Craigslist Postings. (Moto Sales Gems)

[junior varsity]

Would you ever consider purchasing a bike off craigslist?

I regularly plan on the site, but want to point out frequent concerns:

There are a colossal number of owners who don't know anything about the bike they are selling. Current Examples:

900SS - "926 Supersport" - Interesting, the 926 was a big bore kit available for the 851/888 4v superbikes, rather than the 2v 904cc
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/mcy/1427546559.html
Examples of actual 926 Ducatis:
1. http://www.aaroncurto.com/motorcycle/851.cfm
2. http://www.pierrecol.com/gb/926.html

The 2006 "660" Monster
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/mcy/1414938968.html
I'm attributing this to a typo, but if you are going to try to sell a bike, you think you'd put some effort into the listing.

That's it for today, there are many more.   

[Pinocchio]

Micah Shoemaker, owner of FP1 Racing Aprilia in New Braunfels, shared his thoughts with me one rainy afternoon back in May about Craigslist bike for sale postings in Dallas. He says there is a lot of bike thievery going on in D/FW. Chop shops are in full swing, half the ads out there are attempts to steal from you: your bike, car, tools, whatever isn't bolted down. And if you post your own bike, you should never let a "potential buyer" come to your house. Offer to show your bike to them at your place of business, and give them as little of your personal information as possible until you see the cash in their hand. Do your business in public, well-lit areas.

Based on his very shrewd observations, I think gross inaccuracies in the offered bike's description would be a huge warning to steer clear.

[junior varsity]

Or bring a Paulie/Vinnie type character along with you.

[fastwin]

When I sold my used bikes in the good old days of newspaper ads (pre-internet) I got so freaking tired of being stood up weekend after weekend of folks saying they were interested and coming over to my house at XX time and then never showing up! I can't tell you how many weekend days I spent waiting for people to show and staring at the phone waiting for them to call. To no avail.

Finally I had an epiphany and said screw them, no more BS!! I said to all potential buyers that they could come and see the bikes at my office during regular business hours. It was on my time and at my convenience... not theirs. Weeded out 90% of the bullshit and narrowed the really serious buyers. It works! Too many wankers out there playing games. If the mountain will not come to Mohammad, Mohammad will go to the mountain. No time for tire kickers who never show up.

[muskrat]

cruising craigslist is funnier than hell sometimes.  of course, the lawyer ads are the best.