[JaguarsLogic]

Hi guys,

sorry for shouting in the title but I really need quick advice.

I bid on this 2000 r1. I entered my max bid, then got outbid by a buyer, with ZERO feedback, who joined ebay in August of this year, and WHO LIVES IN CANADA.

So frantically, I call the seller and say you are not going to allow this guy to bid are you, he says I'll give him 2 days, if he does not pay, I'll sell it to you for X.

Someone else outbids canada and I just let them win it. So 10 minutes after the auction ends, the seller calls me and says it was his friend who bid to make sure canada does not win it, but it is still available if I want it.

I say HECK YES. I'm in. Then he says the bike does not have license plates because he moved in from Cali to TX and never drove it in tx. I have never heard anything like this before.

So I ask if he has a clear title. NO. he has to payoff the company in Cali but can have the title by monday.

So I ask if he has proof of ownership. He says no, but his name is on the registration.

This just raises a bunch of red flags. I dont want to buy a
1. stolen bike
2. a bike with a salvage title
and I definitely dont want to give almost 5k to someone who will dissappear.

I am going to pick it up tomorrow. What can I do to make sure this is a legit deal?

 

[Canuck]

Red flags = DON'T BUY IT!

 

[telerider]

get the vin number....call police to have them run it thru the ncic computer....then run the carfax on it. all of this will give you lots of info

 

[irace]

i wouldnt buy it either.

 

[Yamahuh]

First of all what is wrong with people bidding from Canada?
I've bid on and won e-bay auctions when I was living in Canada, what with import duties, taxes and the exchange rates it's an expensive proposition to buy a bike that's in the US but sometimes the price justifies it. A friend of mine drove from Canada to N.Y.City to pick up a Ducati that he won in an e-bay auction.

Anyway, that's besides the point, I don't see the plates being an issue unless you normally buy a vehicle plated, in Canada when we sell a vehicle the seller keeps the plates, so everything is sold unplated.
I would be more concerned about the clear title, I would ask him for he details on the loan, institution, contacts, phone and fax number etc and contact them directly. If they are unwilling to give you specifics about the status of his loan (i.e whether it's been paid off) I'd need som eother kind of ABSOLUTE proof that it's been paid for before I parted with any of my money.
I'm not sure how things work down there but here, the seller is legally obligated to provide and informnation package generated by the Ministry of Transport which proves that the seller is the legal owner, the bike has no salvage title and there are no liens against the bike.
It makes things very simple

Bottom line, if there are red flags in your mind ...walk away ... there are loads of bikes out there.

 

[JaguarsLogic]

get the vin number....call police to have them run it thru the ncic computer....then run the carfax on it. all of this will give you lots of info

I called the police and the number they gave me opens at 8:00 in the morning. I tried to run a carfax and it said it had 0 data.


I called the seller again and asked if he could give a phone number to have employment verified. Here is what he said " I work as an airtraffic controller so we dont give out the number because it disturbs us from doing our job.

The registration is under his name, but not at his current address. It is still under his address in Cali, also insurance on the vehicle was last at that address.

 

[angryyoungman]

Smells like poop man. There are tons of bikes out there, go buy another one.

 

[milletary]

If something sounds wrong then there is. DON'T BUY IT There are tone of bikes and deals. This i snot the last or the best one out there.

 

[vcyclenut]

i wouldnt give him the money till you get the title, sounds like he could be legit but it also sounds like it could be a scam, get as much personal info as possible from the guy, run the numbers, btw no way the guy can get a title that fast, it takes at least a week best case

 

[JaguarsLogic]

by the way,
this is the auction

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...d=1,1&item=4583412274&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

[silver_02_rider]

I'm gonna have to say that I haven't detected anything glaringly suspicious thus far. When I bought my 02, the guy selling it to me didn't have the title either because he was still financing it through his bank, so the bank was the actual title holder. However, he was still able to register the bike under his name and operate it legally. After I paid him the money, he paid off his bank and a few weeks later they mailed him the title. He then signed over the title to me and I became the title holder and the registered owner of the bike.

This may be the same scenario for the guy that's selling it to you. From what I understand, carfax doesn't carry reports for bikes. I think the best thing to do would be to go to the dmv and have them run the vin and see if everything is legit.

 

[Just_Me182001]

If this is your first bike bro, relax, when you find the ONE, everything will just fall into place, be patient.

 

[FIXTITS]

seller has no negative feedback.....but air traffic controller and can't
take calls that's kinda funny...actually im not to sure how legit you are.
7 posts no r1

 

[JaguarsLogic]

If this is your first bike bro, relax, when you find the ONE, everything will just fall into place, be patient.

This will be my second bike. I just sold no.1 today in anticipation

 

[JaguarsLogic]

seller has no negative feedback.....but air traffic controller and can't
take calls that's kinda funny...actually im not to sure how legit you are.
7 posts no r1

what can I say, I do my homework. If it turns out to be for real, first thing I will do is ride by the shop that would not take less than 5k for a red '00 with 24k miles and squeaky brakes.

 

[silver_02_rider]

what can I say, I do my homework. If it turns out to be for real, first thing I will do is ride by the shop that would not take less than 5k for a red '00 with 24k miles and squeaky brakes.

Well if I were you I wouldn't worry too much because you weren't the winning bidder so therefore you aren't obligated to buy. Inspect it first, check names and numbers to make sure it's legit. If you like it buy, if not move on.

 

[BobFV1]

I would not buy it, but it has nothing to do with the seller - that bike has a butt-heinous paint job!

 

[trendworks]

I got anxious like it sounds you are. My 3rd bike was a used Gixer 750 and the guy said he had the title. I drove down 120 miles to Long Beach and all of a sudden he said the title he has is the wrong one. The bank sent him the wrong one, wrong name but similar. Red Flag!

So I was there, all ready to buy and the bike was perfect. I trusted he'd get it corrected and send me the new one as he promised. He'd 2nd day deliver the title to me asap.

About 45 days later, no returned calls, nothing in the mail, etc. I called, emailed to no end. Finally I threatend to take him to court and he called right back. Long story short, he finally sent the title and I ended up selling the bike to get my 05 R1.

It's not worth the hassle. If it seems fishy then run away and don't look back.

oh, he swore the helmet he 'threw in' with the bike was a $500 helmet. Turns out its worth about $75.

 

[toejam]

this is the sellers obligation to have everything in order and make you comfortable. I would walk away just because he dosnt have all his shet in order. If this was such a good deal then I dont see why he had to put it on ebay to get it sold.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

I don't understand why people insist on making large purchases on E-Bay and then after committing (or about to committ) money to the auction, then asking if the auction is legit. It's either legit or not legit and if you have to ask then it's not. Personally, I would never buy any vehicle on E-Bay.