Buying a new toy (boat, snowmobile, bike, ATV etc)

At some point you have been out riding, either as a kid with your dad (my case) or buddy who took you out for the weekend or some other event. In any case, the infection has begun.  You think that it would be really cool to get a four wheeler, and you and your special someone will go riding.  Or perhaps this will make a great family sport, or all my buddies spend the weekends playing.  Then thoughts of renting sucks; you have to chase down the equipment. sign all the agreements, return by certain time etc, etc.  These are the first signs that you are in trouble.  If you are smart you will spend your money on a shrink and mood altering drugs.  If you are like me and not smart you start shopping on  KSL.com, visiting power sport shops on your lunch breaks, watching YouTube videos of other people who have posted their riding chronicles,  talking to your wife about how much fun it would be to go riding.  You convince her that she would also enjoy the sport. "By the way I really do love being with you..Please be my recreational companion." (These may have been the exact words I spoke to her 20 years ago when we bought our first ATV).
This is how it all started for me, fond memories of bikes, snowmobiles, boats and skiing from a young boy.  Then as a young married man making $7.00 bucks an hour and building a house on the foothills on a mountain, that just needed riding.....

Before you purchase any power sport toy, you must first do this test:

1. Get 1000 bucks in cash
2. Enter a water closet with a high volume flusher
3. Toss the cash in the toilet
4. flush it down

If all the cash disappears and you think, cool did you see how it swirls, then you know you are ready for a power sport.  If you are at all pissed about the loss of cash, well then consider scrap booking and switch to a different blog.

After you pass the first test and you are ready to purchase a new toy, or used, perhaps the following will help. 

• First rule of Power sports you can probably guess from the ramblings of so far of this post... CASH is king.  Make sure that you have cash on hand for all deals that you want to make.  Either with dealers or private Lister's.  Cash will close a deal, a promise will not.
• Second rule of power sport shopping.  Be willing to walk a way.  When you have cash in hand, you don't have to spend it.  If the deal isn't a screaming deal, walk a way.  In today's market somebody will always be strapped for cash and need to liquidate, even dealers.
• Third rule, see the first two rules.  In order for the first two rules to work, the cash must be yours. not borrowed and by the way did you pass the test above?  If you can't pass the test, rules don't apply.  When the cash is yours, and spending won't jeopardize your mortgage payment/rent, food, clothes for the kids, tuition, church offerings,  debt obligations and everything else.  You are not shopping with a position of power.  In other words you have justified a purchase with flawed reasons of "I deserve it" or " that payment is not too bad"  In this mind set you will over spend because you lack patience.
• Forth rule.  Know what you want.  If you are brand picky, as most riders are.  Know the features and costs of all options.  Years that manufacturers had quality problems, and what those problems are.  These can be used to your advantage.  For example: Ski Doo has problems with the top end in motors.  At 2500 miles the thing needs to be rebuilt.  If you have the skills, this can be a strong lever.  However if you do not have the skills to rebuild a motor this can push a deal from a good deal to a bad one.  Sometimes a repair turns bigger than you anticipated.  Another example.  I purchased a 2007 Ski Doo in 2010. The sled that needed a top end.  When I tore into the motor I discovered that a piece of the piston had punched a hole in the case.  My screaming good deal, turned into a fair deal.  I had purchased the sled for 2k, and ended up dumping another 2k into a crate motor. A total 4k spent for a sled that was worth 5K at the time.  Still not a bad deal, just not the screaming deal that I had planned on.
• Fifth rule. Offer silly amounts of money less than the asking prices, using cash in hand.  You'll be surprised how many times you'll find the real price with this method.  For example, I was working a deal with man that was asking 8500 for a sled.  I hit him at 5K.  He said no way.  Later that week he called to close the deal.  Here was the key, it was summer time, he needed cash, and I didn't need a sled.  I had the negotiating power.  TIP:  the first person to toss out a number is at a disadvantage during negotiating.  If I tell you 5k, you know that I have hit you high.  If you offer me a number, I may have been willing to sell for less.

Perhaps if interest is shown in the post, I can add more details... let me know.
  My latest deal Brand new out of the create  Ski Doo 800 XP, with T-motion skid Snowmobile for 6100.00  This is from a local dealer with all warranties.

Thanks,

Thanks to my wife for buying another toy, SHE IS THE BEST.

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