dealerships vs private sellers | GTAMotorcycle.com

dealerships vs private sellers

bigpoppa

bigpoppa

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I've often found it better to buy used from actual owners of the bike as opposed to dealerships, what this usually means is at the very least they have at least done some minimal maintenance on it, and the simple fact that when people risk their lives on their own bikes, they try not to neglect any safety issues too much

whereas with dealers I find their goal is simply to have as quick of a turnaround as possible, while spending as little money on the bike as possible, so they are bound to cut corners or rip you off in some way, this has at least been the case in my experience (and evidently some others as of late)

with new bikes its not really an issue because, no previous owners, plus warranty



Was also wondering what everyones thoughts are on buying a used bike from a licensed franchise dealer (buying a used ducati from an official ducati dealer vs some random no name dealer who also sells cars on the side etc)

I've heard stories of dealers not being straight with their customers or techs doing some shady ****, word gets back to BMW or Ducati and it doesnt go well for the dealer
 
Used private sale is always preferable get to actually meet the owner and see if the reasons he is selling it make sense. A bike I wanted nothing to do with would get traded in quickly let the dealer deal with it. Unfortunately there are a lot of people with no idea that only buy from dealers making selling privately hard.

Sent from my moto g(8) plus using Tapatalk
 
To me, it depends as much on the dealer as it does on any individual in a private sale.

On the positive side, when I traded my ZX-14 for a ZX-10R, I did it through Burnaby Kawasaki in BC, mostly because I trust the people in that shop completely. I'd gotten to know them both through buying bits for the 14, as well as at the local track, where one of the sales guys raced. In truth, they knew I was looking to move on from the 14, and so gave me first shot at the 10 before it hit the floor. To be fair, despite only 1900 km on the odometer, it was slathered in poorly applied stickers (and I mean slathered, I think I counted close to 100) that they really didn't want to peel off:

zx10r stickers right.jpg
zx10r stickers left.jpg

Still, they gave me a great price, both on the 14 coming in and the 10 going out, and I spent bucketloads at that dealership for the next 9 years.

On the negative side, I had a crap experience when I traded the 10 for the Tuono at the only Aprilia dealership in Vancouver, International Motorsports. I was promised all sorts of stuff for trade-in value, spent a lot of backing and forthing on price, and despite promises that an inspection was, "only to check that the tires are on the rims, just a formality", they knocked the trade value down by $500 from $4k to $3.5k, just as I was putting pen to paper. Used the excuse that the tires were cupped and the forks were leaking, neither of which was true. I knew I was getting played, and literally sat for a few awkward minutes staring at the shady sales guy debating whether to walk. I'd put myself in a bind, though, as I'd promised the wife that I'd sell the Kawi, and was going to be moving shortly, so didn't know if I'd have time to sell it privately. I was getting a good deal on the Tuono, and so went through with the trade, but I still regret it. In hindsight, I should have kept the Kawi, apologised to the wife, and sold it privately for $5k or just turned it into a track bike. I think the thing that irked me more than the actual dollar amount was the dishonesty and obvious manipulation of it all. Me spending money there was obviously a moot point with the pending move, but had I stayed, I would have driven hours out of my way to avoid spending a dime at that shop. I only returned for a minor warranty claim.

Not sure where I'm going with storytime here. I guess it's that dealerships can vary just like people. I feel pretty confident (based on reputation) that George at Corsa Meccanica would be stand-up about anything he sold, just as I know that the guy who sold me my RC51 was less than 100% accurate about a bunch of stuff. To be fair, it's possible he just didn't know, as the bike had a long and chequered history before he got his mitts on it, but it was still inaccurate and if I didn't know better, I would have overpaid. He was selling the bike as ready to safety, but it would have needed a lot to get there...
 
I think whenever you buy a bike, it's always best to interview the bike.

Dealers can't possibly know how a bike has lived it's life. Owners might look and feel honest, but then again who knows? Owners might give you a receipt book, that shows oil, filter, brakes, valve service -- but if there's a reciept for a fairing/windshield/bars and case cover that won't likely be in the binder.

Caveat Emptor.
 
I think a big factor has to be new riders not really knowing what to look for when buying a used bike. Not wanting to get stuck if something goes wrong. So at first glance a dealership might feel safer.
 
I personally don't advertise if I have a bike for sale. Don't want strangers coming around and then the next thing you know bike is stolen at 2:30 am a day later. I advertise through word of mouth to friends and if it isn't sold within a month I trade it in at a dealer. Last two bikes have gone this way and I was able to get more than trade in value plus beat the dealer down on price for the replacement bike as no trade to devalue the deal.
 
BKnight said:
I personally don't advertise if I have a bike for sale. Don't want strangers coming around and then the next thing you know bike is stolen at 2:30 am a day later.
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I've bought and sold a few bikes private sale. Buyer or seller, we always meet in a parking lot or gas station, at least initially. When all the details are finalized and it comes time to exchange money, then we can meet up where the bike is stored. The bike is presumably leaving after the transaction anyway, so no harm. And most times, we exchange drivers license info for Bill of Sale and MTO transfer docs.
 
My concern is even finding a dealer in the GTA. Seems here in the west end we are seeing shops close up and no new ones opening up. Lately, i just noticed a well known HD shop closed up but supposedly set up shop again somewhere.

Last summer I had placed my GSX1250FA for private sale in the usual places like Kijji and Auto Trader but after getting beaten up with messages from folks, even name-calling over my ethnicity, i pulled the ad. Had there been a dealer nearby, i would have tried to work with them on either a trade deal or consignment arrangement.
 
i Have had two friends buy from the dealer and the bikes broke down on the way home. Parts fell off. Dealer at least they are insured and omvic.
 
crankcall said:
Iv'e bought used/new/ both from private and dealers. You can get good , bad , and just stupid at either level.
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I agree with this, you are going to find good and bad with both. The only difference, nowadays, is the power of Social Media.
If you are buying from a dealer, I think they have to be a little more careful than they were in the past.
 
While there are some really dickless salesman and complete wanks as sales managers , I would imagine on the other side of the desk there are some real gems to deal with also.
I was at Oakville Ducati one afternoon and a youngish guy comes in and proceeds to tell the salesman he'll be back in a couple days and sit down to discuss financing on a new bike, his license was under a three day suspension and he would be clear on friday. He left driving a car.
 
crankcall said:
While there are some really dickless salesman and complete wanks as sales managers , I would imagine on the other side of the desk there are some real gems to deal with also.
I was at Oakville Ducati one afternoon and a youngish guy comes in and proceeds to tell the salesman he'll be back in a couple days and sit down to discuss financing on a new bike, his license was under a three day suspension and he would be clear on friday. He left driving a car.
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oh yeah. when i bought the XR the sales guy was telling me in the last year he had 2 people come back with brand new M pkg. S1000RR trying to return them because they had no idea insurance would be so expensive to maintain.

What else..oh yeah, he's had people easily in their 30s put down a deposit on a bike then ask where to go get a license.
 
Evoex said:
oh yeah. when i bought the XR the sales guy was telling me in the last year he had 2 people come back with brand new M pkg. S1000RR trying to return them because they had no idea insurance would be so expensive to maintain.

What else..oh yeah, he's had people easily in their 30s put down a deposit on a bike then ask where to go get a license.
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Whoa, talking about the impulse buy.... :rolleyes:
 
Evoex said:
oh yeah. when i bought the XR the sales guy was telling me in the last year he had 2 people come back with brand new M pkg. S1000RR trying to return them because they had no idea insurance would be so expensive to maintain.

What else..oh yeah, he's had people easily in their 30s put down a deposit on a bike then ask where to go get a license.
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One of the salesguys I bought a bike from at the old Cycle World East location told me that he'd try to talk any newbies out of buying a literbike or Hayabusa as their first ride.

Couple of years later he was no longer selling bikes.

Those two facts may or may not be related. ?‍♂️
 
SoulfulStrut said:
Whoa, talking about the impulse buy.... :rolleyes:
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Go to a Harley dealer for impulse buying taken to 11. I watched a guy buy a night rod. Financed for close to a decade (interest almost equal to cost of bike). His buddy asked how he was going to afford the payments and he said he would just work every weekend until it was paid off. His buddy asked him when he would ride it if he was working every weekend and got a blank stare. Guy did the paper work and said he would be back in a week to pick it up once he got his license back. Facepalm.
 
GreyGhost said:
Go to a Harley dealer for impulse buying taken to 11. I watched a guy buy a night rod. Financed for close to a decade (interest almost equal to cost of bike). His buddy asked how he was going to afford the payments and he said he would just work every weekend until it was paid off. His buddy asked him when he would ride it if he was working every weekend and got a blank stare. Guy did the paper work and said he would be back in a week to pick it up once he got his license back. Facepalm.
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I mentioned that we only managed to get Neda's bike because the previous buyer's financing fell through because of poor credit.

Guy came back to the store after managing to get alternative financing. The salesguy confided to me what interest rate he was paying.

23% APR.

:oops:
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