I found an 02 red viffer with 8700 miles. Non-ABS, fully stock, seller states it is very clean. I wanted an ABS model, and I wanted hard bags, but the owner is asking $4700 and says there is room to move lower. He says it has never been dropped, oil changes complete, hasn't done any recalls but hasnt had troubles. I am thinking I can get it for $4000. Is this a good deal, considering it is almost 7 years old and non-abs?
Would it be low balling if I offer him $3700? The bike has been posted several times with no hits, and I get the impression he really wants to get rid of it.
[image: View Post]drdreas, on Oct 2 2008, 07:06 PM, said:
I found an 02 red viffer with 8700 miles. Non-ABS, fully stock, seller states it is very clean. I wanted an ABS model, and I wanted hard bags, but the owner is asking $4700 and says there is room to move lower. He says it has never been dropped, oil changes complete, hasn't done any recalls but hasnt had troubles. I am thinking I can get it for $4000. Is this a good deal, considering it is almost 7 years old and non-abs?
Would it be low balling if I offer him $3700? The bike has been posted several times with no hits, and I get the impression he really wants to get rid of it.
Thanks
It's a very fair deal @ $4700 if you ask me. All he can say is no if you offer him the $3700, and then you find the middle ground somewhere. To me it shouldn't matter if the recall hasn't been done cause you just take it down to the dealer and that's free...
[image: View Post]toddulu, on Oct 2 2008, 08:16 PM, said:
[image: View Post]drdreas, on Oct 2 2008, 07:06 PM, said:
I found an 02 red viffer with 8700 miles. Non-ABS, fully stock, seller states it is very clean. I wanted an ABS model, and I wanted hard bags, but the owner is asking $4700 and says there is room to move lower. He says it has never been dropped, oil changes complete, hasn't done any recalls but hasnt had troubles. I am thinking I can get it for $4000. Is this a good deal, considering it is almost 7 years old and non-abs?
Would it be low balling if I offer him $3700? The bike has been posted several times with no hits, and I get the impression he really wants to get rid of it.
Thanks
It's a very fair deal @ $4700 if you ask me. All he can say is no if you offer him the $3700, and then you find the middle ground somewhere. To me it shouldn't matter if the recall hasn't been done cause you just take it down to the dealer and that's free...
I thought dealers were done doing recalls on the 02?
Anyway, I've been shopping for over a month and that is a good deal.
[image: View Post]jeremy556, on Oct 2 2008, 10:24 PM, said:
I think wiggle room in the seller's mind is $4500. $4000 - $4500 is a decent price IMO.
Dealers are still doing recall work on 02s. Recently had my wire harness replaced and subframe reinforced.
I got the impression that 4500 to 5000 was the going rate for an 02 with ABS and perhaps hard bags. This is why I thought I could pick this one up for less than $4000 maybe. Am I wrong on this?
If it is in the shape that the seller says that it is then it sounds like a pretty good deal. Beware though. When I bought my VFR, I got it off of E-bay and the seller said that it was in pristine condition and had one fuzzy picture. When I picked it up 700 miles away it was not what I would have called pristine. I knew that I was taking a big chance when I agreed to buy it sight unseen and feel that I still got a good deal on it for the condition that it was in. Is there anyway that you can inspect it before you are obligated to buy it? If you can look at it and it checks out go for it!
[image: View Post]mznyc, on Oct 8 2007, 10:56 AM, said:
I bought a mint 02 ABS 13K miles,with Heli-Bars,hard bags,trunk,Rick mayer seat,Givi windscreen and a lot more for $4700.00.essentially a new bike with about $2gs of extras.I see a lot of stock 02,03s for around $4,000-$4500 great condition used on EBay .Unless you HAVE to have black or new you could save yourself 4k or more.
Good luck!
I bought mine about this time last year,the fact that it is late in the season gives you some leverage.
If I want to low-ball somebody,I usually say"if I pay you in CASH,would you do it for this?"
Ive bought and sold several bikes on ebay without any problems.I always contact seller and ask if there are any problems not listed in ad.Then I save that email.If they were dishonest you could use that email as evidence to ebay to back out of the deal without repercussions.I also only buy on ebay within a drive so I can see bike .
Good Luck
Assuming the plastic is in new condition (which it should be if the seller has any sense of how to clean a bike) an '02 with 8500 miles is, for all practical purposes, just as good as a brand spanking new '08, imo. Definitely wise to have a look in person as someone else suggested, but seriously, from a mechanical point of view, 8500 miles is a rounding error. I and many others on the board have 70000 plus and I am serious when I say it runs as good or better than when I bought it.
I sold a nearly mint '02 with 11k over 2 years ago for $4700. I think you should be able to get it for around $4k. Take a very close look, and point out everything that is wrong - brake pads, chain, sprockets, tires, it's almost winter, etc. and use these as leverage. I printed out other ads and took them with me when I got my bike. Make sure that the whole deal is contingent on a satisfactory test ride, with full money back if you are not happy.
There are some changes to the vtec in later years, and think if you really want ABS or not. I am now on an 06 and the vtec improvement is not trivial. My first post on this forum was asking for ABS vs non-ABS, and the responses ranged from "saved my underwear" to "saved my life." No one that had ABS regretted getting it. I haven't had to use it yet, but i'm glad to know its there (and it buys me points with the wife).
I just bought an '02 with 6K miles, mint condition for $4,300. No bags, but it does have a Scotts steering damper, and a ZG double bubble windshield. I think even if you pay $4,500 it will be a steal as the Blue Book is $5,700 and I know a guy that just sold his '03 for $6K.
[image: View Post]XLR8, on Oct 3 2008, 08:51 PM, said:
[image: View Post]codeMonkey, on Oct 3 2008, 12:01 AM, said:
I am now on an 06 and the vtec improvement is not trivial.
So you notice a big difference?
I grew increasingly annoyed at the vetc transition on the '02 until I eventually sold it. The problem is that I tended to cruise right at 7k, so it was constantly engaging and disengaging, and there was a real hesitation when that happened. I wasn't trying to sit at 7k, it just seemed like that's where the traffic was. In hindsight I probably could have picked up a power commander, but I had my eye on another bike so I sold it. Before I came back to the VFR, I rode a friends bike and it was a noticeable difference. If I do hit the engagement point at 6.8k, at least it doesn't disengage until 6.2 k, which means I don't ride in the flat spot. It's certainly possible that I had a really bad '02, and a really good 06, but for me the change was noticeable.
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