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How to Buy a Motorcycle Online

69K views 159 replies 34 participants last post by  acecycleins 
#1 ·
I have run into 3 people so far who have been victimized by online vehicle sales. I see the scammers on just about every bulletin board, classified and auction site. Too bad we can't come up with a way to send an electrical charge down the lines to zap them out of existence.



BTW, did you realize your address and phone # are on the article?
 
#28 ·
Um, Yes I did

Apparently you didn't notice that I noticed that you were poking fun at the scammer as well.

Did you notice the guy who replied to my post made a crack about a Rode Worrier? Apparently he knew I was goofing off.

Perhaps you were too caught up in your "all-knowing, all-seeing squidliness" to infer that.
 
#29 ·
Re: Dear Knucklehead

Perhaps you were too caught up in your Harley Davidson-induced inferiority complex to deduce that I was poking fun at a scammer's dead-giveaway spelling error and not your beloved all-knowing, all-seeing "Motor Company."

(See my above post for my experiences with the vaunted V-Rod.)
 
#31 ·
Re: Um, Yes I did

Hmm, apparently your razor-sharp wit didn't translate well into the post.

Actually, I thought the guy who replied to your post was goofing on you!

Oh well, never mind. Just having fun.

And don't call me squidly again or I'll have beat you with an Ironhead!

(God, I love this.)
 
#36 ·
Re: Um, Yes I did

That senility is setting in on you, I can see. It'a a liability of your advanced age. Better see a doctor before you begin boarding on the SS Mental Instability.
 
#41 ·
Frequently there is a chick angle too. I was inquiring about a plasma TV once and got the old "I'm selling it because I just broke up with my boyfriend and I don't want it" or something like that.



The "seller" was just a short drive from me so I suggested a meeting and of course there was always some lame reason not to meet.
 
#42 ·
Re: Thanks for your support

Yes you're right. I can't go into details but in the case of Japan it made sense to share work as is done on other airplanes (market access), however the Japanese were not content to do the same old stuff. i.e. they are taking on higher food chain items this time. In the case of Italy no one has a clue. Probably an executive likes to visit Rome. The engineering union (yes one of the few in the world) is not happy.
 
#46 ·
This VFR 800 is for sale on ebay right now......2472034965 ......I emailed the seller a few questions and got no response. Questions like, How did you acquire the motorcycle and how long have you had it? Why did you have it inspected and serviced with only 25 miles on the clock? Do you have the title in hand?



Does anyone think this is a good candidate for fraud?
 
#50 ·
I just looked it up on ebay. Doesn't seem to be an outright scam, but I'd be a little leery about the seller. He's only got three transactions, negative feedback and one transaction aborted. Not a good track record so far.



How long has it been since you sent the e-mails? I usually give them about a day to respond.



Why I think it's probably not an outright scam:



1. There are plenty of pictures of the bike. Often, scammers will just pull one or two pictures of someone's bike off of the internet somewhere. They usually do not have access to more that two or three pictures of the same bike (also check the backgrounds of the photos to see that the bike was photographed in the same location, and not just random pictures of the same model and color bike). But this is not gospel. I have seen some scams with multiple pictures.



2. There is a VIN number listed. Most of the time scammers will not list a VIN number. In any case, if you have any doubts, you should run the VIN number through the state's DMV.



3. It is not listed at a low-ball price. When all is said and done, this bike will probably go for about $8,000. One of the biggest scams is to list a bike for a ridiculously low price to lure someone in for a quick sale. Of course, they have no bike and they'll try to get you to pay right away in return for such "a great deal."

$8,000 for this bike (remember it is still 2 years old and technically used) seems fair. But look into what the actual value of the bike is, if you don't already know, to get a feel as to whether you may be getting scammed.



4. The seller has completed transactions that relate to motorcycling/motorsports (Did sell some cars and had another bike listed.). Investigate the seller's feedback history and look for transactions/items that relate to motorcycles (if they're still available for viewing).

Apparently, many scammers hack into legitimate ebay users' accounts and list items to these accounts. If you find the bike is listed by "luv2knit" and you find only transactions for knitting and quilting supplies, you might be getting scammed. That is not to say that luv2knit can't also own a Gixxer, but in context of other suspicious circumstantial evidence, I'd stay away.



Also, this person seems to be in the buy/sell business, so it is possible that they bought this bike from the original owner or took it as a trade in. This could explain why the guy had it looked at and inspected. But this is a big maybe. If this guy doesn't respond to your e-mails and answer in a believeable manner, I'd walk away. There are plenty of honest, no hassle people on e-bay.



Hope this helps.
 
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