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[lolachampcar]

I'm facing the fact that my 2013 DS will be on the way in a month or so.  It's time to part with my 2012 9DS with about 6k miles.  Anyone in the West Palm Beach area that is interested is welcome to come take a ride.

[lolachampcar]

Wow, resale is going to be interesting.

[NoiseBoy]

Probably more economical to buy big DC-DC converter and use it as a UPS for your house.  Or off-grid storage for solar panels which you can then use to charge your '13

[CliC]

Wow, resale is going to be interesting.

To be fair, most people on here probably already have an elmoto of some sort. How are you faring with the local paper, Craigslist, etc.?

I don't necessarily disagree with your statement, though. It might end up being more lucrative to part out the high-tech bits.

[lolachampcar]

Agreed....
It is in CycleTrader (along with ALL the new Zero ads).  I'll post results.

Craigslist is next but I really dread that route.

[ColoPaul]

Craigslist is next but I really dread that route.

I've sold several vehicles (bikes+cars) on craigslist.  I agree it's a pain in the ass, but it seems to work. 
  People that call and make an appointment; don't show; when you call them they're like: "Oh, yeah, I already found another car but I didn't bother to let you know".
  People that show up and say "umm, I only have $100, but if you let me take the car now I'll send you payments".
  People that show up, take a test drive, and say "It's perfect,  I'll offer you 1/2 of what you're asking" and won't budge from the price.

Arrrgh.

[Richard230]

I agree with all of the comments about Craigslist above.  But somehow my son-in-law has the system figured out.  He regularly sells stuff, including beat-up motorcycles that he likes to buy, ride around for a year and then sell, on Craigslist and seems to make it work with a minimal number of flakes falling out of the sky.   

[lolachampcar]

I think the other shoe just dropped.....

I went on Ebay to check the lay of the land thinking I would list it for my bottom line reserve number and see what happens.  All Zero's dealers are dumping their 1012 demo bikes as "new" on Ebay.  I found a 9DS (or maybe S) for a few hundred south of $10K.

If I find a buyer, it will likely be for under $7K.  If that is the case, it would be a 50% hit.  That is too much no matter how much I want that ($16,000) 2013!

[protomech]

Good deal if you're buying a 2012 now. Of course, most of us couldn't wait that long *grin*

If all the dealers are dumping their bikes on the market now at $10k, you'll probably have a hard time selling unless you're willing to take a bath. Many of the EV-curious have already bought in at $10-14k after state incentives .. so the dealers will have to take steep cuts to move the bikes.

I don't expect the steep depreciation curve to slow until Zero stops making huge improvements year-over-year .. I thought 2012 was that year .. but I was wrong.

The price gap may be $9k now between a used 2012 and a new 2013 ZF11.4, but I bet the price gap shrinks to $5k or less if you look at a used 2012 vs a used 2013 once the 2014s are released. Take your best guess at the price gap and consider how much riding a new 2013 vs your existing 2012 is worth to you.

[Richard230]

My dealer is still trying to sell a 2011 DS for $4000 off the original list price.  And that is in San Francisco, where a bike like that would be perfect for tooling around the city.  I didn't see any 2012 bikes on the showroom floor, though.

[lolachampcar]

I remember the hoops we jumped through to manage a model change.  We did not use distribution but still went to great lengths to manage the depletion of current inventory before announcing the new and we HAD competition.

Zero's dealers must really be loving a company that scavenges with new product announcements so early in the sales cycle when there is NO competition.  They are making friends; they just do not know it yet.  Dealers will not forget when a company does this poor a job managing inventory exposure especially when it is the dealer that is exposed.

I've got a Tesla Model S on the way.  Now there is a model for distribution and an example in communication.

[Tudor]

My dealer is still trying to sell a 2011 DS for $4000 off the original list price.  And that is in San Francisco, where a bike like that would be perfect for tooling around the city.  I didn't see any 2012 bikes on the showroom floor, though.

A brand new 2012 9DS here in Sweden today is 144'000 sek which translates to ~ $21'800..
a 2011 DS is 90'000 sek -> $14'000

My hopes on getting a -13 FX under $15'000 seems a bit optimistic.. =/
(sorry for OT)

[lolachampcar]

I dropped a note to Richard Walker on the subject.  He is well aware of it and appears to be continuing along the path. 

It is really hard to manage customer value.  The companies that pull it off are the ones that are around for the long haul.

As I told Richard, I'll just drive my 9DS for many a year and extract the original purchase price.  By the same token, I will not buy another which means I have gone from a MY13 customer and source for a trade in to a lost customer.  I simply can not accept that Zero stands for the value of the bike after 9 months and 6K miles

[CliC]

How much of the lack of interest do you think is attributable to Zero's 2013 announcement vs. general lack of interest in elmotos from the motorcycling public (not that either case helps your situation)?

I guess I knew in the back of my mind that this sort of thing might happen, given the developing-tech nature of this bike. I'm also not sure what Zero could reasonably do for us, as they are still partially surviving on VC and federal grant money. I do wish I had waited a year though, as I have only been able to ride about 1200 miles since I got my DS9 last April due to a job change. My fuel-savings justification is also taking a setback, as it looks like I'll have to make another 400-mile round trip to get a fork replaced.

I suspect I'll do as you are and hang onto it for awhile. It gets me around well enough, and it's still fun.

[cirrus pete]

Given the development curve these things are more analogous to pieces of tech than vehicles right now. The good news is that at least the product will still work for years. You cannot say the same thing about a high end desktop computer 5 or six years after you bought it. It won't run the latest/greatest software as software gets optimized for faster systems. But, your bikes won't suddenly lose compatibility with the roads! They only look dimmer against their newer siblings, so clearly your best bet is to drop off this site and remove the bookmarks for Zero's website for the next 7 years or so.  

Either that or ship your bike to Sweden to sell it.