fz6 - hard to sell?

[greenthumb]

FZ6 seems to be marketed to non-beginners who probably know exactly what they want.

i completely agree, and i think this may be a bit of the problem.
the local online classified i use allows you to add search tags without having it in the text. i added stuff like cbr, gsx, r6 etc. right from the get go. i did not however add stuff like insurance rates, r6 engine and so on. ive always found it annoying to read an ad or ebay listing that has two pages of crap cut and pasted from the mfg's website that i already know or a big paragraph about how what they are selling is the 'the bomb' or 'envy of your friends' crap because i knew what i wanted and that was the facts and not a bunch of hype. i guess i made the poor assumption that if someone was looking at my ad, they already knew what a fz6 was and why it is the bomb and that they would be the envy of their friends. thats why the ad i ran was basic, to the point and had all the important facts, but was also boring and not inticing to most. my bad. im going to come up with something creative and see how that works!

 

[sFoster]

are you on the east coast? i'm pretty sure i saw that bike when i was looking. it was a little too far away for me to take a chance on. i knew it was an aftermarket chain and not rust... but it sure didn't make the bike prettier. and for some reason i'm thinking it had 4 exhaust pipes coming out rather than two... it was either that or it had higher miles than i was willing to deal with for the drive. regardless, i remember the price being pretty good.

yes. I did have to take a bit of a gamble on driving out to see it, but I was set on getting a FZ6

 

[dean owens]

if i would have been closer i would have taken the gamble too. but it's a little far away for this part of nc. congrats on the bike.

 

[peterfz6]

I recently purchased one but spent two months searching. The main problem was distance for me as I didn't have a way to get the bike back to my apartment. I finally found a local seller.

If you are having a hard time selling try listing in a 2-3 hour radius but you need to show many detailed pictures because that is a long drive just to look at the bike.

My though when I was considering bikes further away was if I go there I pretty much commited to buying so I had to make sure the bike was in a condition I was willing to accept. Very few people could provide the pictures and details in a timely manner. So having it before hand in the ad might help you gain more interest.

 

[mercm3]

took me about 3 weeks to find mine and it was about 85 miles away which was a pain cuz at the time i only had my learners permit so I had to find someone to ride it home. I agree with peterfz6 you might get more buyers who are farther away if you have a ton of highly quality picks on your listing and bike details.

 

[(none)]

Where you are probably doesn't help. How much are you asking for it? How many km? It took me a while to sell my VFR durring the off season (december), but with the miles it had (19k), i had to drop the price a bit. My BMW on the other hand, was gone quickly once i dropped the price to a reasonable level.

I picked up my FZ6 a few weeks ago, '07, red, bone stock, warranty until August '09, just under 800 miles on it for $4600. It was on Ebay with a Buy it now of $4900, i went and saw it in person with cash and made a deal. Found out later someone used the "buy it now" option about 30 minutes after i bought it...:Flip:

 

[buckeyethunder]

Bought a new leftover 08 last fri. for $5999

 

[RobberRog]

What exactly are you asking for your '07? I'm thinking about buying an '06 with 370 miles on it that seems to be in perfect condition (mature, experienced original owner). The seller is asking $4500. It has no extras and seem high to me, but it is convenient and like new.

 

[rider1a]

so ive been trying to sell my '07 this year and finding it difficult.

i have it listed on craigslist, a local electronic classifieds and a local newspaper for over two months now, and have yet to receive a single legit inquiry. not one. there is nothing wrong with the bike and the price is fair.
ive seen other fz's for sale for long periods of time too. i have also noticed that a similarly priced 'sport' bike ad can receive as many views in a weekend as a fz ad in a month.

owner satisfaction and track record for this bike seems to good, so what gives?
is the fz just not mainstream enough and people dont know about it or is there just a poor market for used fz's?

There is probably a mild stigma attached to the bike since it is not a pure super-sport like the R6 and R1 racers and carries the badge "detuned R6 engine". Some people consider it a starter bike, so when Joe Public needs to have a racing image, other bikes come to mind. I do think the bike would sell more "quickly" in Europe...just a hunch.

I think the FZ6 is highly underrated to say the least!

Some tips on selling the bike is to get excellent, high resolution pictures of the bike from the front, side and back with an appealing background that is NOT in your garage or driveway. I would take the pictures with a nature background and choose early morning or late day sun for that extra sheen. I would even clean every single part of the bike with some professional polish and finish up with a good grade car wax....don't forget to the wash and coat the tires with liquid that makes it look shiny and new. It may not be a bad idea to get an attractive gal to pose with the bike...heck most sport-bike catalogs do this...why not you!

State the price and any obvious defects since potential buyers don't like surprises. You might include a short paragraph from a well-known review source like Motorcycle or Sport Rider magazine etc. As for aftermarket items, they don't add that much value and might be better sold apart from the bike. Also...keep a detailed service record on the bike, so you can prove you were a responsible owner.

On last thing...economic times are tough and used bike prices have and will continue to drop so don't be too rigid on the sales price. You might even consider some sort of buyer financing option if you trust the buyer, so this will help defray the cost.

Good luck,

Fred

 

[bluemax89]

yep its a pain, i bought mine brand new, had a kid and tried to sell. I would have had to loose so much money on it im just keeping it. bikes seem to depreciate to the 3-4k range and stay there. i can find plenty in that range from all kinds of manufacturers.

 

[tannerplante]

I paid $4000 for my 2007 with less than 3k miles

 

[grumpy1luvs2eat]

Do you NEED to sell it? I would personally keep the fizzer for a garage bike to fix up as a streetfighter or just extra. You can't have too much money, too may guitars, or too many motorcycles. GRUMPY

 

[bcdiesel]

With regard to the original post, I looked at the used ads before purchasing my new 07 FZ6 3 months ago. The dealer (in the lower mainland by Vancouver) told me I'd be hard pressed to find a used bike that was as good of a deal as the new but older model year 07. He was right, I picked up my new out of the box 07 with no miles for only 6300 CDN plus taxes. Looking in Craigslist I was see lots of 07's with no mods and lots of miles for more money. It made more sense (and was cheaper) to buy new!

 

[rider1a]

With regard to the original post, I looked at the used ads before purchasing my new 07 FZ6 3 months ago. The dealer (in the lower mainland by Vancouver) told me I'd be hard pressed to find a used bike that was as good of a deal as the new but older model year 07. He was right, I picked up my new out of the box 07 with no miles for only 6300 CDN plus taxes. Looking in Craigslist I was see lots of 07's with no mods and lots of miles for more money. It made more sense (and was cheaper) to buy new!

Yea...I picked up an 07' for $5,000 with almost no miles and a three year "all you can eat" service plan covering all routine service intervals...

The guy rode it a few miles and left it in the garage until he could sell it. He wanted a cruiser instead. He wanted $5,400.00 but was able to get the price lowered.

I have had good results with Craigslist.

Fred

 

[jtarkany]

Any luck yet?