Help deciding which bike to get

[Fiery Winds]

First post!

I'm currently looking at two bikes on craigslist, both an 08 FZ6 (one blue, one black).

Blue bike A:

13k miles (used solely for commuting on the highway)
Oil changed himself every 2k miles
New tires installed on Saturday (Continental Sport-Touring)
Front brakes changed at 10k, rear brakes never changed (he's including brake pads)
Bled brake fluid 1k miles ago
Including helmet, jacket, and gloves (bought for total of $450) and new oil

He will not go lower than 5k on price, even when I offered $4500. I rode this bike tonight and looks and runs great.

Black bike B:

Don't know as much about this bike
Just under 6k miles
2nd owner (bought at 5k miles) selling to move to college
Rode it for commute, never past 80
Original owner dropped it (low speed) with the only damage (I'm told) being some scratches on the side (see here)

He's willing to let it go for $3600, but I might be able to get him to lower it some more.

What do you think? For the difference in price, I can buy my own new gear and still come out ahead. Though I do prefer the blue color...

 

[Blake]

I would honestly go with the blue one considering the background that you have on it, it seems like it would be worth the extra money. And plus.. Blue is just sexier anyways.

 

[Kazza]

I vote B, the black bike. Less kms (don't believe never past 80 though :shakehead.

Black or white bike, IMO, always easier to match colours etc when buying other things.

Good luck and keep us informed.

BTW, :welcome: to the forum :rockon:

 

[Esra]

I'd worry less about the distance and more about the care.

Low K's but treated like **** will leave a **** bike.

Some bikes do thousands of K's, but if well maintained they run great and will continue to.

 

[bane]

My vote for option A. it's always droped by the first owner.. yea right in a month you will spend more money in bike B and it will turn out the same..

 

[rjo3491]

13K is nothing. You'll have to live with those scratches forever (and someday will have to explain them to a potential buyer). Personally, there are so many bikes out there I would never buy one that had been down.

Also sounds like owner #1 cared for the bike and had it serviced regularly. If you have the cash go with #1, if not find another a year or two older with no battle scars.

 

[richard55]

Have you considered a leftover 09?

I bought a new 09 in February and the price on the floor was 4999.00. With PA sales tax and registration I paid a total of 5,720 OTD. They had the FZ6Rs at the same price.

 

[ohgood]

if you don't mind paying 50% more for things, toss a coin.

if you do, get the cheaper one. scratches are cosmetic, and if it devalues the bike 30% I LOVE SCRATCHES !

 

[templar]

If you finance, banks will only cover 90% of book retail. An '08 FZ6 book price in Upstate New York is $4200. So, do your math.

I bought a private sale '08 by 1st owner with less than 900-miles. Great price and purchase, even though it had a low speed drop [One scuf mark I cleaned up and can live with for a $2.5k savings]. I was fortunate.

Buying any motor vehicle is a dice toss. Good luck.

 

[Hoshiko]

I sent you a PM

 

[rino60]

First post!

I'm currently looking at two bikes on craigslist, both an 08 FZ6 (one blue, one black).

Blue bike A:

13k miles (used solely for commuting on the highway)
Oil changed himself every 2k miles
New tires installed on Saturday (Continental Sport-Touring)
Front brakes changed at 10k, rear brakes never changed (he's including brake pads)
Bled brake fluid 1k miles ago
Including helmet, jacket, and gloves (bought for total of $450) and new oil

He will not go lower than 5k on price, even when I offered $4500. I rode this bike tonight and looks and runs great.

Black bike B:

Don't know as much about this bike
Just under 6k miles
2nd owner (bought at 5k miles) selling to move to college
Rode it for commute, never past 80
Original owner dropped it (low speed) with the only damage (I'm told) being some scratches on the side (see here)

He's willing to let it go for $3600, but I might be able to get him to lower it some more.

What do you think? For the difference in price, I can buy my own new gear and still come out ahead. Though I do prefer the blue color...

That cover can be purchased in the states for about $30 (before delivery) from partshark.com. Something to consider.

NB: it's the oil pump cover, number 16 on schematic under crankcase covers #1

 

[Fiery Winds]

Thanks for all the advice guys! At this moment I feel more comfortable with bike A, but don't think I'm willing to put down that much cash.

I'm scheduled to take a look at bike B on Saturday that will hopefully confirm that the damage is limited only to the oil pump cover, and that everything else about the bike is comparable to bike A. If so, I can simply swap the part out (thanks rino60!) and simply have a black bike with half the miles.

Especially because he is moving to college, he was quick to drop it to $3600, so I'm sure I can find some minor things to lower it some more.

 

[Powerman]

Go with blue, it's faster.

 

[ngsm13]

Both prices seem a little steep.

Though it is prime time riding season.

 

[rsw81]

Either way you slice it, the mileage on these bikes is negligible. Even at 13k miles, that motor is barely even broken in. There are many members of this forum well over 50k miles on their bikes with NO problems whatsoever.

Having said that, $5k for a used bike, even with gear, is extremely steep. As another member said, you can get a brand new left over for that price. Keep in mind that in California, whatever price you pay for the bike that you will still have to pay sales tax when you transfer the ownership paperwork over. So if he's asking $5k, tac on several hundred after that in sales tax.

As for Bike B: Are you mechanically inclined? Do yourself a favor and take a friend with you who knows something about bikes and what to look for. Additionally, this friend can help prevent you from making an emotional decision to purchase when you probably shouldn't.

In a dropped bike, look beyond the basic cosmetics. Check brake/clutch levers, foot pegs, engine covers, FRAME, front forks, etc for any damage. Just because the engine runs well doesn't mean it's a good buy.

 

[The Dude]

First post!

I'm currently looking at two bikes on craigslist, both an 08 FZ6 (one blue, one black).

Blue bike A:

13k miles (used solely for commuting on the highway)
Oil changed himself every 2k miles
New tires installed on Saturday (Continental Sport-Touring)
Front brakes changed at 10k, rear brakes never changed (he's including brake pads)
Bled brake fluid 1k miles ago
Including helmet, jacket, and gloves (bought for total of $450) and new oil

He will not go lower than 5k on price, even when I offered $4500. I rode this bike tonight and looks and runs great.

Black bike B:

Don't know as much about this bike
Just under 6k miles
2nd owner (bought at 5k miles) selling to move to college
Rode it for commute, never past 80
Original owner dropped it (low speed) with the only damage (I'm told) being some scratches on the side (see here)

He's willing to let it go for $3600, but I might be able to get him to lower it some more.

What do you think? For the difference in price, I can buy my own new gear and still come out ahead. Though I do prefer the blue color...

:welcome:

I think they're both asking too much. I picked up my '08 in pristine condition from a small independent dealer last Memorial Day. 7k on it and I paid $3800 cash ($4k asking price). Just over $4K OTD. And these bikes are now a year older than when I bought mine.

-Does owner A have receipts for oil he changed every 2k? Everybody says that when it's time to sell. Trust buy verify. Just asking the right questions will put you in a stronger bargaining position.
-If those 13k mi are all highway, why did he need to replace the front brakes at 10k? I know CA traffic is bad, but I still have to believe that engine braking alone is enough for most situations.
-Unless he could be your body double, his gear isn't going to be that useful to you. The helmet especially is going to be broken in for his head shape and size. I wouldn't buy any of it as a package deal unless it's a perfect fit. He's just using that to inflate the price. The same thing people do with aftermarket mods. Gear depreciates a lot faster than the bike, so if you do buy it, get it on the cheap.

-How long did owner B own his FZ6 and only put 1,000 mi on it? It's hard to commute and not even put 1k on it. Also doubt he never exceeded 80MPH. Sounds sketchy.
-If he owned it for any length of time, I would be suspicious that he's the one who dropped it. Downtime for repairs would account for low usage. I don't know what "low speed" means, but that's some decent rash there. It was definitely a CRASH and not a DROP.

 

[FIZZER6]

Definitely steep but it is Spring and you are in California where everything is crack prices! :BLAA:


I bought my 2006 bike BRAND NEW for $4,999 (ended up being $5,800 out the door including tax, tags, a gallon of Yama-lube and 2 filters, etc).

$5,000 for a bike with 13K miles seems very steep to me.

 

[Fiery Winds]

Regarding the high prices, yes, they're already asking too much, but this is California (SF Bay Area). Local dealer is selling a new '09 FZ6 for $5999 on "sale" from $7999, which is a lot higher than what others may have paid in different parts of the country.

KBB is $3k for trade-in and $4390 for retail, btw.

Bike A maintenance he did all himself, so obviously he has no paperwork. Regarding brakes, he commuted 45 minutes to South San Francisco, where brakes would be used heavily.

Owner of bike B uses it to commute to work close by in Santa Clara/Downtown San Jose, so most of the miles were on city streets.

Also, I'm aware of the taxes I'll have to pay on the bike at the DMV (God Bless America). I'm moderately mechanically inclined (do most of my own work on my car), but will have someone else with me anyways.

 

[Fiery Winds]

Sorry for the double post, but I found out a little more about the "drop". He said the original owner told him, "not very fast, around 40-50mph". Said he had a dealer inspect it before buying it and said all the damage was cosmetic, mainly on the lower right side, with other scratches barely noticeable. :shakehead:

 

[chenceza]

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