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Selling it aint so easy...

If there's any bottom line to this thread, it's that one might have a better idea of why a dealer has to buy low enough to cover the overhead, make something for the business, and get paid for their time and risk.
 
Buying at a distance from home

My most recent experience from a buyers perspective here was last June. I was looking for a late model R1200RT. I found a few that were acceptable but at a distance I was not willing to travel. Persistent I kept looking for something in Florida. The first one was in the Florida pan handle, nice looking bike, low mileage, willing seller. Willing seller until I questioned how he rode this bike every day as he claimed with an expired tag???? Which was shown in one of the photos he posted. It seems this ad disappeared from the internet. communication ceased Wonder why???

Next I located another in north Florida near the Georgia border, owner stated he was selling due to medical problems, price was good, pictures looked good. The guy was a professional lie detector operator, we discussed several things and then some unexpected previous problems and damages with the bike came to light.

After all considerations with the cost of travel and riding the bike or hauling it on a trailer came up it was evident I could buy the same motorcycle locally for less. All I had to do was wait and search. I found the same model at my local dealer. All costs considered I paid $3000.00 less by buying locally.
 
Buying at a distance from home is one of the negs & common obstacles of selling somewhat exotic machines in the boonies. You have to find that buyer that's willing to go out of their geography for a certain machine-it's that simple.Same notion if you looked for a BMW MC within say 100 mile radius of my home it would never be found & very few within 250 miles. Even the large sellers like several of the BMW MC dealers we all know about use places like ebay to reach out to the whole USA & make it known they will do AP PU's to facilitate buyers. This is all common knowledge in big ticket sales of cars,trucks,machinery & MC's.
As seen FL e.g. above,many people will not travel to buy, even when the time is not an obstacle it still makes a sale slower & can lower the price via less competition. A potential buyer for my MC just got through asking me this a.m. why I was priced lower than some others he'd seen-tha'ts why. For me it more a matter of which AP & the ticket cost,or how much gas to haul home ,etc.. Oh, & talking my wife into it-which never actually happens!:)
 
I bought my latest BMW from a dealer in Toronto sight unseen. And I live in Vancouver. Found it on the interwebz, requested and received detailed pictures and then had a buddy go and ride the thing around for 20 minutes just to make sure the pistons were going to stay inside the cylinders and the wheels weren't going to fall off.

Negotiated the price and the dealer arranged transport across the country. I had it 5 days later. Of course, they forgot to include the keys (!!) but other than that it was totally painless.
 
Some dealers have a fly and buy. They'll pick you up from the airport, give you lunch and you get to ride home. I almost did this with Chicago BMW. I ended up buying a leftover locally though.
 
Buying is not easy either?

I have just bought a 2004 RTP from California and am having a heck of a time sourcing a warranty Vehicle inquiry document to allow me to register it in Canada. No luck with the original owners dealer. The snow has finally gone and I would like to be able to ride it.
Any ideas that may help would be much appreciated.
 
I have just bought a 2004 RTP from California and am having a heck of a time sourcing a warranty Vehicle inquiry document to allow me to register it in Canada. No luck with the original owners dealer. The snow has finally gone and I would like to be able to ride it.
Any ideas that may help would be much appreciated.

Canada has laws regarding recalls. If you supply the last 7 of the VIN any BMW motorcycle dealer can look up recalls and print out the paperwork. The dealer can then provide you that document (there are no fees involved) showing the vehicle has no outstanding recalls. Should there be outstanding recalls please note you will need to perform the recall(s) first. Once the dealer submits the recall warranty for reimbursement it only takes a day or so for the recall report to show the work has been performed. This is assuming the dealer filed for the warranty reimbursement within a day or two of having performed the work.

Providing that document has always worked for me on any Canadian sale. It's really not a document per say; it's actually a printout of the screen for the most part but it seems to keep the Canadian authorities happy.
 
Providing that document has always worked for me on any Canadian sale. It's really not a document per say; it's actually a printout of the screen for the most part but it seems to keep the Canadian authorities happy.

Apparently some dealers are turned off by the part in red that says:

THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT TO BE USED OR RELIED UPON FOR IMPORT OR EXPORT PURPOSES AND IS NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED OR SHARED WITH THIRD PARTIES*​

And refuse to provide a copy of the report. Not all dealers are that way as I found the above pertaining to a bimmer on the web :laugh I guess youngatheart needs to find a friendlier dealer.
 
In the past I often was able to obtain a printout of a vehicles mfg./dealer record via a dealer's friendly(and genuinely helpful!)warranty clerk for the purpose (much like Carfax) of looking at the repair/service history.
 
In the past I often was able to obtain a printout of a vehicles mfg./dealer record via a dealer's friendly(and genuinely helpful!)warranty clerk for the purpose (much like Carfax) of looking at the repair/service history.

That would reflect warranty and recall repairs only and that is available nationwide at any BMW motorcycle dealer. Service history beyond that is not obtainable anywhere other than the servicing dealer. To my knowledge there is nothing similar to Carfax in the motorcycle industry. Carfax has done an excellent job in marketing but there is no guarantee whatsoever that its detailed information is complete.
 
Apparently some dealers are turned off by the part in red that says:

THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT TO BE USED OR RELIED UPON FOR IMPORT OR EXPORT PURPOSES AND IS NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED OR SHARED WITH THIRD PARTIES*​

And refuse to provide a copy of the report. Not all dealers are that way as I found the above pertaining to a bimmer on the web :laugh I guess youngatheart needs to find a friendlier dealer.

You are correct on that statement. I cannot fault a dealer wanting to follow that statement however. On the other hand as long as the need is a legitimate one I have used it for the very purpose the OP needed help in. I imagine it's there for legitimate legal reasons and if that is the case shame on me.

By the way that document can change every business day as it is a live document and subject to warranty submittals and new OEM-supplied updates which is why people shouldn't do what I do.
 
Some dealers have a fly and buy. They'll pick you up from the airport, give you lunch and you get to ride home. I almost did this with Chicago BMW. I ended up buying a leftover locally though.

I did this back in 97' with a BMW "pool" bike, a 97' R1100RS. Pool bikes were new bikes kept at BMW North America located In Los Angeles and the bikes were for BMW executives and the press to ride then they sold them with new warranties, etc.

It was the most fun I ever had buying a bike. Climbing on a plane in full motorcycle gear (I carried the helmet, did not wear it:brow) picked up the bike and rode 400 miles home....what a blast!:bliss
 
... I imagine it's there for legitimate legal reasons....

The reason is that BMW Canada is trying to reduce/restrict the flow of foreign used bikes into the Canadian market which, in their mind, negatively impacts their sales. Dealers in Canada often flat refuse to provide this required paperwork. Ducati dealers charge a fee to provide this recall form.

A dealer in Vancouver once had a sign posted in their service department stating that if you bought your bike from a US source you were going to be waiting a VERY long time for service and you were going to pay more for that service. That dealership has since changed ownership.
 
That would reflect warranty and recall repairs only and that is available nationwide at any BMW motorcycle dealer. Service history beyond that is not obtainable anywhere other than the servicing dealer. To my knowledge there is nothing similar to Carfax in the motorcycle industry. Carfax has done an excellent job in marketing but there is no guarantee whatsoever that its detailed information is complete.

I know what the dealer reports provide & that's why I brought them up in the 1st place.
Relax the censorship...
My point was to say what you said not write an essay on Carfax or dealer reports. I find that Carfax is a PIA when you sell something as even a minor repair goes down as an "incident" which to the average joe (that can't even hang a picture on the wall) is a huge red flag and it's almost like a branded title over not much.People think they've uncovered something big when it's a molehill not a mountain. Every time you sell something now days it's a fight to explain these tiny blemishes on a vehicle-I hope Carfax stays away from MC's!
 
The reason is that BMW Canada is trying to reduce/restrict the flow of foreign used bikes into the Canadian market which, in their mind, negatively impacts their sales. Dealers in Canada often flat refuse to provide this required paperwork. Ducati dealers charge a fee to provide this recall form.

A dealer in Vancouver once had a sign posted in their service department stating that if you bought your bike from a US source you were going to be waiting a VERY long time for service and you were going to pay more for that service. That dealership has since changed ownership.


Many USA states have laws enacted to keep vehicle sales to residents, in that state. Lobby is about them as sellers not us as buyers.
 
I have just bought a 2004 RTP from California and am having a heck of a time sourcing a warranty Vehicle inquiry document to allow me to register it in Canada. No luck with the original owners dealer. The snow has finally gone and I would like to be able to ride it.
Any ideas that may help would be much appreciated.

Sorry, but the only safe way for a Canadian to buy a U.S. bike is to make the delivery, by the seller, of a Recall Clearance Letter a condition of the sale. You may now have to pay a Canadian dealer for one. Last time I checked, Alberta dealers were charging $500. Officially, RIV will also accept a print out of your bike's service history from the dealership's service database, on DEALER letterhead (or stamped by the dealer) showing "no open campaigns". If you ask your seller, he may be able to get one of these from one of the guys in his dealer's service department.

Also, the Registrar of Imported Vehicles and BMW Canada seem to have a little policy agreement whereby RIV will only accept Canadian RCL's. A few Canadian buyers have had to re submit their applications to RIV a few times to get their bikes approved.

Given that your bike is an older model, and is somewhat uncommon, your local dealer may co-operate. Good luck.
 
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Selling a bike

3 words:
Cash
Cash
Cash

Just thought you might like to hear my experience.
Put a bike on the MOA website and IBMWR for sale
Was contacted by a scammer who referred to the bike as "the item"
Decided to play him out and continued corresponding
He sent the requisite rubber check
He asked where the bike could be picked up
I directed him to MY OFFICE (which interestingly was the office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General).
I notified the Pennsylvania Attorney General and sent a record of the correspondence along with the rubber check
I told him to go to "MY Office" and told him to ask for Tom Corbit (present governor of Pennsylvania and former Attorney General)

I often wonder what ever happened to the silly bastard.

Sure was fun.

Regards,

Will
 
I wonder why the guy would want to go through all the trouble & expense of buying a not that rare bike half a country away.
 
3 words:
Cash
Cash
Cash

Just thought you might like to hear my experience.
Put a bike on the MOA website and IBMWR for sale
Was contacted by a scammer who referred to the bike as "the item"
Decided to play him out and continued corresponding
He sent the requisite rubber check
He asked where the bike could be picked up
I directed him to MY OFFICE (which interestingly was the office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General).
I notified the Pennsylvania Attorney General and sent a record of the correspondence along with the rubber check
I told him to go to "MY Office" and told him to ask for Tom Corbit (present governor of Pennsylvania and former Attorney General)

I often wonder what ever happened to the silly bastard.

Sure was fun.

Regards,

Will

There was one [extremely] brief moment, when I thought it was fun to string these barstewards along. Then I realized they were costing me time- more time than I have for them and their scam. Now, I simply delete their email. The VERY most they'll ever hear back, is a response from me saying simply, "sorry, Item is no longer available." A couple times, I actually reported scam attempts to CL, but that is an even bigger waste of time & energy.
 
Cash, Cash, Cash,Cash

FWIW,

If the guy is willing to part with 16 Large, he should be willing to get on a plane or jump in a car and show up. If not, hold your bike for someone who deals in cash. If the locals try to lowball you, send them packing.

Also, the dirtbag Nigerian scammers used to refer to the bike as "the item" which became an inside joke with myself and some BMW friends. I played out one scammer, told him my name was Tom Corbitt and directed him to the office of the PA Attorney General. I often wondered what happened to the dirtbag.

Regards,

Will
 
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