Value of a 1998 Honda VFR800 that needs work

To answer the question with out seeing it, $800 tops, that's if its moveable too, as in can be pushed. Overall the 5th is a great bike, but it's only as great as the condition too, bottom line it's a bike. it's man made and has had human interference, god only knows.

 

Hey RVFR, the bikes run, but look a bit rough. When I say "old" I mean the paint is faded and the plastics have some nicks and scuffs, and the worst part for me is the condition of the metal. The exposed aluminum is pitted and oxidized. Like the motor and frame and triple tree have that white chalky kinda look. The steel like the headers have rust. Obviously I'm not expecting perfection on an almost 20 year old bike, but I really don't think three grand for a bike that looks like it's lived outside for the last ten years is a good price. Lol
I hope to pick one up soon, there's not really a lot to choose from for sale around me.

 

From what you say about the condition of these bike , sounds like the sellers are just looking for some sucker to come along, walk away really fast, don't waste your hard earned on rubbish, plenty of good well maintained stuff left in the world. Just remember if they don't respect what is visible on the outside, they sure don't respect what you can't see

 

Yes! That is exactly how I feel about it.

 

If it sat outside for 2 years, the value to me is Nothing.

 

Here are some close to you and around that year for comparison. I did not list all. Play around with this and see if it gives you a better perspective.

http://cookeville.craigslist.org/mcy/5656122830.html


http://knoxville.craigslist.org/mcy/5593666127.html


http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/mcy/5632566806.html


http://nashville.craigslist.org/mcy/5602737183.html


http://greenville.craigslist.org/mcy/5634427786.html


https://asheville.craigslist.org/mcy/5609442376.html


https://auburn.craigslist.org/mcy/5653773617.html


http://tricities.craigslist.org/mcy/5606168510.html

http://www.searchtempest.com/search...minAsk=min&maxAsk=max&minYear=min&maxYear=max

 

Hey gigem, thanks for the links. I've gone to look at the second from last link, the one in tri cities and the pictures look amazing. My wife and I drove over an hour to see this bike. I wanted it real bad because the pictures look great, but in person, it's the worst one I've looked at. It's pitted and faded so bad, and covered in dirt and grass clippings. I told the guy "you must have kept this outside a lot". Only a few times he said. I call b.s. on that one. I'm really bummed about that one, I thought it would be in better condition.
The fourth one from the bottom in Asheville is the one I was supposed to pick up today, but he did not return my phone calls. I'm thinking he's probably out of town for the holiday. That's the bike I want. I'm just waiting on him to call me back and tell me to come get it! If for some reason this one doesn't work out, then I don't what I'll do. I've got my heart set on that one.

 

That 4th gen in Georgia looks wonderful! I might have check on that one too!

 

I bought mine for 900, and saw issues right out of the gates and thought it to be around 2-2500 to repair... ended up being around 3500...

So yeah not cheap but I wouldn't trade my 98 for anything...

 

I'll give you $800 for it sight unseen. You deliver it to The Heart of Dixie. See, people will buy it. I would enjoy fixing it up then riding it like I stole it. I'll even throw in a tour of my town. It's pretty cool actually.

 

I bought my 01 for 600, PO wanted 1600. I offered him 600 and he said hell no, after two months he called me back. Bike did not have fairings, front stay, headlights and brake lights, missing coil. Seat was torn. I still saw potential!
It took patience, but got it up and running in a few days, and more patience to get the rest of the items needed at a great price. Ebay and craigs! I invested a total of approx. 400
So I am very happy with my $1000 vfr800.
Patience is Key and also if you do the work!

 

I lucked out a few years ago and bought an always garaged 19,000 mile '99 in red with an akrapovic pipe for the grand total of $1500.00! Rode it home on Dec 7th as it was starting to snow. That winter I replaced the tires, serviced all fluids, serviced the air cleaner (K&N). The tires it had on it had some life left, but were mis matched, so I replaced them with my favored CONTI Road attacks (now 2's). It's now approaching 36,000 miles with NO problems, and out of my 3 bikes, it has become my favorite.....albeit, I changed my Kawasaki ZRX1200 to a low bar, took off the bikini fairing and went to a round headlight earlier this year, and it changed the character of the bike so much, I've been choosing
the "GREEN MONSTER" almost everytime. Nothing like a bottomless well of torque to keep me entertained. But, just last day off, I picked the Viffer, as it had been awhile since I'd ridden it, and fell back in love. What a privilege to have multiple scoots!

 

The dealers there must be better than the two I can choose from here. They won't touch anything more than 10 yrs old, aside from tyres and oil changes.

 

I don't mean to hijack this thread but because it has already ranged around quite a bit I'd like to ask a quick question:

What about the bike that represents the exact opposite of the "needs work" 1998 bike being discussed?

What would you be willing to spend on a 1998 VFR (5th gen) that absolutely, truly NEEDS NOTHING: low-miles (less than 30K), always garaged, perfect fairing plastics (no cracks or scratches), upgraded Regulator/Rectifier plus wiring, upgraded seat, upgraded windscreen, factory rear seat cowl, recently replaced chain+sprockets, recently serviced oil and coolant, nearly new tires and there's even more?

What would be a reasonable asking price for this two-wheeled unicorn?

 

I can't speak for other parts of the country because all sales are local but one rule of thumb is "you don't get more for the extras you added. You also don't get more for recently services components but you can count off for bad chain and bald tires. A perfect 5th gen is worth around $3000 around here and falling. Add $200 for farkles (maybe). While we know the VFR to be an awesome sport touring mount, the general public sees an aging and not terribly quick sport bike. Sport bikes resale value sucks.

 

Sounds like you drive a hard bargain (and by that I mean a really severe kick-in-the-jimmy type of bargain).

But here's a thought about the Farkles: The way I see it, if the farkle in question is something you would definitely do to the bike after you buy it, then it has value in your consideration of the price you would be willing to pay. If the farkle is something you wouldn't do or don't want on the bike, it doesn't have value in your consideration of the price.

 

I'd say somewhere between the $3000 and $3500 range. 5th Gens are pretty plentiful and I've seen tons of them for sale over the years with pretty low mileage.

 

I just posted a question about the worth of my Gen 4- 1996

Market is, as market does.

http://http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/mcy/5705247413.html

http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/mcy/5705247413.html

Mine has some problems, but it is well taken care of.

With farkles, I feel like it is going to sell for 1800. Depresses the hell out of me.
I do think the VFR is below the radar of the common rider.

The stories about a cycle being left outside for storage? - worth ZERO in my book.
Unless you are a decent wrench and enjoy projects :smile-new:
Then it is worth the cost of towing.

 

I never thought of myself as a real hard bargain driver type. I am a realist. Every year Honda releases a new batch of bikes and those bike start to depreciate as soon as they are sold. Every year last year's models deprecate too. It's just the way it is. We, as VFR aficionados see the value of these bikes differently than most. To the great unwashed they are just aging sport bikes. Accessories can help or hurt a sale. You can't as a lot of people do, tick off a list of accessories and add up their "added value." They don't actually add value unless you want them and that's when it gets tricky. Some people may not want a tricked out VFR and so will pass on the sale. Many dealers, if given the option, will take a used bike back to stock for this reason. They then sell the accessory on ebay.

There was a lady that came into the shop and she traded a really nice Honda 919 in on another bike. The 919 had a full set of Givi bags with top box. They offered to let her keep the bags since it didn't affect her trade in value but she declined. Go figure. I guess she didn't want to bother with it.