If you are a regular follower of this insightful forum here at SnowTrax TV and Supertrax Magazine you’ve no doubt read some or all of our opinion pieces on what the market, during a worldwide pandemic, looks like.
I won’t belabor the point here – the market has been crazy for both new and late model snowmobiles through the entire fall sales season.
People want to go snowmobiling this winter and are prepared to lay down serious jing to achieve that goal. What’s really interesting to me is the amount of cha-ching sellers are asking and buyers are paying for late model snowmobiles.
I won’t even comment on the prices buyers are paying for the limited number of new MY 2021 iron. Let me qualify this description. There are almost no new unsold snowmobiles in the market either side of the border. If you can find one, how much are they selling for? Full pop, my friends. And everything else that can be charged on top of it.
So here’s an observation that Yamaha owners in particular will be happy to learn about. 4-stroke sleds are undeniably leading the way in resale value.
Recent data indicates two-year-old Yamaha 4-stroke models are bringing up to ninety percent of original MSRP. That’s good news for Yamaha owners and even better news for Yamaha dealers looking for late model Yamaha trade-ins.
One might be inclined to say this kind of resale value is COVID linked and isn’t sustainable. Maybe… but here’s what we think. Sure COVID is playing a part in all powersports product values, however, the sustained escalation of Yamaha 4-stroke snowmobile resale prices looks to us like a trend. Lets face it, 4-strokes bend the life span curve of the modern snowmobile in a pretty profound way.
Simply put, 4-strokes last a long time. Check out the asking prices for 2003 to 2010 RX-1, Apex and Vector models. Most, if not all Yamaha’s of this vintage are bringing amazing bucks and almost all of these sleds have what most would consider high miles (when compared to a 2-stroke). Many 2-stroke sleds are due for costly engine work at the 10,000 mile mark while 4-strokes are barely hitting their stride.
Some in the industry are saying a 4-stroke sled is a better investment – knowing you can roll over your sled every couple years for pretty ridiculously small change. We wouldn’t disagree. In fact, its been 20 years since we’ve seen resale values like late model 4-strokes are commanding right now.
Keep in mind, even though 4-stroke sleds are – in some model comparisons – more expensive when new than a comparable 2-stroke, the extra jing you lay down for the 4-stroke is increasingly becoming a safer investment.
Clearly, 4-stroke resale is the envy of the sno-mo-biz right now.
