Trade-in?

Here are some helpful tips if you are planning on trading in your vehicle for another vehicle.

1.) Figure out what your vehicle is worth before offering your vehicle as a trade-in. This can save you from a lot of headache and wasted time at the dealership. One of the tools we use is KBB (Kelley Blue Book) to help us figure out what the trade-in value of a vehicle is. Here is the link to the website that we use; KBB for Motorcycles.

2.) Are you currently financing your trade-in? We can work with this however there may be additional costs that is subtracted from the trade in value.

3.) Are there any additional liens on your vehicle aside from the institution you are using to finance your trade-in? We do not accept vehicles for trade-in that fall under this scenario.

4.) Condition and the age of your tires. Since 1971 all motorcycle tire manufacturers are mandated to put a date code on their tires. The general consensus is motorcycle tires expire around 5-6 years old. If your tires are expired dealerships may replace them and this may subtract from the value of your trade-in.

5.) Condition of the vehicle? Are there any cosmetic damage such as scratches and dings? Are there any mechanical damage such as levers snapped off at the ends, bent footrests etc.. Wear and tear on components such as drive chains, sprockets and brake pads. These are all things that may be subtracted from the overall value of your trade-in.

6.) Does adding accessories and upgrades add to the value or your trade-in? Just because you have additional accessories added onto to your trade-in vehicle, does not necessarily add value. Consider the analogy of selling a home. If you have a rather large and expensive swimming pool, in the minds of a potential buyers this may not be of added value. They might not want a swimming pool. Just for simplistic purposes, most dealers including us will not necessarily consider the trade-in vehicle being worth more just because of added accessories and features.

7.) Which season during the year are you trading your vehicle in? Trade-ins typically are not worth as much if they are traded in during the winter months. This is because during this time used vehicles are not worth as much on the market because most customers are not riding during this time and if a customer is looking to purchase a vehicle during this time they are expecting a lower price, in other words the customer is looking for a good deal. Another issue during this time period for dealers is that the vehicle is most likely going to sit on the sales floor for a long period of time waiting for the riding season to open up. Time is money, the longer it sits on the floor, the more expensive it becomes to a dealership. This may subtract from the overall value or your trade-in.

8.) Lastly, supply and demand. If your vehicle trade-in is the same as 30 other vehicles that are for sale at the local market, dealers have to compete against all these other vehicles. Customers are comparing all the vehicles together and evaluating which one is the better value for me the customer such as condition, mileage and price.