| Author | Message | ||
     Cletusberontwood |
Hey guys! New here, sitting in Iraq, ready to come home and hop on a Buell! Question: What is the better buy? A 2007 XB12s w/ less than 1,000 miles for $7,000 or.. the 2008 for going prices? Are the improvements going to be worth the extra ~$3,000? Any good-to-know stuff about either year would be greatly appreciated - as time is pretty limited here and I haven't had the time to do proper research. Thank you in advance! Craig | ||
| Glitch |
Thank you in advance! Oh no! Thank YOU for your service!!! If it were me I'd get the 08. DDFI2 No more TPS resets (trip to the dealer) Warranty You know all the miles on the new one are yours, no question on how the bike was treated. Again, Thanks! | ||
| Jeffroj |
Have you looked for an 07 leftover from a dealership, you can save a lot of money that way and still have full warranty. If it's far you can always make friends with a truck driver, or just pay the 5-600 to have it shipped, still saving a lot of money. | ||
| Js_buell |
I too would go with the 08. Someone here said this on a similar question, if your bike less 08 if you already have a xb not worth loosing money on the trade in. | ||
| Retrittion |
Depends -- what are your needs/wants? If you are looking for the best deal I would go with a leftover '06 or '07 -- I like the '08s and all but the price difference can be significant. If you want the newest and are not worried about the cost I would go '08 because they do have a couple very nice improvements over the previous years like Glitch pointed out. Either way you get a warranty, which is very good -- it gives you plenty of time to get to know the bike and then take over some/all of the servicing yourself and makes sure the dealership will deal with any kinks (rare but not unheard of) that crop up. Either way is great, its an XB after all. Stay safe and thanks for your service! | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
The 08's seem to be (no pun intended), glitchy. If the warranty is the same, I'd go 07. | ||
| Eicas |
I looked at all the changes done to the '08 models and decided that it was worth the extra cash, so although I could have saved some money by getting the '07, I bought the '08. A couple of thousand dollars more spread over 5 or 6 years ownership does not amount to that much more per year, and the resale value will be higher. Some of the changes done to the '08 model to the the crank pin, flywheel, lubrication pump and system, injection system, etc. can not be easily retrofitted. It is not that the '07 is inferior, but the '08 is better. When I bought my '08, I ended up spending about $1,000 more for the '08 than what a new '07 would have cost me. If I wanted to save some money, I would shop for a "cheaper" used one where you save 5 to 6K and it has any mods that you like. I have nearly always bought my new bikes in the winter and sold them late spring when the prices are the best. Bike prices usually begin to drop after October. While you decide, take care and come back safely. | ||
| Cletusberontwood |
Thank you all for the timely responses and kind words  Could someone give me the real world cost of an '08 XB12? I know the asking and the buying price can vary by up to 10%, so knowing this would surely make my decision easier. Also, I kind of like the security of having a tried and proven design, opposed to the latest and greatest that may prove to give me grief down the road. Thing is, having read your stories of 2008's with idling issues showing up already, is a little perturbing. I definitely wouldn't want to plunk down the extra 3k to be meet with, as of yet, unsolved issues. Having a 2007 - well, most of the bugs have already been figured out and addressed. Would I be wrong in thinking that the 2007 would be a cheaper and more reliable bet as a daily driver / cruiser? I don't plan on flogging this bike or even taking it to the track. Thanks all! Craig | ||
| Glitch |
It's hard to say really. Opinions here are kind of skewed. BadWeB's pool of owners isn't necessarily representative of all Buell owners. My local shop has seen only two XB9s come in for warranty work, my stator, and Dan's transmission. They couldn't give me a number on how many XB12s they've had to work on, they did say there were at least 4 engine replacements. Does that mean 9s are more reliable than 12s? No. I wouldn't hesitate buying an 08 XB12R, if it didn't include a divorce in the package. That being said, July they're announcing the 09 models, if you can wait that long, you may have even more choices. | ||
| Ulywife |
Craig - thank you for your service and good luck on your Buell search. If you're interested in meeting some "local" Buellers, pop over to Storm Fronts, Carolina Corner Carvers, and introduce yourself. | ||
| Cudajohn |
Cletus, I got you hooked up Brother. The guy I'm going through in Bahrain at the Military Auto Sales in the Exchange can hook you up with an '08 OR, or if you get back after July you can get an '09. You will get the Buell Military pricing. For me it is about $1100 off MSRP on '08 models. So that right there was your price difference on a left over. What happens is you arrange to buy the bike, put a small % down, or get a pre-approved loan (easy enough to do through Armed Forces Credit Union or in my case Navy Federal Credit Union), they will give you a VIN, the bike is built and then shipped to wherever you want to pick it up in CONUS. I am not sure if it is any HD&Buell or if it has to be a Buell dealer. They have been doing this for a long time. My Dad's buddy ordered a 69 Cobra Jet Mustang in Vietnam. He still has it to this day too. All you have to do to qualify is fax them some kind of letter or a copy of your orders showing that you were deployed overseas for more than 90 days. Barry said he can hook you up from Bahrain. I would think Ali Al Saleem or Balad would have a Military Auto Sales rep too. Get an '08 for the price of an 07 leftover or later an 09 for the price of an 09 l/o. I haven't heard many bad things about the new fuell injection, DDFI III. If there are any growing pains they should have all the small issues resolved by later 08 models. They only made the XB12R better, Cletus. These 08 changes were just improvements on 07's and down. No more TPS!!!!! Here's the contact: Barry Murphy navyautobarry@yahoo.com or navyautobarry@gmail.com | ||
| Reepicheep |
If I had a choice, I would take the 08 in a heartbeat over the 07. Same with the 06 over the 05 (better engine bearings). That being said, my 05 has been incredibly reliable and amazingly cheap to own, and I am over 23k miles now. | ||
| Cletusberontwood |
Cudajohn: Thanks for the heads up.. They actually have a shop down here in Talil - however, they just shut down for "major technical difficulties". No idea what that means. I did decide to for-go the 2007, and think on it a little longer. Really, I'm just holding my breath to see what's developed for the 2009's. A new bike would be nice with all of the upgrades and such - plus I would like to purchase a new one to help out our economy.. but I definitely am not getting a new one if they haven't squared away the DDFI system - 30 MPG is just absurd. Thanks for the thoughts all! |
