[banglenot]

This appears to be a scam --

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2469759130&category=49997

Owner is offering a very low price of $11K on a 2003 vrod. No VIN posted. No reserve, current bid $100. Seller is limiting bidding to those who contact him by email, then enters into a dialog to try to get $$ from them. I dug into it because the location is nearby.

Owner is "in Bulgaria" and wants a deposit to confirm the deal.

I'm posting for the benefit of anyone (particularly younger people) who might be looking for a bike.

"If it looks too good to be true...."

On a more positive note, I just bought a nearby 2002 with 800mi for $14,500. I'll be on the road in a few weeks. Looking forward to getting back on a bike after 10 years... :hyper:

Cheers--

 

[BRY65]

Congrats with the you new ride! :vrod:
Yep it's a scam. Living in Bulgaria with a US plated V-Rod. Has scam written all over it!!

 

[gthong]

Hi.. good luck with you're v rod... at 14,500... was it stock.. or have some stuff on it... just being nosey... trying to keep an eye on values..

someone paid 16,800 with tax for a NEW 03 last week here on the forum. where do you live?

what do NEW 04's go for these days... are dealers REALLY getting MSRP?

take care

 

[KARAF]

BULGARIA????

It says East Hampton, NY.

 

[pkorns]

big scams on ebay

my buddy sold his vrod (very custom) a picture of which is on this web site,since that sale I have counted at least three seperate times the bike has
appeared on ebay with the add reworked. The scammer POS will give some
BS about being out of country and just put your cash into an escrow account
and the bike will be sent to you. The sad thing is you would not believe how
people buy into this s*#t and get burned.Cycle trader has the scams,but
they are are very good about putting warnings on their site and what to
look for.

 

[banglenot]

More on the scam

Interesting followup to the scam as I continued emailing the low-life in Bulgaria to get info from him -- I was curious how convincing he could be.

This guy has a new twist: The scammer has a scanned image of a V-rod title for the bike he's 'selling", and uses the name, identifying info and title to support his claim of ownership when you communciate with him by email. The scammer sent me the image.

I called the person on the scanned title, who was shocked to hear that his identity (at least this part of it) had been stolen. The victim is located in East Hampton, NY. The scammer uses a yahoo email account with the name on the scanned title. The bike really exists, and the data from the title can be verified by calling HD about when it was sold, etc.

So, if some gullible moron wires him some money in Bulgaria, the second victim will be the guy on the title who's name was stolen when he gets a visit by the cops...

Goes to show that you better keep a close eye on your paperwork. Can be surprising what it gets used for.

 

[banglenot]

Hi.. good luck with you're v rod... at 14,500... was it stock.. or have some stuff on it... just being nosey... trying to keep an eye on values..

someone paid 16,800 with tax for a NEW 03 last week here on the forum. where do you live?

what do NEW 04's go for these days... are dealers REALLY getting MSRP?

take care

$14.5K is a fair price for stock '02 v-rod -- check the closed auctions for price ranges -- from $14.2 to $15+ recently. Big issue is whether the bike is nearby -- a great deal doesn't mean a lot if the bike is 3000 miles away....

Used '03's are going for about a $K more. The offers for new '03s from the dealers here in the northeast are in the low-to-mid $17 out the door. Never tried to negotiate hard for a '04 -- can't see buying a new bike when so many good quality bikes with less that 1000 miles are out there.

Not seeing any premium for add-ons or mods.

Figure it makes sense to save a few thousand whenever I can...

 

[0992]

Just to help some of the people looking for V-Rods....I spent all winter researching bikes and prices and finally found one that suited me. I bought it on Ebay (item number 2463899104) just a few weeks ago and the pictures and description are still there (in case you want to check it out).

It's an 03, 1000 miles, white ghost flames which were an $1800 extra, SE 16ga exhaust, mapped, etc and has a security system and a few other minor goodies. I have a copy of the original invoice and it was sold new in May of 03 for $21500. I got it bought for $15000 and I'm tickled pink.
I got it about 2 weeks ago and it's just like new--not a mark on it. I have already spent $1000 on accessories and put 200 miles on it yesterday and today. I like my deal better every mile I go.

I have bought and sold about 8 cycles on Ebay in the last 2 years (always upgrading) and I have had all good deals..so far.

Good luck in your searches!

 

[banglenot]

gthong and 992

Great deal, 992--

Thanks for the ideas. I agree that it's a good use of the forum to let others know what we've learned about market prices. A sale yesterday on ebay for a 300mi '03 100th anniversary in Philly, for $14,700 makes me think I overpaid this week by about $300-400 for my recent purchase of a stock '02 with 800 miles. I was betting the ebay '03 would go for $15 -15.5.

If ebay sales are a good marker for low-mileage market value, I'd say the stock '03 models are now worth around $14.4 - 15, and the '02's in the $13.8-14.3 range. Of course, every bike and every deal is different: distance, whether mods are worth anything to buyer and seller, etc, etc, all color the deal.

It's interesting how the prices are dropping quickly this year. Since my bike was bought from a guy who paid $22K for it 18 months ago, and who had it parked next to his Ferrari and Jag in his garage, I think what's going on is that a number of wealthy folks bought the newest toy on the market back then and are now unloading them in favor of new ones. I'd guess we're going to see used vrod prices drop pretty quickly this year and next. Comments?

Say, Max -- if you read this, is it worthwhile to put in a new thread section on "Buying and Selling", that's not a place for ads, but is a place to discuss price trends, deals etc? I'm sure a lot of folks would be interested.

Oh, yeah -- one more thing on the ebay scam. It was. I talked to the actual owner last night, and he said that he had made the mistake of sending an image of his title to a potential buyer, which got out on the net. Just a comment to be careful how you let your proof of ownership documents get out there.

 

[BobT]

Thanks for the info.
How could any human being possibly have a 2002 V-Rod and limit themself to
800 miles in 2 years ?
That is remarkable restraint.
Or they live in like Antartica.....
Good Buy banglenot
I bet you are happy.
Most of us paid right around retail - plus or minus a little bit.
BobT

 

[vroddrew]

At this point I would not consider buying a V-Rod (or any other sort of vehicle) via e-bay under any circumstances.

In my opinion, the whole concept of buying a (reasonably plentiful) vehicle over the internet just doesn't make sense. Nor, of course, does it make much sense that the Nigerian Ministry of Economic Develobment (sic) would just happen to "loose" (sic - again) $27.845 million (US), of which I can take my reasonable share, if only I'll e-mail my bank account details to some guy living in Lagos.

The point I'm try to make is that there just isn't any real good reason to buy a bike like the V-Rod on e-bay. Sure, you might, just possibly, find a legitimate seller, with a halfway decent bike, not too far from where you live. But you are far more likely to run into the legion of scammers, etc. that have infested the service. And I'd far rather pay a fair price, to guy I can actually speak with, to buy a bike I can actually see. All these V-Rod scams are giving the bike a bad name.

 

[Daniii]

I sold my BSA on E-Bay. Worked out well, I think.

 

[banglenot]

(snip)

The point I'm try to make is that there just isn't any real good reason to buy a bike like the V-Rod on e-bay. Sure, you might, just possibly, find a legitimate seller, with a halfway decent bike, not too far from where you live. But you are far more likely to run into the legion of scammers, etc. that have infested the service. And I'd far rather pay a fair price, to guy I can actually speak with, to buy a bike I can actually see. All these V-Rod scams are giving the bike a bad name.

I agree that it can be dangerous. The upside is that 99% are legit, and you really do get a solid idea of market values on ebay. And there's some nice deals. For example, that deal for an '03 100th with 200 miles was legit and a very sweet one ($14.7!! -- wish I'd held off for 24 hours and I would have closed that deal). But I shook hands on it, and that seals the deal where I come from....

Still, you really have to be careful -- I'd never bid on a deal on ebay without seeing the bike and talking to the owner -- and seeing the title in person.

None of us would wire money to the seller of a car we saw in the paper, would we? Trouble is, people are apparently willing to do it on the internet. If someone's too dumb or lazy to take the basic precautions, it's hard to feel sorry for them. And like almost all scams, the buyer is attracted most often by a deal that seems too sweet to believe. Oops -- I feel a :soapbox: coming on. I'll shut up now...

Take care, all. See you on the road-- :kaz:

 

[banglenot]

Thanks for the info.
How could any human being possibly have a 2002 V-Rod and limit themself to
800 miles in 2 years ?
That is remarkable restraint.
Or they live in like Antartica.....
Good Buy banglenot
I bet you are happy.
Most of us paid right around retail - plus or minus a little bit.
BobT

Let's see -- he lived in a house worth at least two+ million, I guess. He owned a brand new Porsche Carerra4, a custom HD chopper he had had built for him, a Fat Boy, a 1948 HD 125cc bike, a Mercedes SUV and some other SUV. His buddy (where the V-rod was parked) had a Ferrari, a Jag XJ-8 and a Suburban, plus another custom chopper. Toy central. He owns a few buildings in NYC. Nice folks, and all that, but definitely a different view of $$ than the rest of us. Also, with so many toys, a v-rod is a passing fancy....

 

[gthong]

I agree with all you guys about buying a v rod on e bay... though I must admit I FOUND my bike on e bay... it did;nt meet reserve... so I persued the guy for a couple weeks and he relented... he was about 150 miles away. He took 1800.00 of his own money to pay off the load on top of the money I gave him for it... so it's easy to understand why he was reluctant to sell.

your're right... in general there just isn't any reason to buy a v rod on e bay and take the risk.

0992... a pretty smokin deal there bud .. just don't go too nuts on the extras and you won't get hurt on that one... that's the key... buy em with the expensive options.. it's cheaper to pay a former owner for extras than the stealer... but IMHO.. options are worth money if you;re going to buy them anyway.

 

[bt99]

I picked up my VROD through ebay. The bike was local, so it was easy to work out the details.

'03 White Ghost with only 500 miles!!

The previous owner gave me all the paperwork he had on the bike. He paid 18K in July 2003. I took it off his hands in March 2004 for 15K. :dance:

Now if the weather would cooperate, I could get out and enjoy it.