Selling your bike

[Grosvenor]

I've seen a lot of threads started here on buying bikes, but not many on selling, so I thought I would pass on a few tips based on my experience over the years.
Some may seem obvious, but I'm amazed at how many people overlook the basics of selling.

1) Make sure your bike is in the best possible condition - sounds obvious but how many bikes have you been to look at that have been described as mint, and when you get there it looks like a 10 year old dispatch hound from hell.
A quick clean and wipe over really can be the difference between selling, or not.

2) Don't try and hide anything - point out any potential problems. Buyers will appreciate your honesty.
If you point out that big crack in the bellypan, you'll stand a better chance of selling than if the buyer spots it and you don't tell him.


3) Do not allow test rides. You don't know what sort of rider they are and if they trigger a camera at 100mph in a 30 zone, and then bugger off, it'll be you holding the can for it, and have to prove it was not you riding.
Seems unlikely ?
Well, this happened to a friend of mine and even though at the time he got the guy to sign a form he'd composed saying he was riding the bike, date time etc, and had all his details, he still went through hell and high water over it because the other guy denied it was him, and claimed the document was forged. It was very nasty and took months to resolve.


4) When first meeting a potential buyer, arrange to meet on neutral ground away from your property - This discourages thieves as many of them respond to adds in order to find out where a bike is kept and under what security conditions, before coming back later to nick it.
Don't worry about offending anyone.
A savvy buyer will understand.
If they object, put the phone down because you may be being cased.

5) Don't accept deposits. If you are offered one, decline it.
This is a sign of someone who has either not got the finance in place yet to pay for it, or is hedging their bets and looking at several bikes and wants yours held if the others don't work out.
They then come knocking at your door asking for their deposit back, and things can get nasty, as once happened to me.
A serious buyer will either have the cash there and then, or have the means at their disposal to access it quickly.
Tell them that the bikes theirs only when you've got the cash in your sweaty palm.
Until then it remains firmly for sale.
Believe me it saves so much aggro.

6) Be careful with bankers draughts.
Could you tell a forgery from the real thing ?
Personally, I prefer nice crisp £20's.

I've sold loads of bikes over the years and have come unstuck as a result of ignoring some basic rules.
Most bikers are OK, but there are idiots out there, and people of dubious motivation.

[Dazbo666]

Great advice, very helpful.

and just for the record, I actually bought my first bike right here on BCF
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1st bike (Sept'06 - May'10) : 1991 GPZ500S / Current bike (since Nov 2009) : 2003 Suzuki Bandit 600N
Word of the day : DILLIGAF

[hmmmnz]

if someone paid me a deposit, and they didnt buy my bike, they wouldn't be getting the deposit back, thats the whole idea of a deposit,
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[Grosvenor]

[Clanger]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[tutton]

A very useful thread, a slight breath of fresh air compared to your other threads i must say!
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Past: '05 Peugeot XPS '99 Aprillia RS125 '94 FZR600R
Current: '02 ZX636 A1P '51 CCM R30

[Robby]

I always take a deposit. Very few people turn up to look at a bike worth more than £500 with the cash in their pocket. Deposit is non-refundable generally, but if someone else agrees to buy the bike at the same price shortly afterwards then I'll refund it. The whole point is to cover what it would cost me to re-advertise the bike and something for my time and inconvenience.

Likewise test rides, if someone asks for a test ride they can have one. If I live in an area with speed cameras at the time I'll go pillion, or get them to go pillion with me.

I always sell at home too, and wouldn't buy a bike from someone that wanted to sell it to me in a layby somewhere, that's asking for trouble. When selling I expect to give the buyer a cup of tea, toilet facilities, and access to my garage and tools in case they want to poke around something, or something goes wrong right when they're handling over the cash. Rear brake light switches are notorious for this.

Sounds like you must live in Essex. You sound like a terrible person to buy a bike off too. No deposit, no test ride, cash only, in a supermarket car park. Would you refuse to sell a bike to someone foreign as well?

[lllN30lll]

[Pete.]

I don't take deposits from anyone. If someone agrees to buy a bike (or anything) I'll usually agree a date and time and hold it for them until then. In this case, if anyone else calls wanting to buy I will tell them to call back after the time I agreed with the first person. If the first person doesn't hold up their end of the agreement, it's first come forst served.

Sometimes, I just tell them I don't want any deposit as it will be sold to the first person who comes up with the money. All depends on the situation.

Either way, once I've given my word I'll stick to it. I've always done it this way and never come un-stuck.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[MarJay]

I've already written a very good ebay selling guide, its on the forum somewhere. The difference being though is that I wrote it to be helpful, not to try to ingratiate myself with an angry forum because I've been a pratt!
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Mr.Everready]

[tutton]

I like how i post in this thread no less than 12 hours ago, come back to read replies and hes gone from 1 green blob to 3 red!
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Past: '05 Peugeot XPS '99 Aprillia RS125 '94 FZR600R
Current: '02 ZX636 A1P '51 CCM R30