Tips on Buying Your First Bike – What To Look For

• Table of Contents
• 1. Before You Buy, Know What You Want
• 2. Be Prepared
• 3. Invoice Price
• 4. Up Selling
• 5. Show Up With Your Jacket & Helmet
• 6. Your Trade
• 7. Cash or Finance
• 8. Warranties and Maintenance

Are you in the market for a motorcycle? You’ll want to have a look at these tips before you buy so you know what to look for. A local dealer will be able to offer you the best buying experience. You might be able to save a bit buying your motorcycle in a different city, although the travel back and forth for warranty could eat up any savings unless you travel to that city often. Take a look, here are a few tips we came up with. Do you have any additional tips you want to share with everyone else? Let us know!

1. Before You Buy, Know What You Want

If you know what you want, select the dealer for the motorcycle you have chosen and do as much comparisons as possible before going to the dealer. Before walking into the dealer, you’ll already know everything the salesman is going to tell you. If the salesman is telling you something different by inflating the numbers, you’ll be able know a good salesman from a shady one.

2. Be Prepared

Before you buy, make sure you do your research and know what it is you need and want from your motorcycle. Then you will be ready to speak with your dealer about a number of motorcycles that you might interest you. This is particularly true when you know how many CC’s you’re looking for, the higher the amount of CC’s the higher the price generally.

3. Invoice Price

Use the internet to find out as much information as you can on each bike that interests you. If possible, find the dealers invoice price. In general, dealers will try to make at least 10 % over the dealer invoice price of the motorcycle. Don’t be afraid to try to negotiate the best deal possible. Watch for additional fees that the dealer might charge such as documentation fees, destination fees, licensing fees, assembly fees, and of course taxes. If buying from a dealer, all of these fees are usually added to the agreed price and you’ll need to be aware of that.

4. Up Selling

Since the profit margin on motorbikes is small, sales reps will try hard to ‘up sell’ you things like extended warranty, riding gear, a fancier helmet, and additional accessories. It’s entirely a personal choice whether you decide to purchase any of these offers, but make sure you don’t blow your budget. It can easily happen in the heat of the moment when you see and the new gear right in front of you.

5. Show Up With Your Jacket & Helmet

As odd as this may seem, showing up with your jacket and helmet to a dealership will tell the salesmen that you’re ready to buy right there and then and they’ll try extra hard to make the sale because they see that you’re serious.

Your Trade

If you have a trade-in, make sure you do your research before you show up at the dealer so you have an idea of what you should be getting for your trade-in. You can use several websites to find out the market price for your trade-in. It might pay to sell your trade privately, get the dollars in your hand, and then negotiate a cash deal with your dealer. You might also get more money that way as well.

Cash or Finance

Most dealers like cash deals. Most often, you can get a better price with cash rather than when you finance. If you do not have cash, have your financing pre set up at your bank, so you can still negotiate a cash deal. If you are going to be financing, put down as large a down payment as you can. The larger your down payment is, the lower your monthly payments will be. Also, with a larger down payment you can usually get a better interest rate. Dealers sometimes have low financing on specific motorcycles. If one of these motorcycles interests you, you’ll be able to save considerably.

8. Warranties and Maintenance

Make sure your salesperson explains the warranty on the motorcycle. Anything you are unclear about have them explain again. Make sure you get the paperwork for your maintenance schedule and all of the manuals. You don’t want to miss any maintenance as it could void your warranty.

That’s it, you’re ready to hit the road and enjoy the freedom that your new motorcycle has to offer. If you’ve used any other tips and tricks let us know, we’d love to hear what’s saving you money! Safe riding!