Any clear advantages to buying a bike in the winter?

At first I figured one advantage would be price, but after doing a quick search on the internet of superbike prices, there doesn't seem to be any pricing reduction. Or is this just online prices and if I actually walked into a dealership they would then start reducing the price once I tell them I want to buy right now?

Other than that, can anyone come up with any other good reasons to purchase in the winter? I am now just leaning towards buying in March/April.

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NYCDucatiMan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">At first I figured one advantage would be price, but after doing a quick search on the internet of superbike prices, there doesn't seem to be any pricing reduction. Or is this just online prices and if I actually walked into a dealership they would then start reducing the price once I tell them I want to buy right now?

Other than that, can anyone come up with any other good reasons to purchase in the winter? I am now just leaning towards buying in March/April.

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks!</TD></TR></TABLE>
i don't think you'll find any ADVERTISED price reductions but you should have more buying power when you go to the dealer and haggle. from my past experience as a motorcycle salesman, bikes FLY out the doors around april in the northeast. you stroll into a dealership with a couple hundred bucks in your pocket around january or february and you'll walk away with a good deal.

another advantage of getting a bike during the offseason is you get some time to add some trick parts before it ever hits the road

True Strati... but for you cold weather folks how do you deal with a new bike and 3 feet of snow on the ground? I know section8 will say to go ride a snowmobile, but buying something and waiting 3 months to ride must be torture. I think the discount is the only way to deal with it....and it had better be a hell of a discount!

H8

Yeah, you guys both make good points. It would definitely be torturous to buy something say in January and not be able to ride for another 2-3 months, but on the other hand, I would not walk away from a good deal. And I know exactly what I want, a new 2003-05 749. What would you guys consider a "good deal", in light of how painfull it would be to not be able to ride it?

Other than monetary, any other reasons why I should not hold off till April?

i am in the depths of winter here. torture not to ride? sure as hell. but alas the duc is now my christmas tree, so at least i get to look at her.

but to point, get a deal now that the temps are down, do some mods and break 'er out in the spring

i, myself was actully thinking of upgrading now 'cuz the prices are down. some of the deals were really hard to pass up, it just came down to getting more bike then i would ever conceivably need

Once, in Detroit, got pelted with snowballs while bring home a brand new Suzuki GT750 [aka Water Buffalo, aka Kettle] in December. Kind of pissed me off, ending up chasing them through a field on the new bike, and caught them!

Just got a great deal on an '04 999S in Fort Worth. It's in the shop getting a 54mm Termi and the right springs installed. There will be the odd weekend over the next two months when it's nice enough to ride. So it's not near as bad as when I used to live up north. Road racing begins in mid to late February in Texas.

Contact Jason at Section8 superbike...he could make it painless, and the bike will come to you set up right!

H8

I bought my Monster the week of Christmas and got a great deal.

Just to make the point greater I was in the shop yesterday and they were talking about some very good deals.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tmelesky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just got a great deal on an '04 999S in Fort Worth. It's in the shop getting a 54mm Termi and the right springs installed. There will be the odd weekend over the next two months when it's nice enough to ride. So it's not near as bad as when I used to live up north. Road racing begins in mid to late February in Texas.
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Forgive my ignorance about your weather but you are in Texas and there are only a few weekends that you will be able to ride over the next few months? Is it your rainy season or something because I can't imagine you get cold enough there to have snowfall stay on the ground.

As for getting good deals over the winter, NYCDucatiMan shouldn't have a problem at all as lots of dealers offer incentives like free performance parts, free services, etc all of which can add up to some good dollars saved. Even if they don't come out and advertise it directly, you can usually hint and or outright ask what kind of incentives they have.

Cheers.

Maybe it's because I'm over 50 and short-term memory isn't so good, but I remember the days when bikes sold for MSRP and the customer had a good tradein value in a couple of years. Ducati customers used to expect value, both in the new bike and as it aged. Seems alot of new Ducati customers only care about getting a deal up front and don't think about the value down the road. Times change.

Give Bill a call down at the store, we have a 04 749S with your name on it!

248-669-6633
248-514-6622

thanks a lot!

Interesting reply bcm. No I don't think times have changed. I think people still care about value (hence the reason why I’m strictly looking at buying a Ducati), but certainly people also care about their expenses just as much as they did 50 years ago. And if you reread my post, I indicate that I’m also looking for other “non monetary� reasons/incentives for buying a bike this winter.
I’m not privy to your financial status bcm, but I only hope that one day I can reach your status level where price is not an option and I can buy anything I want, at any price, on a whim.
Anyway, I appreciate the other responses. They’ve been helpful and I think I will be contacting Section8 to inquire some more on my options.

I don't think I'd buy any used bike in the winter assuming that I couldn't test ride it. Also, if it matters to you, your warranty on a new bike is ticking while it sits motionless.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bcmducati &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe it's because I'm over 50 and short-term memory isn't so good, but I remember the days when bikes sold for MSRP and the customer had a good tradein value in a couple of years. Ducati customers used to expect value, both in the new bike and as it aged. Seems alot of new Ducati customers only care about getting a deal up front and don't think about the value down the road. Times change.</TD></TR></TABLE>

No way you are from New Hampshire. I grew up there, 19 years to be exact... and never have I heard such whiny BS, especially where money and New Englander's are concerned. First you were lashing out at Jason for offering smokin' deals, now it's the whole Ducati buying community in general for being savvy buyers?

Too much. Maybe you and Moto can join forces and build carbon wheels?

Hardly. We have changed with the times too. Just commenting like an "old fart" about the way it used to be. No whining here. If the trade value isn't enough, then lots of customers opt for great performance upgrades. Service is where it rocks!

Maybe you get a deal....but you definitely get time to finely detail it, and add performance bits, prior to your first springtime ride.

And another financial incentive, the Ducati Desmo Deal finance program only runs through February and you can get your bike for zero down and low finance rate. Up here, when we deliver a bike in the winter, we request that the warranty start April 1st. Never had a problem with that in the past.

No financing necessary here. Just cold hard cash. BCM, I spoke to an individual in your area who stated that shipping would be approximately 250-300 to NYC. Is that about correct?
Also, is it difficult to find 2003 overstock 749's?

Delivery costs from NH to NYC vary. Depends on if there are other bikes in the delivery and whether or not we'd be in the area anyway. If we have a full truck (4 bikes), it's $50 each way. We can talk about it and it can be part of the "deal". Which 2003 model were you interested in and I'll do my best to locate one for you.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Buckelew &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe you get a deal....but you definitely get time to finely detail it, and add performance bits, prior to your first springtime ride. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Mark.... this has it's good and bad points. My bank account isn't collecting any money, it's collecting dust.

But, my shiteatin grim is getting bigger.