Resale value of used BMW motorcycles.

[Bud]

Almost every day I check out used BMW motorcycles on Search Tempest, this site, the MOA site,  Cycle Trader  and ADV Rider.

 

Three things stand out for me. 1. Some Beemer owners used to own HD's, at least it you could make the conclusion as they are trying to get back their "investment" in a motorcycle. 2. Whenever a new model of bike comes out, the previous models take a tremendous hit in resale value. 3. A lot of Beemers end up with very few miles per year. One wonders why a person would purchase a new Beemer and then not ride it.

 

As an example, the 2012 R 1200 R CL that I bought this summer had been ridden only 10,XXX miles, about 1,500 miles/year. The tires were almost brand new with the nibs still visible.

 

#2 is what keeps me from buying the newest and greatest Beemer. The first owner takes a beating when the next new model of that bike appears.  A good example is what happened to the value of all GS's when the wethead appeared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[szurszewski]

I bought a 2004 R1100S for $1500 in August. It had 43,000 miles (or something like that on it), a very recent clutch and transmission input shaft job replacement and new tires. It needed some work, but nothing I wasn't able to do with my meager skills (and some great help from the board here and some other internet resources) and about $700 in parts and consumable (battery, brake lines, alt belt and full compliment of fluids and filters).

 

I rode it to Torrey last weekend - it was perfect (and garnered lots of compliments - particularly considering it's 15 years old). I'm sure the new ones are great, but are they ten times as great? I kind of doubt it (though cruise control would be nice...)

 

[LBump]

53 minutes ago, szurszewski said:

I bought a 2004 R1100S for $1500 in August. It had 43,000 miles (or something like that on it), a very recent clutch and transmission input shaft job replacement and new tires. It needed some work, but nothing I wasn't able to do with my meager skills (and some great help from the board here and some other internet resources) and about $700 in parts and consumable (battery, brake lines, alt belt and full compliment of fluids and filters).

 

I rode it to Torrey last weekend - it was perfect (and garnered lots of compliments - particularly considering it's 15 years old). I'm sure the new ones are great, but are they ten times as great? I kind of doubt it (though cruise control would be nice...)

 

 

Differences between your ST and the 1100S....??  Do tell. 

[roadscholar]

1 hour ago, szurszewski said:

I bought a 2004 R1100S for $1500 in August. It had 43,000 miles (or something like that on it), a very recent clutch and transmission input shaft job replacement and new tires. It needed some work, but nothing I wasn't able to do with my meager skills (and some great help from the board here and some other internet resources) and about $700 in parts and consumable (battery, brake lines, alt belt and full compliment of fluids and filters).

 

I rode it to Torrey last weekend - it was perfect (and garnered lots of compliments - particularly considering it's 15 years old). I'm sure the new ones are great, but are they ten times as great? I kind of doubt it (though cruise control would be nice...)

 

 

That is one of the best motorcycles BMW has ever made but most people don't realize it because they haven't spent any time on one. It may take awhile but one day low mileage oilheads will start appreciating.  

 

 

[Ken S]

3 hours ago, Bud said:

Whenever a new model of bike comes out, the previous models take a tremendous hit in resale value.

I don't really think much about resale value when I've bought BMWs.  I figure I'll keep them for a long time, and get a lot of pleasure out of them.  But I've now had a '13 and '18 RT -- both from the last year of a model run.  It wasn't necessarily done strategically, but I've been very happy with the bikes.  Most of the bugs have been worked out by the end of a model run.  And at least on the most recent bike, I got a great deal because there were several dealers who really wanted to sell their new last-year's bikes, and even designated them as "demo" bikes, which gave me an extra $1000 off the sales price.

[fourteenfour]

I never concern myself with resale, it is a hobby to me and that is just an expense. I will trade my bike in less than two years on average for whatever catches my interest at the time

[Bud]

Since there is no 12 step program for BMW addiction, I can not seem to stop buying and selling them. Since joining the board after my first BMW purchase in March of 2005 I've owned the following: K 1100 LT, three R 1100 RT's (one blue, one red and one green), R 1100 GS, R 1150 R , R 1200 GS, F 650 GS, F 700 GS, F 800 GS, R 1150 GS with Hannigan sidecar, R 1200 GS with Hannigan sidecar and my current ride. I appreciate the fact that someone bought all of these new, which allowed me to enjoy them at a fraction of the cost. If Nancy was at all interested in riding with me, I would be on a new R 1250 RT in a heartbeat. OTOH, whenever I head out on a trip she tells me to have a good time. 

 

Enjoyed them all, but the R 1200 R has recently re-ignited my passion for riding after several years of obstacles that limited my seat time.   

 

 

[szurszewski]

13 hours ago, LBump said:

 

Differences between your ST and the 1100S....??  Do tell. 

Well, the biggest and best difference is that I haven’t broken the S (yet?). I don’t want to take over Bud’s thread but I should do a quick post on the differences maybe. I’ve got some ideas but I need to take them both out the same day to refine those ideas. I suppose this is where having a local riding buddy would come in handy...

[AviP]

17 hours ago, Bud said:

One wonders why a person would purchase a new Beemer and then not ride it.

Using my own experience, I bought my 2000 R1100RT brand new, got married the same year, put in about 15,000 miles in the first 3 years, then had kids and barely got to ride it for the next 10 other than 1 week per year. I also have a multitude of vehicles I use for pleasure. That is why I have only 35,000 miles on my BMW. But if I add, all the miles on all my vehicles, I am north of 500,000 miles.

 

[RTinNC]

Having bought numerous motorcycles both used and new I agree that you certainly can do well buying used as you noted there are always low mile bikes in great condition for much less than new.  That being said my last 3 motorcycles were new for the following reasons .... 

 

1. The bike I wanted as the time was relatively new and the used models (1 or 2 years old) were not priced low enough to make them attractive
2. I like having the factory 3 year plus a 5 year extended warranty .... just lets me sleep week at night
3. I usually keep each of my bikes about 7 or 8 years and have done well selling them 
4. I am at a point in my life where when I am buying a bike I want the color and features I want and usually not willing to settle
5. ALL of my last 3 new motorcycles were purchased in the fall of after January and the deals on leftover bikes has been amazing.   I usually have paid about the used models were selling for and got a new bike.
6. I am EXTREMELY anal about my bikes so any used bike I would buy has to be in pristine condition or I will just buy new. 

But if money is a concern I always suggest folks buy used as there are some great deals out there. 

[Bud]

Ed,

 

I should be buying your used bikes!!!!

 

It's not that I can not afford a new bike. It's a choice I make because Nancy isn't the least bit interested in riding with me. She likes riders, we hosted a large group during one Pied Piper ride. Marty has a suite here at the Meade hacienda. Other riders have stayed with us as well.

 

Her passion is boating and we have had more sailboats that I have had Beemers. Currently we are boatless by choice, not sure if we will ever get another one or not.

 

Life is good.

 

 

[6speedTi]

My 2012rt new was $24,000. 

 

About four years later it was worth $14,500.

I don't know why the RT didn't hold more value longer but fortunately for me I planned on keeping it for a long time and ride the hell out of it. 

[Bud]

 Your experience is one many others have had.

 

The only Beemers that seem to be appreciating right now are Airheads.  It can't be long before early Oilheads will do the same. Both for somewhat of the same reason IMO. Owners can work on them w/o needing a dealer or specialized computers/tools.

 

 

BTW here is a picture of my favorite Airhead.

 

[realshelby]

47 minutes ago, 6speedTi said:

My 2012rt new was $24,000. 

 

About four years later it was worth $14,500.

I don't know why the RT didn't hold more value longer but fortunately for me I planned on keeping it for a long time and ride the hell out of it. 

Not sure about the concern over resale values? Yes, there are thousands of dollars to lose after buying new and selling it 2-4 years later. But I don't think the percentage drop is all that much different over most bikes. Value is not defined by loss in trade in value. If I keep my RT for as long as the last one, I have come out way ahead of those buying FJR's to save money, the getting rid of them because they don't satisfy what the owner was after.........

 

If you want to cringe, buy a new Jaguar and then trade/sell in in a few years.......

[Skywagon]

I bought my 2014 new with everything possible including the extremely overpriced trunk, trunk light, GPS ,etc.  It was just shy of $27000 out the door.  Today....it's worth between $10-12k in the market based on what Hopz was able to do.  So in 6 years I've  had depreciation of lets say $14000...or $194/month.  Would I take any vehicle new whether car, bike, boat, etc for $194/mo....Yes.  Fun factor is worth it to me.  As Terry pointed out if you do that in 2 years...different answer, but bike will be 6 years old in January and I still think it is a new bike. 

 

My boat ( cost a heck of a lot more) has about the same monthly depreciation number..interesting.

 

Would I buy new again - Yes.  Would I buy used again - Yes.  It's about the bike/car/etc that suits me at the time at a price I am willing to pay.

[RTinNC]

3 hours ago, Bud said:

Ed,

 

I should be buying your used bikes!!!!

 

It's not that I can not afford a new bike. It's a choice I make because Nancy isn't the least bit interested in riding with me. She likes riders, we hosted a large group during one Pied Piper ride. Marty has a suite here at the Meade hacienda. Other riders have stayed with us as well.

 

Her passion is boating and we have had more sailboats that I have had Beemers. Currently we are boatless by choice, not sure if we will ever get another one or not.

 

Life is good.

 

 

 

Understand and I get that you are choosing to spend your $$ elsewhere and wanting to spend as little as you need to on a bike.   For me I am really pretty fussy about my rides and while I too want to spend as little as possible (hence my buying very late in the model year to get thousands off list) I still usually want a specific model in a specific color with specific options.  If I can find one used then I always go that route first.   Oh .... you may have to stand in line for any of my used bikes as they usually sell pretty quickly. 

[RTinNC]

WOW ... I don't think I ever lost $10K on a bike but not sure about my current rides.   But I totally agree with others that BMW's seem to hold value much better than other makes and models.   In addition when its time to sell I have never had trouble selling a BMW motorcycle.   But hey ... .this is a hobby ... this is fun and this is my passion.   I don't NEED a motorcycle but others have boats,   spend money playing golf or have an old hot rod.  Me I get to own 2 BMW motorcycles and they ALWAYS out a smile on my face! 

[Marty Hill]

When I retired and sold my twin comanche I thought riding a moto would be close to the same feeling.  It is the next best thing for me and I've enjoyed the last 24 years with BMW's.  Looking fwd to a few more years.

 

 

[Skywagon]

The depreciation on the bike is nothing....you should see my stock portfolio....talk about depreciation...

 

[szurszewski]

25 minutes ago, Skywagon said:

The depreciation on the bike is nothing....you should see my stock portfolio....talk about depreciation...

 

You should have taken the @roadscholar investment route and bought a bunch of old German vehicles no one wanted and squirreled them away. 

[roadscholar]

11 hours ago, szurszewski said:

You should have taken the @roadscholar investment route and bought a bunch of old German vehicles no one wanted and squirreled them away. 

 

The only flaw in that plan is you have to live a long time, a very long time..

[Lowndes]

Getting back into motorcycles three years ago after 30 some years of raising kids and watching, wishing, yearning to ride again, I began to start looking for a bike.  My brother and his buddies all had BMW airhead and tried to get me into one.  After looking at a lot of BMWS online I noticed that prices in general went down until about the 2000 year models then started a very gradual rise in value.  It still seems to be holding true.  My 2000 K1200RS keeps up with all the new GS's even with me driving it, altho it's getting harder to.   I much, much prefer the sleek lines of my old $3,500 checker cab brick and I'm not worried too much about depreciation. 

[Bud]

Darn, I'm getting old and forgetful.

 

Too late to edit.

 

But I forgot to list the C 650 GT scooter that I had while waiting for a new hip. 

[RoadRunner]

The bike's value can only be measured by the joy it brings with s<miles>.   

[Miguel!]

I recently met a woman who's a motorcycle adjuster for Progressive Insurance. She told me HD's have the highest resale value. That really surprised me. I'd have thought it would have been BMW or Honda. 

 

Best

Miguel

[Rasta Rider]

I don't buy new bikes. There's too many clean, low mileage bikes on the market, many with factory warranty remaining. I bought this 2004 a few weeks ago for only $4k. It has 17k miles. The seller included a BMW battery tender and a storage cover in the deal. 

 

[Rasta Rider]

On 10/9/2019 at 10:37 PM, Miguel! said:

I recently met a woman who's a motorcycle adjuster for Progressive Insurance. She told me HD's have the highest resale value. That really surprised me. I'd have thought it would have been BMW or Honda. 

 

Best

Miguel

 

I've been riding BMWs and Harleys since the 70's. BMWs used to carry high resale value but things changed. Seems to have happened when reliability waned. Most notable was the well publicized final drive and ABS module failures.  And then there's the infamous Consumer Reports article from 2015. BMW was among the lowest ranked manufacturers (see table). 

 

Can't tell you how many times I've seen people shy away from a used BMW because they believe maintenance and repair costs are too expensive. Stories about the high cost of an ABS module are all over the web.

 

Less demand for used BMWs is contributing to lower resale value. When I bought my (used) R1150RT, the seller said it was advertised on the market 3 months and I was only the second caller.

 

Today, BMW models like the R90S, R100RS and R75/5 hold good resale value. Urban hipsters love the 'Toaster Tank'.

 

[Rougarou]

I was offered $1800 for my slightly used (134k) 2006 RT on trade for the 2019 GSA,......I said, "nah, I'll keep it".

[Rasta Rider]

One reason Harleys hold good resale value is because they're typically rebuild 2-3 times in their lifetime. With the exception of a few models, you just don't see this with other marques.

[Marty Hill]

Having started on Harleys and with several friends owning HD dealerships I'm under a different impression.  I've seen many Harleys doing 2-3k a year, some even less.  Very few actually put lots of miles on.  

 

[Rinkydink]

8 minutes ago, Marty Hill said:

Having started on Harleys and with several friends owning HD dealerships I'm under a different impression.  I've seen many Harleys doing 2-3k a year, some even less.  Very few actually put lots of miles on.  

 

Any given day I can check the local classifieds or Craigslist and see 8-10 older HDs with extremely low miles that can probably be had for a song. From a dealer it is a different story. 

[Rider1260]

Wife and I had a deal , Kids gone ( check ) Loans for there school paid off ( Check ) 

New bike for me , granted the last time i got an new bike it was 2003 and a Suzuki ( SV1000 ) dealer closeout 

so when I started sport touring bike shopping she just about had a stroke, then I stumbled upon my 2008 with only 15K miles 

and plenty of goodies attached, I've had a dealer brousure of this bike on my wall for years just had to have it. 

I know there my be issues and I will sort them, kinda looking forward to being able to adjust my own valves again and no radiator

Funny thing is wife thinks this is slower and I will ride with more restraint , well thats a NO on both parts so far, well maybe Im not tossing 

it into corners as hard yet but this thing handles way better then you would think looking at it and for $6500 I fell like I stole it.  

[Lowndes]

12 hours ago, Rider1260 said:

Wife and I had a deal , Kids gone ( check ) Loans for there school paid off ( Check ) 

New bike for me , granted the last time i got an new bike it was 2003 and a Suzuki ( SV1000 ) dealer closeout 

so when I started sport touring bike shopping she just about had a stroke, then I stumbled upon my 2008 with only 15K miles 

and plenty of goodies attached, I've had a dealer brousure of this bike on my wall for years just had to have it. 

I know there my be issues and I will sort them, kinda looking forward to being able to adjust my own valves again and no radiator

Funny thing is wife thinks this is slower and I will ride with more restraint , well thats a NO on both parts so far, well maybe Im not tossing 

it into corners as hard yet but this thing handles way better then you would think looking at it and for $6500 I fell like I stole it.  

 

 

Sleek.  Very.

[Bud]

On 11/6/2019 at 2:22 PM, Rasta Rider said:

One reason Harleys hold good resale value is because they're typically rebuild 2-3 times in their lifetime. With the exception of a few models, you just don't see this with other marques.

 

Perhaps when the older ones needed rebuilding, doubt that is true now.

 

HD resale prices have been on a downward spiral. As their owners age out, the market is full of used bikes.

[Bud]

4 years old, 1,000 miles.

 

 

 

http://marketplace.bmwmoa.org/classified/2015-bmw-r1200gs-only-1k-miles-listing-16593.aspx