Tomorrow I am supposed to be driving down to Indiana to pick up a new (for me) 01 CBR for 3500 (10,000 miles). Figure its a pretty decent deal.

Communication with the seller has been great (phone/email). He has provided all sorts of pics of the bike and everything seems in order.

BUT, he doesnt have the title on him. He says that he has ordered one from the IN dmv (their website says it can take up to 28 days to get a new title out).

Tomorrow is basically the only day in the forseeable future that myself, my friend with the truck, and the seller are all available.

My question i guess is this: If he were to decided to not send the title up here when he finally gets it, how screwed would I be? I will definitely get a bill of sale and all of the info from the seller. I wont really need to register the bike soon, it will be stored till this pesky snow goes away.

Thanks guys for the help, this site has been great!
-Dave

 

i understand that your situation is complicated when trying to get three people together at the same time. but i would wait until he/she has the title in hand and ready to sign over. its hard to trust someone that you never met. if you decide to go through with it, i would not only get a bill of sale, but i would also draw up some kind of document for the seller to sign stating that "the bike was sold without title present and the seller will sign over and ship the title to its new owner (you) in a timely manner". that way you have two signed documents for the sale in case any problems should arise. just some thoughts.

 

A clause like that is included in the Bill of sale i typed up, thanks for the idea! This guy seems pretty standup, ill be meeting him at his home, ive seen other bikes of his and such. Great bike for a relative newby like me, I dont want perfect plastics cause ill just mess em up anyway. So this bike, with its mileage and plastics shoudl be great. Just this one stupid hitch...

 

All con-men probably seem like standup guys, til they bend you over... just kidding. So the bike is not under any liens, but the title is misplaced? Is that the story? Post some of the pics so we can see it.

 

the bike is an 01. im only assuming, but maybe it just got paid off. and definately post some pics when you get a chance.

 

A BILL OF SALE is only legitament in court(if something goes wrong) if it has been notarized by a sworn notary. Trust Me. Your buddies signature as a witness isnt squat until it has been signed and stamped by a notary. Just trying to give a little hindsight 20/20. Their are notaries in every city.

 

Shes totally paid off. I figure ill be getting a copy of his driver's license, and verifying home address/phone number, plus his cell, ill have many ways of tracking him down if necessary, plus he knows about my last three years as a lowly part time LEO. So he knows im good at finding people.

 

LEO!!! I smell bacon....

Just kidding.

 

Haha, yea yea yea.

I picked up the bike yesterday. Basically, he provided me with a copy of his Drivers license, student ID, passport (here from korea for school at purdue) as well as his korean ID so i feel pretty confident. Also while there I got all the plate numbers of all the vehicles in the home. We did a bill of sale, not that it means much in MI, but just for ****s and giggles. I also have all the previous title info from the previous owner, as well as his contact information.

Of course i cant be 100% sure, but im right up there with the confidence level that all will turn out well.

Bike looks/runs great, cant wait for the weather to warm up, and my title to show up in the mail!

 

It's always good to have a contract to hash out the finer points. You should be able to get that accomplished.