I usually find some good advice here. So here it goes. I am thinking about buyin a 2008 650R with 1500 miles on it for 3800. The guy whos selling it owes a little less than that for bike on his Kawasaki card. He said we could do a bill of sale stating that i bought it vin number all that good stuff. There are two ways we discussed paying for the bike in order for him to get me the title. 1. Write a check directly to kawasaki and then pay him the differece. 2. Give him a check for the 3800 his askin for have him deposit the check into his account and pay off Kawasaki, then get the title mailed to me. I have spoke with him on the phone and got some info from the guy seems legit, but i dont want to get burned. My question is would a Bill of Sale with his signature, mine and bike info be enough for the state of Virginia? then wait 10 days for the title? HELP PLEASE.

 

call dmv?....

 

Word

 

No title, no cash.

 

I'm assuming there is still a lien on the bike.

Run away as far and as fast as you can. It can be a horrible experience dealing with a title that has a lien on it. I had a GS500 I sold a while back that had a lien on it from the previous owner, and even once I had the title in my name with the bike completely paid off it was hell to get the lien taken off. You can ask Tri, the poor guy drove all the way down from NOVA to buy it, and I spent hours on the phone with the lienholder and with the people in the DMV trying to convince them there was no lien and that the bike was rightfully mine to sell.

If you insist on buying it, do TONS of research on this kind of situation. I don't think that he can legally sell the bike if he still owes money on it; I think that you have to actually purchase it from the lienholder with the person who is paying for the bike present. The number one thing you need to focus on though if you do decide do purchase the bike is getting a lien release letter to take to the DMV from the original lienholder, along with a bill of sale.

Read up here and have the owner read it as well:

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/ci...cles/liens.asp

 

Okay, I just went through this, and just received my title in the mail on xmas eve after I bought the bike from a private seller in october!

Many people sell/buy cars/bikes from individuals when they have a lien and no title. Very often there will be no problem and the seller will get you the title asap. I have only had one issue and that was with the bike I purchased in oct. It was not the sellers fault however, as her credit union was based out of FL and dicked her around for 2 months. Then DMV said there was some kind of bs hold on the title which delayed it more. The seller finally sent me the title with a xmas card and apoligized. However, they stayed in contact the whole time, so I didn't get too flustered.

Sometimes shit just happens. Make sure you have a bill of sale and if you are suspicious of the seller in any way, don't do it. Make sure they seem legit and don't look like they can't afford to pay their bills, otherwise they may just be trying to get over on you.

If you use common sense and get a bill of sale, you will 9 times out of 10 be okay, but there is always gonna be a small chance.

 

Statistically speaking you are probably ok but do your homework.

 

Alright guys thanks its either this 08 Ninja 650R or a co workers 2005 CBR600RR leanin more towards the Honda since i work with the guy and it has a clean title. Insurance is so much cheaper with the ninja so thats why it was one of my options.

 

I'd stay away from buying a vehicle with a lien on it, just for the fact that if there's one minor hiccup it throws the whole thing into a tizzy.

I sold a car to a friend with a lien, and felt bad when the bank took a month longer than originally expected to get me the release.