Is Diamond Jim still cashing in?

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So two 2008 Harley Davidson police cruisers are magically worth $0 (Document:Harleydud ).

Actually, I spoke to a Harley dude who auction valued them at about $10-12,000 each. So how did they suddenly become worth nothing on trade-in? Was this done so they could not be auctioned? And once they are traded in for $0 does that mean when the city buys two new ones, they will get NO discount on the trade-in? And what will J & L Harley-Davidson do with them?

This is a shady deal all the way around, someone is cashing in at taxpayer expense.

Posted in: SF City Council, Sioux Falls

10 Thoughts on “Is Diamond Jim still cashing in?”

  1. Rea on December 2, 2014 at 11:12 am said:

    Book value is an accounting term that means the asset is fully depreciated. (Vehicles typically have a 5 year depreciation life.) It means that on the city financial statements they show at zero value, which is not a reflection on actual value. When they are traded in, any discount they get for the trade-in shows as a gain on the city financial statements.

  2. Rea on December 2, 2014 at 11:13 am said:

    At least, that’s my understanding of the document.

  3. l3wis on December 2, 2014 at 11:50 am said:

    Rea, thanks for clarifying, I did think it was ODD that they wouldn’t auction something instead of valuing it at $0. But would be curious what the city gets on trade-in on the bikes. Hopefully someone asks tonight.

  4. LJL on December 2, 2014 at 6:38 pm said:

    Some good reporting work DL.

  5. Moses on December 3, 2014 at 7:24 am said:

    Why do we need Motorcycles any way, especially with the emergency eq we have today.

  6. Detroit Lewis on December 3, 2014 at 10:49 am said:

    I see the trade-in value was $7,800 dollars, I wonder if one of the over 20 accountants in the Finance Department even bothered to research if that was a solid number.

  7. LJL on December 3, 2014 at 3:59 pm said:

    I would guess high miles and it sounds like a reasonable trade in price. These vehicles should be on public auction and not traded.

    Are the new bikes out for bid?

  8. l3wis on December 3, 2014 at 8:26 pm said:

    That is the issue LJL, why not auction the bikes off? Harley’s don’t depreciate that much. I also heard that the bikes only put on about 3k a year in miles, that is only 18k miles. I have some guesses, but talking to a couple of Harley guys about it, they think they could get $10-12K for each of them in an auction. The police bikes are actually sought after, and get regular maintenance, so I am guessing they are in pretty good shape. Shit, I saw a cushman with flat tires, a broken windshield and broken motor bring $600 at the last city auction.

  9. teatime on December 4, 2014 at 9:27 am said:

    Trade in price vs. auction price. It may have something to do with the price of the new motorcycle. Dealers love used equipment as they are big sellers.

  10. LJL on December 4, 2014 at 5:53 pm said:

    $7400 is trade in book price. Harleys haven’t held their value very well in the last 10 years. http://www.kbb.com/motorcycles/harley-davidson/flhp-road-king-police/2008-harley-davidson-flhp-road-king-police/trade-in/

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