Advise on shipping, payment and transfer of ownership

Hi folks, I just closed on a 1150GS which will be my Christmas present. The bike is currently in LA area in California and I am based out of Chicagoland, IL. This is the first bike I am buying and want your advise on shipping, payment methods, and transfer of ownership.

1) What are the most reliable motorcycle shipping companies out there?
2) What is the best method of sending the payment?
3) What is the process to transfer ownership?

Please advise.

Regards
ritesh

If you pay by Paypal, don't send that amount of money as a gift.

one way is to fly out and pay for it and load it on the shippers truck yourself.


I used escrow.com, which is another way. You both stay home.
hHe gave them the title. I gave them the money. Except for $100 i paypal'd him for a deposit. I paid shipper to ship. Once i got it, i inspected, accepted, and authorized escrow.com to pay him. Once he got money, he authorized escrow.com to send me the title. Worked like butter but you both have to agree from the getgo.

Did you buy it from an inmate? If so, who? We might know him and the bike.

I bought a bike from an inmate last year and the process was trouble-free. I used Federal Motorcycle Transport (funtransport.com). If you are a member of AMA or a few other owner groups you get a discount. Top notch and professional in every way.

Try the search function too. Lots of threads on these subjects already. Assuming the bike has a California title, just have the seller Fedex the title to you. Don't ever send it with the bike.

I bought my 2001 1150 gs in Miami, FL when I lived in Colorado so me and the wife flew out there, paid for the bike, rode out to Key West and turned around and rode it all the way back to Colorado (Via the senic way). I must say it it was the best trip ever!! Make sure you get the title (signed off by the seller or sellers ) get a bill of sale with the seller or sellers signiture/s on it. Make sure you put it on your insurance before you leave. When you get home you'll have to have a VIN inspection done on it. Good luck !!

After 2 good experiences with U-ship I just had a bad one last week.
Shipper missed pickup and had zero responses from my phonecalls and emails.
U-ship delayed a refund and then only offered a partial refund.
I filed a BBB complaint online and it was instantly resolved.
Be careful with U-ship.

Dont do that Uship BS you never know who has your bike or what there hauling it on. I have done them all this the the one way you can sleep at night.
http://keyboardmotorcycleshipping.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=8

I just bought a super duke and sold a zx-14, both remotely, and entirely over the phone or forums.

Both me and my buyer used
https://www.1aamotorcycles.com/

for shipping. They WILL DO escrow too, for a fee of course.


In both cases we were comfortable enough after a lot of phone conversations to skip the escrow. We did this:

The seller writes a bill of sale, photocopies their driver's license, the title, and faxes or scans and emails them to the buyer.

The buyer overnights the funds.

The seller overnights the title.

Shipping company picks up.

In both cases we spent considerable time on the phone and felt comfortable with the transaction. There was still plenty of risk for the buyer though. Escrow would be the safest route.

I've used uship a couple times, and neither experience was great. One shipper wasted 6 weeks of my time and never picked up. The next had my bike barely strapped onto a hay hauler. It made it but I wasn't impressed.

1AA costs a little more than uship typically, but not much, and they ship a LOT of bikes. Both pick ups and drop offs were timely and both bikes were undamaged.

SORRY to disagree!

I'm a Uship believer.

Shipped several bikes through them and although had a few snags here and there, always was a good experience. Some of the shippers went WAY out of their way - even spent almost the whole day waiting on the owner just to make the deal happen. Just be aware. Scammers in EVERY line of business, shipping included - professionals too. There is always some form of risk involved when buying away from home. Someone HAS to take a risk - PERIOD! I find by talking to owner you can KNOW what kind of condition bike has been kept in and allay any fears you might have - CRUCIAL!

I let them know ahead of time IF she arrives home with NO more damage than she already had they'll be some sort of a tip involved - whether it's just buying them dinner or a more substantial form!

Payment also can be a problem - because of SCAMMERS, etc. Some people haven't done an out of town deal and are deathly afraid of any form of payment other than CASH. IF you look, even on Craigslist pages they TELL you NOT to deal with anyone out of your own town, etc. Sorry folks this is 2012 and that special bike you've been searching for in YOUR town isn't available BUT one possibly even better is a thousand miles away.Sometimes a bank transfer is possible sometimes not. I find using "Postal" money orders are the next best thing to cash. You can remind sellers it IS a "FEDERAL" offense IF something is illegally doneand really helps the sellers comfort level!

After all that - I did use Federal the first time I shipped and it was SMOOOOTH as silk - also way more expensive too.

Let the buyer beware! Just my $1.02 cents... ANYONE else with good info I can learn something from for my NEXT time?

Had my KTM ADv shipped from Dallas to Reno...Used UsHiP and had no problems! Make sure when you settle for a shipper that they have solid feedback!

Thank you. based on the advise I sent my advance deposit as a "purchase".

@dav_dman: thank you for your input. I will definitely check out escrow.com
@groop: yes, he is a fellow inmate. I will check out funtransport.com. Also, good call on title being sent separately.
@sarelp: thank you. I will draft a bill of sale to get his signature as well as get signed title.
@dougfromindy: when I checked online u-ship came up a lot. Thank you for the heads up.
@WacoDirtryder: thank you. Just heard another bad experience fro uship. Will check out the vendor.
@Hank.SD: Thank you so much for the detailed process review. If they can do escrow, even better. The devil is in the details and I apprecaite it.
@greywolves: thank you for things to watch out. That is the very reason why these inputs are so helpful.
@CoFloW: Thank you.

Thank you all. This was very helpful. I truly appreciate it.

How can anyone say Uship is good or bad. It's just a bidding site. They have no power over the shipper. UShip is a way to get bids on shipping but can't be considered a shipper.

Escrow is the ONLY way to go if you don't pick it up in person. Pick a reliable shipper based on references here. They are all similiar in price.

Maybe we can work something out. I live in So Cal and am trying to buy a toybox in Indianapolis but the deal will only make sense if I can get my transportation cost down.

I'm thinking something like this. After you settle payment and stuff with the seller I'll drive to LA in my truck and pick up your bike and deliver to IL within 3 or 4 days. Then I head to Indy for my toybox. You pay after bike is delivered and you are happy. We would just need to figure out a fair price for both of us. Not sure what you are being quoted so far but maybe I can just match your best price or a bit lower? Inmates helping inmates.

Just a thought.

THIS is awesome. Just get insurance.

PM sent. My deal in Indy is 99% done. Lets do this and help each other out.

Mr. Thumb, very interesting proposal, and definitely open to the idea. Have you done this before for someone else? it would be great if I could get other inmates to vouch for you.

Also, will you be able to insure the haul? Please advise.

PM replied to.

Not sure about insurance. Something I/we will need to check into. What is the value of the bike?

Folks, thank you all for your help. I just got insurance from progressive as well today.