Brother in law passed away. Selling his bike (questions)

[Hazuki]

Hi all, apologies if this is in the wrong forum but wasn't sure where best to place it. For transparency, this isn't a For Sale post, but not knowing anything about bikes I'm in a bit of a pickle on how I would sell this with no personal history to the bike.

My brother in law sadly passed away last month, and we're currently getting everything in order with the house and his vehicles. He had a 2017 Ducati XDiavel in the garage, and I've been asked by his wife if I can sell it... problem is I no absolutely nothing about the bike, and have no idea how I would even try. The MOT lapsed a week after he had died, and is currently SORN in the garage.

I've rang around a few garages, and they all require the bike to be taken to them (none will come pick up the bike) so wondered if anyone had any ideas on the best way of getting this MOT'd if no-one in the family can ride a bike? It has 5,000+ miles on the clock, and passed it's last MOT with no advisories so I'm confident it'll pass the next one... but as it stands, it's a way for the potential purchaser to knock money off, and we need to get as much for it as we can to ease the financial hardship she's now in. The local Ducati garage had offered us £8,000 for it, but he had bought it for £14,000 last year so that's something we're not prepared to do.

Does anyone have any advice on this bike, or anything I should put in the advert... it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to start it(!) so would appreciate anything you guys can throw my way. Not sure if it's had any mods to it, other than the wing mirrors that don't look standard.

Thanks all

EDIT: [MOT now done]

Edited by Hazuki on Thursday 6th May 10:48

[FSEngineer]

Sorry for your loss.

If you post where abouts in the country you are, I'm sure a local PHer would be happy to help getting it MOT'd and selling it privately - unfortunately in this scenario a lot of dealers will take advantage of you not knowing much about the bike and wanting to get it moved on in order to give you an insultingly low offer.

[sherman]

You need a transit, a scaffold board and few ratchet straps. Get it to the MOT station and stick it on autotrader.
At the end of the day its up to the buyer to decide if its worth buying.

[Stuckinthe80s]

Really sorry to hear about your loss.
I haven’t had bikes for a number of years now but I wonder if a local motorbike delivery company that you could google would take it to and from a local garage for a reasonable sum if the garage doesn’t have the facility to collect ?

[Krikkit]

Sorry for your loss. Probably the least possible effort would be to put it on eBay with a reserve and see what it makes.

FSEngineer said:

If you post where abouts in the country you are, I'm sure a local PHer would be happy to help getting it MOT'd and selling it privately.

I'm up in the NW and would be happy to help.

ETA: I see you're in Wolverhampton, so a bit far.

From a quick look at your advert on AT I'd recommend taking it outside and getting some pics in the daylight, switch the ignition on and show a pic of the dash etc.

Here's a link to the user's manual to help you along, it's quite straight-forward.

https://assets.ctfassets.net/oifkva25gsx4/1GIH35rj...

Edited by Krikkit on Friday 9th April 14:38

[Biker 1]

First off, really sorry for your loss.

Perhaps look at Autotrader Bikes & take a look at other similar bikes to get an idea of value?
As others have pointed out, getting the bike to an MOT in a van is not a big deal, although you will need help getting it in/out as the Ducati is pretty heavy. Surely you have family/friends who have some knowledge of bikes? Definitely worth starting her up & checking everything works before getting MOT.....

[Hazuki]

Krikkit said:

I'm up in the NW and would be happy to help.

ETA: I see you're in Wolverhampton, so a bit far.

From a quick look at your advert on AT I'd recommend taking it outside and getting some pics in the daylight, switch the ignition on and show a pic of the dash etc.

Here's a link to the user's manual to help you along, it's quite straight-forward.

https://assets.ctfassets.net/oifkva25gsx4/1GIH35rj...

Edited by Krikkit on Friday 9th April 14:38

Thanks all. The autotrader ad is what they had already put up before they asked me to get involved. They have it priced far too low in my opinion, compared to what others are selling for on there - but judging by the advert, it probably looks like there's something wrong with it. Planning on taking some more detailed pics this weekend and putting it on eBay (if it isn't already).

Thanks for all your comments guys, never ventured in this forum before and happy that you're all a helpful bunch - I'll take all the comments on board and see what I can do.

[Jazoli]

Don't worry about MOT'ing the bike, its not going to fail on anything and lack of MOT under the circumstances would not worry me in the slightest as a purchaser and it shouldn't adversly affect the value by anything at all really, buy a copy of MCN and have a look in the back pages, there are usually quite a few dealers offering to buy bikes, even try wewantanybike to get an idea of trade cost.

Edited by Jazoli on Friday 9th April 14:49

[Krikkit]

Hazuki said:

Thanks all. The autotrader ad is what they had already put up before they asked me to get involved. They have it priced far too low in my opinion, compared to what others are selling for on there - but judging by the advert, it probably looks like there's something wrong with it. Planning on taking some more detailed pics this weekend and putting it on eBay (if it isn't already).

Thanks for all your comments guys, never ventured in this forum before and happy that you're all a helpful bunch - I'll take all the comments on board and see what I can do.

I'm not sure if it's really under-priced - there's not many about, but it's not super-low miles it seems, and there's a few brand new ones for £13.5-15k. It's also missing the wireless key, and although a lot of folks won't really mind too much, it is a bit of a negative in the bargaining stakes.

This one is almost identical, slightly fewer miles and up at a reputable dealer for not much more: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20201104...

[Hazuki]

Krikkit said:

I'm not sure if it's really under-priced - there's not many about, but it's not super-low miles it seems, and there's a few brand new ones for £13.5-15k. It's also missing the wireless key, and although a lot of folks won't really mind too much, it is a bit of a negative in the bargaining stakes.

This one is almost identical, slightly fewer miles and up at a reputable dealer for not much more: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20201104...

Thanks, sorry yes that's what I meant. It was priced around £11,000 when I think it's worth in the region of the one you had posted, albeit less £300 that Ducati want for a new keyfob.

I'll be redoing the advert however, the wireless fob is missing - in the sense that he had it stored safely somewhere at home/work and we don't know where (as opposed to lost on the road etc), but will forward this on when found... not sure if that will satisfy potential buyers, but hoping for the best.

[Biker 1]

Hazuki said:

Thanks for all your comments guys, never ventured in this forum before and happy that you're all a helpful bunch - I'll take all the comments on board and see what I can do.

I'd like to think that this corner of PH is a little friendlier & helpful than the likes of N, P & E......

[Drawweight]

Have you considered the ‘We buy any bike’ type of site?

It’ll only take a few clicks of the mouse to see if it’s worth punting their way.

Obviously you’ll get less than other methods but it’s relatively hassle free.

Just a thought.

[stang65]

Jazoli said:

Don't worry about MOT'ing the bike, its not going to fail on anything and lack of MOT under the circumstances would not worry me in the slightest as a purchaser and it shouldn't adversly affect the value by anything at all really, buy a copy of MCN and have a look in the back pages, there are usually quite a few dealers offering to buy bikes, even try wewantanybike to get an idea of trade cost.

Edited by Jazoli on Friday 9th April 14:49

I'm afraid I'm going to disagree with this and say you need to get it MOT'd. As I buyer if a bike wasn't MOT'd I'd be wondering why not, and although there is a reason in this case as a buyer I don't know if you're blagging it or not. Even more of an issue is that I can't come to you, view, buy and ride it away which either means the hassle/cost of hiring a van (not likely) or moving on to the next advert (much more likely). Anyone who would by an unMOT'd bike will know the pool of buyers is reduced and make you feel it on the price. I might risk it if you were local, but again there's a smaller pool of buyers which I'd reflect in any offer.

Just my opinion but if I'm getting the hassle of MOTing a bike instead of the seller I expect something back for it...how much is up for debate....but I'd probably being offering a little above trade price as that's who you're competing with on the purchase.

Good luck with the sale, and hopefully you'll find someone more trusting and generous than me.

[Krikkit]

The only reason I'd be worried about the MOT is that I'd have to collect it in a van, they're so easy to inspect, it's obvious when they wouldn't pass.

Therefore I might barter someone down a couple of hundred quid but otherwise I wouldn't be fussed.

[sherman]

The MOT certificate will increase the selling price by more than the cost of getting it to and from the MOT station.

[Krikkit]

Hazuki said:

Well truth be told, I did my CBT a year ago but never did anything with it after I got it thanks to COVID. Being around this bike however (and with the self-justification that someone may need to MOT it, when realistically I just really want a bike now) I booked my DAS for next month.

Might end up in here more than I initially thought!

Good man, hope it goes well, best thing I've ever done with my clothes on.

[Rubin215]

Look for the same model/year/mileage of bike in completed items on ebay (i.e. what they sell for, not what dreamers advertise for), add £500 and list it as a classified/best offer advert.

Hire/borrow a van, some ratchet straps and a ramp and get it mot'd.

It will sell.

[320d is all you need]

Rubin215 said:

Look for the same model/year/mileage of bike in completed items on ebay (i.e. what they sell for, not what dreamers advertise for), add £500 and list it as a classified/best offer advert.

Hire/borrow a van, some ratchet straps and a ramp and get it mot'd.

It will sell.

For a SORN bike with no MOT?

You mean minus £500?

Either find a mechanic who will collect the bike (I'm sure there is a garage who will offer a collection service) or pay a transport company to do it.

Selling the bike with no MOT when it's that new isn't ideal, IMO.
And it's just something to knock money off (potential faults/failures, it is ALWAYS a risk, even on a "newer" bike), and adds hassle to a potential buyer (having to get a van / trailer / transport instead of simply getting a lift and riding home).

I also wouldn't suggest a "non biker" (IE someone not familiar with moving the bike and securing it in place) ratchet strapping a £10k bike into the back of a rented Transit , it's just going to end up horribly wrong.

To hire someone for half a day who has expertise moving bikes would cost maximum £200 to collect it, take it <10 miles to the MOT centre, wait for an hour and deliver it back home.

I would imagine so much as bending a brake lever or scratching a bar end would cost far more than the price of the transport, let alone if the bike fell and damaged the panels / exhaust / lights / etc and you will certainly get £200 more with the MOT than if it wasn't MOT'd.

In short - Hire a professional to take it to be MOT'd for you and sell it with a new MOT.

Edited by 320d is all you need on Saturday 10th April 02:11

[Rubin215]

320d is all you need said:

Rubin215 said:

Look for the same model/year/mileage of bike in completed items on ebay (i.e. what they sell for, not what dreamers advertise for), add £500 and list it as a classified/best offer advert.

Hire/borrow a van, some ratchet straps and a ramp and get it mot'd.

It will sell.

For a SORN bike with no MOT?

You mean minus £500?

[KTMsm]

Car and bike trader here, unfortunately saying that someone has died is regularly used by the unscrupulous as it means they don't have to answer any questions about the bike etc

Hence any buyer with the slightest common sense is very sceptical and price is reduced accordingly.

I cannot believe there isn't a local garage who would collect it for a fee any that say they don't collect, I suggest you counter with "not even for £100" that should change their mind.