you shoot me an e-mail to bbuck@cocc.edu, I can easily attach pics in reply

 

Limecreek: 15.8? Gasp! I called BMW of Austin. They had TWO reds for 15.8 OTD. Now sold. If you go up on the website, you'll see a white for 14.594. It sold yesterday. They don't have any more 2018 wetheads below 19.7.

BTW, Sonny Johns at BMW Austin is a nice guy and very helpful

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BMW had a $2,000 cash back, that expired January 2, 2019 that must of effected the prices from the Austin dealer.

 

Jay

 

I'm sure that was part of it. The bike's MSRP is $23K, so it was discounted >$7K. They have a lot of BMW 2018 inventory to move and the 2019's are arriving.

Edited by Limecreek
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part 1--A buyer in my town of Bend, Oregon, bought the ride in Nov. He had it trailered to his place [ I'm guessing the westside.] He had someone else receive it at his place. It stayed in his garage, where he or some other mystery person applied the carbon fiber film, which the dealership *thinks* is from Wunderlich. Someone else installed the Akrapovic exhaust. Buyer called the dealership several days ago and asked for it to be returned by trailer transport. It had never been ridden. I keep imagining that the mystery person is somewhere muttering, "BMW . . . . Rosebud"

 

part 2----Ready for this part? : It's the 4th motorcycle that mystery buyer has bought and returned. I haven't been able to verify yet from the sales staff, but this ride MUST be the lowest-mile return yet. It's gotta be a record.

 

I have to wonder whether this is some kind of money-laundering scheme.

 

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Bill...whether you buy the white one or the black one doesn't really matter. When I bought mine new I paid many thousands more than both of those so either way value to the dollar you are getting what seems like a really nice deal. Don't be afraid of these wetheads they have been awesome. Im at 20,000 now and I have yet to burn a single drop of oil whether I ride hard or like a turtle. The mileage is great, they handle well, they are loaded with features, and they are stink faster than all prior RT's. You are going to love it after you adjust to the change. Start practicing smiling.

Edited by Skywagon
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Great note, David.

 

I already trust the wetheads due to all the positive reviews on this site. Responses to my questions from other riders have convinced me that 3 problems of my 03 1150---1--oil burning; 2-- pttr; and 3--early failures of engine and drivetrain--none of these issues crop up in any serious way on the LC.

 

I have always missed the telelever front suspension and look forward to that feature again.

 

And I know I lucked out on pricing with a 6.8K drop. I am surprised by how frequently 5K discounts crop up if one is willing to pay transport or do a fly-and-ride in warmer climes. Must be the combo of winter and a model changeover year

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Great note, David.

 

I already trust the wetheads due to all the positive reviews on this site. Responses to my questions from other riders have convinced me that 3 problems of my 03 1150---1--oil burning; 2-- pttr; and 3--early failures of engine and drivetrain--none of these issues crop up in any serious way on the LC.

 

I have always missed the telelever front suspension and look forward to that feature again.

 

And I know I lucked out on pricing with a 6.8K drop. I am surprised by how frequently 5K discounts crop up if one is willing to pay transport or do a fly-and-ride in warmer climes. Must be the combo of winter and a model changeover year

 

Bill .... I had a 2002 R1150GS and had no issues whatsoever so surprised you had such bad experience with your 1150. Mine was rock solid and no oil burning, no surging, no engine or final drive issues. But then all of my BMW's have pretty much been trouble free. The wetheads are no different.

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I partly agree with you, Ed. Most 1150 riders never had breakdowns, but I had two. The experience, along with bad press from the 2007 IBA Rally and a 2008 MCN magazine article critical of BMW, prompted me onto my Honda ST1300.

 

However, I always followed BMW, hoping to hear of positive reviews, and continued to ride to Torrey and Weaverville meets because BMW riders are a great group-- and near my age :-)

 

In the last several years with the wetheads, positive reviews have streamed out consistently, so I'm jumping back in with open eyes and renewed confidence. I expect to be a gladder and a wiser man.

Edited by BendBill
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Bill, I would say either one is a good deal. I waited 5 months for my 719 Blue Planet 2018, worth every day of wait. My price from Tigard was easy $10,000 higher. I also saw a 719 in Eugene in Nov with 200 miles on it, similar thing as your black one. wish I had waited could have saved at least $5,000. Oh no I don't wish I had waited, I put 8500 on my 18 this summer. By the way before I bought the RTW, I rode a FJR, KTM something, Concours and the ST. None fit as well as the RTW. You will enjoy either one.

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Hmmm, we put more than 3 miles on with PDI and gas fill up.

 

I guess one could ask to skip.

 

But, seems like we were one of the only dealers to actually PDI bike with customers and then afterward go through manual, bike set up and operation, have all customer forms signed, etc.

According to BMW everyone was supposed to.

 

Both good prices.

Get whatcha like.

Best wishes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My last two bikes came from Rainer Helmke in BMWOR and I'm very happy with everything.  Looking forward to get a new one next year from him too.  #2 for sure!

 

  • Like 1
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  • 2 weeks later...

This was an interesting story and I find it hard to swallow that any dealer would allow a customer to buy a motorcycle then make mods to it and then just return the thing and to do it 4 times??  If this truly happened, hard to believe, then this guy must be one really bored idiot from California with more money than sense and the Eugene BMW dealer should have his head examined for even talking to this guy.  I feel sorry for Scott over in Eugene for having to put up with this kind of nonsense.  If it was me this guy wouldn't ever even get in the door of my establishment.  No wonder BMWs are so pricy. 

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19 minutes ago, JamesW said:

This was an interesting story and I find it hard to swallow that any dealer would allow a customer to buy a motorcycle then make mods to it and then just return the thing and to do it 4 times??  If this truly happened, hard to believe, then this guy must be one really bored idiot from California with more money than sense and the Eugene BMW dealer should have his head examined for even talking to this guy.  I feel sorry for Scott over in Eugene for having to put up with this kind of nonsense.  If it was me this guy wouldn't ever even get in the door of my establishment.  No wonder BMWs are so pricy. 

 

Morning James

 

Working the auto industry I have seen this very thing happen with new automobiles & trucks.

 

It is almost always an accessory supply company, or an accessory  installation company.

 

The company needs a new XXX vehicle to showcase their product (or product install) for website pictures, or brochure pictures, or advertisement pictures, or instructional videos, etc.

 

They usually try to rent or borrow  one but if there are none available to rent or borrow then they buy the thing outright.

 

In most cases they don't plate them or drive them & once their product is installed with pictures/video taken they either re-sell the vehicle or  just ship it back to the selling dealer & have them sell it. 

 

Most cases the vehicle isn't even started as a lot of businesses have a no-fuel-in-vehicle policy when  the vehicle is inside the company's buildings.

 

As long as vehicle isn't damaged during shipping, storage, or product install then about the only down side is the warranty usually starts at date of first sale.

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Hi D.R. I have no doubt what you describe happens.  Never heard of such a thing but no doubt it's true.  Hard to believe anybody from Bend, OR  would go to the expense and trouble to trailer a bike 125 miles over the Cascade Mts just to take pictures.  Would be more cost effective to take your camera to Eugene and shoot a few pix.  I bet Scott would go for that and probably help install the after market gizmos for the shoot as well.  Scott's a real nice guy and I just hate to hear about people with nothing better to do pulling this kind of crap. And believe me there are a lot of people in Bend that fit this description and most from you know where.  How many dealers would actually sell a new vehicle to someone for this purpose if they had knowledge a-forehand of the intended use of the vehicle in question?  I doubt many would.  To me that's just dishonesty big time.  Welcome to the land of the almighty buck and/or something for nothing.

 

Another thought and not saying this happened in this case but the guy that bought the returned item could have teamed up with the first buyer just to get a deep discount on the bike since it was returned merchandise with a warrantee already in force.  And who's the looser in this?  The dealer that's who seems to me.

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16 hours ago, JamesW said:

Hi D.R. I have no doubt what you describe happens.  Never heard of such a thing but no doubt it's true.  Hard to believe anybody from Bend, OR  would go to the expense and trouble to trailer a bike 125 miles over the Cascade Mts just to take pictures.  Would be more cost effective to take your camera to Eugene and shoot a few pix.  I bet Scott would go for that and probably help install the after market gizmos for the shoot as well.  Scott's a real nice guy and I just hate to hear about people with nothing better to do pulling this kind of crap. And believe me there are a lot of people in Bend that fit this description and most from you know where.  How many dealers would actually sell a new vehicle to someone for this purpose if they had knowledge a-forehand of the intended use of the vehicle in question?  I doubt many would.  To me that's just dishonesty big time.  Welcome to the land of the almighty buck and/or something for nothing.

 

 

Afternoon James

 

There is usually WAY more to it than just taking pictures. The product might have to be  fitted, adjusted, changed, documented, etc. This takes time, maybe days, or even weeks. Might take a vendor quite while to get their parts (product)  to properly fit a new vehicle model, especially if working with a remote supplier.

 

If the product is a permanent install (like a wrap or carbon fiber overlays) then the vehicle would probably come back with the ????  parts still attached, then the vehicle would probably be re-sold with those parts still on the vehicle.

 

As for " How many dealers would actually sell a new vehicle to someone for this purpose if they had knowledge a-forehand of the intended use of the vehicle in question? "? I can't imagine a dealer anywhere that would turn down a legitimate sale to any customer as it isn't the dealer's place to be a usage nanny. Now, how they work out the return is up to the dealer & customer so that might vary between different dealers & how good of a customer (that business) is.

 

We might never know the details of the bike that started this thread but what I posted is definitely one of the possibilities to it's no miles/no road usage  (especially if this same thing has happened 3 times before).

 

 

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When my dad was a new car dealer, occasionally on a new car he thought might have higher value ~10 years or so down the road, he would buy it from the factory, mothball it without driving, gassing, or prepping it in anyway.  Then at some point many years down the road he would try his luck on selling it.  One particular one was a 63 corvette split window. If memory serves me right his dealer cost was about $3500 and somewhere are around 1977 he sold it brand new for ~40K to a collector. 

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When my dad was a new car dealer, occasionally on a new car he thought might have higher value ~10 years or so down the road, he would buy it from the factory, mothball it without driving, gassing, or prepping it in anyway.  Then at some point many years down the road he would try his luck on selling it.  One particular one was a 63 corvette split window. If memory serves me right his dealer cost was about $3500 and somewhere are around 1977 he sold it brand new for ~40K to a collector.

 

That's kind of how I bought my '93 R1100RSL.  The guy owned a collection of new never started BMW bikes and I bought one of them about 7 years ago.  Thing about an oilhead they didn't necessarily appreciate or even hold their value and still don't so i made out and I didn't buy the bike to make a profit, I just like R1100RS beemers especially the limited version.  From the looks of it the new wetheads don't do much better.  Buying rolling stock as an investment seldom pays off.  Sometimes you get lucky like your dad did and being in the car biz he had product knowledge which he could use to his benefit.  Wonder what a '63 vette would go for now?  If I wanted a wethead I would for sure get a used one still on warranty, maybe a 2016 with very low miles kind of like the one I found last spring that I took a pass on and do somewhat regret having done so.  

 

Oh, the Ford dealer here does the same thing.  He buys and stores Fords that he thinks will appreciate.  Not long ago he put up forsale a virtually new T-Bird convertible black with red leather.  Man I letched over that car.  Was a mid nineties bird and perfect.

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One added scrap of info, sort of, on my "used" 2018 RT from Eugene:

 

When I picked it up two weeks ago during a warm lull in our weather, other staff at the dealership mentioned it was traded in on a different model, not simply returned.  I would have discussed the why or wherefore, but I needed to ride back over the Cascades [ to Bend ] before temps inched closer to freezing over Santiam pass.

 

On a related point, I had been looking for low-mileage 2017/2018 RTs for about 2 months in CA, NV, AZ, and WA.  I was surprised by how many low-mile RTs are out there.  I attributed it to a model changeover year with guys wanting the newest thing, but it might also be that some mature types with money--and they're everywhere--  think they want an RT,  but decide it's not for them after 1-2 K miles.

 

 

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Congrats on your decision (#2) for your RT.  

 

For the past several years, I have been wanting an RT.  I have always kept an eye on what is out there, sort of wishful thinking.  Right?.  Well, the wife and I finally decided to go with a new one this year and,  ta-da, they had an engine change.  I believe I was actually  ready to buy a new one last year, but chose to wait an see what the 2019 model would be like.  About the only thing we really had to consider was what color we wanted.  HA

 

I hope you get to put a lot of miles on you new ride.

 

Cheers,

William

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On 1/11/2019 at 1:59 PM, BendBill said:

Andy S, I cannot attach an image because I do not have a website. If you shoot me an e-mail to bbuck@cocc.edu, I can easily attach pics in reply

 

Limecreek: 15.8? Gasp! I called BMW of Austin. They had TWO reds for 15.8 OTD. Now sold. If you go up on the website, you'll see a white for 14.594. It sold yesterday. They don't have any more 2018 wetheads below 19.7.

BTW, Sonny Johns at BMW Austin is a nice guy and very helpful

 

Oh yeah, you need to post a photo of your new bike.  Start your own photo gallery.  It is pretty easy to do from the PC, just resize the photo (Windows 10 on my laptop, I use the 3 little dots in the upper right of the photo to resize.  I never knew what those were for,) then upload it from your computer files. 

 

Below, as I type this reply, is a link to drag files to attach or "choose files," with max total size of 14.65MB

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Rob, I'm in OR--no sales tax on vehicles.  With CA tax, you will not pay IF--big IF--you have a Commercial Bill of Lading transport to Oregon.  It would have cost me $800, so it depends on how good the initial deal is. 

 

And way to go, William, on your new 2019.  Also, pics on my new ride are here--   https://www.bmwsporttouring.com/topic/90282-my-new-2018-rt/

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/9/2019 at 9:14 PM, BendBill said:

BMW Escondido has this nice used 2017 with 2980+ miles for $15,995 OTD--13 months on warranty. See film from Stir. http://funwithmikeandjamie.com/BikeRide01092019.mp4

 

 

OR BMW of Western Oregon with a used 2018 with 3 miles for $18,700 OTD--34 months on warranty https://www.emcwor.com/Pre-owned-Inventory-2018-BMW-Motorcycle-Scooter-R-1200-RT-Carbon-Black-Metallic-Premium-6540807?ref=list

 

 

 

I chose one over the other, but I can see many riders going the other way

 

Bill

 

My 2018 is way way much better than the 2016, I am pretty sure better than the '17 also

I would go for the '18 if I was you

  • Like 1
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