Honda has led the January sales rush for the past three years and there is good reason to believe they will get the sales rush going again.
January is a big motorcycle sales month as manufacturers/importers offer discounts to get rid of stock they didn’t sell at Christmas time.
They are also keen to clear last year’s models to make way for this year’s models.
Sales rush
Sales figures for 2018 are due out in the next few days and Honda is tipped to once again be number one.
But that won’t stop them offering discounts to keep stock moving. That’s probably why they’re number one!
Other manufacturers are bound to quickly follow suit.
It’s great news if you want to buy a new bike, but not so great if you just bought one and then find you could have saved hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars by waiting for January.
Other big sales months in the year seem to be June with end-of-financial-year sales and July when manufacturers and distributors want to get the new financial year off to a good start.
Discounts and bonuses
Most manufacturers don’t offer direct discounts as it looks like they are devaluing their products.
Instead, they may offer free on-road costs which can save you up to $1500 depending on the bike.
Other offers can include free first service, accessories or merchandise.
Honda offers what they call “Honda Dollars” which means you can choose to spend that money on Honda products in the store where you buy the bike or take it as a cash back offer on the price of the bike.
Let’s make a deal
Since motorcycle sales are expected to be down across the board given the poor performance at the three-quarter mark last year, most dealers will be keen to make deals.
So even if your preferred motorbike isn’t offered at a discount or with some sort of bonus, you should be able to score a special deal.
Just make sure you stand your ground and don’t be suckered into deals that involve finance or insurance.