where did you buy your gs500 from?

[dominickbuff]

where did you buy your gs500 from? craigslist, dealer , ebay, and why?

[Watcher]

Craigslist.

Despite having to wade through all the fake sellers, bad deals, scammers, and misrepresented machines, you won't pay anywhere near what a stealership will charge you (especially for an older machine), and you won't have to commit to buying sight unseen like with eBay.


But a better alternative to CraigsList is CycleTrader.  It's a little harder to use, but usually has higher quality listings and sellers.

[rscottlow]

Craigslist.

Despite having to wade through all the fake sellers, bad deals, scammers, and misrepresented machines, you won't pay anywhere near what a stealership will charge you (especially for an older machine), and you won't have to commit to buying sight unseen like with eBay.


But a better alternative to CraigsList is CycleTrader.  It's a little harder to use, but usually has higher quality listings and sellers.

+1 for CL, basically for all of the same reasons stated above.

Unless you "need" a warranty or a loan from a dealership, there's not much of a reason to buy from one, IMHO. They're great for shopping though - you can get a feel for several different bikes in one quick trip.

CycleTrader used to be much better than it is now. Their website and search features are not very user-friendly, but it's worth checking out. They just tend to have far more dealer bikes than private sellers in my area.

Unless you can find a local bike on eBay, or a deal that's too good to pass up (with the understanding that if it's too good to be true, it probably is) I'd be wary of buying a bike sight unseen.

[ShowBizWolf]

I bought mine from a long time friend of my family. She wanted a bigger cruiser style bike and got a 2002 Vulcan 800.

I remember the first time I saw her GS... her dad brought it by my dad's garage cuz he had just picked it up for her... and I was there that day detailing cars or working on something of my own... and I remember thinking, "If I ever get a motorcycle, that's the kind I would want." Fell in love with it right there and a few years down the road I got the chance to buy it. Happy day!!!!

[1018cc]

I bought mine from a local (private) seller that was advertised on gumtree (similar to craigslist). Had full service history, every receipt for every dollar spent on the bike and only two owners. Gave me a good feeling compared to other ones I went and looked at.

[Suzuki Stevo]

RMC Renton Motorcycle Company, Price Dropped, Showroom Queen, dead battery.....Killer Deal 

[cbrfxr67]

CL and then CL again for my second one,....

[qcbaker]

Bought my GS and my Blast on Craigslist. You can get a decent deal if you look hard enough. And usually its pretty easy to identify scammers or lemons as long as you know what a legit ad should look like (multiple photos, fair price, local contact info, decent spelling/grammar, etc)

[Torstein]

I have purchased all my motorcycles on craigslist so far. So far, so good. I watched the GS I ended up buying for over a month before even going to look at it.