Dealer or Private

[Trippy]

What do people think of the buying from a dealer as opposed to privately. Are the extra costs worth it?
Take for example a 2003 GSA with 23000 miles on the clock, Bm Ali panniers and an 8 out of 10 bike. Dealer wants a fiver short of 7 and would take 67 but the same bike is going to be £700 cheaper privately and more than likely have extras. Is the peace of mind that comes with a 1 year warrenty worth it as most of these bike seem to be owned and looked after well.

I'm hoping to find an 03 in Silver, less than 20,000, big tank, BM Ali panniers, Remus and in bloody lovely nick with a budget of six.

I want to be riding it by the 1st March at the very latest, what do you reckon my chances are?

 

[Steptoe]

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I want to be riding it by the 1st March at the very latest, what do you reckon my chances are?

Very good - Wait till the christmas bills start landing on the mat, and the dealers haven't had anyone in the showrooms for weeks.

Buyers market at that time of year. Alway was and always will be.

 

[jimbo]

Personally, I never buy cars or bikes from dealers.
They have to make their money somewhere, thats fine, but I'd rather not be the source.
Be careful and go in eyes wide, look at the seller and the history and if in doubt walk.
that way you should still get a decent buy and much cheaper.
Worst case is the money saved might be needed for a repair.

 

[riceman]

Worst case is the money saved might be needed for a repair.

or the extra money spent will get it recovered to said dealer to do for free under the warranty

 

[Droopy Dick]

I've bought two bikes from private sellers.

As has been said, take it slowly and have a very good root about to make sure all is kosher. It's not too hard to work out.

Always get a HPI check to make sure there aren't any nasties.

I guess it's always helpful to have a critical friend who isn't full of the excitement of buying to help keep your feet on the ground.

It strikes me that 'genuine' sellers are more than happy to talk about the bike and even admit any small faults. Be very specific about questions relating to faults, accidents, damage etc etc. If the seller misrepresents the bike you can still sue for a breach of contract.

Both bikes I bought were from guys who'd lost their jobs and needed the cash. That being said,m I wasn't interested in screwing them to the ground.

We always seemed to settle on a price at which we were both happy. The seller got oodles more than any dealer would offer to 'take it off your hands' and I got a bike at a considerable discount compared to dealer prices. I picked up my GS with fewer than 1700 mile son it and 12 months old. Much less expensive than SPC were selling bikes at the time.

Oh, and you do seem to be able to get a few bolt-on goodies thrown in for good measure.

 

[Wicker]

If the dealer is providing a one year BMW warranty on a used bike the extra cost may be worth the peace of mind. It only take a couple of things to go wrong for the warranty to pay for itself.

Rear shock replaced on my R1200ST under warranty @12k; cost to me would have been £500 for the BMW shock alone. Even if I had bought an aftermarket item such as Ohlins I would still have been looking at the better part of £400+. The ST has also had rear drive shart bearings replaced under warranty so I have had my money's worth from BMW.

The shock also failed on my previous BMW (R1100S) at 36k and this too was replaced by BMW under warranty.

Given the age & miles of the bike you are looking at there is a better than even chance of something going wrong in the first year. Whilst £700 is a healthy saving it could soon disappear as BMW parts are not cheap.

I have been considering whether to buy an extended warranty from Warranty Works when my BMW reaches its second birthday. Depending what cover you choose £200-£300 buys three years warranty cover which, as I cover >12k miles per annum, seems to provide peace of mind against unexpectedly large bills & is far cheaper than the BMW extended warrranty.