... from a private seller on Craigslist?

Ideally, I would meet him at a local area where they service bikes and have them check it out. How about after that?

Title transfer and then what else is needed? I'm trying to avoid getting screwed, like if the  bike  is stolen or something.

Well, if he has the title, and it's in his name, then you can be pretty sure it's not stolen.  Check the title to see if it's salvaged.  It also helps if the bike is already registered and titled in the state you're in.  In most states it probably won't be a problem, but where I live in California, there are a few conditions where you can't buy vehicles from another state.

Alternatively, you could just bring your mechanic with you, or a friend who is pretty knowledgeable about bikes.

Well there motorcycle place by me said that the mechanic would look at the bike for free so I guess that's worked out.

I read that someone has to sign their title over to me. Will it be clear where they have to sign and where I have to sign?

What about bill of sale and such? Do I need the original purchase document?

Also, how do I go about doing the title transfer, just take the papers to the DMV after I get insurance?

It differs by state, but I've bought motorcycles in two states -- California and Delaware -- and it was pretty much the same thing.  On the back of the Title, there is a place where both the seller and the buyer sign and date, along with some other info like address, sale price, and such.  The buyer keeps the Title and has XX number of days to bring it to the DMV to get it retitled in his name.  On the bottom of the Title, there's a perforated section that the seller fills out and keeps.  The seller has XX number of days to mail this part in to the DMV to release him from any liability related to the vehicle before the new owner retitles it.

You don't need a bill of sale unless there's no Title.  In some states, you can apply for a Title using a bill of sale and some other documents, but personally, I wouldn't mess with a bike that didn't have a Title, unless it was an antique or something.

You don't need insurance to get a vehicle retitled, but most states require it when registering a vehicle.

Mechanics usually suck when it comes to GS and other old tech bikes.
Put a link to the seller here, then see if you can beer/pizza one of the GSTwin veretans to come along to check it.
Cool.
Buddha.

I called the police station so they could run the VIN before I even went to go look at  my scoot. MD requires a bill of sale or they may try to get you for more sales tax than you owe.

Google your states DMV website. They should have clear instructions for your state. Laws are slightly different from state to state. 

You may want to have the mechanic do a compression test on the engine. 

Use this guide. It it will help you see for yourself what the history of scoot may be! And like the Buddha said, if you can post what your looking at, and get someone to go with ya, all the better! 

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html   

Quote from: redhawkdancing on November 11, 2010, 01:56:40 PM
MD requires a bill of sale or they may try to get you for more sales tax than you owe.

Last I checked Maryland has a $600 minimum tax no matter how little you payed for the bike.  I haven't bothered transferring a few titles because of it.  And now on anything 7 years old or newer you must have a notorized bill of sale.

-Jessie

$600! Do you mean that they charge you tax for a $600 bike purchase, or they charge you $600?? Charging you $600 when you try to transfer a title would be an ungodly mess.

I don't know how different it is from GA, but here it is very simple. On the back of the title there is a line that says 'SELLERS SIGNATURE' and a line that says 'BUYERS SIGNATURE'. You also fill in the designated lines for the 'DATE OF TRANSFER' and 'MILEAGE'. It doesn't get much easier than that. There is no bill of sale required here if it has a title, and anything older than '85 doesn't even need a title and can be tagged on a bill of sale. Also at that age a car doesn't require emissions testing, but that doesn't apply to bikes anyway . . .

in ny you need to get/do/sign:

title (signed over on back)
registration/ title application
insurance card
statement of transaction (to pay taxes)
bill of sale


the lady at the counter didn't even bother with a bill of sale though. she said she doesn't need it for a vehicle this age.

for a title only skip the insurance and you fill out a title only form.

when i bought my bike it took like 3 afternoons. first to go check it out. second to pick it up get the title & bill of sale signed, and to pay. third to bring all those documents to the dmv to get the plates.

i bought the insurance the night before online. they just email you the ins card and you just print that out.

oh and the bike was already inspected for the year so that worked out.

hope this helps gluck

Quote from: tt_four on November 11, 2010, 07:42:52 PM
$600! Do you mean that they charge you tax for a $600 bike purchase, or they charge you $600?? Charging you $600 when you try to transfer a title would be an ungodly mess.

nah, it's 6% of NADA used value. Titled two bikes in MD this year

I'm always jealous of people in states who can just sign the back of the title and walk away. If i try to buy something you've gotta do the usual search for a notary, buyer and seller both need to go so they can transfer everything there. You've also gotta have insurance before they'll do it, which makes sense for normal bikes, but it sucks if you're only buying a project bike that you're not even gonna be able to ride for 6+ months anyway. I've never asked if there's some special exemption for bikes that are no where near running since I haven't bought one yet, but I'd like to know.

Yeah I've heard of these notaries, what role do they play?

Also, here you have to have proof of insurance before you can get a tag. As far as paying taxes on the bike you buy, we have to pay $20 for the tag itself and that's it. Mine are ~$70 because I always get vanity tags, but standard tags are only 20.

Excellent, we have scared off the newb ...
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: tt_four on November 11, 2010, 07:42:52 PM
$600! Do you mean that they charge you tax for a $600 bike purchase, or they charge you $600?? Charging you $600 when you try to transfer a title would be an ungodly mess.

Sorry I wasn't clear, MD charges a 6% sales tax with a minimum of a $600 selling price.  They also use NADA values for calculating the tax regardless of what you actually paid for the bike.

-Jessie

I don't know much about the NADA numbers, I know places like KBB and Edmonds have different ratings for good, fair, and poor condition vehicle. Say you buy a crashed 2006 gsxr, and the normal value would be $5000, but obviously it's crashed so fair market value is now $2500. Do you still get stuck paying taxes on a $5k vehicle?

In Oklahoma, you must NOTARIZE the signature when selling a bike.  Check in your state.

God, I always hate notaries, it's such a f*cking scam.

Quote from: BaltimoreGS on November 12, 2010, 10:28:03 AM

Quote from: tt_four on November 11, 2010, 07:42:52 PM
$600! Do you mean that they charge you tax for a $600 bike purchase, or they charge you $600?? Charging you $600 when you try to transfer a title would be an ungodly mess.

Sorry I wasn't clear, MD charges a 6% sales tax with a minimum of a $600 selling price.  They also use NADA values for calculating the tax regardless of what you actually paid for the bike.

-Jessie

Actually  I paid $1000 less than NADA book value, and they used the value on my bill of sale (form VR-181) to calculate the tax. 

http://www.mva.maryland.gov/Vehicle-Services/REG/NewtoMd.htm

Maryland Excise Titling Tax

If the vehicle has been recently purchased, the 6% excise tax is based on the greater of the total purchase price verified by a notarized MVA Bill of Sale (form VR-181), signed by both the buyer(s) and the seller(s) in which the actual price paid for the vehicle is stated or $640. In other cases, the total purchase price or the valuation shown in a national publication of used car values adopted for use by the Administration will be used to establish the tax. There is an addition or subtraction for high or low mileage. On vehicles seven years old and older, the tax is based on the greater of the purchase price or the minimum book value of $640.

Couldn't find any reasonable priced SV650's that would meet me at the mechanics so I ended up settling for a 2007 Ninja with 20k miles for $2300. Meeting with him tomorrow, hopefully everything checks out.