not happy with BMW....

[ranmar850]

I recently decided it's time to move on from the Rockster. As I've said before, I really need something more touring oriented, as I live a fair way from anywhere. All open road. I bought the Rock with my heart, not my head, and now it looks like I'm going to pay for that, big time. Interested in a particular (non-BMW) sports tourer, so off to the appropriate dealer. Go for a test ride, like it, whats the changeover? "you're not going to like this" he says. Not wanting to keep the Rock as floor stock, he rings the sole BMW dealer in Perth for a wholesale value, and they quote him $8,000. The bastards have devalued my bike by a full 50% in 2 1/2 years. Lovingly cared for, mint, FSH, (all by their workshop) 20,000Km...of course , if I want to trade on anything THEY have in stock, trade-in value goes up to $10,000. And the story was repeated with every dealer. None want a BMW on the floor-"they don't sell"-so they all ring BMW. Some even went so far as to ask what was wrong with it--low K's less than 3 y.o., looks great, "got to be more than that" So some upped the trade value to $8,500, but no more.

So my last act of the day was to go to the BMW dealer, and tell him just what I thought of him and his product. Think he knows I'm off BMW for good . Anyone want a very good, cheap Rockster?

[riceburner]

Hardly BMW's fault if the other dealers don't "get" BMWs and don't think they'll sell.

What bike are you after? most BMs are more touring oriented than the Rockster.

[ranmar850]

Why isn't it BMW's fault if they are devaluing my bike by that much over that period of time? Isn't high resale supposed to be a BMW strong point?Ok, not with Rocks. One dealer was of the opinion they must be trying to keep me, ie, higher value traded on one of theirs. They'll retail that Rock for $13,000, take $12,500. But if they are trying to keep my business, they are going about it arse-about. I'm not naive about how the used vehicle market works. It isn't that they dont "get" BMW's--they just can't sell them. ("try advertising, I thought")Some of these dealers wont touch any Euro bikes, except, perhaps, the odd Ducati. People that want them, they say, go to the dealers that sell them new.

I'm not buying BMW again, at least at this stage. Roundel addiction can be a very expensive habit. The bike in question is an FJR 1300, lighter, more powerful and considerably cheaper than the BMW equivilant. And, IMO , every bit as good. I've had a perfect run from the Rockster, but after getting off that FJR, it felt crude and slow. I still love it, but only as a city or back-roads twisties weapon. And there's none of that anywhere near where I live. I bought a model with limited appeal , bought with my heart, and now, it seems, i am paying the price. But BMW aren't helping...

[hirsty]

I'd be pleased if I were offered half my money back after 3-years on a car - especially at a rival dealer!

I think it's fair to say a lot of the BMW bikes are considered niche interest, particularly the Boxers. I know that there have been some problems with K1200R resale values due to heavy discounting of new & nearly-new dealer stock.

The Rockster was an acquired taste (at best) when it launched, and was part of BMWs effort to widen their demographic by a low-cost modification of an existing successful model - I'd have bought one if I could've found an Anniversary 80 model (or they'd done the mono scheme as standard instead of citrus ...).

I guess the problems must be greater still outside of Europe where the bikes are considered to be more 'exotic'. I hope you manage to get a better deal with a private sale, or get a good initial discount on the Yamaha.

[fnfalman]

Why are you surprised that the Rockster loses that much value? BMW already came out with the next generation bike - the Hex Heads, so who would want the older generation Oil Heads?

If you want resale value then get a Harley.

I guess it's just me but I buy my bikes because I want them for riding and not for investments. My Aprilias don't worth crap for values either but I still bought them.

Anyway, if you want high resales then get something else. The Roundel won't miss you.

[DJ Downunder]

I would be very pissed off with BMW also...but please don't blame the brand because of the guys at the dealer.

I hope you get a good price for it selling it yourself...good luck with it...They are a great bike.

DJ

[Lion_Lady]

I'd be pleased if I were offered half my money back after 3-years on a car - especially at a rival dealer!

+1 to that!

What did you really think would happen? So, sell it yourself.

P

[Robert_winter_1000]

Hello all,
Everywhere is the same. You pay high price when you buy and you get low price when you sell. Don’t forget these dealers (some people call them “stealers”) are commercial shops and they have high costs as well. I buy a motor or a car and use it for long time till it start giving problems then I sell it and buy another new one. The worst thing if you want to sell quickly… then your lost will be big. Try to sell it to individual buyer, maybe you will get better price.
Wishing you lots of success.

Regards
Robert

[sjbmw]

Retail value and trade in value are rarely the same value. Selling the bike outright you should do better.

As an experiment, take the FJR to your Yamaha dealer 3 years from now.
I'd bet you find that a 3 year old Yamaha is going to lose more value than a 3 year old BMW.

But bikes are for riding, not reselling!

Good luck with the FJR. Show us a pic too.

[OU812]

I'd be pleased if I were offered half my money back after 3-years on a car - especially at a rival dealer!

+1 to that!

What did you really think would happen? So, sell it yourself.

P

Tell me! I called an independent dealer last year advertising "We buy bike, all makes and models". Well, I called them and the first thing he said was,"Oh, we don't buy BMW's". Well, needless to say, I sold the bike right here on this site! Who needs Dealers, I buy used.

[riceburner]

We used to say that you could kiss goodbye to 50% of the value of a vehicle (bike/car/truck/whatever) just by driving it off the forecourt.

That's the way the world spins.

[big papa]

I fell for it twice!! I tried to trade in my Rockster, no non-BMW dealerships wanted it. I got no calls trying to sell the bike myself. The only place that would take it was the BMW shop. I traded it for a KR, a year later they still have my Rockster, and they are giving away the KRs, so I will be screwed again. At least I got $2000 off of sticker...

[ranmar850]

I fell for it twice!! I tried to trade in my Rockster, no non-BMW dealerships wanted it. I got no calls trying to sell the bike myself. The only place that would take it was the BMW shop. I traded it for a KR, a year later they still have my Rockster, and they are giving away the KRs, so I will be screwed again. At least I got $2000 off of sticker...

I know how that can happen--I was rather taken with the R1200ST--great bike, but also not a big seller. I was given a steep changeover, on a s/h one, with no luggage, and could see them saying a couple of years down the road " they're a bit hard to sell...." so, burnt again. I don't want to get locked into that spiral. As to the the previous poster who said you drop 50% the moment you drive it out the showroom, rule of thumb in this country is 35% in the first year on the worst models. The huge discrepancy between what they'll retail it for and what they'll wholesale it from another dealer vs trade in to them is what is irritating me. I thought I did make it clear that my beef was with the particular dealer, not BMW as an organisation. What you get when you have a monopoly in a town, I guess. I've always been positive about this bike, in fact, I'd rather like to keep it for solo playing. And as for the poster who basically told me to f**k off," the roundel wont miss me" that was uncalled for

As for selling it privately, I live in a remote area, well away from the market--presents problems. But that's obviously how I'll have to go. Stick it on fleabay as a last resort

[Ves]

Well, there's a reason you don't see a lot of BMW's on the road, and there's a reason that a lot of BMW dealerships have closed. They're not everyone's bag of tea. The demand for them is nowhere near as large as for Harley's and Jap bikes. A dealer may not want to give you money for it, but if you take your time you'll find someone that wants it.

[riceburner]

The other way of looking at it is that many (not too many these days) buy a bike to keep for the duration. To keep until it's no longer usable. That's the way I buy things, I don't believe in buying cheap things only to replace them a year later.

I think BMW tend to look at the market in this way (at least partially).

[ranmar850]

Well, there's a reason you don't see a lot of BMW's on the road, and there's a reason that a lot of BMW dealerships have closed. They're not everyone's bag of tea. The demand for them is nowhere near as large as for Harley's and Jap bikes. A dealer may not want to give you money for it, but if you take your time you'll find someone that wants it.

Yes, somebody will take it, eventually, and they will get a very good bike.

I saw some figures in a weekend paper here that suggested BMW sales were up by a large percentage in Australia this last year, on top of a good increase last year--off a fairly low base, obviously. You see quite a few around Perth (and we all nod or wave ) Observing in the FJR forum, a number of riders of 01-04 models have been looking at the 07's, and have been pleasantly surprised by the trade-ins on offer. Certainly not depreciating horribly. If I could have gotten $10,000, or close, as a trade-in, I'd have a brand new 06 now, for $20,400 OTD. Last one available, unfortunately. Oh well, I shall be patient, explore all the options in selling the Rock.

[Trompie]

This a problem around the world. What I found is that the longer you can keep your beemer the less you will loose. My bikes:
BMW R100RS '81 sold 91 for double its price in 81 with 36k km
BMW R1200C '99 sold in 03 lost for 20% 28k km
BMW R1100GS '94 sold in 07 same price as in 94 with 130k km
BMW R1150 Rockster '04 will ride for the next 10 years unless :-) I can get a R1200R before then with the blessing of the wife.

[OU812]

You think Harley's hold value? Not in Chitown. We are flooded with used ones. You can find many models going for 1/2 the original price after 3 years. You can have all you want, if you like tanks. No tanks!

"If you want resale value then get a Harley.

I guess it's just me but I buy my bikes because I want them for riding and not for investments. My Aprilias don't worth crap for values either but I still bought them.

Anyway, if you want high resales then get something else. The Roundel won't miss you.[/quote]"

[dragonmojo]

Has anyone considered that he'd be one helluva lucky bastard to buy PRE-OWNED and dispense with those depreciation losses? Factor in the amount of attention to maintenance the majority of Beemer owners lavish on their machines, and you get the picture.

[OU812]

I must say, I have learned a lesson, buy used, and save! Have not bought a new car since 1982. I did buy an 02R1150R new, but will not again. My used 04 was $3600 cheaper.