Haggling on used motorcycles | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Haggling on used motorcycles

I see here that some people don’t like potential buyers asking about reducing a price before going out to see it. My take on that is , I either ask before going to see it , or accept the price and then go see it. Setting up a meeting at full asking price and then haggling when there is rude imo.

Other way around. Making a lower offer without seeing the bike is rude. Frankly making an offer at all without seeing the bike does not inspire much confidence that you're going to show up and buy it

will not discuss a reduction without the buyer coming for a look first
what I tell them is to come see it, if it's a clean, fast transaction
then we can discuss price, no discounts for time wasters

if they are making the initial contact, the price is not completely out of line

OP, if you see something priced at 3,000
you can try 2,500
likely end up at 2,750

but face to face is always better

Seems about right

The worse type of buyer is someone who asks a thousand questions without seeing the bike and then slaps you in the face with 50% of asking price. Hate such aholes

This doesn't happen to me much (at all?). Someone asking a lot of questions shows some kind of interest, 50% of asking price is usually someone just fishing for anybody that will fall for it
 
I price my stuff very fairly so I won’t accept haggling before the prospective buyer has seen it. I usually tell them, go away and see if you can find something in similar condition as what I’m selling for cheaper. Come back to me when you can’t. If I’m selling several items then I will deal a bit to shift more items.
 
This doesn't happen to me much (at all?). Someone asking a lot of questions shows some kind of interest, 50% of asking price is usually someone just fishing for anybody that will fall for it

Happened to me twice this year. And my bike was fairly priced. I did sell it for asking few days later.
 
Happened to me twice this year. And my bike was fairly priced. I did sell it for asking few days later.

me too, list price was realistic
guy from Gatineau contacted me within 30 minutes of the ad going up, in a panic
deal was basically done, but he needed 4 days to get down and pick it up
I wouldn't take the ad down until cash was in hand

so it was 4 days of GTA twits with ridiculous offers
they all got the same answer: come see it, bring the asking price in cash
even after the ad was down several still kept emailing
didn't believe that I had a full price buyer coming
 
First thing I do is ask Whats the lowest reasonable price the seller would go, then I offer a reasonable counter, and always give what I would want to sell the bike for. I ask for tonnes of pictures, as bikes I look at are always out of the GTA and been 2hr+ drives, I avoid haggling in person unless something comes up we weren't aware of.
 
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I price my stuff very fairly so I won’t accept haggling before the prospective buyer has seen it. I usually tell them, go away and see if you can find something in similar condition as what I’m selling for cheaper. Come back to me when you can’t. If I’m selling several items then I will deal a bit to shift more items.
Yes. Do your research. Know the 'going rate' for the brand/model/year of motorcycle(s) you're considering, the issues, and its availability on the used market. Look at the bike in person before discussing the selling price. Sometimes haggling on price is justified, other times it's not.

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Yes. Do your research. Know the 'going rate' for the brand/model/year of motorcycle(s) you're considering, the issues, and its availability on the used market. Look at the bike in person before discussing the selling price. Sometimes haggling on price is justified, other times it's not.


Agreed. Price it right, don't give it away, but don't "kijiji inflate" it too much. I sold my bike the first warm weekend this spring. Buyer actually messaged me a few weeks later to thank me for the bike and to ask a couple questions. I even created a new yahoo email and kijiji account to handle this sale.
 
Haggling and low balling are two different things. I will haggle if the price is beyond what I deem to be worthwhile.
 
Happy to read all the opinions and views , definitely got some good insight.

Not only am I new to motorcycles , also new to buying a used vehicle from a private seller.
 
How to do business 101 ...

Asking "what's your lowest price" without having seen the vehicle is bad form. My response at a seller would be "Come look at it, then we'll talk."

Lowballing (typically without having seen the vehicle) is insulting to the seller except perhaps if the vehicle is known to be in rough shape. An offer of half the asking price doesn't even warrant a response.

Always be ready to place a deposit. Money talks. First one in with the cash, takes it. The deposit should be at least 10% of the agreed price rounded up to the nearest $500. In return for that ... As a seller, once you've agreed to sell at that price, that's the deal. If someone else comes along offering a higher price ... too bad. I won't sell a vehicle out from underneath someone just because another person came along offering more money if the first person gave me a deposit. On the other hand ... if there's no deposit ... it's fair game. And, I would certainly exchange contact info with the second person in case the deal fell through, which brings up ...

Always be ready to follow through with the deal in a reasonable timeframe - a few days, maybe a week TOPS to come up with the rest of the cash and get the vehicle into your possession. Be prepared to put that in writing. A good seller will write up a sales contract identifying the vehicle, the buyer, the seller, and the terms of the deal including the the selling price, the deposit amount, and the time limit for completion of the deal. The words "As is where is, no warranty" should be in there and it means just that - that's generally how it is. If you don't come up with the cash in that specified timeframe, the proposed buyer forfeits the deposit and the seller reserves the right to sell the vehicle to another party. All that should be in the sales contract.

I prefer to do the final deal during bank hours at either party's financial institution - that way it can be done as a direct funds transfer, no one needs to carry cash, and the teller at the bank witnesses the transaction including the sign-off and hand-over of the ownership paperwork and the keys.
 
I see valid points on both sides.
I'm gonna haggle no matter what, it's in my blood. I rarely pay full price dor anything.
The only time I think making an offer before seeing the bike is ok, is if you plan on buying it sight unseen.
Just my two cents.

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I'm gonna haggle no matter what, it's in my blood. I rarely pay full price dor anything.

Same here. In the right situation I've even haggled in retail stores - IE, about 10 years ago there was a display model Macbook that I wanted but seemed overpriced even at the discounted price. I asked the manager, made my case, and ended up getting another $100 off it. Still have it. Still works!

Obviously I'm not haggling in places like Walmart and the such, but in the right situation, yeah, I'll go for it. Nothing to loose, everything to gain. :)

The only time I think making an offer before seeing the bike is ok, is if you plan on buying it sight unseen.

I bought a travel trailer sight unseen from an RV dealer outside Chicago once - it was a unique/rare trailer that I'd had my heart set on and I let stupidity vs sensibility set in. Thought I'd done my due diligence in asking a million questions and asking for a million photos. Sold our existing trailer, drove 1000+KM to the dealer..and the rest was history. It turned into a real mess. Never again.
 
Try selling a dirt bike, the scum of the earth come out to play, I do not know why.

I sold about 3 dirt bikes in the past year, I have some stories that people wouldn't believe.

Sold a race gsxr1000, it was a pleasure to deal with people about it, still text with the guy that bought it when he has a question about a specific turn on x track etc. Or whatever.

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Same here. In the right situation I've even haggled in retail stores - IE, about 10 years ago there was a display model Macbook that I wanted but seemed overpriced even at the discounted price. I asked the manager, made my case, and ended up getting another $100 off it. Still have it. Still works!

Obviously I'm not haggling in places like Walmart and the such, but in the right situation, yeah, I'll go for it. Nothing to loose, everything to gain. :)



I bought a travel trailer sight unseen from an RV dealer outside Chicago once - it was a unique/rare trailer that I'd had my heart set on and I let stupidity vs sensibility set in. Thought I'd done my due diligence in asking a million questions and asking for a million photos. Sold our existing trailer, drove 1000+KM to the dealer..and the rest was history. It turned into a real mess. Never again.

lmao i've haggled at walmart. cheap coffee machine on display- tie wrapped to the shelf w no box. last one. talked to a floor manager $30 coffee maker for $20...
 
lmao i've haggled at walmart. cheap coffee machine on display- tie wrapped to the shelf w no box. last one. talked to a floor manager $30 coffee maker for $20...

Hustlin!
 
Had a mix over the years. Sold one bike to a guy that ended up becoming a riding buddy. Even got to ride my old bike one time. Amazing how different it felt after years away from it.
 
My favourite is "would you take x?" Drives me crazy.
I don't know....are you offering x?"

Asking if there's room to move is fine. But don't offer me anything until you've seen the bike. I could be the most dishonest person and posting pictures of my bike from 4 years ago.....come and see it and negotiate. I think people get balls of steel by email but face to face they become reasonable.
 

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