Hi to everyone & help

New to the forum and just wanted to say hi to everyone. Quite new to biking also, (CBT August), currently have 125cc while doing DAS.

After much deliberation and opinion from just about everyone I've decided that after passing DAS (1st time fingers crossed) going to take the plunge and buy a CAT. Friends/instructors/dealers all agree this is probably one of the best 1st "big" bikes. Whilst it will be subject to riding a few I think it is the way to go.

My question now is how much should I be paying for one. I've seen them from bargain to rip off and everywhere in between and I'm tring to get a feel for what I should be paying. Shop near me has a mint one for £1995, (98 model) 25000 miles yet I've seen them advertised for less. I intend to go dealer as I'll be looking to trade my current bike. Does £2k for a 13 yr old sound about right or is it top heavy, as I said it is in showroom condition.

Your thoughts please.

Hi & welcome to the forum. You would expect to pay more from a dealer with warranty on. £2000 sounds ok to me if it is very nice condition.
After an accident earlier this year my insurance company valued my 2001 model with 18000 miles on at £2950.

Paul.

Hi and welcome!

I bought a cat as my first bike and iv gotta say i defently made the right choise, it does everything you need it to do, its fast, comfy, good on fuel and looks great.

Mine is a 98 model with 30k on the clock, some service history, Fuel can, it has a few scraches, a small dink in the tank and a small crack in the fairing, i payed £1100 for mine, hope this helps.

Good luck with your DAS!

Cheers,
Simon.

Hello and welcome.

Parkers used motorcycle price guide used to be a good toe in the water guide, but I can't seem to find the link to the bike section anymore . . . So sorry no help there then on pricing Good hunting

£2k is strong dealer price for a '98 bike. Mine is a '97 bike with less miles and in fantastic condition and I'd expect to get £1,200 for it at the most.

The dealer might do a deal with you anyway - I doubt he gave much for it as a p/ex.

Have you seen the one on here thats for sale??

Hi mate - welcome on board.

Hope you find the right bike for the right price.

Completed listings on ebay, pistonheads might be a good place to search for price guide.

Cheers
Rosco

Oh my god just had a look at ended items on ebay, didn't know you could do that!! I'm amazed at how cheap the Thundercats have been going for, I was really set on paying that £1995 for a 1998 model, it seems there is a 2002 model with less miles gone for less and the 97/98 ones are fetching around £850 - £900!! defo shocked, could grab myself a real deal here

Ebay is your friend!....most of the time lol.

Simon.

Ebay, gumtree, pistonheads or on here - save you a fortune on the Stealer prices.

You might be able to advertise yours on the same and also try your Training Company - I know mine used to have a for sale board and best place to punt a 125cc

Oh yeah and welcome aboard

The bottom has fallen out the market, however Thundercat's have always tended to suffer lower than 'real' value prices.

I got a 2003 reg 'Cat and still had change from £1800, reality is it was first on the road in 2004 - so even a bigger bargain- actually manufactured in 2001, not a problem really.

It's the low mileage hardly used older bikes that would worry me, my first 'Cat has done near if not really done 100k miles, still good for all the good stuff. OK might not be showroom, but I'm not into polish and admire - rather ride and enjoy, and it is not in any mood to be an old 'Cat and slack off -still a kitten with experience in many ways.

A mint bike is a good seller, but really unless you plan to only ride on a Sunny Sunday and not go too far you'll be spending money which will depreciate very, very quickly.

I'd view dealers with a healthy respect, see what your current bike would fetch - the dealer is in for £500-£800 at least, add that to your bike value - worth it?

My observation of the market is there is a barrier around the £1500 mark, '96 bikes competing with 2003 model for the same money, as long as you are not in a rush, you can land a really good deal.

Oops, sorry, welcome

I'd like to think I'm in no rush but the truth is I want to get through my DAS as soon as possible and get on a bigger bike. My 125 is a 2011 Sym XS125 which was bought brand new from the dealer where the expensive CAT is. It was £1600 new and paid £750 for it 6months old. I know I'll get a good trade in price for it but also know they don't tend to sell for much privately so I'm stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. Think I need to let my head rule my heart and hold out for the best deal although this will be at the expense of getting out and about quickly on my first big bike. I've waited 38 years but now becoming impatient!!

Well I'm going against everything I'd previously thought about buying a bike before passing my test and going to view one this morning. It's a 2002 with 13000 miles on, looks clean from the pictures and he's asking silly money. It's in autotrader but I saw it in the unsold section on eBay so I reckon I can get a bit knocked off it. It's advertises for £1800 which to be honest is £200 less than I was going to pay for an older bike with higher mileage. Wish me luck with some negociating!!

Oops!! I've only gone and done it, just shook hands on a 2003 cat, stunning, going back to puck it up this afternoon, it was a steal, my friend who came with me said it was well worth the money and feels it's in excellent condition and he'd be proud to have that as a first bike!!

Excellent. Well done.

Hope you have many happy rides out with your new steed

Ride Safe

Well done

Result

Just thought I'd give you a quick update, I have my mod 1 prep this Saturday followed by my mod 1 test next Thursday. Instructor feels as long as I pass mod 1 they will put me straight in for mod 2 as they are sure I am ready. Even had a disaster lesson in the p*ssing down rain a couple of weeks ago and the instructor said that even taking into account a few "faults" it was still a competant enough ride to pass a mod 2.

Since then ridning has come on leaps and bounds so fingers crossed I could be taking the girl out in a matter of a couple of weeks.

Just bricking it about the mod 1 but I'm sure more will become apparent during my prep on Saturday.

If anyone has any thoughts or tips on Mod 1 and the swerve test please let me know.

well done and welcome to the club,, you wont regret it, cat is ace at anything and is really good at going easy and safe to learn on ,, enjoy!!!!!

Pete

Thanks, I just wish I could take it out now, getting really twitchy throttle wrist with excitement....can't wait but know I have to, not breaking the law for the sake of (hopefully) a week or so!!

Just thought I'd let everyone know today I had my Mod 2 test and if I just say after I got home I phoned the insurance company to get the cover "on risk" and went out for my first ride on "The Mistress", it'll give you some idea how the test went. Grinning from ear to ear, this emocon doesn't do it justice

Well done!!

Congratulations, well done.

Good work chappy - ride safe but have fun

Well done. It does it every time for me.