This is one of those personal things, that might benefit from others’ input. My father recently purchased a new bike and because he doesn’t have Internet access, I’ve taken over the task of selling his old one. eBay has proved a bit fruitless. I set the starting bid at the bottom end of the list price for that model, year and mileage. No one bit. I lowered the starting bid and again, no one bit. I used to set a reserve and a low starting bid, but eBayers don’t like that – hence setting the bid at the bottom end of the list price to avoid it going too cheaply. I’ve also tried Autotrader. Now I am getting interest. However, I’m up against the “I want a test ride” issue.
Firstly, I’ve SORNed the bike. Dad has transferred his insurance to the new bike, so to avoid any unwelcome interest from DVLA, I SORNed it. Even if I hadn’t, insurance is still an issue with test rides. It wasn’t inured for other riders and someone turning up is only going to have third-party cover for riding another bike – and that’s assuming their insurer is prepared to cover the activity.
Then I’m being asked to hand over the keys to a complete stranger who I’ve never met and more importantly, whose riding I have never seen. Not only is there a risk of ride-off theft, there’s the risk of damage to the bike if they bin it – or, of course, get caught committing a road traffic offence.
Yeah, sure, I could ask for the asking price up front, but I’m still unwilling to hand the keys over to a complete stranger without a deal having been done.
I’ve bought and sold plenty of bikes in my time and never test ridden them and never had a problem. It was always accepted that these difficulties were too much to bother with. The buyer would take the time examining the bike and asking questions, listening to the engine before making a decision. Now, suddenly they want to take it for a ride. I’ve already turned one prospective buyer away because I won’t let him take the bike out illegally.
Is it me?
No, it’s not you. You are quite right to be cautious. 99 times out of a 100 most peeps will play fair. What you cannot afford is the one that won’t
The guy who bought my Triumph bought it without taking it for a test ride. It had been stolen and recovered in a damaged condition and, after getting it back on the road I had gradually been replacing the bits that still looked a bit tatty. I explained all this and that this was the reason for the relatively low asking price. He checked it over and heard the engine running but didn’t ask to test ride it.
Not checked for bikes, but day insurance is available for cars.
Test ride: no way (unless full price cash deposit left and you’d win a fight), too easy to vanish bike into a van round corner. If “sealed” private land, any footpaths or other easy to ride over boundaries?
As others, all my sales have been buyer inspects, tests engine, gears etc. Pays and rides away.
A (crazy?) thought, before test ride buyer strips down to underwear & shoes. Unlikely to ride off or crash.
Do not forget “sold as seen” – AA had a template receipt.
Absolutely NO.
NEVER let them test ride the bike. You can take them on the pillion seat and do whatever punter wants, but no way should any of them be allowed to take it out of your sight.
And don’t fall for the Dad and young child routine. He comes with crash helmet and says he’s parked his car round the corner. He says he’ll leave the kid and be back in 10 minutes. He tells you what route he’ll take.
The guy’s plausible, the kid’s your standard well dressed 8 to 12 year old.
30 minutes later you have a crying child that turns to hysterics. You suggests kid jumps into your car to find out if Dad’s had a prang. Kid says no, he’ll stay just in case Dad comes back.
If you don’t do that, kid gets extremely distressed and wants to look for Daddy himself. You can’t do eff all about it. Kid knows exactly where to go; a nice Transit van with alloy wheels and ever so slightly low at the back, because there’s a bike in there.
No need to worry about Police finding it; it’s either in bits within hours, or in a container destined for Romania.
If you HAVE to get rid of it, then we buy any bike will give you a trade-in price less about £50 – £100, but they collect and pay on the spot – and the cheque will clear.
https://webuyanybike.com/
To quote that immortal phrase from Senna the soothsayer in the TV series Up Pompeii, No, no and thrice no!
I’d offer the opportunity for the AA to inspect and test ride the bike at their expense if they want the reassurance of a test ride otherwise a resounding no. Or again, at their expense, take it to a dealer and let them check it over and give an opinion on its condition.
And the “I’ll leave the car and keys with you” is likely to be a case of the car is stolen too.
Ebay is good for that. I’ve sold a lot of cars and most people are of the understanding that you turn up, pay and drive away
If you put it on Ebay with a 99p starting price, you could get a mate to put a bid on for the price that would have been your reserve. If they should win it, you can just cancel it
Now there’s a thought… Against eBay rules, but does get around the reserve problem.
I have/had a spare ebay id set up for just that for a mate.
Surely if someone wants a test drive you can take something as collateral, like thier wallet & driving licence, to hold while they are away test driving it?
Assuming you can be certain that the wallet & licence genuinely belong to the prospective purchaser.
Google pikeys and pub receipts
Mrs Pcar’s 986 was stolen. Pikeys applied for V5, plod did nothing and refused to give me name & address (data protection excuse). Insurer refused to pay as plod would not confirm crime. I still have keys, owners manual etc.