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Best time to buy (+extended warranty)

1K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  Sagebrush 
#1 ·
Hey, I'll soon be buying a Wee as a first bike. Realistically, I won't have my license until October (date to be confirmed).

However, right now in Canada and until September 30th, there's a promotion where I could get 1000 Canuk$ off on a 2016 new model + (more interestingly for me) get an extended 5 years warranty (Suzuki Protection Plan).

I'm set on buying a Wee, to the point where I could see myself buying one before I can legally test-drive it if the deal is good. In your experience, are the Suzuki protection plan worth it ? Is that something that boils down to the reputation of your local dealer ?

Also, more importantly, is there usually better deals that come later in the Fall ? I don't see myself having many opportunities to ride this year, so I could wait until next spring to buy if there's some seasonal promotions coming.

Should I wait ?
 
#2 ·
hi, serenith, welcome to d'forum, and the wonderful world of motorcycling!

everything i've perused about extended warranties usually reminds the readers that they are, generally, extremely profitable to the dealer. i've never bought one for any vehicle-mc, or cage, or lawnmower-or toaster, or electric toothbrush, or canister vac for garage, or, or, or..., btjm.
 
#3 ·
Hi Steve,

I totally agree with you, I've never bought an extended warranty on a "disposable commodity". Maybe I'm biased because I think of my (future) bike like I think of buying cars : things will break, so the longer the warranty, the lesser the worry... and 5 years is a lot compared to the 1 year warranty we usually get here.

In this context, I have no idea if the Suzuki Protection Plan is actually worth anything. I did a bit of maths though : The promotion says you can get either 1) 0% financing for 36 months or 2) 1000$ off + extended warranty. The net present value of option 1) is 750$ if the average interest rates are 4% and the bike is worth 10,000$. So basically option 2) is a better deal even without the warranty. The fact that they add a warranty over the 1000$ discount is telling me that either they aren't good at maths or they do not value highly their extended warranty.

Ok, enough maths. The bigger question is : What is covered by the Suzuki Protection Plan and is the extended warranty enforceable at your local deal ? Where I live, there are 3 dealers out of 6 with abysmal reputation when it comes to general or extended warranty (basically, nothing's covered with them until you drag them to court). I'll be avoiding them anyway, but I'd rather not buy into an extended warranty that isn't worth its ink.
 
#4 ·
until September 30th, there's a promotion where I could get 1000 Canuk$ off on a 2016 new model + (more interestingly for me) get an extended 5 years warranty (Suzuki Protection Plan).
that is because October 1, it becomes a leftover '17s will be out

I have never purchased an extended warranty either , but knwing what I do now and when and where I occasionally ride(winter slush, salt & sand conditions) and my past experience from the damage, I would purchase the warranty. If I had it on the Vee I have now, I woulda saved about $5k in repair costs
 
#5 ·
I know people aren't huge fan of the extended plan, but I bought it for my bike and it paid for itself just in time. I was stranded in South Dakota for 6 days with a ~$1000USD R/R stator replacement. Parts and labor were covered under the SEP. Didn't have much else go wrong, but anything more and I would've been in the black on the plan.
 
#7 ·
No brainer

If option 2 is already a better deal than option 1, your decision is VERY easy...option 2.

One thing not asked is when does the extended warranty begin? Is it AFTER the factory warranty or does it start on day 1 of purchase. Some extended warranties begin day 1, so you actually lose the use of the factory warranty.
 
#8 ·
The best time to buy an extended warranty, in my opinion is.. never. For every one person who claims it has helped, there are ten who will tell you it's a waste of money. Never bought one, never will, never regretted it.. and I am 54 years old and have purchased fifteen vehicles.
 
#9 ·
remoandiris, The extended warranty is actually 4 years starting at the end of the factory warranty. The thing that is unusual is that it seems to be offered by Suzuki-canada, it's not a reseller's scheme to skim some more profits.

Texan, I understand the feeling completely and I'd have your reflex if this wasn't a vehicle or if the extended warranty was offered by a local dealer. We've been used all our lives to get 5 years warranty on our cars (until recently when it all dropped to 3 years). When I saw that bikes were sold with only one year warranty, I was kinda shocked, I was expecting 3 years minimum. The message that is sent is "expecting things to start breaking after 1 year".

Should I start thinking of my bike as a toaster on 2 wheels instead of a car without a roof ?
 
#10 · (Edited)
Now until spring is the best time, I usually buy my bikes in the early fall or winter time, left over models. I've gotten very good deals in the cooler months with bikes on the show room floor. But, down here we can ride in the winter, not much snow.

I haven't used an extended warranty on a bike yet, I doubt I would spend money on one now. My last two Honda cars had 100K mile zero deductible coverage, haven't ever used the coverage though. I would go for the 0% financing. DL650 bikes are very reliable usually. My 3 bikes purchased new went 30,000 miles with no issues, two Suzuki bikes and a Yamaha. I sold my KTM at 12K before it had issues. My last FJR1300 went close to 30,000 miles, just recalls on that one. My old DL1000 is a 2006 and it burnt a stator a couple years ago just over 28,000 miles, I bought it used. No idea how it was ran before me, but used bikes over 5 years old are a crap shoot. Thats the first major repair I've done on a bike, but it was over 8 years old. When my 1994 ST1100 burnt its stator and wiring harness I just sold it for around $2,000 to a guy that had the desire to fix it, I didn't have the time to fix it back in 2008. I just bought a new FJR instead of tearing the old ST apart, wanted something different anyway. :)
 
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