You might consider a consignment arrangement if you're willing to give the process a few weeks to play out. Will probably do better than you would on a trade, that's if you don't want to do a private sale. I don't particularly enjoy buying and selling on the Craigslist route, for obvious reasons.
It ain't just Harley dealers and they rip off their own customers as well.
I was horrified when I distress sold my '06 Night Train to a Harley dealer. I'm glad I did because it paid for upgrades to my '93 Bronco. (I don't ride my F6B off road or in deep snow.)
HDs only hold their value if you don't ride them. At 60k miles I only got $12k for my 07 SG, but it was worth the loss to get the F6B.
I guess my SG was six years old but whatever. I knew the resale value wasn't gonna hold on the Honda but to me it's a long term bike.
If you keep it for many years it will be worth it.
True that....I have 55K on an Ultra and the value is down from approx. $36K...however it will never be worth less that $10 K..that is the value of H.D. Metric bikes... not so much .batman-smiley.
Add ons = 30% of original cost
" Truth is often deemed rude, blunt and to the point which is why so few make their friend " Freddy Hayler ..352-267-1553 Sanford, FLA Gutterman6000@Gmail.com
To me, while I am sure it came as a shock, it doesn't actually sound out of line.
#1 - As you said, upgrades in general are worth nothing, when I traded in my 2012 Suzuki C50 I had added a Batwing Fairing ($600) crash bars ($150) saddle bags ($100) Mustang Seat ($550) crashbar chaps ($125). Dealer didn't give a rip because they are personal preference and who knows if the next guy will be willing to pay ANY extra for them.
#2 - Yes, retail on the bike is $21k, however you can get one BRAND NEW for $17,500 as many on this board have shown (myself sort-of included, since mine was technically a demo with 650 miles on it). So if they are going for $17,500 new, then the Dealer is probably going to put it on the floor for $16 and take the first $15k that walks through the door. A $2k profit on a $13k gamble seems fairly reasonable to me.
#3 - I don't think this is actually indicative of what the resale value hold will be. Goldwings seem to lose a pretty decent chunk right away but then sit at that same value for 5-7 years.
I stripped as many add ons I could off the SG before the trade. Still have a few left but sold most to friends and on CL. Makes for good spending cash that the better half doesn't know about.