If all of us stuck together and weren’t in some huge bind and in a hurry financially. We could bring the prices of used machines back up. But there is always a few azz hats that just “HAVE TO GET RID OF IT!!”
To get their next sled, the same sled they rode last year with bold new graphics!!!!!
But newer has be to be better right!!!!!
Then they finance that sled and put a turbo on a credit card. Bla bla bla. More mods.... bla bla.
All to try and sell it before next years snow checks come out. You know, just to be a bad azz!
It really really sucks to build a well thought out sled........ and then your competing against a kid that’s a farmer or sponsored and writes it all off as a “business expense” and makes the normal guys turboed, new skid, new shocks, 36” A -arms, skis, seat, an absolute garage sale!!! It doesn’t matter weather it’s big bore, turbo, carbon fiber, tiTanium. All these sleds are worth nothing because some jack azz needed the money to start his “next best thing”.
It’s really CHIT!! If we all stick to our guns and hold prices up a bit then we could all benefit from it.
The sled market is ridiculous for a reason. And it’s not the sleds fault. It’s the people selling them.
They think their all just bad azzes And money is nothing. It’s crap and it should stop. A big bore sled or turboed sled when done correctly should add value not reduce it.
As a farmer I can tell you it's been a very long time since anyone has tried to write off a sled as a business expense. Also, since there's no mountains anywhere near here, the Mtn sled market is pretty soft, even for low mileage units & new carry overs. Places like Country Cat have great deals on mtn sleds because of this. I bought an M8 from them & it will probably always be the cheapest brand new machine I'll ever buy. They're a big successful business for a reason. They actually have INVENTORY. I've been on a Polaris for years now & still choose to do business there because I've had such good luck there. Bought my avy bag there on sale & they instructed me how to use it.
The guys financing a brand new sled every year are only hurting themselves. There's a glut of really nice mtn sleds out there but the manufacturers created it, not the customers. Mid season, early releases, spring order only LE models & spring order only options, then the dealer gets an inventory of "in season" models for the showroom. They created they're own demand by doing this. You can pick up a plain RMK brand new in March or February for drastically less than if you ordered it or even if you bought it in November/ December of that model year. Years of low snow here in the Midwest have led to a large supply of lower mileage newer mtn sleds. Deal with it. It gives more people a chance at enjoying the sport like the rest of us. $15k MSRP is pretty unattractive to me, let alone someone who wants to start sledding. But a 2 or 3 year old machine for $7-$8k and possibly warranty? Why the hell not, if that's what you're looking for?
As for accessories, hard work & time adding value.....NO
Never has someone I sold something to had the exact same taste as me & not changed a thing or dickered for a lower price. If I want to upgrade, I can sell my sled for whatever I see as reasonable in this market. I would have loved to have gotten more for my 505 mile 2015 RMK, but it's just not there. Less than a $1000 in mild accessories or mods maintains a sleds value, but a turbo or a big bore with more than 500 miles on it? Good luck. Why take on the liability of someone else's warranty voiding work AND pay through the nose for it? You'd have to be stupid or ignorant to do so. Accessories and modifications bring sled prices down because it's hard to trust heavily modified, used machines. It's simply the market we are in, & it'll probably get worse as turbos become easier to own.
Now.....as for the hijacking of the thread again, sorry.
I rode a brand new '17 Mtn Cat 162 up against my '15 Pro 155 in Cooke City last December & was VERY impressed. I was pretty seriously considering going back to Cat this season. I can only assume the 18 is as good or better than the one I rode. Hopefully we'll be able to demo a new '18 next week on our trip, as one of our riding buddies' father-in-law is a Cat dealer & is pretty good about getting machines out for us to try.
