The Used Market Is Thriving Because People Can't Afford New Motorcycles

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Photo by: Harley-Davidson

By: Jonathon Klein

Jul 20, at 8:39am ET

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I don't know if you're aware of this, but being able to afford anything these days feels like an uphill battle. And that's largely because it is. Gas prices are up, as are grocery bills, rent, mortgages, utilities, and everything else a person needs to survive. That's also the case with vehicles, as new vehicle prices—whether they're powersports vehicles or normie vehicles like cars—have shot up. All of which has occurred during a time when wages have remained stagnant. And have been stagnant for the last two decades.

So it should come as no surprise that the new vehicle market has basically become nonexistent, while the used market has shot through the roof. Yet, for some reason, Powersports Business' latest article seems amazed by how the powersports Q1 sales were driven by the used market. I feel like that should've been more obvious given (waves hands at the state of the world) how things are going right now?

Yet, here we are.

The article titled "Pre-owned market finds its groove in Q1," basically reads like someone discovering some wild new science, stating, "If pre-owned powersports were its own OEM, it would likely be the industry’s top-selling brand. And that’s not hyperbole."

It goes on to recount how pre-owned sales dominated the industry's Q1, and how dealerships should forge new used-specific paths to cater toward those customers. "As dealers continue to navigate a market still adjusting to the post-pandemic hangover of excess inventory, higher interest rates, and changing consumer behavior," the outlet relays, "many are finding that used units have become one of the healthiest and most profitable segments in the dealership." Please, do tell why there's "excess inventory, higher interest rates, and changing consumer behavior"?

I will, cause shit's expensive and no one has $20k to drop on a new motorcycle or $45k to spend on a new side-by-side. Between tariffs raising the price of everything, gas prices being what they are, and again, the American people not seeing a true wage increase since the late 1990s so as to keep up with inflation, the average person is being pushed out of the new market.

What do you think?

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But see, people still want these items, which then pushes them toward used offerings. It's simple math, but its math that points to a problem. The used market can only be as big as the new market, and if the new market shrinks, so does the used market. And in the near future, due to the supply side of things being smaller, the used market will become just as expensive as the new market, and then price everyone out of everything.

Obviously, this isn't a dealership problem to solve. But it's one they'll have to tackle in the near future if something isn't done on a macro scale. Yet, again, the used market is hot not because people don't want powersports vehicles, but because they can't afford new ones. Say it out loud already, and quit tiptoeing around it.