[seattleboatguy]

Would you buy a Gold Wing (1990 or there-a-bouts) on ebay, sight unseen? Seems a little reckless, yet I see a lot of bids for a lot of bikes. If you were tempted to place an ebay bid, what precautions (if any) would you take?

 

[santini1953]

I tried to buy one last year that was supposedly in Texas and the guy insisted that i send him money instead of bringing cash to his door ! RED FLAG !!!! I of course told him NO , if you want to sell the bike i will come there and get it , at which time he was very busy and couldn't take the time to meet me for the sale . I told him to forget the whole deal , since he was a dirty rotten lowlife and he proceeded to curse me and call me names ( filthy Gringo ) and it ruined my day , because i couldn't choke the life out of the SOB !!!

 

[LarryinSeattle]

Welcome to the forum from Seattle.

I would search Craigslist and take my time and go look at the bike. Tires, condition and how it sounds/runs can't be seen on an ebay ad. There are a good amount of deals around. Check the Bellingham, Portland and Spokane sections of Craigslist. I bought my bike in Tri Cities.

I highly recommend the GWRRA groups (Goldwing Road Riders Association) to find folks who ride wings in your area. When you attend chapter meetings you will find friendly folks that ride the same motorcycle you do, and they know their motorcycle.

You can find a local chapter by going their website: http://www.gwrra.org

 

[Eric]

Welcome to GWOF from Down Under. I have brought two bike on ebay. The first one was interstate and 500mile away. I flew there and went to the bank and got the cash out and then went to look at the bike. I took the chance that it was as described. If it wasn't I would have lef it there.
The second bike was in my city. The price was very fair and I didn't even try to knock him down. And it is a good bike. For me I must be able to see it and the proper paper work and I pay in cash. I left a bike once because I was not happy with the paper work and that was the only thing wrong with it. Eric

 

[Cantankerous]

First of all welcome to the forum.

The deal with eBay is you need to trust the seller. There seem to be a lot of honest folks still out there, but as with all good things come the bad. I have purchased five vehicles off eBay. Two were good, two were sold by dishonest people and one wasn't quite what was expected, but the seller didn't actually lie. Good pictures, lots of them, and a good, well written description, will tell a lot about the seller.

 

[winchesterkidd]

I bought my wing on ebay. Rode a bus over 900 miles. But I did not pay a penny till I checked out the bike. Then paid cash. Ive been riding this one about 4 years. Its got 95000 miles now. Runs great.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

If you buy it through PayPay and it turns out not to be as respresented you can recieve a refund from PayPal and they will go after the seller. So they claim-never had to try this myself, but I'll put in my worthlkess opinion anyway.

 

[EFINREF]

I have bought a Suzuki Boulevard as well as hundreds of other things on eBay.
1. Try to communicate with the seller on the phone....arrange for a cash deal when you get there.
2. You can offer a $200 Paypal deposit. That way you feel better about going after a refund.
3. Dawg is pretty much spot on with the Paypal. Paypal offers much more protection for the buyer than the seller. You pretty much have to be satisfied with your purchase.

 

[trourke]

I bought a 96 LT4 Corvette off e-bay. Seller had 90 plus photos and I talked to him a number of times before purchase. I did not see the car till it arrived on a transport a week later. It was everything and then some of what I was told and saw in the photos. The seller had a good rating and talking to him put me at ease. That was my first e-bay purchase. It is one stunning Corvette. I was looking to purchace a Wing on e-bay but bought a new 2010 at a local dealer. So ya I would buy one off e-bay

 

[L2R]

No amount of others transactions guarantee yours good or bad. I have bought 2 cars on ebay, one was good the other not so good.
The owner was probably honest but didn't really know squat about vehicles.
I drove it about 100 miles before I had to get on the brakes to find the front brakes didn't work at all. The list continued.
no amount of pix guarantee how it runs.
I won't buy another one site unseen unless the seller is a person known to me or someone I trust looks at it first.

 

[WingnutGordo]

Welcome to GWOF , like the guys say get a paypal account and give a deposit then you need to see the bike and test drive it first , I buy stuff all the time on eBay and never got burnt yet , but paypal is the way to pay

 

[LarryinSeattle]

I agree with using PayPal. I bought a Honda Helix on Ebay down in Portland. (200 miles one way) It had 1500 miles on it and was an 06. It was promised to have nothing wrong with it....but when I showed up to pay for it, the bike needed to be jump started to run as the battery was dead. I paid for it anyway and loaded it up on the trailer and hauled it home.

 

[GWTrike]

Would you buy a Gold Wing (1990 or there-a-bouts) on ebay, sight unseen? Seems a little reckless, yet I see a lot of bids for a lot of bikes. If you were tempted to place an ebay bid, what precautions (if any) would you take?

Craigslist is so pervasive that I don't see a need to goto eBAY for anything other than aftermarket parts. I drove 200mi to see the GW trike I bought. Got the ad out of CL but in a locale farther away from me.

So, for me it's Craigslist, http://www.cycletrader.com, or the local newspaper for a local or semi-local buy or it's nothing.

 

[detdrbuzzard]

no, i would not buy a goldwing or anyother vehicle sight unseen

 

[LarryinSeattle]

If you are using Craigslist and would like to search other cities.... this is the tool to use:

http://www.searchtempest.com/

 

[mmkleine]

Ebay might be ok, but I had luck on Craigslist. Everyone sees Ebay but Craigslist is more area specific. I was not in a hurry and I looked at each state than town searching for a Wing with low miles (under 10,000)and hopefully in white. I found one in San Luis Opbispo, Ca. called the guy who said bike was pristine, 6300 miles with some accessories. He had heart issues and was afraid to ride with the medication he was taking. No pictures, he was not computer literate. I took a chance, flew out and in two hours was riding back to Cincinnati with a pristine 2008 Level two Wing in white for $15,000.00 with 6300 miles. They are out there. In fact, I know of one in Cincinnati that is a 2008 level two with 1600 miles. Not sure of price but guy said he would someone a great deal. He has a cruiser too which he usually rides because he only goes short distances.

 

[SpynCycle]

eBay is useful to find a vehicle in the local area, then examine in person before placing a bid.

 

[Jimmyjohn]

Welcome to the forums!

I have sold 2 Goldwings on eBay & one Honda 150cc scooter on eBay. The scooter was shipped sight unseen. The goldwings - one was picked up & the other I delivered, where it was inspected prior to payment.

I have an eBay 100% positive feedback rating of over 2500 - I sold a lot of software on eBay when eBay was new.

My Goldwing ads on eBay had about 25 photos and listed every little thing about the bike - what worked, what didn't work, the work I had done on it, etc.

 

[fyimo]

I bought my 2003 Honda VTX 1800 off of Ebay from a dealer 90 miles away from where I live. That was easy an easy deal because I bought it in 2005 that was a left over 2003 with 0 miles on it. The dealer had several in two colors (orange and silver) and when I won the bid I told them I wanted silver and it was ready when I picked it up. I saved about 2K over what the dealer in my town was charging for the exact same Bike.

I also bought a used bass boat from a dealer 50 miles from where I live and I called him ahead of time and we discussed the boat. When I won it I took a cashiers check with me made out for the purchase price made out to him or me. I told that if the boat tested out on the lake to be in the condition he had discribed then he would get the check and if not it would go back into my bank account.

Ebay is very strict on their sellers and Paypal protects the buyers with their buyer protection program so if you buy something you should pay with Paypal if you can. Ebay had a lot of problems years ago and they really changed their policies to where the buyer has all the rights. I'm a power seller on Ebay and I have an Ebay store so I have a lot of experience with Ebay.

As far as Craigs list is concerned I have had good luck with it also on the sellers side but there are some shaky people up there and you need to be careful as you have no protection up there.

 

[budoka]

Welcome to the site. It's the old 'buyer beware' thing. When you purchase anything that has been previously owned be it a Wing or something else there is an element of risk involved. Doing your due dilligence is your only assurance of getting what you think you are paying for, but it isn't iron clad unless you can visually inspect the thing. I have never been burned on e-bay, but I so seldom bid on anything without asking at least a few pertinent questions of the buyer that I'm covering my hiney at least enought to be comfortable. I have a buddy that has bought two Harleys on e-bay and been perfectly happy; I had another acquaintance that bought a vintage Honda 360 and got a lump.