Need some opinions from some of our more mechanically inclined Members please … phoned about an ’07 S40 for sale locally yesterday evening and quizzed the owner with the usual bout mileage (3200kms = 1988mi), condition (excellent mechanically & cosmetically … except where the owners rain pants had burned onto the muffler), maintenance history … and here’s where I went hmmmmm?? Asked the owner if the Bike had had regular maintenance, service, oil changes, etc. She tells me no, the Bike had never been back to the dealer at all during the warranty period (which expired this past April) and the Bike has yet to have an oil change. I mention to her that the  initial 1000km (600mi) warranty check and oil change is THE most important service one can do on a new motorcycle! She just kinda poo poo’d that observation as being too picky. I then asked her if her asking price ($5000CDN) was flexible and she said NO!!

In the opinion of the wrench-heads here, has this lack of initial service (and especially the lack of the 1st oil change) caused damage or compromised the longevity of this Bike’s engine?

Does she seem the type to hot rod around town??   I'm not sure how you could word it in a conversation but you should probably find out if she was the only rider or if "friends" took it for rides too.  I've noticed that "friends" have a tendency to see how far they can push the bike....

As for mechanical issues:

Isn't the valve adjustment one of the big reasons for the first maintenance???  Don't they get sloppier?  Dosen't sloppy valve (wide gap) mean less power?  If so, you should be ok.  If I have it backwards and they tighten up, then ask for her to meet you at your MC shop for compression tests.  

As for oil,  you should be ok.    It's a one year old bike in Canada.  You get what , 4 or 5 months of riding.....  Definitely an Oil change & filter are due...

Is $5K CDN a good price there?????

couple of points to ponder...

She obviously doesn't give a sh!t about maintenance.  Didn't do 1st maitenance, didn't even do oil change.

She obviously doesn't want to dicker.
What's blue book in Canadian?
1st service is expensive, ask you dealer for cost and deduct it from BB.
Is she don't go with that, turn around phart and leave.
If she's not willing to deal, you're better off buying new.  Or at least somewhere else.

I sold my '92 and just bought a used '07 with 3,300KM on it. Paid $4300 and it is in excellent condition, dealer serviced. My local dealer wanted $7200.00 for a new '08 - $5700 + PDI, Freight, +taxes.  There are dealers in Ontario that are selling '08's for $5200 and one in Ottawa that has a demo for $4999.00 with a full warranty. That's the best price I have seen.

$5000.00 is steep without the 1st service having been done. Ask how much she paid for it - all in.

From her $5000C:

Subtract the maintence costs that she did not do, add in the cost of you having to do the oil change plus clean the plug, and all other items that have clogged up, and then give her that figure.
(My estimate was $3400C not including any needed new parts.)

If she refuses to budge, that $5K is paying for something else; like maybe the repair bill for her CAR that she never got the oil changed in...

i agree with vtail on this one. if this were to cause damage (i'm not saying it cant) youd think there would be alot more junk bikes for sale, not old junk either, new junk. i'm sure alot of new owners don't go back in for the first service. and if its free i'm sure the dealerships arent calling and reminding them.

Currently the US Dollar and the Canadian Dollar are trading on par .  1 for 1.

You can buy a brand new one in Seattle from a dealer for $3900 according to posts on this forum.  Not sure what you would pay in taxes getting it across the border but that price seems way high to me.

Hmmm ... all thoughts to ponder ... and I really appreciate all of your input!

With the Kanuck buck and the Yankee greenback essentially on par, it blows my mind that there is still a significant difference between Canadian and American MSRPs for vehicles ... I know we don't have the volume of market up here that you guys in the U.S. do, but we shouldn't have to pay $1.5K-$2.0K more for an equivalent m/c!!

Seen some delicious deals on late model, low milage LS650s of flea-bay in the U.S. (also EX250 Ninja's ... which look like a really COOL little Bike!) ... it's a lot easier to import a Bike into Canada from the U.S. nowadays than it used to be ... but for me is not feasible because of shipping $ and/or travel distances involved ...

The deals you 2 Ontarians got at the Ottawa dealership were great! A bit far again for me ... Halifax, N.S. is about the limit to make picking up a Bike out of Province worthwhile ...

Agreed, $5K seems steep for the local '07 ... esp. since she's somewhat neglected it!

Still looking!!