| Author | Message | ||
     Clk92vette |
I think I have found my replacement but it is a full days drive away and I would prefer to ship it. The details of the purchase process with a private seller in this circumstance are awfully important. Any good advice will be appreciated. | ||
| Georgehitch17 |
Ask for a photo of his license and the title and also a pic of himself to match to the license. photos can be old pictures so I also ask for a hand written image of date to be held by him in the picture. Paypal is typically pretty safe as far as payment methods | ||
| Reepicheep |
So many ways it could go wrong... at the end of the day one of the two of you is going to take a big risk. Either the buyer paying before you get it and can really inspect it, or the seller shipping it to a stranger before he knows it is really "sold". On the other hand, time is money too, and there are always risks to a transaction. More than 90% of the time people buying and selling bikes are both being reasonably honest and acting in good faith. So if you get enough pictures and videos and develop enough trust in the seller that you are willing to roll the dice, it will often work fine. But sometimes it won't. The closest I came to this was to do a fly and ride... I arranged a deal on my Uly with somebody 600+ miles away. Once I was sure they sounded legitimate and was comfortable with the deal negotiated, I bought a round trip ticket and flew out to buy it with gear. It was a $400 risk (the cost of the ticket if I turned around and flew back home the next day without the bike). It turned out mostly OK, but it did have some hiccups. On my side, the seller was adamant that I could meet him at *his* bank and that *they* would cut him a cashiers check. He was wrong, and I should have known better than to believe him. We worked it out but it was a sketchy hour with me trying to get back to *my* bank from his bank's lobby and get the money transferred... it easily could have gone wrong and that could have screwed one or both of us to some degree. And on his part, the rear tire he represented as "70% good" was 0% good in the middle, and 100% good on the edges, which I suppose he would argue was 70% good. That put me in a lurch as well, as I had scheduled the trip to get there later friday and ride home saturday and sunday. Finding and installing a new rear wasn't in the schedule. That tire blew half way home in the middle of freaking nowhere, and cost Alex Prior a half a tank of gas and an entire case of very good beer when he picked me up and brought me to his house to spoon on an old hard M2 tire that was the wrong size so I could drink his beer that night and wobble the rest of the way home the next morning. So it worked out, but even where everyone was operating in good faith there were hiccups. I've gotten my best deals on Buells by being willing to drive pretty far and risk having to turn around and waste a day for nothing, so I'm not saying you should only buy local . Just know the risks and understand what you are comfortable accepting. | ||
| Sir_wadsalot |
It's like gambling. Don't put up anything you're not willing to loose. If you need a perfect, turn key bike and perfectly executed deal, don't bother. If you can live with expecting to be a little dissapointed or slightly screwed over for what you're putting out in time & money, go for it. | ||
| Shawns |
Lots of pictures of the bike. Georgehitch17 stated lic and title ect. Find out where it was serviced and see if you can contact them. | ||
| Mmcustoms |
Where's the bike at maybe someone on here can go look at it before hand and make sure it's a real deal not a scam or someone's junk | ||
| Ljm |
I've bought three sight unseen over the past few years. The first was a gamble on Ebay and I asked a lot of questions and rolled the dice. It worked out well in the end. It had a melted bottom cover to the airbox and dropped on the linkage. I figure it lost power and the previous owner sold. Hot knife restored the clearance and away it went. The second I bought from a badwebber, and trusted that the guy was honest and an active poster, and was right. The third was an ebay purchase, and the seller is a prominent entrepreneur and race driver. I figured that he was a public enough figure that I had little risk. Again, worked out. I think that MMcustoms idea is a good one, or have him take it to a shop for someone to do the once over on. That being said, I didn't and came out well. | ||
| Shawns |
Excellent advice | ||
| Bubba_ |
i had similar purchase.. off craigslist. what worked was.. - knew the as much about the that particular model and flaws prior to purchase. (heck, i think i knew more by that point than the seller) - i didn't ship tho - dragged a uhaul 6 hours and met the seller. - gotta good look and he started the bike and just tooled around a bit before the sale. - when i met the guy - i just somehow knew he was trying to shoot straight. worked out good for me not sure i could ever just buy and hope - sight unseen. (over simplification in know but..) | ||
| Zac4mac |
i've had several transactions with BadWeBr's and every one has gone flawless. no matter the distance. Last bike I sold, I used Craigslist, FWIW. If your prospective bike's owner is longtime on BWB or one of the other Buell boards, you're probably safe. Z | ||
| Sir_wadsalot |
Yeah, getting a BADWEBBER to check it out seems an excellent idea. Where's it located? | ||
| Dannybuell |
Perhaps a google maps street view of the bikes registered address? | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
I got my eyes screwed out by a guy on here. I'll never buy anything from anyone without looking at it first. All I can say is good luck! | ||
| Zac4mac |
Figor - you've got mail. Z | ||
| Sir_wadsalot |
....got my eyes screwed out.... Can I use that? I'll give you credit and everything... | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
Just checked my mail and nothing there but an invitation to view a webcam. Im gonna have to decline that Z.....lol. | ||
| Clk92vette |
Well it was a great deal and as such it sold pretty fast. 2008R, stock except for windscreen, 2,2xx miles, excellent condition, $4,900 negotiable. I thought about asking for help from a fellow BW'er...oh well. I have my sights set on another that is close enough to put in the back of my pickup. Wish me luck and Merry Christmas! | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
These deals come up regularly. I wouldn't say that was a great deal but typical. I've seen these bikes on CL as low as $2800. There will be more. A lot of people don't want to fight the.rotor stator issue and dump them. | ||
| Clk92vette |
I had 15k on my 2008 and never had and stator issues, I thought that was an '09-10 issue? | ||
| Jdugger |
The 08 wouldn't generate enough electrical power if left at idle and low RPMs consistently. It wouldn't fry itself, but could strand an owner that used his bike to run errands in city traffic. | ||
| Sprintst |
Buy one that's 3 years old and only has 120 miles, and you'll be doing fork seals and an engine seal........experience speaking  |
