There are times in your life when you must make the best out of any situation you might find yourself in.
A couple of weeks ago the decision was made to sell my motorcycle. Once I convinced myself this was the right path I was faced with finding a way to sell it. The bike I was riding was one of the best made by Harley-Davidson, which means it’s also expensive. I not only had to figure out how to sell it, but I also had to know how much I could get for it. I checked a few different websites for the value of my bike and then searched for dealerships selling the same bike. I found a few different places with the same bike so I averaged the amount they were asking for it and settled on a number – I also decided on what the minimum would be.
One of the websites I found gave you an option to pick a dealership that may be interested in my bike. I checked all the boxes and filled out all the information, and sure enough, the phone rang. The dealership was interested. Arrangements were made for a time I could take the bike to the dealer so they could appraise it. Once there I sat and waited, and waited. After some time the sales manager approached me and sat down to start explaining how bad the market is right now. He gave me his opinion of why the market was bad – the upcoming election, the economy, interest rates. Finally, he made an offer. It was so low I looked at him and told him I felt insulted. He apologized and told me that had I come to him a year ago his offer would have been double. As I stood up to leave I told him that didn’t help me feel less insulted, it made me feel worse. He asked how much I was needing to get. I just told him he was over $10,000 low and that I would be looking at other dealerships.
I called a few, including the one I purchased the bike from in Minnesota, and got varying offers – all too low. I went back on the website and chose another dealership (in Tennessee) figuring I’d get the same story if they answered at all.
The next step was the private market. It didn’t take long before we were receiving messages and offers – all too low.
Then one day while I was on the golf course my phone rang. It was the Tennessee dealership’s sales manager. He asked if I still had my bike for sale and once I said I did he said he’d like to make me an offer. I was thinking I was going to hear a bunch of the same sob stories, so I was ready for yet another disappointment. When he told me the number he was willing to pay I was shocked to hear it was higher than the minimum I was willing to accept. I tried not to sound too excited when I accepted his offer.
The next problem was the distance. The sales manager told me he could hire someone with a flatbed trailer and have it picked up. When I received a call back with the amount this would cost me I told him I’d do some checking on renting a truck and trailer. After a few calls and calculations, I figured I could rent what I needed and haul the bike the 640 miles and save at least $600.
I told my better half that we could turn this into a little getaway and find ways to enjoy the adventure, so we made our plans. (Trying our hardest to make the best of the situation we found ourselves in.)
This column is being written two days before our departure, so I can’t report how things went – hopefully smoothly and without any surprises.
Have A Good Week!
