Where should I sell my motorcycle?

March 7, 2005 1:14 PM

I live in the SF Bay Area and I need to sell my motorcycle. I've heard advice from Cragislist to Ebay to Cycle Trader, all of which seem fine, but no one I've talked to can make comparisons -- They've all used just one service. Turning to the MeFi community to help, does anyone have anything to offer besides just individual anecdotes? Is there a resource that compares selling services for bikes (or just vehicles in general) that could help with the decision?
posted by wolftrouble to shopping (4 comments total)

In answer to your question, I doubt it. It's a crapshoot. What kind of bike is it? Maybe try a brand-specific forum--you'd get a captive audience there, I'd think. Or if it's a smaller bike (in terms of engine size) you might want to look into beginning riders forums.

I'll suppress my anecdotal experiences per your request.
posted by scratch at 1:19 PM on March 7, 2005

The biggest variable regarding which service is best is the bike, not the venue. A ragged old Honda is best marketed to a different group than a 2004 Moto Guzzi. It will also depend on whether you're looking (or willing) to trade up or down, or sell outright.
posted by obloquy at 2:47 PM on March 7, 2005

scratch: I'm loathe to describe the bike lest I be dinged for trying to use Ask MeFi for actually trying to sell it, but it's a BMW. I hadn't thought of trying to use a BMW-specific list or forum to do it, although now that I am it seems like it would be a ton of work -- Perhaps worth it.

obloquy: Good and helpful (if oblique) advice! That'll help in writing the description.
posted by wolftrouble at 3:03 PM on March 7, 2005

C/L is free and pretty low effort - couldn't hurt to just list it there among what ever other methods you decide on. When the husband or I have been looking for bikes its our first stop. Cycletrader is second Ebay third. Both of us bought our current bikes on C/L.
When SF BMW used to be independent I would have said put up a flyer there but now that they are part of the car dealership my guess is that would be frowned upon. Scuderia has a place for posting bikes for sale - I always look when I'm in there.
Note that it is the first week of sun in many days of rain. Your timing is perfect - I would not delay.
posted by Wolfie at 4:19 PM on March 7, 2005