go easy on me - i'm new.

[vsnizzle]

I'm actually looking for advice on how/where to sell our bike. We've got a 2011 white/black/red 250R that we just can't give the proper attention to. It sits in our garage neglected and whines at me every time I walk out there for a pair of shoes. I can't take the guilt of not riding it anymore, and need to find it a nice loving home. It's got somewhere around 1,000 miles on it, and has been dropped/dealer repaired twice. Both drops were from a stopped and standing position - once in the driveway, and once at a red light, but both equally embarrassing. Despite those minor f-ups, it's in fantastic condition and garage-kept. On that note - where do I sell this thing, and how? Do I let potential buyers test drive it? I'm really hesitant about doing that. But who would buy something without trying it on first? And do people actually pay with cash for this sort of thing? Because I'm not about to take a chance on checks. Does someone come along and say "I want that" and give me cash and I hand them the title? I've never done this before so I really don't know how I'm supposed to sell this thing. So like I said, please don't judge - I really don't know what I'm doing. Prime riding season is upon us here in southcentral PA, and I don't want to miss an opportunity....

[TnNinjaGirl]

@subxero near you?

[csmith12]

Welcome Valerie!

[vsnizzle]

Thank you for the kind welcome!

[Yarhj]

Welcome to the forum, Valerie!

As far as I can tell, most people only allow test rides if the buyer has cash for the purchase on them, since the potential for theft or damage is very high with a motorcycle test ride. Basically, you get the price squared away, the buyer gives you the cash, and you give them the key to the bike (some people also draw up a temporary bill of sale at this point). If they bring back the bike and it's in the same condition it was at the start of the day, then they can have their money back if they decide they don't want it. If they bring it back in pieces you can hand them the title to the great fixer-upper they just purchased.

Definitely don't take a check. If they feel weird about carrying that much money around, you can meet them at a bank and you can carry out the whole transaction in the parking lot.

As to who in their right mind would buy a motorcycle without test riding it -- I did! When I bought my bike I looked it all over to make sure nothing was obviously damaged, and had the owner ride it around at parking lot speeds, shifting up and down, to make sure it was actually working as intended. I didn't actually want to do a test ride, as I didn't have much riding experience yet, and the odds of dropping it in the parking lot were too high (and I would only be able to tell if something was grossly wrong with the bike -- like if the front wheel fell off, or the gas tank caught fire, or the handlebars were made of cheese).

[NevadaWolf]

I have found that the DMV hates extra work so they like folks to get things right the first time and so provide a wealth of information. Here's PA's: http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/motorVehi.../selling.shtml

Looks like while it is as simple as signing off the title (if you are the only owner) you need to get it notarized. i'd call the DMV to check the exact steps they need you to do.

This may or may not help but it was my experience when i bought my bike.

I saw it listed on craigslist and contacted the seller. We agreed to meet at his place so I dragged my dad along both for a second pair of eyes and a driver for the car should i buy it. The seller had his brother also there.

I brought the listed price in cash with me.

I did a walk around and listened when he fired the bike up. Asking for a test ride, I don't remember giving the seller the cash to hold, but left the money with my dad who stayed with the seller. All i did was a few laps of the street in front of his house as I was terrified of dropping the bike before I had bought it.

After a few minutes, returned to his driveway and haggled a bit on price (got him down a bit and he tossed in frame sliders!) then handed over the cash and he signed over the title to me. My dad and I raced down to the DMV while I was on the phone with my insurance. Had title, proof of coverage, and registration fees in hand when I got to the window and was able to register the bike and hand over the title to be reissued under my name.

Returned to the seller, put my shiny new plate on, and rode away.


I do tend to have a lot of faith in folks so i was ok leaving the bike with him after i had bought it, but others may want to bring a trailer to haul it away as soon as they do.

[allanoue]

Post it on craigslist with 3 or 4 picks showing the fairings on both sides.
Say in person cash only test ride with cash in your hands.
Go to one of these places with the buyer
http://www.yellowpages.com/chambersb.../tag-and-title

If you have AAA office near by go there

keep your plates

Easy

[subxero]

I live not to far away but not close.

You really have 2 options, sell to private buyer or just sell it to a dealer.

1st scenario -
Private buyer. You will generally get a little more cash out of it but you have more work to do and it can take time, how much? days...weeks... years... never. Set a price you are comfortable with that isn't crazy high and gauge interest and go from there. No interest over a week or two is a sign you should probably come down a bit and then wash rinse repeat.

You can list on craigslist for free or other places for some money, your call. I feel craigslist is fine for bikes especially cheap ones, try listing it in several different locations around your area to get larger audience. Put as much useful info in the ad as possible anticipate questions buyer might ask. Regardless of info in ad people will still ask questions already answered in the ad, apparently people can't read.

Test rides for anyone with cash in hand and a valid license with M endorsement and gear, you crash it you bought it.

Cash only

never give out your address, for ad list generic zip code of a close by area, never meet at your house, never meet alone, If you are a woman seller, always take a manly man with you, make sure they don't follow you back to where you live afterwards.

if your price is already competitive and they try and talk you down, encourage them to explain why they feel the bike is worth less than what you are asking, be prepared to argue the point.

As a seller your job is easier than the buyer. They want the bike, all you have to do is take bike to notary and meet them there, make sure you have ride home have title, registration, insurance info. Buyer pays all notary fees, it is their job to get insurance and other paper work for notary on their end, but remind them of what they need so you don't get there and they are like.... "oh I need that?"

That's really about it. If you do not have real title things can be trickier and to much to get into

2nd scenario - take it to dealer, say hey, you interested in buying this. They say yeah, here is our low ball offer, you say, well how about this much more, back and forth, until you are not completely offended by what they will give you but still unhappy. You take payment, they take bike with all paper work and you walk out.

It's that easy.

[ForceofWill]

You need a notary in PA? I've sold privately several cars and bought my bike. Hand written bill of sale on looseleaf paper for most of them lol. Take the cash, sign the title and BoS and GTFO.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by ForceofWill

You need a notary in PA?

I just went off this statement when I said that: "The seller’s signature is required to be notarized or verified on the Pennsylvania title. The seller’s signature may be required to be notarized on some out-of-state titles."

[jeffb502]

Where I am AAA does notary and vehicle registration services, so that would be an easy trip to the local auto club office, but luckily we don't need anything notarized here in CA, so all the paperwork can be done at home.

Advice for selling:

1. Take good pictures that make the bike look nice. If you have some scenic travel pictures I think it looks good.

2. Since you have a low mileage bike, mention that in the ad. Hopefully you did the 600 mile service. If you did, also mention that. If you have proof, even better.

3. Post the bike for sale on Craigslist. Put the asking price a bit higher than what you actually want, but not something too crazy where you're scaring people away. Craigslist people typically will never pay your full asking price. Sometimes I put my asking price too high and nobody responds. In that case wait a week or two and lower it if nobody responds to your initial ad.

4. Don't be in a hurry to sell. If somebody offers less than what you want, and won't come up to what you want, let them walk away. There will be others. It's been sitting in your garage for a long time so what's another week or two to wait for another potential buyer?

5. Test drive "cash in hand with valid M1 license" (or equivalent motorcycle license for your state). When I sold my 250 I took a photocopy of the buyer's license before she took it for a ride, but I didn't have the cash in hand. A bit of a risk, but it worked out.

6. When I sold my 250 they paid with a cashier's check. I looked up the bank's phone number online (if it was a fake check it would have a fake phone number, right?) and verified the authenticity of the check with the bank before signing over the title. I knew the bank was real because they have local branches. If you don't recognize the name of the bank, do some research.

If you're taking cash, make sure you have some knowledge on how to check for counterfeit bills. Check for the color shift on the $100 and $20 bills. Make sure the watermark of the president matches the president on the bill. There are lots of other quick checks also. Look them up and find what works for you.

7. Make a copy of the signed title and other documents before transferring possession of the vehicle. Keep copies for your records.

8. Don't forget to tell your insurance company you no longer own the vehicle. They should refund the portion of the premium you have pre-paid, if any.

9. In California the seller has to give the "release of liability" portion of the title to the DMV within 5 days of the sale. The buyer has to give the signed main portion of the title to the DMV, with new owner info filled out, within 10 days of the sale.

[vsnizzle]

Thank you all for some really solid advice!!! I really appreciate it! Hopefully we can find a great home for it soon. I hate to see it go, but I also hate to see it sitting in the garage not being enjoyed.