Selling/trading your bike back to the same dealership. Does it matter?

I don't normally churn through cars or bikes often enough to know this, so I'm looking for some perspectives.

5 years ago I bought a motorcycle from a local dealership that deals mostly in European makes. It has been a great bike, reliable and plenty of fun. I don't ride a whole lot so I've only put on about 2k miles a year.

I'm now trying to sell that bike. I haven't had any luck selling it on my own, and I think it's because it's a style of bike that most people in my area don't want. (most around here are into big body cruisers)

Is there any sort of unwritten rule that says I'll get screwed if I try to sell this bike back to the same dealer? I assume they have all the paperwork from the original sale in their system, so they'll know how much it sold for originally, and could use that against me.

 

Motorcycles are generally always best sold privately, unless you are potentially trading in to buy a new bike from the dealer then they will usually be forced to offer a more premium trade in, plus the tax credit makes it more worthwhile. They may try to use the 5 year old paperwork to lowball you further, or back up their offer saying "we gave you a deal..." but who knows. You could ask them if they would sell it on consignment which takes 10-15% but would be able to finance and offer more in house services.

Unlike some vehicles, i think motorcycle sales have slowed down a bit but in Texas you can ride year-round so maybe not so much there. Where are you listing this for sale? Cycletrader, facebook, ebay? If you find the right buyer shipping could allow you to reach more buyers where they over pay for stuff like California. What kind of bike is it? May just not be worth what you want to sell it for sadly.

 

@fatfurious2 how many bikes you trade in?? 5? 10?

 

Idk, at least 4. If you go to the same dealership, they should try to help you? If not try selling on a forum maybe or biketrader?

 

Not sure how TX works, but NJ offers tax incentives if you trade in your vehicle to a dealer. Really pays off on high end cars. I'm assuming the same for bikes, but since they're generally inexpensive compared to some cars, the tax reduction may not be more than what you'd get if you sold private party for more than the trade.

 

I've just listed on CL since it's only $5 for 30 days. I think I'll try CycleTrader's premium listing option since that might get some national attention.

 

could throw it up for sale here on TW as well, for frees

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/buy-sell-trade-other.35/

 

I would also try Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp. I sold my last motorcycle on OfferUp to a pretty cool guy