Motorcycle at auctions

I

iammenotyou

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Hello!

I'm just getting in motorcycles, planning on taking the course soon, and also looking to get my first bike.

Luckily I do have a friend who has experience and has given me a lot of tips and is going to be helping me to pick the right first bike.

What I wanted to ask was if anyone knew if there were any auctions here in Canada that sold bikes? I know the auctions in the US can help you save quite a bit, and I've found a few very large motorcycle auctions in the states (especially in the south), but looking for something preferably in Ontario or at least relatively close. :) Either open to the public or dealer only because I have a close friend with a dealer license that would be willing to bid for at a dealer only auction.

If anyone knows of any it would be appreciated :)
 
Personally I would avoid auctions at all costs.

Typically at the beginning the auctioneer makes a blanket statement that the purchaser is buying a package that the purchaser has determined to be what they want. As is where is, no guarantees. Prices can be stupid if a few people want the same bike and don't have the brains to quit bidding.

Problem 2 is that there is no price list and you want to come away with a bike. That makes you go bid crazy if you see some of your options disappearing. If you spend your money on bike number 15 and then bike number 21 goes low in price you're stuck with your deal. If you hold out for 21 and it goes high you wish you bid higher for 15.

CHECK YOUR INSURANCE RATES. Yes,I'm yelling. If you don't we'll see your posts in the insurance section asking where a newbie can get cheap insurance and if they can put the bike in someone else's name to defraud the insurers.

How much money do you have to spend the first year? Then subtract three grand or more for basic insurance and a bit of mediocre gear. Now you have a dollar figure for the bike.

The spring motorcycle show comes up in April at the airport. They have used bikes to sit on and play vroom vroom. Get a feel for stuff, talk to the insurers that will be there.

If you are filthy rich ignore most of this reply and try not to kill yourself.
 
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Cardinal rule for a new riders is to call for insurance quotes before even contemplating purchase of any bike – in an auction situation where many things happen very quickly, you're going to find that impossible, and getting stuck with a motorcycle that's unexpectedly going to cost you several times it's own value to insure in the first year isn't going to be a fun situation. It happens more than you may understand at this point.

The other downside of auctions is that most vehicles are sold entirely as is, often with little or no maintenance history included, and worse yet you are often restricted or prevented from doing much more than starting the engine, so there's a element of risk involved.

The season is about to begin and there will be lots of used bikes to choose from soon, don't worry about saving every penny vs getting something you know is mechanically sound and actually insurable for you.
 
Thanks for the cautionary warnings. :) However, I'm planning on going with someone who has been riding for 15+ years. Has a good deal experience with riding/tinkering with bikes. So I understand there are risks, but based on the blue book values, at an auction should be able to save enough to basically pay for the years insurance.
So assuming I'm with someone that can do a check to see if the bike is mechanically sound, and assuming also that they won't let me bid on a bike that isn't for beginners and will have high insurance rates......Are there any auctions in Ontario that have bikes (and more than 2 or 3 because I found a few of those :)
 
Maybe try looking at some Cycle Salvage places?
 
iammenotyou said:
Thanks for the cautionary warnings. :) However, I'm planning on going with someone who has been riding for 15+ years. Has a good deal experience with riding/tinkering with bikes. So I understand there are risks, but based on the blue book values, at an auction should be able to save enough to basically pay for the years insurance.
So assuming I'm with someone that can do a check to see if the bike is mechanically sound, and assuming also that they won't let me bid on a bike that isn't for beginners and will have high insurance rates......Are there any auctions in Ontario that have bikes (and more than 2 or 3 because I found a few of those :)
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Very few bikers actually understand how motorcycle insurance works fyi... Usually tends to be the young 16-20 year old crowd that don't bother doing their research, and the 40+ year old crowd that have other things to do/worry about.

If you have an idea of what type/size of bike you want to get, call around to get hypothetical insurance quotes for 'like' bikes to get an idea. It can vary drastically from person to person even if you're in the same age group and have the same bike.
 
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fiddleguy said:
Sooooo...
......nobody knows of any auctions.

:laughing1::laughing1:
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Didn't think they were all the popular in Ontario... At least to the public...
 
Heard an ad on the radio for North Toronto Auctions. Says they are open to the public. Nit sure if they have motorcycles or not. There was also a thread last yearish that had links to police seized and for sale bikes. That's all I've got.

Sent from a Samsung Galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk
 
You can try North Toronto Auction, as Joe mentioned, but the quality/frequency of the bikes is pretty low. They do have historical bid results on their website, so you might have a better idea if you check that out.
 
Why not just look on kijiji or craigslist?
 
Blackfin said:
Why not just look on kijiji or craigslist?
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OP seems convinced/determined to find a better deal via auction. Personally, I suspect one might spend half the summer looking for said deal instead of just finding something the traditional route, perhaps paying a tiny bit more, and getting on 2 wheels in a more rapid fashion.
 
iammenotyou said:
Hello!

I'm just getting in motorcycles, planning on taking the course soon, and also looking to get my first bike.

Luckily I do have a friend who has experience and has given me a lot of tips and is going to be helping me to pick the right first bike.

What I wanted to ask was if anyone knew if there were any auctions here in Canada that sold bikes? I know the auctions in the US can help you save quite a bit, and I've found a few very large motorcycle auctions in the states (especially in the south), but looking for something preferably in Ontario or at least relatively close. :) Either open to the public or dealer only because I have a close friend with a dealer license that would be willing to bid for at a dealer only auction.

If anyone knows of any it would be appreciated :)
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never heard of auctions being big in canada,cars or bikes.
 
There are a bunch of different auction places in Canada (way more in the states). Most of the good ones are not open to the public. Dealers and brokers only. Those are the ones that you'll find the good ones at. For the most part you're bidding against dealers or breakers so they're bidding to what they can get out of it. Not what its worth to you.
You'll need to find a broker (and brokers charge a fee when you buy)
Some of the auction sites are just linked to the main auction houses. They just repost the items to get you to sign up and bid thru them (for the most part they are acting as a broker for you and will charge you the fees, or scam you into signing up. Be careful).
IAAI and copart are the biggest direct auction companies around.
I've found that anything that is usually open to the public is basically a reseller. They set the reserve to be the lowest retail, not a true open auction. And on top of that you're bidding against the general public, which usually means you're paying more.
You can get some great deals and you can see some crazy bids depending on the crowd.
Keep in mind that when bidding at these auctions, you must look at the title status. If the bike has the wrong status you won't be able to register it in Ontario. Do you homework. Also keep in mind if you're buying online..you're taking a risk. Bike might look great but the motor might be blow. They list obvious damage but don't usually check anything else. They're about volume.
I purchased a bike from Montreal at christmas from an insurance auction. I didn't care about the status of the title because it was for racing (this gave me more choices and better price).
 
PrivatePilot said:
OP seems convinced/determined to find a better deal via auction. Personally, I suspect one might spend half the summer looking for said deal instead of just finding something the traditional route, perhaps paying a tiny bit more, and getting on 2 wheels in a more rapid fashion.
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Kijiji is the way to go. There are no auctions worth mentioning in Ontario that deal with motorcycles and the process itself is inconvenient.

Kijiji becomes very good if you're willing to travel a bit out of GTA to secure a better price.

For example - last motorcycle I have acquired was purchased in Montreal. Cost me $200 for gas and trailer but I saved about $1,500 compared to what people post the same bike here for.

Luckily enough I had someone over there to look the bike over before I committed.
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