Buying Motorcycles from the Internet
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For that matter, what of the risks of selling? Scams abound and it's some times hard to tell the serious offer from the sketchy one.
The Warranty is backed by the manufacturer despite what dealership you bought it at. So you're telling me if you're 500 miles from home the dealership won't work on your bike? Not so. I my electric fan quit working on my F4i when I was 1500 miles from home up in Montana. Long story...some logging road detours do to wildfire and huge chip seal gravel when we came out of the mountains in the next town. The gravel lodged between my shroud and fan blade. The motor was spinning but it spun the center out of the fan blades. Dealership in Butte said they couldn't get me in for a week (the day I was suppose to be leaving). I described my situation but they still couldn't get me in. I even asked if they could order the parts for me so I could replace the fan. No deal. I called the number on my honda membership card the next morning and talked to the regional rep. He called the owner (at home because the dealership wasn't even open) and called me back within 5 minutes giving me an appt. time for the next day. I don't know how other manufacturers are but that's how it worked for me being stuck 1500 miles from home. Yeah I could have hit the road without the fan working but there were some short trips that I wanted to take and didn't want to be worried about being stuck in traffic. I guess the moral of the story is know who to talk to on the next level if you're not getting the response you should for warranty items.
Thats some crap - you'll have warranty trouble if you don't buy it here? What I have to live in the same town for the life of the bike or trek across country to the original dealer for warranty work? Thats a hollow threat - the warranty comes from the manufacturer, not the dealer.
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Re: Anybody bought a bike thru cycletrader.com ?
I've bought motorcycles off cycletrader but they were from private parties. Everything went great.
I've bought motorcycles off cycletrader but they were from private parties. Everything went great.
I understand how the closer dealer feels. Some guy comes in to look at the bike in his store - which costs real money to make available - and gets low-balled for his trouble. But that's the marketplace in which we live. A pro will find a way to convert that sale and make the customer happy, or at least concede defeat gracefully.
Threatening to withold warranty work is a step in the wrong direction.
Threatening to withold warranty work is a step in the wrong direction.
Once upon a time, there was a wealthy man in Las Vegas who owned a 2004 R1150GS. He liked his bike, but when BMW announced the K1200S, the man had to have one. His wife said he couldn't add another motorcycle to his garage until he got rid of one. So he sold the R1150GS on eBay. For $6,000. To my next door neighbor. And there's not a thing wrong with it.
The problem isn't whether the dealer will do the warranty work or not -- he will. The problem is that, if you bought somewhere else just to save a few bucks, most dealers will put you at the bottom of the list when scheduling maintenance or warranty work. And why not? You weren't concerned about him when you went somewhere else to buy. It doesn't make sense to go elsewhere to save a small amount -- $200-300 maybe. But if the savings are several hundred dollars (or more) it doesn't make sense not to. Just don't expect the dealer to treat you like his best customer, because you're not!
Most dealers I've known well enough admit that selling bikes isn't where their big profit is. They keep the shop open with the service department. Ok, maybe with Harley it's the clothes, boots, jackets, trinkets too. But the service department is the money maker. Yea, if you're local and bought the bike elsewhere they might not be as eager to take that extra step to help you, but they know you are not going to take the bike 500 miles to get it serviced when they are closer. They'll get their money out of you in the end.
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craigslist.com is a good concept but there are a TON of scams on it. Pretty much if you come across anyone that doesn't list their location, chances are it's a scam.
Something along the lines of:
05 R1 1500 miles Showroom Condition!!!!!!! - $3500
Or
2004 Harley Road King Low Miles Excellent Condition - $6500
It's like the scammers are even to lazy to make up believable sh!t on that damn site...
Something along the lines of:
05 R1 1500 miles Showroom Condition!!!!!!! - $3500
Or
2004 Harley Road King Low Miles Excellent Condition - $6500
It's like the scammers are even to lazy to make up believable sh!t on that damn site...
I have purchased 3 bikes from the internet. the first was a 1997 royal star tour classic with 1700 miles. I bought it in 99 for $10,000 with 5 year warranty ending in 2005. sold it in 2005 for 7,500 with 3 months left on warranty. bike was like new when purchased and in great shape when sold. purchased a 1953 custom enfield cafe racer in 2000 and sold in 2005. sold for same price i paid for bike...beautiful but impractible bike unless one is a mechanic. purchased 2003 st1300a with 3,000 in aftermarked extras for 9,700 in 2005. bike had 3,000 miles..put 8,000 miles on it since purchase in June..7 year warranty..wonderful bike w/electronic cruise, heated seats and grips, trunk, radar detector, new tires, etc...will keep for many years..I always take the time to check out the bike as much as i can and viewed the only bike (the cafe racer) in person that was not covered by warranty. I think one can save thousands if you are careful..I run public records check on seller through my office.
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I have worked at two dealerships(Japanese Bikes). By a wide margin these dealerships made the bulk of their profit on (new and used) bike sales.
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I agree, run far away from that dealer who refuses to perform warranty work on a bike you bought somewhere else. Frankly, unless you told them, the service department would have no idea where you bought the bike. I've moved cross country many times and never had any issue getting service for a bike or car I bought in another state... even with a Harley-Davidson.
I've personally bought and sold three bikes on eBay over the past few years and had great experiences every time. Yeah, there are scams out there, but there are jerks in the local newspaper as well. If the deal sounds too good to be true it probably is.
Selling on eBay was great. I sold my last bike in a week and didn't have to have people over to my house to "kick the tires." I took a ton of photos and answered emails. The high bidder drove 500 miles to pick up the bike and paid me in cash. We were both happy.
I've never had to use it, but I did note that eBay offers $20,000 in automatic protection if you buy the bike on their site and it's fraudulent.
Regarding dealers in one part of the state selling new bikes at huge discounts to local dealers, I say "that's life." The other guy may have overstocked on some bikes and is willing to give them away to clear his inventory, so be it. The manufacturer may have been unloading new non-current bikes and guy got a cutrate deal because he was willing to take a truckload... that's just business and the local dealer wasn't willing to take the chance.
I've only bought a couple of motorcycles brand new. I usually buy them lightly used and when I did buy new, the bikes were last year's models that were selling for a song. In fact, I bought a brand new 1988 Hawk GT in 1991 off a dealer's showroom floor when they couldn't give it away (I miss that bike). If anything, the Internet helps these dealers clear out the old stuff more efficiently.
The dealer who refuses to acknowledge that the market has changed simply has his head in the sand. He needs to go get broadband and start competing. Look at what the Web has done for the automobile market. Consumers know all sorts of information when they walk into dealerships now. This info used to be hard or even impossible to get. On the flipside, savvy car dealers are using the Web to sell cars into markets they never had access to before.
I've personally bought and sold three bikes on eBay over the past few years and had great experiences every time. Yeah, there are scams out there, but there are jerks in the local newspaper as well. If the deal sounds too good to be true it probably is.
Selling on eBay was great. I sold my last bike in a week and didn't have to have people over to my house to "kick the tires." I took a ton of photos and answered emails. The high bidder drove 500 miles to pick up the bike and paid me in cash. We were both happy.
I've never had to use it, but I did note that eBay offers $20,000 in automatic protection if you buy the bike on their site and it's fraudulent.
Regarding dealers in one part of the state selling new bikes at huge discounts to local dealers, I say "that's life." The other guy may have overstocked on some bikes and is willing to give them away to clear his inventory, so be it. The manufacturer may have been unloading new non-current bikes and guy got a cutrate deal because he was willing to take a truckload... that's just business and the local dealer wasn't willing to take the chance.
I've only bought a couple of motorcycles brand new. I usually buy them lightly used and when I did buy new, the bikes were last year's models that were selling for a song. In fact, I bought a brand new 1988 Hawk GT in 1991 off a dealer's showroom floor when they couldn't give it away (I miss that bike). If anything, the Internet helps these dealers clear out the old stuff more efficiently.
The dealer who refuses to acknowledge that the market has changed simply has his head in the sand. He needs to go get broadband and start competing. Look at what the Web has done for the automobile market. Consumers know all sorts of information when they walk into dealerships now. This info used to be hard or even impossible to get. On the flipside, savvy car dealers are using the Web to sell cars into markets they never had access to before.
I had mixed results that ranged from borderline disaster to pleasant surprise when buying and selling my 71 H1A through Ebay.
The purchase was ugly with touched up photos and misinformatin as to the condition of the bike. I asked specific questions and was lied to about the mechanical and physical condition. No recourse apparently.
When selling 2 years and several hundreds of dollars later I was victimized by someone who had stolen a member's ID and thought the bike sale was completed. It was near impossible to get a response from ebay despite having an Email from the victim.
The best part was the actual sale to a person in Paris, France who paid in good faith and then thanked me after he received the bike.
All in all, I lucked out but what a hassle. These characters who offer lowball prices on high end bikes should be investigated. I tied to chase 1 down and he was in England with a bike in Chicago?? Nice try.
The purchase was ugly with touched up photos and misinformatin as to the condition of the bike. I asked specific questions and was lied to about the mechanical and physical condition. No recourse apparently.
When selling 2 years and several hundreds of dollars later I was victimized by someone who had stolen a member's ID and thought the bike sale was completed. It was near impossible to get a response from ebay despite having an Email from the victim.
The best part was the actual sale to a person in Paris, France who paid in good faith and then thanked me after he received the bike.
All in all, I lucked out but what a hassle. These characters who offer lowball prices on high end bikes should be investigated. I tied to chase 1 down and he was in England with a bike in Chicago?? Nice try.
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