5 Reasons Not to Sell Your Motorbike Privately
6th July 2019
Looking to sell your motorbike? Well, you’ve probably got a few questions. From the planning to the advertising and even the bike preparation, it can all seem like a mountain of organisation. While there are a few ways to go about selling your motorbike, of them all, selling privately can bring various struggles and risks. Private motorbike sales are not only daunting, but they can bring on a multitude of concerns and problems – one of the biggest is the possibility of getting stung by the buyer. Unfortunately, there are buyers out there that are willing to rip you off. To them, the biker code means nothing.
So, with the factors of trust, fraud, theft and more being very prominent issues, should you really opt to sell your motorbike privately?
The team at We Want Your Motorbike want to make sure you stay safe and secure at all times and ensure you get the best deal possible when selling your motorbike. That’s why we think you should avoid private bike sales. But exactly why?
Why Should You Avoid Private Motorbike Sales?
There are various approaches you can take to try to sell your motorbike privately, all which seem pretty easy. However, at each and every step, and with every approach there can be downfalls, putting you at potential risk.
Reasons Not To Sell Your Motorbike Privately
- Must reveal contact details
- Take up lots of your time
- Financial frustrations
- Tricky test ride issues
- Numerous security issues
1. Contact details
To make potential private buyers aware of your sale, you will need to make your bike sale visible. Whether this is putting a flyer up in a local shop window, an advert in a magazine or newspaper or simply advertising on social media, you may have to provide something else – your details. While having your motorbike in the likes of AutoTrader Bikes or eBay may seem like the quickest way to get your motorbike sold, your contact details will need to be displayed or given if you want to sell your bike. Not only this, but there can be high costs attached to advertising in these such places.
Of course, the more exposure that your bike gets, the more eyeballs see it, but that also means the more people have access to your name, your phone number and possibly your email address.
2. Time
Finding a potential private buyer can take time. From taking semi-professional photos of arranging a viewing, every step takes time. Not only this but with prospective buyers, you will need to allow extra time for test drives and inspections. They may even want to set up a third party inspection by a mechanic or the AA. A quick private sale is extremely rare, with many people even coming to view the bike, then simply walking away.
Believe it or not, when it comes to selling privately, you can also sell at the wrong time of year. Even when it comes to auctioning or selling online, there can be a wrong time to sell.
Other factors which can slow down the process of selling your motorbike, can be finances. Discussing and deciding on a final price can take time, especially if your private buyer is wanting to haggle on the price. Also, keep in mind the fact, that you are a busy individual, with work through the week and evening arrangements. When are you going to have time to fit in advertising the bike, meeting with a buyer, a viewing, a test drive and all the other factors?
3. Test Drives
When it comes to selling your motorbike, security and peace of mind are vital. So what do you do if a potential buyer wants to test drive your bike? Should you allow it? If you are lenient and allow a test drive, make sure you put safety precautions in place so the person doesn’t try and scam you. Not only could the biker ride off without warning, but there are also issues of insurance and what should happen if the test rider has an accident.
First of all, it is almost impossible to get insurance that covers test rides satisfactorily. As the owner of the motorbike, your insurance most likely won’t give a prospective buyer comprehensive cover and the bike is very unlikely to have a policy which gives more than third party cover.
Even if you feel like the potential buyer is trustworthy, you can’t be 100% certain that they won’t try to ride off or have an accident.
4. Finances
When it comes to handling the money of a private sale, there are numerous potential problems. To begin with, you will need to know how much your bike is worth. Whether this means you simply guessing and putting your bikes price up for sale as you see fit, or spending money on a valuation.
Even if you have a fitting price tag for your bike, this doesn’t mean that your potential buyers at this time are willing to pay that for it. You aren’t guaranteed a sell based on that price. This means haggling, then settling on a lower price.
If you do agree on a sale, then you have the complications of payment. Do you accept cash or an online bank transfer? They may pay in cash, but what if it’s counterfeit? What if they want to pay by cheque? What if it then bounces? How do you know that this person actually has the money and is trustworthy enough? What if they want to pay in instalments? These are just a few financial concerns when selling your motorbike privately.
5. Security
Perhaps one of the biggest concerns when selling your motorbike privately are the many security and safety issues. Throughout the process, you, as the vendor, need to stay in control at all times, but there are circumstances when you will have to let your guard down if you want to sell the bike. But are you willing to let someone on your property? Are you willing to provide your contact details? Your bank details?
When it comes to advertising your bike sale, you will, of course, need to provide contact details, which creates security issues, to begin with. The buyer will need to get in touch with you somehow, but what about the people who simply want to mess you around, waste your time, or even prank-callers? Sadly, they exist, and you may end up becoming the subject of some unwanted or unnecessary calls or emails. GDPR!
Secondly, if you have arranged a viewing and allow them on your property, you allow for all kinds of security problems. This person now knows where you store the bike overnight. What’s stopping them for returning in the night, or when you aren’t in, and taking the bike? Some would suggest meeting in an alternative place to your home, but that would make the buyer suspicious.
Once this individual is on your property and you allow them to view the bike, all you would need to do is go inside to bring a drink for them – that’s a gateway for them to take the bike and leave.
Whilst this could be seen as cynical, in this day and age, sadly thieves do exist and even precautions won’t stop incidents such as this from happening. Your motorbike is, or was, very important to you, and so is this sale, so selling privately may not be the safest way.
Sell Your Motorbike With We Want Your Motorbike
As the UK’s most trusted motorbike buyer, We Want Your Motorbike provide easy motorbike sales, free from private-sale hassle and any of the above issues. It’s as simple as typing in your reg for a free motorbike valuation, selling, and selling 100% of that figure paid into your account.
When it comes to security, you won’t have to worry about any potential safety issues or untrusted test rides or viewings. There’s no hidden fees, no part-ex stitch-ups and no last-minute hagglers. In fact, in as little as 24 hours, the money from your motorbike sale will be paid into your account.
- Time-Efficient – Simply put your reg into our site and you could get your bike sold within 24 hours.
- Safe – No need to worry about theft. We will collect directly from your home, anywhere in the UK.
- Simple – One of your engineers will check your bike then pay you 100% of the agreed price.
- Secure – You will see the money in your bank account before your motorbike goes anywhere!
But don’t listen to us. Here are some fellow motorbike sellers who prefer our method over a private sale!
- James, Greater Manchester –Sold a Harley Davidson XLH 883
“Great service from start to finish and a pleasure to deal with. I received the price I was expecting and they sorted everything out for me. It was a quick, easy and enjoyable process and would recommend them to anyone. Thanks.”
- Carl, Durham –Sold a Suzuki GSR750
“The whole process was supervised by my Border Terrier (see photo) and the demanding little fella was completely happy. Brian the inspector was extremely professional and very friendly, I was completely honest with the description of my bike and the full agreed price was paid. What’s not to like. I’ve bought a bike from and sold a bike to this garage and would definitely recommend them. 10/10.”
- Keith, Nottingham –Sold a Harley Davidson Fat Bob 1584
“Excellent company to deal with, from the initial phone contact through to Andrew coming to assess my motorbike and taking me through the process of the quick and easy sale. I would highly recommend this company to anyone thinking of selling their motorbike.”
- Wayne, Derbyshire –Sold a Kawasaki ZR1000 DAF
“I contacted we want your motorbike after getting a ridiculous offer from we buy any bike and from then I haven’t looked back , quality service , great price for my bike , no hassle , friendly service.”
If you are looking to sell your motorbike without the hassle of a private sale, look no further! For a free motorbike valuation, simply enter your registration number to get started ad you could have your valuation within 4 hours.
Ready to sell your motorbike? Value your motorbike here now. Alternatively, you can give us a call and discuss your bike with one of our friendly team members. We will guide you through the entire process and answer any questions you may have.