Selling an old motorcycle is easier than ever before because there are so many ways to do it. There are lots of ways motorcycle owners can showcase their bikes to potential buyers, giving all the details and commanding the best price possible.
Sellers will want to make sure they know what information is vital for the sale and what should be provided as standard, as that is what buyers will want to see, or else one bike advert won’t stand out over the others and sellers won’t manage to sell.
Anyone selling their old motorcycle in order to buy a new one should ensure they are properly insured. It may be possible to amend the existing cover for the new bike; or the rider can cancel their existing motorbike insurance policy and arrange a new policy. NimbleFins, where you can compare the best motorcycle insurance companies, can be a useful resource to compare quotes.
Ways to sell your old motorcycle
Sometimes a person might approach a motorcycle owner and say they want to buy a bike. This can be tricky if a seller doesn’t know how to do it. Or perhaps a seller wants to sell their bike but doesn’t know where to start doing it.
The first thing to remember is that a motorbike that looks good is going to generate more interest and likely sell for a higher price, so making sure a bike is pristine clean for photographs and viewings is paramount. If there are any elements of damage, these should be repaired, as sellers have a much better chance of selling if the motorcycle looks really good.
Bikes should be in good working order before they are sold, so check the oil, tyres, coolant, electrics, and chains. Someone looking at a bike might know enough about them to check these items and it will look better if these items are all in order.
Make sure all of the paperwork is in order, including service records, receipts, and a HPI check.
Sellers should make sure they are selling their motorbikes at the right price by researching similar bikes to make sure that the price is realistic.
Be careful. Don’t let anyone test drive the bike without keeping something of theirs whilst they go and if they pay by cheque then don’t hand over the bike until the money has cleared.
How to sell a motorcycle online
There are several online selling sites for motorbikes and it’s a good idea to publish any bike for sale on all of them, as this is the best way to get lots of interest and offers.
If a quick sale is needed, try selling sites like wewantyourmotorbike.com.
There are lots of people selling bikes privately on Facebook, where there are selling pages specific to scooters and motorbikes. They’re a great place to start, as they’ll provide lots of examples on how to word ads to get a good response.
Then there’s eBay and Auto Trader, where templates will help with wording and ask for the information required to sell on those particular platforms. There, people can filter their requirements, which means bikes that match certain specifications will be shown when it is relevant.
It is vitally important that motorcycles for sale online are priced realistically, so make sure the posted bike is competitively valued. It might be worth asking a motorcycle specialist to value the bike beforehand.
Take decent pictures from lots of different angles so buyers know exactly what they are looking at. Imagery is incredibly important, as people want to know that what they are buying will look good.
Finally, nobody likes to be left with questions, so find an interesting ad that answers every possible question and copy its format when posting.
How to sell a motorcycle paperwork
There are some documents that are needed and some that are really nice to have. Motorcycle sellers should have their V5C documentation, which proves ownership and registration.
When selling privately, sellers must sign Section 8 of the V5C, get the buyer to complete Section 8, give the buyer the completed V5C section 2, and send the V5C to the DVLA.
Sellers should also immediately contact their insurer and inform them of the change.
It’s also a good idea to provide a full service history, a receipt for any modifications, and a HPI check. Provide a written receipt that specifies that the bike was ‘sold as seen’.
How much to sell my motorcycle for?
How much a motorcycle is worth depends on so many different things, including the age of it, the make and model, the mileage, and the condition it is in.
There are two key ways to value a motorcycle:
- look online for similar bikes and base the valuation on what others have listed theirs for,
- have a professional value the bike.
It is vitally important that the bike is realistically and competitively priced because there are thousands of bikes online and a bike stands no chance of selling if it is priced too high or too low.
