buying a used bike without the pinkslip

[punkguitarist]

i was about to buy someone's bike yesterday, until they told me they didnt have the pinkslip. they said they were still paying off the payments to the dealer. they said if i bought it then they could get the pinkslip in about a month. that sounded too sketchy to me. do you know if i went to the dealer with the owners of the the bike and paid the dealer, i could get the pinkslip right away? does anyone have any experience with this??

[kxf165]

no but i would go to the dealer with him because it could be stolden or something and u could be the 1 with the doush SP? hat on

[cornerspeed]

In Michigan you go to who ever holds the lien the bank typicaly the dealer is a middle man between the buyer and the bank. You give him the money to pay off the lien then they will give you a release of lien, take his title (pink slip) that's signed over to you with the release of lien to the Secretary of State and have it re-titled in your name. It's done with cars and bikes every day.

[arod2000]

Don't give your money to the guy, tell him you'll meet him at the dealer and do the transaction through the dealer. If he says no then it is likely stolen. If the dealer charges a fee to do this he should pay it as it is a cost to sell.

[Just_a_trail_rider]

Don't give your money to the guy, tell him you'll meet him at the dealer and do the transaction through the dealer. If he says no then it is likely stolen. If the dealer charges a fee to do this he should pay it as it is a cost to sell.

Correct. This should be a simple transaction once you talk to the people who are actually holding the pink slip.

1. Negotiate the price

2. Pay the lien holder his amount and he will give you the pink

3. Pay the owner the balance and he will give you the bike

[DRZCatastrophe]

Don't give your money to the guy, tell him you'll meet him at the dealer and do the transaction through the dealer. If he says no then it is likely stolen. If the dealer charges a fee to do this he should pay it as it is a cost to sell.

This a good idea. If he can't go to DMV with you, in CA you fill out this form:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg227.pdf

Note since there is a LIEN holder on the vehicle, the LIEN hold is the LEGAL owner of the bike. Make sure he signs and dates his stuff!!!

plus a bill of sale:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg135.pdf

Plus application for title or registration:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg343.pdf

Enjoy, I've got to go to work and all this stuff now on the new bikes!!

Oh yeah, and it does sound sketchy if he said the DEALER is hanging onto the title, unless it's a used bike already (for the guy you're buying it off of) and he has some kind of deal with the ower of the dealership. Which would be easy enough to check up on. Call the dealer.

[punkguitarist]

thanks those forms should help. the guy that's selling the bike is a quad and its his son's bike. so it would probably be hard for him to go to the dealer.

[barch88]

In Michigan you go to who ever holds the lien the bank typicaly the dealer is a middle man between the buyer and the bank. You give him the money to pay off the lien then they will give you a release of lien, take his title (pink slip) that's signed over to you with the release of lien to the Secretary of State and have it re-titled in your name. It's done with cars and bikes every day.

Exactly.

[DRZCatastrophe]

thanks those forms should help. the guy that's selling the bike is a quad and its his son's bike. so it would probably be hard for him to go to the dealer.

My point is, the DEALER is very RARELY the lienholder. Usually it's a finance company.

They only senario I could think of is that it was a trade in and the guy got a deal with the owner of the dealership to pay it off through them. Trade in's are (usually) physically OWNED by the dealership. But then again, usually it's all through a finance company. Does he KNOW the dealer? And worked something out through them??

[Sub]

don't bug the dealer with this kind of stuff. Call the lein holder and they will guide you through it. I've sold a street bike before like this, but the guy just paid me the money and took the bike and then I paid the bike off and sent him the pink.

[Tyge250]

don't bug the dealer with this kind of stuff. Call the lein holder and they will guide you through it. I've sold a street bike before like this, but the guy just paid me the money and took the bike and then I paid the bike off and sent him the pink.

I`ve done the same, but I had the buyer purchase a cashiers check from his bank payable to the finance company. Any differances can be made to owner based on an agreeable payment form. A fairly recent billing statement showing bike model and owners name/ address should show that the bike is legit. Sign a bill of sale and the new owner should fill comfortable walking away with his new bike. When the pink arrives call the buyer and tell him you`ve received the pink and it`s in the mail to him.

[DRZCatastrophe]

don't bug the dealer with this kind of stuff. Call the lein holder and they will guide you through it. I've sold a street bike before like this, but the guy just paid me the money and took the bike and then I paid the bike off and sent him the pink.

I KNOW. But the guys said the DEALER still has the pinkslip. Doesn't THAT sound strange to you??

[Kent Rathgeber]

It does sound strange UNLESS the dealer is in fact the lien holder. I'd take the serial number off the frame (and engine) and ask the Gov't agency responsible for registrations to check the numbers in the database. This should tell you if the bike is stolen or not. If you're still sketchy on this, take those numbers to the local police station and ask them to check their computers to see if it's been reported stolen. Better safe than sorry!!!!

[Desert Rat 450]

Correct. This should be a simple transaction once you talk to the people who are actually holding the pink slip.

1. Negotiate the price

2. Pay the lien holder his amount and he will give you the pink

3. Pay the owner the balance and he will give you the bike

:thumbsup:Definetily take the steps w/ no regret