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Motorcycle Buying Tips
Get the Motorcycle You Really Want
Buying Tips from the Classifieds, Internet and Local Dealers
It’s time to buy your bike
If you have followed my advice about finding a good motorcycle, (See – Learn to Buy Like a Veteran Rider) then you’ve probably been looking at bikes for a week or two.
Checking out local dealers, hunting the internet and visiting folks with bikes for sale all help make you more knowledgeable. And the motorcycle dealers, printed classifieds, web
and private-party sellers are all great places to search for a bike.
But what is the best place to actually buy your first bike? Like I mentioned earlier, I personally prefer buying from a private seller.
I enjoy hunting for a low-priced bike and then negotiating my best deal with the seller.
To me, the small risk of buying a badly maintained bike is offset by the opportunity to get a great price and possibly free extras too.
If you’re comfortable negotiating price with the seller and have a mechanically inclined friend to advise you, I recommend you get your bike through a private sale – either locally or on the Web. Now that it’s time to buy, here are a few tips for private sales.
Classified and auto trader buying tips
The key to getting a great-priced bike through the classifieds involves three steps.
1. Get to Know Your Bike: Becoming an expert on the pricing of your favorite bike so you can spot a deal. This should only take a couple weeks of researching.
2. Have Your Money Ready: Making sure you’ve got the funds available so you can act fast. Pre-apply for a bank loan if you need one. You should be able to get the bank paperwork out of the way before you have the actual bike VIN number. Even if you’ve got the funds available, know exactly when you can get to your bank branch to pick-up a bank check for the correct amount.
3. Line-up Your Transportation: Figure out in advance how you’ll get the bike home. I do not recommend borrowing a buddy’s license plate and slapping it on your new bike for the trip home. Borrow or rent a truck and get the bike home legally. There will be plenty of time to ride once you’ve gotten a legitimate license plate, insurance and registration.
Resources to help you buy on the Internet
There are a couple additional things to consider if you want to buy your dream bike on a website like eBay. First, it’s likely that your bike will be located in another state. So, you won’t be able to borrow your buddy’s truck to get your new bike. You’ll need to hire a shipping company to pick-up and deliver the bike for you. Companies like Dependable Auto Shippers or JC Shippers specialize in safely transporting bikes across the United States.
Five convenient services offered by your local dealer next...
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