It sounds like you got two good deals, bdropped: interest rate and insurance. I'd like to use you as an example for yoassizmine.
For the example, let's say that you paid $3,500 out the door for your Ninja 250. And let's say that you put 20% down, and financed the rest for 2 years at 4.9%. Let's also say that half of your insurance cost is collision and comprehensive. Now let's compare all of that to buying a $2,000 used Ninja 250. For this comparison, suppose that you also spend $500 on gear.
Total cost over 2 years:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . new . . . . . used
purchase price . . .$3,500.00 . $2,000.00
down % . . . . . . . .20% . . . . .100%
down $ . . . . . . . . $700.00 . . $2,000.00
finance . . . . . . . . $2,800.00
rate . . . . . . . . . . .4.90%
term, years . . . . . 2
pmt . . . . . . . . . . .$122.71
total . . . . . . . . . . .$3,645.15 .$2,000.00
insurance per year $500.00 . . $250.00
insurance total . . . $1,000.00 . $500.00
gear . . . . . . . . . . .$500.00 . . $500.00
total cost . . . . . . . $5,145.15 . $3,000.00
That's a pretty big difference, but you do get something for buying new. You get a bike that no one has abused. You get a bike in showroom condition. You get a warranty, and probably no unexpected repairs. And you get collision and comprehensive insurance. So I'm not trying to say that it's always bad to buy new. I'm just saying that it's going to cost you. You might look at the numbers and say, "Heck, it's only five grand for a brand spanking new ride, and I don't have to worry about anything? Where do I sign?" If you have a good job or lots of savings, then that's fine for you. But if you're just starting out, and you're poor, and you need basic transportation, then you don't need to be spending the extra money to buy new.
Now suppose that at the end of the two years you want to figure out how much the ride has cost you. Maybe you don't like motorcycling after all. Or maybe you want to upgrade to a ZX-6R. Your used Ninja 250 will hold it's value pretty well. Let's suppose that it's now worth $1,500. But that new one dropped in value a bit, down to $2,000 (it's a used bike now).
total cost . . . . . . . . $5,145.15 . $3,000.00
value of bike at end $2,000.00 . $1,500.00
net expenses . . . . . $3,145.15 . $1,500.00
monthly cost . . . . . .$131.05 . . .$62.50
So you can see that the average monthly cost of a new Ninja 250 is more than twice the average monthly cost of a used one. That's why I think that for most people it's smarter to buy used.
That doesn't mean that bdropped made a bad choice. He got a newer bike, after all. It just means that he spent more than if he had bought a used bike. If he has the money to spend, then good for him. Have fun with it.
Curt