1990 vx What is it worth

[Tinbasher]

I had a email asking me what a 1990 VX with only 7042 miles on the clock is worth, I am still waiting for a reply as to where the person lives but I asume its in the USA , the tank has been sealed inside and repainted outside , I will ask for pictures . What would you pay for it asuming its in fair condition but not been run for two years and lived in a gararge. <_<

The bike is in Oakland, near Alameda .
The bike looks good, except that it's burgundy and the tank is
now silver, Pictures to follow.
 

[Rick]

Richard -

Without seeing and riding the bike, it is hard to say what it is worth.  I'll offer a guess.  

Oakland near Alameda is in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Prices for used bikes are often higher there than in other places in the US because riders are able to ride almost year-round.  

A good, clean, low mileage 1990 VX is probably worth $1200+ now.  A sealed and painted tank detracts from the value as would original tires, carbs that need servicing, worn rotors, slipping clutch, rust on other parts of the bike, faded paint, dried rubber and plastic pieces, leaking fork seals, damage from a drop, no maintenance record, salvage title, noncurrent registration, number of previous owners,  etc.

Low mileage is not always an indication of good care or condition of a bike.  Final price all comes down to history and condition of the bike and whatever buyer and seller agree upon.

Is the bike being advertised now?  Have photos been posted on the internet?

Too bad the bike is not your favorite color - flat black :-).

Rick      

[flkovacs]

$1200 is a bit more than i paid for my 91 over a year ago, but it was not in the greatest of shape - although the engine is doing great - i'm told most of the miles were commute miles between livermore and san jose.

there is a red one on craigslist in orange county with more miles on it:
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/mcy/118444880.html
asking about what a berkeley fellow asked for his a few weeks ago (he went on vacation and pulled the ad).
an advantage of a california bike is that it may have less rust, and like rick said, since they can be ridden year around, prices tend to stay higher here,

intersted in buyin'?  i can take a look at it - not that i'm such an expert - oakland is 15 minutes and a culture away,
ferenc

[Tinbasher]

Richard -

Is the bike being advertised now? Have photos been posted on the internet?

Too bad the bike is not your favorite color - flat black :-).
 

They are still at the wondering stage right now, she said she would send me a few pictures soon and I will fwd them on to anyone thats interested.


Flat black and  burgundy mmmmmm  might be a better combo than  burgundy and silver but still not to sure about that <_<  

[cloudbreakmd]

Tin,
Are you thinking of shipping the bike down to OZ?

I would have bought a VX in a heartbeat if I could have found one for $1200.00 around here.

I bought a 1999 GS500E instead on ebay and got horribly ripped off... I am almost done fixing it though... Sigh

[Rick]

Cloud -

> I bought a 1999 GS500E instead on ebay and got horribly ripped off...
> I am almost done fixing it though... Sigh

How about sharing your experience with us?  Maybe we can all learn from it.

Thanks.

Rick

[Tinbasher]

Tin,
Are you thinking of shipping the bike down to OZ?

I would have bought a VX in a heartbeat if I could have found one for $1200.00 around here.

I bought a 1999 GS500E instead on ebay and got horribly ripped off... I am almost done fixing it though... Sigh

Wish I could afford it , She contacted me over a year ago looking for advice now she just asked how much its worth before putting it on the market <_<  

[stpauler]

For what it's worth, I paid $2000 for a '93 with 3300 miles a few months ago.

Doesn't sound like I got that good of a deal compared with some others, but I'm sure happy.  Got some rust out of the tank, cleaned the carbs, payed for a sync and valve job, and after a  little Never Dull, I've got a fairly spotless, lo-mile VX that, as of a month and a half ago when I shut it down for winter, runs perfect.  (Knocks on wood)

I'm currently in the middle of the longest winter ever.

-Andy

 

[cloudbreakmd]

I guess we should start at the begining....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=4595074282

I saw this ad and thought this looks like a good deal. I will bid the $1200.00

I talk to him and email him and ask if the bike was wrecked and if ran. He said the bike had fallen over once, and it ran fine.

So I retracted my bid and hit the buy it now.

He delivers the bike after we talk on the phone and he reassures me that the bike is fine.

I pay and then the bike is delivered by him...

Let's see...  



Wrecked hard on left side

Bent Bars (pennies bent in shape of C's and used as spacers below bars to get them to sit semi-straight)

Won't run off of choke and dies when the throttle is goosed

Big gouge in left rear frame cover

Gauge bucket damaged

Exhaust very rusty

Tires practically bald

Battery very weak

Both left side turn signals damaged

Forks have rust

Bike is filthy

Oil dripping from oil filter cover

Front fender melted from aftermarket Yosh pipe (common problem I'm told)

Tachometer seal leaking

Chain looks very miserable

Misc. Bolts and nuts rusty

 <_<


Now after all of this... I ask for a partial refund and he says no...

 

So I leave feedback after I ask him again.

Read it, it's BS

So I replied...

And now the war has begun...

Feel free to view my feedback. I always list the year and model of a vehicle when I sell it.


 

[cloudbreakmd]

Oh and the brown nasty stuff I poured out of the carbs and the tank today made me feel that much better about all of this too...

And before anybody else says so... I am an king of idiots and way too trusting...

On the pluses...

No frame damage, looks good aside from the rust (I am replacing all the bolts and other stuff with OEM Suzuki bits aside from battery and tires).  Full Yoshimura pipe and jetted carbs. Engine sounds wonderful (when running). Shifts well. Seat is in good shape. Electrical all works (aside from weak battery). And I'm spent...

Aslo giving a full tune up and adding an inline fuel filter. Added BT45 tires, carbon fiber shorty signals and new grips. Lastly planning a fendorectomy.

[cloudbreakmd]

For what it's worth, I paid $2000 for a '93 with 3300 miles a few months ago.

Doesn't sound like I got that good of a deal compared with some others, but I'm sure happy.  Got some rust out of the tank, cleaned the carbs, payed for a sync and valve job, and after a  little Never Dull, I've got a fairly spotless, lo-mile VX that, as of a month and a half ago when I shut it down for winter, runs perfect.  (Knocks on wood)

I'm currently in the middle of the longest winter ever.

-Andy

Oh and you got a good deal. Especially with that mileage.

[Rick]

Andy -

>  I paid $2000 for a '93 with 3300 miles a few months ago...
>  I'm sure happy.

How  can anyone argue with that?  That's what it's all about.  Congratulations.

Cloud -

Thanks for sharing your story with us.
 
You are a braver and more trusting person than I am.  I am reluctant to buy a bike I haven's seen and ridden first.   It sounds like you are going to end up with a nice bike when you are done.    

Rick    

[cloudbreakmd]

It sounds like you are going to end up with a nice bike when you are done.    

Rick

Yeah and too think, I was going to spend $2500 and buy a late model Katana... I really dodged a bullet there huh?  

Live and learn...

I bought my VF1100S on Ebay and it was 4 hours away... That was a hell of a good deal...

And the last cliche...

You win some, you lose some...

And Rick, thank you for the support.

[stpauler]

I should have mentioned - I too got mine off e-bay.  I got incredibly lucky.  Seller was absolutely honest, gave tons of info upon request and turned out to be a super nice guy.  The bike actually exceeded my expectations when I picked it up because the seller had "magnified" all the bad issues to such a degree.  Given some of the stories I've heard since I bought my bike, not sure I'd go the ebay route again on a bike.

Good luck with the rehab cbmd.

-Andy

[flkovacs]

i've found that reading about something is not enough.  if you can't go see/hear/feel it yourself, try and email someone you trust, who's closer to it, and can do so for you.

i wound up doing a lot of work on my vx, but looking back on it, am glad i bought the bike, met some nice folks, and learned a lot by doing.  part of the work was because i wound up keeping it past the 6 months, which was the length of time i initially bought it for, but it was mostly because i liked the bike and now enjoy it even more.

the gs500 sounds like will turn out to be the same for you cbmd.

looking at an ad is like reading a resume.  i recently went through over two dozen resumes, and more than once could not believe that the person being interviewed was the person 'advertised' in the resume!

about to go through with it again, this time for a wins sys admin, if you know someone who wants more work for less $ - come see me!

enjoy,
ferenc