Hi Guys, Was just down near Napier(Meeanee) visiting family for the holidays. I'd like to start getting down there more frequently and was thinking about bringing in a bike or two a year, riding it and selling it. If I can turn a profit all the better but would just be trying to cover trip costs or close to them. Any particular bikes harder to find/ easier to resell? I don't see a ton of BMW F650GS's on TM and those on there seem to have pretty high kms on them. Any input welcomed!
Euro bikes sell for stupid money. KTM or BMW, but it depends what they're worth your end. Find me a sensibly priced KTM 690 and I'd be interested.
Thanks bart-nz. Good to know. Those KTMs look like they are still a little high in the US for the price points I'm trying to hit. I'm shooting for picking up bikes in the 4-6.5 range and sell them down there in the 6.5 to maybe 7k-ish range. Not looking to make big money just offset duty/GST/transport and travel. Of course, more is better. :) If I come across something I will let you know.
I was looking at Harleys in general, heard them a lot driving around the Napier area. They seem to have a strong following in NZ. A bunch pulled into the Tui brewery garden while we were having lunch in Mangatainoka. I see a lot of them on TE with no bids going on so that kind of makes me nervous about bringing one in. A nice old panhead I'm sure would move quickly in most markets. It's outta my price range right now.
Yup. The NZ registration and license fees are high by US standards for sure but look like they include the GST tax which would figure into the resale markup for me. From what I've seen the mechanical and safety reqs are met by US requirements. I'm in California which has the toughest emission requirements in the US and most of the BMW models sold in the US are what are called "50 state" bikes, meaning they comply with the California requirements. A lot of Japanese bikes do not. There is an advantage to hanging onto the bikes for a few months here in the US as that reduces the GST somewhat by applying depreciation ...which could offset some of the registration expense.
I would say Harleys would have the biggest difference, ie, cheap as chips stateside, and more expensive here. Common for guys touring the US to buy there then ship back afterwards. You're also entering into the land of importing bikes, making sure they comply, which can be a minefield if not done right. Otherwise, don't think there is anything easier than something else, always depends on what the buying market wants.
