$500 trade in bonus

I was just talking to a local dealer who mentioned that those of us who bought an 05 F650 (at least the GS) in 05 are going to get a trade in bonus letter. He said that since BMW was lowering the MSRP on the F650 they were compensating us loyal riders who wanted to trade up. I'm guessing that there are some restrictions which apply. It came up when I was discussing trading in my bike on an 06 R1200GS.

In any case trading in a relatively new bike definitely sucks from an economic viewpoint.

Assuming it's all true I have to give BMW credit for doing it.

did they mention anything about '93 LT's?

Special bonus

I think that he did mention something about a 93 LT bonus. But it was only available in Slovakia, payable in Russian cigarettes.

My dealer has mentioned $500 before in regards to my LT






but that was the trade in value.....

Those russian guys have any Urals?

jeffpugh said:

I was just talking to a local dealer who mentioned that those of us who bought an 05 F650 (at least the GS) in 05 are going to get a trade in bonus letter. He said that since BMW was lowering the MSRP on the F650 they were compensating us loyal riders who wanted to trade up. I'm guessing that there are some restrictions which apply. It came up when I was discussing trading in my bike on an 06 R1200GS.

In any case trading in a relatively new bike definitely sucks from an economic viewpoint.

Assuming it's all true I have to give BMW credit for doing it.

Click to expand...

I got the letter Saturday for $500 for my CS that I bought in September. It must be used in 2006 calender year. It didn't say if it had to be a new or used bike.

Me too.

I just got my letter with the trade in credit. In the third paragraph it says that it is to be used towards the purchase of a new BMW. It doesn't say what model year but it does say it has to be used this year - 06.

I'm on my second Dakar; I'm not tired of them yet. Sure do like the looks of the 1150 Adventure, tho, despite the extra weight and all. But for now, the GS is heavy enough (OK, you're right - it's TOO heavy) on the trails I like to ride.

The big GS twins are real nice, but for now I need to keep the Dak.

jeffpugh said:

I just got my letter with the trade in credit. In the third paragraph it says that it is to be used towards the purchase of a new BMW. It doesn't say what model year but it does say it has to be used this year - 06.

Click to expand...

Yep...our letter came on Friday too...no model year or specific model just the same expiration date.

Quick calculations...

I looked at the NADA book value (average) on the 2005 GSA vs the 2005 KLR.

Basically, the BMW depreciated more than the KLR did. If you apply the KLR depreciation rate to the BMW, guess what the difference was when applied to the BMW? $490.

NADA puts the low value at $5400, and the average at $7,100. The 2005 stickered at around $9,800 or so.. can't quite remember.

Those numbers apply to retail, they do not apply to trade in. I just don't see the economics of that letter being worth it to me.

If they really wanted to build customer loyalty, I would have liked to see them offer a credit on a new bike purchase that was equiv. to the price drop on the F650 for the purchase of a new BMW motorcycle.

I still doubt that they would have many takes, but that would be a better gesture of good will.


- if it wasn't for the excellence of my experience with the local service deparment (Ride West BMW in Seattle), I would not consider BMW for my next bike purchase over this issue. Resale value was an important factor in my decision to purchase the F650GS.


William